– NOT A WALK IN THE PARK –
When I reviewed The Surge earlier this year, it was my first proper foray into the (as I called it) “death simulator gameplay” and I was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed the game. It wasn’t perfect what with its faults during combat and the lacklustre accompanying RPG systems, and these issues remain in the game’s new expansion.
An image showing an area found early on in the expansion
– ALTON-ATE TOWERS –
‘A Walk in the Park’ takes you to CREO World, a bright and colourful funfair full of joy, pleasure, dismemberment and death. This expansion sticks to its dystopian-setting roots, but reimagines it in a theme park locale placed within the main game’s world. The disparity between environments compared to The Surge’s main locations really sets the 2 apart from each other, (possibly the best bit about this DLC) and it’s noticeable as soon as you arrive.
This change in tone and world design also applies to the enemies you encounter too; not only do they challenge you in new ways, they also have radically different visual appearances, and this leads to new customisation options for your own character. Going into this DLC, I didn’t expect I’d be able to run around wearing a large doughnut on my head. Oh, and did I mention you can dismember enemies with a candy cane? A candy cane! All you’ve got to do is sever what you want off, and it’s all yours. These changes provide a wonderful breath of fresh air for the tone and style of the game; while the areas seen in the main game are unique, the new areas provide a more light-hearted romp through death valley.
An image of the ‘Gear’ screen, showing the Candy Cane weapon and Doughnut Head Gear
– QUIRKS, ISSUES AND INCONSISTENCY –
I praised the base game for its level design in how multiple parts of the environment link up and connect seamlessly, and that’s no different here. You constantly feel like you’re making progress and unlocking more within the level. Each path you take is no less rewarding than the others. It’s not as perfect this time around however; there were times during the main game that you would fight an enemy within a small zone and that’s the case again here, but worse. Due to the speed of some enemies, you need more room than usual to dodge their attacks and because the game doesn’t always offer this, it can eventually mean you being forced into a corner. I attempted to draw out certain enemies from the locations they were in, but I was unable to do this all the time, so it meant I was forced to battle them in their enclosed areas.
After delving more into From Software’s Bloodborne recently, it became clear to me that The Surge is a less polished game in the death simulator family. While it has its own unique quirks like the brutally satisfying dismemberment takedowns and (in the expansion) equipable theme park mascot gear, the game lacks the same level of care given to From Software’s PS4 death sim. This is key for games such as The Surge, where learning enemy attack patterns and mastering the combat is paramount.
This lack of polish became clearer during the multiple instances in which I was trapped against a wall, forced into a corner or stun-locked by an enemy. I had numerous cases in which it appeared an enemy was pulling off a new move, whereby 2 quick attacks were chained (killing me in the process due to the enemy being of the slow attacking, heavy damage type). There was no consistency to this, meaning it seemed to happen arbitrarily, and I had no chance of escaping. A lot of the combat encounters in fact seemed inconsistent with the issues I’d get, and I struggled to figure out why I died at times. Bad decisions on my part didn’t seem to be the primary cause of deaths. Luckily, these issues were few and far between, but it leaves a dent in what is otherwise a mostly sturdy DLC.
An image of an enemy being torched thanks to my drone companion
– WORLDS WITHIN WORLDS –
Along with my gripes on the quality of the expansion, there’s another problem I found related to how the DLC is implemented for you to play. To access the extra content, you are required to have progressed to a certain point in the game. This wasn’t an issue for me as I was able to load the game and head straight to the area to access it, but when you pay for a DLC, I feel that you should be able to access it relatively easily, regardless of main game progress. Games such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt allow you to load straight into the DLCs, even though their questlines can also be kicked off in the game world. Thankfully however, it’s not far into the game meaning you don’t have to progress through too much to access it.
– VERDICT –
Even after the multiple frustrations I’ve had when playing the DLC, I still feel compelled to go back. The expansion doesn’t seem like one to buy The Surge for, but if you enjoyed the base game, it’s a reason to come back. With a fresh set of enemies to face, levels to explore and unique and quirky gear to craft, this DLC is bound to be enjoyed by returning players. Plus you get to hit things with a candy cane while wearing a doughnut on your head, and how many games allow you to do that, eh?
The Surge released on 16th May 2017 and the ‘A Walk in the Park’ expansion is available now on PS4, Xbox One and PC. Have a read of my review for the base game here.
Watch the launch trailer here.
You can purchase the standard edition here, or the complete edition here.
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