hotride

Played it, liked the start very much. Then, as the game progressed, I started liking it less and less. It bunches up a number of Lovecraft stories together and doesn't go to the necessary depth in any of those stories. From about 5-6 hours in, the game starts to feel like a walking simulator more than anything. The game is also very short (8 hours for my first playthrough). Normally that would be bad to me, but for this game I'm just glad its over quickly.

Meanwhile I have about 250 hours in Distance, mostly because I was bored by other video games. I would say, the real fun (for me) started after about 100-150 hours in. Until then the controls were a big issue and the game was not quite enjoyable. I do have a mild completionist problem with some games and that got me through the difficult controls learning process. Now, getting through a difficult track after spending 1-2 hours on it actually gives me a sense of satisfaction, which I've mostly lost when it comes to video games. Also, having invested the time I have, Backgrounds' is an evil person (though probably still has a valid opinion). IMO 2 of the hardest official tracks to get the best medal on are made by Backgrounds'.

Looks great, musics great, drivings great, but a few hours in the game and it has the distinctive feel of a niche game. A niche that is definitely not for me. The controls while doing (forced) stunts are mostly fine, but in some cases are way too floaty for me. The flying controls are just a nightmare. I was unable to use my PS2 controller, which I use for all games that allow a controller; having used the keyboard throughout, I wouldn't even know how to map the controller. Checkpoints during the campaigns are mostly fine though I've probably spent at least 2 hours on 3-4 checkpoints alone (out of 10 hours played and a ton of checkpoints). On more than one occassion, Ross Scott mentions games which require such a level of dedication, that Ross would rather learn an actual valuable skill than continue playing the game. Distance is probably the first game I've played that has made me understand the sentiment. I like the game but I'm definitely not going to invest many hours in it; its way too finicky for me.

I'm really liking this game, especially the pacing and the visuals. Audio also fits the atmosphere quite well. The game seems a bit short, but so far it seems to have good replay value.

I've watched Seraphim17s playthrough of this game on YouTube. If you are looking for in-depth combat I would not go anywhere near The Surge. If you are looking for other qualities (visuals, story, RPG elements) likely the poor combat implementation will deter you from enjoying those. IMO the game takes the worse from souls games and doesn't add anything good. Here is Seraphim17s review: