The Surge (2017)
The Surge is really good – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. As a Souls fanatic who has devoured every third party game that’s even close in spirit, this one’s right up there with Nioh and Salt and Sanctuary. Were it the work of a studio other than Lords of the Fallen alumni Deck 13, it might have gotten more praise. Indeed, The Surge makes tangible improvements to the risk-and-reward formula laid down in Dark Souls.
Take the way you can dissect the limbs of enemies. Targeting certain body parts allows you to nab the appendage, building better gear and armaments in the process. Suddenly, you’re not just trying to survive in a hostile environment, but you’re having to tactically dismember your foes to get by, too.
Going in, I feared the world would let it down, but there’s enough environmental diversity to ensure The Surge stays the course, and the level design is excellent, with a world that folds back on itself so that you often revisit old areas from entirely new and exciting vantage points. It doesn’t hurt that it looks absolutely brilliant, too.
With 30 hours of play on offer, this comes heartily recommended.
Syndicate (2012)
I’ve always loved Starbreeze games so I’m naturally biased, but I think 2012’s Syndicate is better than most people remember. It remains a tense, stylish first-person shooter with wonderful mechanics and a rich world, too.
The problem? The Syndicate name. People were so hung up on the fact that the beloved Isometric RTS was being reimagined in first-person form – and published by the evil overlords EA – that they completely overlooked all the things it did well.
The solid shooting mechanics and intelligent world-building (a dystopian future society where big corporations own your life) still make it worth playing today, though.