Remnant 2 is developer Gunfire Games' take on a challenging and rewarding multiplayer shooter that feels massive. The co-op multiplayer genre has many contenders fighting for players' time, but Remnant 2's gameplay nails the arcade feeling that makes attempting a difficult boss for the 12th time fun. While it may take some time to unlock the abilities and gear that help make each class feel unique, the way the developers drop new characters into different realms quickly helps showcase the game's varied and stylish worlds in a way that makes that time spent feel respected.

Remnant: From the Ashes was often referred to as a third-person multiplayer shooter Soulslike. While Remnant 2 doesn't change its gameplay too drastically from the first installment, it goes all-in on fast-paced action rather than the enigmatic storytelling, strategically placed enemies, and other mechanics that Soulslike games are known for. Remnant 2 fixes many of the issues that made the first's game world feel muted and its gameplay monotonous as a result.

Improved Procedural Generation Adds Stellar Gameplay Variation

Players will explore while fighting hordes of enemies in Remnant 2's realms, which each have their own unique art style, enemies, and creatively designed bosses. When starting a new character, players will be dropped into a randomly chosen realm, meaning friends will each have a unique starting area after completing a tutorial. The procedurally generated worlds will ensure that no playthrough is the same, while specific interactions will be constant, in order for the game's well-written plot to make sense regardless of the random nature of its beginnings. However, NPCs and side quests will be randomly placed into the procedurally generated stages to continue to provide new experiences and encounters with each character created.

Teammates can visit each other's games easily, which helps against Remnant 2's challenging bosses, a significant highlight of the game. There is no shortage of boss fights that will require carefully dodging and learning attack patterns. Many battles will provide a unique challenge, like navigating a small maze filled with deadly rolling cubes with weak points embedded on their sides. Each of the game's big battles felt unique and had secrets to uncover, instead of creating generic alterations of existing enemies with too much health. Enemies found throughout each realm also provide specialized tactics depending on the region.

Archetype Abilities And Variations Make For A Real Action RPG

As players begin their Remnant 2 campaign, they may create a character from four archetypes that each come with their own abilities and playstyles. A fifth archetype called The Gunslinger can be unlocked later in the game (or if the game was preordered). While some archetypes excel in defense or healing, players eventually earn the ability to combine their archetypes with others to create a unique play style. When these perks are combined with teammates, Remnant 2 can feel the most rewarding.

Classes like The Handler and The Hunter can deal effective damage and provide buffs for teammates. The Handler archetype gives players a dog companion that can attack enemies, revive downed teammates, and even provide boosts that pair well with other player perks, like The Hunter's ability to reveal enemies through walls and increase critical damage chances. After unlocking the ability to use Dual Archetypes, the combination of perks provides a refreshing amount of variation, especially when brought together with up to three players at a time. However, the rate at which players and their teammates will earn loot is one of Remnant 2's main issues.

Rarely Encountered Loot & Slowly Earned Upgrades

Unlike looter shooters like Borderlands or Destiny 2, Remnant 2 does not have armor or weapons that enemies drop. Most enemies drop ammo, but the rarest weapons and upgrading materials can only be found in well-hidden chests, challenging puzzles, or by defeating boss areas. However, this makes finding them feel more special when they are earned.

Checkpoint placement has been improved from Remnant: From The Ashes, which is excellent, because death will be a common occurrence. Remnant 2 can feel unforgiving while learning enemy attack patterns, especially when attempting to dodge attacks next to a ledge that will instantly send the player jumping into the abyss. Invincibility frames, or a lack thereof, can also create a large amount of frustration when fighting bosses that can down an entire team with a single attack. More often than not, it's a good idea to use the checkpoint in front of a boss area to warp back to a safe space to upgrade materials and weapons and re-organize gear.

Besides player abilities, weapons can be customized with Mutations and Weapon Mods, both of which will expand what each weapon is capable of. Dozens of mods can be found and unlocked, which can add the ability to heal or buff teammates, debuff and damage enemies, and more. However, because the mods and the materials needed to create them must be crafted, it can take some time to uncover the many gameplay options until a player's perfect build can be earned. Unfortunately, finding specific materials and objectives can often lead to one of Remnant 2's most frustrating features, but time spent with it can result in some very satisfying payoffs, especially for min-maxers.

Final Thoughts & Review Score

One downfall of having procedurally generated levels is a lack of environmental storytelling, which makes backtracking through Remnant 2's levels after its enemies have been defeated feel tedious. Fast travel is only available at checkpoints, so a wrong turn can easily become a long stretch of running through empty areas to get back to base. Remnant 2 isn't always the most convenient game to play, especially with a lack of accessibility options or customizable controller inputs.

Remnant 2 is compelling as a single-player journey, but feels much more rewarding to play with others. To that end, the game does a solid job in making that a possibility, even for those without friends interested in the title at launch. Adventure Mode allows players to join a random quest with others, providing a quick and easy way to enjoy the cooperative multiplayer experience Remnant 2 excels at. With a large variety of playstyle customizations and a seemingly endless amount of levels on vibrant alien worlds to discover, Remnant 2 is a multiplayer shooter that'll keep players blasting enemies for a while and is well-worth a look in spite of its flaws.

Source: Remnant 2/YouTube

Remnant 2 is available July 25 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Seris X/S, and PC. A PC code for Remnant 2 was provided to Screen Rant for the purposes of this review.