At first one may just dismiss the game as a cheap Dark Souls clone in a sci-fi setting, and to be fair it is understandable, many mechanics are a direct carbon copy of the Fromsoft title, the sluggy combat forcing players to find the right moment to go in (most of the time after waiting the enemy to be locked in his own extremely telegraphed attack animation), enemies and consumables granting "souls" to use to upgrade statistics at the "bonfire", having the possibility to pick back lost "souls" on reaching the place you died, boss fights arenas with "fog gates". However the developers did not just settle for making a clone but added their own mechanics and twists that make the game unique, the best example is definitely how do you acquire new equipment, you won't be finding them laying around in chests or at traders, instead you'll have to use the localized damage system to cut them off from your enemies body parts. That enemy has a weapon you want? Cut his arm off, you need a specific helmet? Fin and enemy that wears it and cut out his head. The damage system is not just a gimmick to decide which item to grind, specific body parts can be armored so you'll have to target uncovered aread to deal more damage, some robots can have problematic parts that can be individually destroyed to make them a more manageable threat. The worldbuilding is very good, even if it relies a bit too much on audiologs for exposition there's still plenty of enviromental clues to help you find out what has happened at the CREO facility. The widespread death and distruction next to the motivational corporate videoclips broadcasted around the maps has a very chilling effect. The levels are plausible, in Souls games often you'll see a location that doesn't make much sense, in The Surge every place feels like had a purpose before the big fuckup. If you enjoy Souls games, The Surge is an extremely competent take on the genre and very recommended.
