History VideoGame / TheSurge2

On a first-class flight to discuss job options after being made redundant somehow (how exactly is [[HelloInsertNameHere up to the player]]), the plane mysteriously crashes. Two months later, you wake up in an infirmary bed... in prison. And once out of there, the news isn't much better. The entire city's been locked down to prevent the spread of a nano-plague called Defrag, news is hard to come by, and with even the skilled workers reduced to scavenging everyone and their half-crazy, desperate cousin is wearing a Rig...

** One tourism audiolog you can find mentions Jericho City leads the world in employment figures, saying that they have a whopping ''30 percent'' employment rate. Considering that the only way Warren got employment in the first game was by having a cybernetic Exo-Rig grafted to his body, this makes sense.

* SilentProtagonist: Since your character can be customized this time around, they never speak beyond grunts of effort during combat. (You do get unvoiced dialogue choices for some NPCs, as per RPG tradition).

* FatBastard: Little Johnny, a morbidly-obese drug lord submerged inside a SpiderTank full of life-preserving liquid. He's implied to have abandoned the Cathedral of the Spark's teachings in pursuit of pushing Blue Sparkle, a highly-addictive drug that both enhances physical strength and has psycho-active side effects.

* FatBastard: Little Johnny, a morbidly-obese drug lord submerged inside a spider-mech full of life-preserving liquid. He's implied to have abandoned the Cathedral of the Spark's teachings in pursuit of pushing Blue Sparkle, a highly-addictive drug that both enhances physical strength and has psycho-active side effects.

* OptionalBoss: The [[spoiler:second Delver]] you can fight in the CIT Basement can be bypassed by [[SchmuckBait not trying to grab the conspicuous chest in the middle of the large open area.]]

** [[spoiler: Audio files also also imply that each time someone is brought back, [[CameBackWrong they grow more and more unhinged]]. The first time you meet Eli, he's an ordinary, if paranoid and violent, cultist. By the end of the game, he develops a full on God complex.]]

* TomatoSurprise: [[spoiler: You and Athena were the only two people on Flight 221 to survive the crash, yet everyone knows there was only one survivor, and it's clearly Athena based off the many flashbacks you see through the nanocloud checkpoints. One of these flashbacks reveals that Athena was the one who created the Delver, which she sent to free you from prison. The Delver was a fully independent Nanite life form which received directive impulses from Athena that gave it direction, at least until she was separated from it and it reverted to its baser instincts. You spend the entire game following Athena's tracks to rescue her, as she explicitly gives you instructions through the flashbacks. Dr Guttenberg tells you your nanite readings are off the charts, and you cannot be infected with Defrag. To make the looming conclusion more explicit, if you spare Eli after the final boss fight, Athena tells you were just as human as everyone else all along. Put it all together, and it's strongly implied that your character actually ''died'' in the crash and was resurrected by Athena's nanotech.]]

On a first-class flight to discuss job options after being made redundant somehow (how exactly is [[HelloInsertNameHere up to the player]]), the plane mysteriously crashes. Two weeks later, you wake up in an infirmary bed... in prison. And once out of there, the news isn't much better. The entire city's been locked down to prevent the spread of a nano-plague called Defrag, news is hard to come by, and with even the skilled workers reduced to scavenging everyone and their half-crazy, desperate cousin is wearing a Rig...

* SilentProtagonist: Since your character can be customized this time around, they never speak beyond grunts of effort during combat.

* WalkingTank: The Metal Armor boss, piloted by Major General Ezra Shields. A bipedal mech armed with a mini-gun and a flamethrower.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: AID's endgoal is to control the nanite swarm by any means possible, in order to save the world. [[spoiler:They end up killing numerous children to find one able to control the swarm, and unleash her on the infection, but to disastrous results.]]

* OptionalBossFight: The [[spoiler:second Delver]] you can fight in the CIT Basement can be bypassed by [[SchmuckBait not trying to grab the conspicuous chest in the middle of the large open area.]]

** Extremist doomsday cults like the Cathedral of the Spark also exist, preaching a utopia of cybernetic transformation and being willing to openly attack government personnel to further their ends.

* PoliceState: Now that you are outside of CREO HQ and away from its corporate security forces, the personnel of the government agency A.I.D. will be your main military foe. A turbocharged incarnation of FEMA, the A.I.D take over in times of social unrest to brutally stamp down on those who disturb the social order, [[AllCrimesAreEqual as well as those who don't]]. From their propaganda to [[JudgeJuryAndExecutioner their authorization to carry out capital punishment at will]], these guys make Judge Dredd look like a mall cop.

* GunsAreWorthless: While the first game hinted at it, this game shows exactly why combat is so melee-focused. Rigs aren't just surgically-implanted exoskeletons, they're fully-cybernetic systems bonded so closely with the wearer's body that they take over a number of bodily functions, and this means that firearms that would kill normal humans are far less effective. This is to the point that even without any armor, the player can take a full magazine from an assault rifle without dying, and A.I.D. soldiers have to resort to huge-bore bolt-action anti-vehicle rifles as their standard ranged armament. (All that said, ranged drone-mounted weapons are a little more useful in this game than the last, as you can even sever limbs with enough bullets...but it takes a ''lot'' of bullets).

* GunsAreWorthless: While the first game hinted at it, this game shows exactly why combat is so melee-focused. Rigs aren't just surgically-implanted exoskeletons, they're fully-cybernetic systems bonded so closely with the wearer's body that they take over a number of bodily functions, and this means that firearms that would kill normal humans are far less effective. This is to the point that even without any armor, the player can take a full magazine from an assault rifle without dying, and A.I.D. soldiers have to resort to huge-bore bolt-action anti-vehicle rifles as their standard ranged armament.

* InternalHomage: One can find a Wild West themed shop in Downtown Jericho which features weapons, equipment, and music from the first game's The Good, The Bad, & the Augmented expansion.

* NonindicativeName: A.I.D. is not a crisis relief force. It stands for "Attack, Insurrection, Disease" and is a [[PrivateMilitaryContractors for-profit contract organization]] that operates pre-authorized to use lethal force.
* PermanentlyMissableContent: Plenty of unique weapons belong to bosses or sidequest-exclusive enemies. Failing to sever their right arm means missing the weapon for that playthrough.

* RecurringBoss: [[spoiler:Brother Eli is fought three times in the game. The player kills him everytime, but he keeps getting resurrected by his mother.]]

Much like the first game, the key mechanic is that every enemy you face is more than capable of killing you in a handful of hits. Survival means making full use of your abilities while keeping an eye on your surroundings to avoid getting overwhelmed.

* TomatoSurprise: [[spoiler: You and Athena were the only two people on Flight 221 to survive the crash, yet everyone knows there was only one survivor, and it's clearly Athena based off the many flashbacks you see through the nanocloud checkpoints. One of these flashbacks reveals that Athena was the one who created the Delver, which she sent to free you from prison. The Delver was a fully independent Nanite life form which received directive impulses from Athena that gave it direction, at least until she was separated from it and it reverted to its baser instincts. You spend the entire game following Athena's tracks to rescue her, as she explicitly gives you instructions through the flashbacks. Dr Guttenberg tells you your nanite readings are off the charts, and you cannot be infected with Defrag. To make the looming conclusion more explicit, if you spare Eli after the final boss fight, Athena tells you were just as human as everyone else all along. Put two and two together.]]