Remnant 2 Review – Rising From the Ashes

Remnant 2 is the direct sequel to Remnant from the Ashes, developed by Gunfire Games and launched on the market in 2019. The first title managed to snatch positive evaluations from critics and, as you can read in our Remnant 2 reviews roundup article, the second chapter managed to establish itself, even better than its predecessor. If you are curious to find out what we think of Remnant 2, you just have to continue reading this review.

Remnant 2 Review – The journey continues

The storyline of Remnant 2 continues that of Remnant from the Ashes. Without going too far into this aspect so as not to risk spoilers, we can say that the game is in strong continuity with its predecessor and puts us in the shoes of a character whose task will be to free the world from the evil creatures that inhabit it. After the conclusion of the first chapter, in fact, the world has not yet been saved and indeed, the creatures that inhabit it have become even stronger and more evolved. Players will be called to take part in this journey in a post-apocalyptic world, visiting different worlds and trying to find a solution to what happened. Are you ready to take part in this journey?

An enhanced gameplay system

The gameplay of Remnant 2 is in strong continuity with that of Remnant from the Ashes. Some game mechanics have remained almost the same, while others have been improved or added. The first thing we can point out is the fact that Remnant 2 features more gameplay variety when it comes to combat. There is an excellent balance between hand-to-hand combat and firearms combat at short, medium, and long ranges. This translates into being a very versatile game from this point of view and that manages to adapt well to any type of player.

Another thing to note is the fact that the game provides a greater amount of skills and traits that players can use. Furthermore, you can choose between different archetypes (classes) at the beginning of your adventure: the Hunter, the Challenger, the handler and the Medic (the Gunslinger is only available from the start if you have pre-ordered the game; otherwise, it will unlock later in the story). Continuing with the game, however, there will also be the possibility of unlocking other archetypes and being able to combine them with the one you chose at the start of the game, for even greater versatility.

New worlds and endless replayability

As we have already explained in this article, Remnant 2 offers the possibility to explore five different worlds, each with its own particularities, enemies, and bosses to defeat. You'll find some old favorites from the previous game, but almost everything in this sequel is brand new and never seen before. Except for two of them, the worlds you will encounter do not have a pre-established order, but are random, as is everything present within them.

One of the peculiarities of Remnant from the Ashes, in fact, was that each playthrough was different thanks to this procedural mechanic that the developers decided to implement in the game. For this reason, the game has a high replay value, especially if you want to discover everything that is present within the game world. Objects, weapons, armor, enemies, bosses, and areas, are created in a procedural way and therefore every time you play a game it will be different from the previous one.

Remnant 2 multiplayer experience

Remnant 2's multiplayer picks up on the mechanics the development team used for Remnant from the Ashes' multiplayer. The entire game storyline, except for the first part, which serves as a tutorial, can be played in the company of two other players. Although Remnant 2 is a soulslike, its multiplayer component is very simple and intuitive to use. There are no particular mechanics based on objects to be consumed to be invited or limitations regarding one's game area. Any player can be invited or join a game at any time, through the various crystals present in the game world. For this reason, Remnant 2 offers a very effective multiplayer game experience, perfect for all those who intend to embark on this journey in the company of other players.

At the time of writing this review, we also haven't experienced any major issues with matchmaking or anything like that. The experience turns out to be very fast and without problems of disconnection or not being able to find matches. We recall, in this regard, that Remnant 2 has no crossplay. This means that to play with your friends, and you must all have a copy of the game for the same platform. An aspect that can certainly make more than a few noses turn up and that we ourselves have considered a somewhat “strange” choice for a type of game of this kind. It cannot be excluded, however, that it is possible that the developers decide to implement this function at a later time.

NPCs and level design

While on the one hand, Remnant 2 can boast excellent gameplay and an interesting, albeit cryptic, storyline, from the point of view of the characters present in the game (main and non-main) we cannot say the same. One of the first things that immediately catches the eye is the animations of the characters. Very staid and emotionless, which does not allow the game to excel from this point of view. Given the standards achieved in recent years, certainly more should have been done to make the characters as human as possible, which has not succeeded.

From the point of view of level design, however, we can say that the developers have done a good job providing interesting settings (although a bit repetitive in some cases). Furthermore, the level design has been conceived very well and this is also denoted by the fact that the puzzles in the game are all quite simple to solve. Although the game does not hold the player's hand all the time, its structure and the presence of an improved 3D map compared to that of its predecessor make exploration a pleasant activity. It is very unlikely that you will find yourself in situations where you will not know where to go also because the map will be of great help to indicate each point of interest.

Remnant 2 review – 8/10

In conclusion, Remnant 2 is an excellent soulslike shooter that takes everything that was good in the first chapter and improves it even more by adding new features. Solid and rich gameplay, well-conceived level design, and excellent replayability are definitely the strengths of the game. On the other hand, although we're talking about an excellent game, there are some things that need some attention. Among these, we cannot fail to mention the design of the characters, which would need some modifications, and just as a slightly more “explained” and less cryptic plot would certainly have helped for a greater understanding of what happens in the game.

However, if you loved the first chapter, this sequel will involve you for the entire duration of the game. Furthermore, if you are a demanding gamer who likes to discover well everything that a game has to offer, you will find bread for your teeth with Remnant 2. Its procedural structure will allow you to play the game several times and each of them will be different from the previous one.

Game was reviewed on PC with the code provided by Publisher.