Remnant 2’s new free mode remixes the shooter’s best moments

By Tomas Franzese Published September 10, 2024

A boss players can fight in Remnant II's boss rush mode. — Arc Games

Remnant 2 will get its final paid DLC on September 24, but there’s something to look forward to even if you don’t plan on buying its DLC. On that same day, Gunfire Games and Arc Games will release a free update for Remnant 2 that adds a Boss Rush mode.

If you’ve played Remnant 2, you know that the boss fights are the best moments of the experience. The procedurally generated campaigns of this Souls-inspired third-person shooter are always at their best when players encounter one of its creatively designed bosses. While bosses in shooters can be button-spongey affairs, each Remnant 2 boss twists the core gameplay loop up and keeps players thinking on the fly. A mode where players can fight the game’s bosses back-to-back sounds particularly enticing.

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After installing the September 24 update, players will be able to access this new mode via the World Stone in Ward 13 and play it alone or with friends. Players can choose from a three-, seven-, or nine-boss run. Players will earn temporary buffs and find weapons that make them stronger in the middle of the runs and they will also have to survive hordes of enemies between the bigger boss fights. If you’re looking for a more concise version of the best parts of Remnant 2, it seems like Boss Rush mode will provide just that.

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If you want more of the main game, then The Dark Horizon DLC will also release later this month. It introduces a new area in the world of N’Erud for players to explore, and a lot of new story, dungeon, boss, and enemy content comes with that. From a gameplay perspective, its most interesting additions are a glider traversal system and The Warden archetype.

Remnant 2 is available now for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The Dark Horizon DLC and free Boss Rush mode update launch on September 24.

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A former Gaming Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Tomas Franzese now reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…

Gaming

The best weapon mods in Remnant 2

A knight with a gun in a burning square.

Even the best weapons in Remnant 2 will feel weak if you don't upgrade them with mods. These don't just give passive buffs like upgrades, but add entirely new functions to your weapons that can completely change the way you approach combat. While there are a bunch of unique weapons that come with exclusive mods you can't remove or otherwise get to put on other guns, most weapons have a slot for you to place whatever mod you want in them. Just like anything else in Remnant 2, mods aren't given away for free. You will need to go out exploring dangerous areas and take down challenging bosses to unlock them. With over 50 mods to find and try out, we'll save you the time and materials you'd waste experimenting with them all and list off the best weapon mods in Remnant 2.
Remnant 2 best weapon mods
Astral Burst

Let's start off with a great crowd-control option. Astral Burst can be your get-out-of-jail-free card in plenty of overwhelming situations. When activated, you will shoot off a shotgun-like blast of seven star fragments that each deal 35 damage. That may not sound like much, but these fragments can bounce off of walls up to three times, with each bounce increasing the damage dealt by 35%. Making the most of this means doing some quick geometry and aiming to your target after at least a bounce or two, but if you can pull it off, you'll feel like a genius.

Computing

Remnant 2 PC: change these graphics settings immediately

A knight with a gun in a burning square.

Remnant 2 is officially out after a three-day early access period, and PC players are already forming strong opinions. The game is remarkably demanding, despite the fact that it doesn't include any ray tracing settings. On top of that, the developers insist that the game was designed with upscaling tools like Nvidia's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) in mind, causing some backlash from PC players.

I've played just shy of 16 hours during the early access period, including a full campaign run. Although Remnant 2 is demanding even on flagship hardware, you can push down most of the graphics settings without impacting the look of the game. Here are the best settings to get Remnant 2 into a playable state on PC.
Best settings for Remnant 2 on PC

Gaming

Remnant 2 is a master class in great shooter boss fight design

Remnant II's Mother Mind boss fight

The more that shooters embrace RPG elements, the worse their boss fights tend to get. Instead of featuring unforgettable encounters that test players' skills and recontextualize game elements in exciting ways, many bosses in games like Outriders feel like bullet sponges that any player can beat as long as they have a good enough weapon. I haven’t experienced a truly fantastic, memorable boss fight in a shooter for some time, so Remnant II shocked me when it provided three in just a couple of hours of play.

Gunfire Games’ Soulslike shooter sequel to 2019 sleeper hit Remnant: From the Ashes builds upon the formula that its predecessor established, so fans of the first game will find a lot to enjoy here. At first, I had trouble getting into what felt like a mediocre third-person shooter with some stark, colorful levels. But after a couple of astonishing boss fights, I’m starting to come around on Remnant II.
Better Bosses
For those that haven’t played Remnant II, players essentially fight through a string of dungeons set across multiversal realms. Big bad bosses that play around with the third-person shooter’s mechanics are often lurking at the end of each area. At the start of my Remnant II campaign, I ventured through a realm called Yaesha and met my first memorable boss in a place called The Twisted Chantry.