Following the success of Remnant: From The Ashes, Gunfire Games announced their next project, Remnant II, at The Game Awards 2022. This soulslike looter shooter promises to innovate on what its predecessor achieved in almost every way, which has piqued the interest of many fans looking to battle their way through a challenging and unforgiving world.
With Remnant II around the corner, let’s jump in with five things you need to know.
1. Goodbye Linear Storytelling
One of the most impressive features to be added to Remnant II is that no two play experiences will be the same. The previous game offered a similar concept but utilised a limited tileset to randomly generate levels for some variety. However, enemies and bosses within those worlds would remain the same.
Remnant II rebuilds it all from scratch, meaning stories, bosses, and enemies are all randomly picked from a selection for each biome, allowing every player to have a unique experience from the early hours to the end. If it’s executed as well as it sounds, then this will offer massive replayability, allowing gamers to hunt down all the little secrets, bosses, and encounters they will otherwise miss. It’s worth noting that there is an overarching campaign, but each biome has a plethora of self-contained stories that you will not experience in a single playthrough.
2. New Classes to Pick From
The developers have shown off the brand-new Archetypes (which are essentially classes) that promise to be even more impactful this time around. In both games, Archetypes are cookie-cutter playstyles to choose from; whether you want to focus your efforts on attack, support, or defence, Remnant II has got you covered. Here are the latest starting classes coming at launch.
The DPS Hothead
Let bullets fly and the kills rack up with the Gunslinger Archetype. A playstyle that revolves around all things damage with skill sets such as unloading a six-shooter into foes, auto-reload/move speed buffs, and allowing every firearm to be fully automatic. A devastating class fit for players who want to cause nothing but chaos.
The Tanking Brute
The Challenger Archetype is your standard heavy armour-wearing, damage-dealing tank. Their skills include an earth-shattering war stomp that sends out a shockwave towards the enemy and two enhancement abilities that increase move speed, rate of fire, reload speed, melee damage, and damage reduction. Basically, a walking behemoth.
The Heal Me, Please
If staying healthy and getting shouted at by your teammates to heal them every 10 seconds sounds like the life for you, then The Medic is the ideal class. This Archetypes kit is designed to (you guessed it) keep you and your teammates in the fight as the ultimate support class. Their skills have players leaving behind a healing rift, conjuring a protective barrier around everyone in-game, and a charging heal skill that also revives all downed allies. Perfect for the battle ahead.
The Goodest Boy
If you’re someone who doesn’t want to venture alone or lacks any friends to play with, then The Handler is for you. This class comes with a dog that the player can instruct to attack, guard an ally, or return to your side. You can even pet the good boy. Enough said.
If more than one of these Archetypes appeals to you, fortunately, you can select any other Archetype once you have unlocked it without starting a new playthrough.
3. Build Diversity
A big complaint from the predecessor was the lack of variety when it came to building your character. Armour offered bonuses that grew in strength depending on how many pieces from the same set were equipped, and outside of mods for weapons, there wasn’t much freedom for players to truly express their playstyles.
Remnant II takes this concept to new heights, offering more ways to customise your build with the expanded Archetype system. There is a Prime and Secondary Archetype slot that includes a list of different perks that unlock as you level up. You can essentially slap two classes together to create something new. For example, the Gunslinger comes with a set of traits, perks, and skills that cannot be swapped out but can be significantly improved. Pairing that with the Medic, players will be able to draw power from the offensive skills and perks of the gunslinger as well as the healing traits of the Medic.
With the freedom to choose your gear and customise your Archetype, it seems players can tinker with their playstyle to their heart’s content.
4. Emphasis on Melee Combat
For Remnant II, Gunfire Games have added two-to-three additional melee weapon types into the mix to broaden that specific playstyle. The new animations it comes with seem to enhance weapon fluidity and allow for smoother gameplay. This adds variety to a weapon type that was somewhat overlooked by players in Remnant: From The Ashes. Many enemy types will be rushing you, so having a trusty melee weapon in hand could be the difference between life and death.
The new melee weapons paired with certain traits and Archetypes, such as The Challenger, offer new ways to customise a viable melee build that weren’t common in the previous title. Maybe now players can put their Dark Souls skills to the test against Remnant II’s ever-changing world.
5. When and Where Can I Play Remnant II?
Remnant II launches on July 25th, 2023, on PS5, Xbox Series X | S, and PC. Picking up the Ultimate Edition will allow players 3 days of early access, along with some other goodies and DLC planned further down the line.
While Remnant: From The Ashes offered cross-play in a post-launch update, Remnant II currently has no announced plans for cross-play or cross-progression. It may come further down the line, but for now, fans will have to make do without it and enjoy the upcoming soulslike on their preferred platform.
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