Taking place 50 years after the asteroid Apophis hit the planet Earth enters the postapocalyptic world of Rage 2. First revealed last year by Bethesda with a teaser trailer, we’ve since seen plenty more of what the upcoming sequel has to offer. With a bevy of combinable abilities, customizable vehicles and weapons, a variety of biomes to explore and factions to interact with, it promises to take players a chaotic and dangerous world heavily inspired by the likes of Borderlands, Fallout, and Doom. Here’s everything we know about Avalanche Studios’ and iD Software’s upcoming first-person shooter, Rage 2.
Nanotrite abilities
There’s a big list of new (and familiar) abilities coming to Rage 2. These Nanotrite abilities are kind of like superpowers that can be combined to wreak havoc in combat and fill Walker’s Overdrive meter. Each ability can be upgraded at least three times to strengthen its impact.
- Overdrive: Bringing Walker’s guns to new heights, Overdrive allows you to deal more damage and gives you new attributes to play with. It also regenerates health while increasing the chances of enemies dropping better loot.
- Shatter: The perfect ability to use during moments where you’re surrounded, Shatter knocks back enemies and breaks their armor using a kinetic blast.
- Vortex Grenade: Allowing you to create your own void out of thin air, throwing this grenade will suck in and gather multiple enemies at once and then shoots them in all different directions.
- Slam: If you’re a fan of the ground pound from Super Mario, you may the Slam ability, which has you throwing your fist into the ground, sending a shock wave of damage that throws enemies in all different directions.
- Barrier: Just as the name suggests, Barrier throws a bullet protective shield and when upgraded can decimate enemies into “meat cubes” on impact.
- Dash: A rapid boost through the air that can put you in an advantageous position from enemies.
- Grav-Jump: An added vault you can use after jumping (think double jump), Grav-Jump doesn’t deal any damage but is great to use with other abilities, such as Slam, to create a stylish combo.
- Defibrillation: A lifeline in combat, Defibrillation offers a quick regeneration of health during heating moments in battle.
- Constitution: increasing your resistance to bullets, Constitution toughens Walker’s defense up and decreases the amount of damage taken.
- Focus: Another self-explanatory ability, Focus allows you to hone in and target enemies.
- Rush: Add some pep to your step with Rush, a speed boost you can activate while sprinting that can also provide some invisibility.
Weapons and vehicles
During our Rage 2 hands-on preview, we experimented with some of the weapon and vehicles, and were impressed by both the gunplay and how intense combat can become, whether it be on the ground, in the air, or in transit.
There are some more standard-issue types of weapons in Rage 2 such as the Sindwinder Pistol, Ranger Assault Rifle, Combat Shotgun, and Smart Rocket Launcher, but some of the other more flashy guns are bound to make a difference. The Firestorm Revolver allows you to shoot a couple of charged bullets at an enemy, and see them explode along with anyone else in the vicinity.
The Grav-Dart Launcher lets you attach darts to both enemies and objects as you grapple them together in zero gravity. This gives you the opportunity to attack a group of baddies while they’re launched in the air, or even send an explosive barrier flying towards them. The iconic Wingstick makes a return from the first game, the bastard offspring of a ceiling fan and a throwing knife.
Weapons are included as part of the Deluxe Edition of Rage 2 as well. These are the Settler Pistol and DOOM’s infamous BFG-UAC super weapon.
As for vehicles, judging from what we’ve seen in trailers, they come in a variety of types. You can expect to find flying drone-like vehicles, tanks decked out with all kinds of weaponry, monster trucks, racecars, motorcycles, and even airboats. The best part is they are all customizable.
Regions and factions
Along with the main story, there are four regions commanded by both allies that will constantly ask for favors, and enemy factions roaming the area.
- The Wild: Prepare to get lost in this jungle-esque region, altered by the EcoPods when they arrived on earth. Due to a malfunction, vegetation has reached unthinkable levels of scale, which both you and your enemies can use as an advantage when traversing the area.
- Sekreto Wetlands: Home of the faction called River Hogs, this place is filled with swamplands and whatever is left of the structures of the Old World.
- Torn Plains: There are hubs of civilization here, with settlements like Gunbarrel and Wellspring, but it’s pretty much deserted. Expect convoys and surprise attacks in its deep valleys.
- Dune Sea: Overrun by the faction called Immortal Shrouded, the Dune Sea is a seemingly endless desert where you’ll often fight for water against bandits, travelers, and merchants alike.
There are many factions that will make your life hard, but you can start preparing yourself for the fight thanks to the intel provided by Game Informer before Rage 2’s release.
- The Immortal Shrouded: Reminiscent of what the Brotherhood of Steel is for Fallout, the Immortal Shrouded follow a strict code of discipline. They used to be allied with The Authority, but it wasn’t long before they realized they were getting used. Now, they hide their faces and travel on their own, being very wary of anyone who dares to cross their paths.
- The Authority: A fascist regime lead by Martin Cross that’s making a come back from the first game. This faction has some advanced technology up their sleeves, but aside from that, we really don’t know what to expect from these evil masterminds.
- The River Hogs: As the name implies, The River Hogs can mostly be found in swamps, indulging in drugs, sex, and a not-so-healthy obsession with mechs.
- Goon Squad: Fearless and always attacking in a pack, the Goon Squad made their first appearance in Rage as the Wasteland. They kill for the sake of killing, and in Rage 2, an unknown supplier is providing them with more powerful weapons that increase the havoc.
- Trade Coalition: You’ll meet the Trade Coalition as the settlers in the wasteland. Whether or not they’ll treat you kindly depends on how many favors you end up doing for them.
- The Abadon: It might seem like just another crazy religion at first, but they were actually founded by Warheads that were abandoned by The Authority in the first game. After they did all sorts of experiments on the enemies we faced in Rage, they started recruiting them. Now, they sacrifice humans to please an unknown god.
Side Activities
What about side activities, then? Convoys will be a constant, always with a leader joined by a group of baddies alongside them. If you head over to Mutant Bash, you can take part in a TV show of sorts fighting against enemy waves in an arena.
There are also races, either in designated locations or through challenging drivers in free roam to a one-on-one race. Locate hidden arks in the world to obtain new gear and abilities while helping the locals in this mad world.
Microtransactions
There won’t be any microtransactions in Rage 2, unlike other games such as Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Devil May Cry 5, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Mortal Kombat 11 which all had currency that could be bought using real money.
Pre-orders and special editions
Rage 2 has both a deluxe and collector’s edition, both coming with some digital and physical goodies.
The collector’s edition includes a steelbook based on the Goon Squad’s style, along with a poster. Probably the biggest appeal is the Ruckus the Crusher Talking head, which features a motion sensor that triggers it to talk and sing.
Rage 2‘s deluxe edition includes a campaign expansion called Rise of the Ghosts, although we still don’t know what it’s going to include. As for story content, there’s also an exclusive mission, Cult of the Death God, that is related to the hero of the first game. It also includes DOOM’s iconic BFG, a Mutant Monster Truck skin, a collection of cheat codes, some Nicholas Raine Armor and a Settler pistol, as well as a progress booster that will give you an advantage early on in the game.
When can we play it, and on what platforms?
Rage 2 will be available on May 14 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
