https://wccftech.com/the-surge-2-gamescom-2019-hands-on-preview-needs-immediate-surgery/

At the risk of putting myself out there, I have to admit that I didn’t get along much with The Surge. I didn’t quite get what it was going for, other than being a sci-fi Souls-like. It felt as if it lacked a distinct art style or design of its own, and combat felt far clumsier than what I’m used to in FromSoftware’s titles. I wanted to enjoy it, but after a while, I had to just come to terms with it and say that The Surge wasn’t for me. Despite that though, I went in to play The Surge 2 at this year’s Gamescom 2019, and my experience was… worse.

The game starts with your character breaking out of a prison cell, and is quickly taught some tutorial basics. Walk, dodge, and attack, essentially. You’re told you can attack in vertical swipes or horizontal swipes, but the use of this isn’t really told to the player. I fight through a few prison blocks, smashing away at drones and fellow inmates I meet, all while dropping down ladders and opening doors for an easier return. Just like the Undead Asylum in Dark Souls, actually. But unlike Dark Souls, information is thrown at your character in no particular order, with no opportunity to understand why, or what, these mechanics mean to you.