Trepang2 | PS5 Review

Stealth gameplay and copious amounts of carnage are what this 2000's inspired FPS is all about. Coming from a studio named Trepang, Trepang2 takes on it's creator's namesake in a sequel that continues the sordid story of a test subject with superhuman abilities. A soldier for hire whose former allegiance with a certain taskforce pits him against a corporate entity known as Horizon. 

It is this corporation that dabbles in human and paranormal experimentation that sees protagonist 106 imprisoned and subjected to MKUltra levels of mental manipulation. Only for 106 to be later freed with the aid of Taskforce 27 in the opening of this game. Armed with weapons and paranormal abilities obtained in and prior to his escape from Horizon Blacksite-14, 106 rendezvous with Taskforce 27 to take on Horizon, and bring it down. Collecting intel, and amassing an arsenal worthy of dispatching the enemy, whomever they may be ...

Opening up with subject 106 in a wheelchair, a prisoner jumpsuit, and handcuffs we get to see the inner facility and goings on of Horizon's Blacksite-14. With the help of one of Taskforce 27's crew subject 106 is given the chance to escape this abhorrent prison. Thus begins a bloody scene filled with stealth tactics and in your face gunfire. Utilizing obtained weapons from the underground facility 106 deals death in spades as he attempts to escape to freedom. Blood and gore everywhere!!! 

As he does so he puts to use two special abilities including that of a bullet-time slowdown effect, and a cloaking ability. Abilities that allows him to perfect his aim, and to sneak by unnoticed when need be. With the addition of guns, grenades, plenty of ammo and health/shield items found along the guided path 106 can maintain momentum as he searches for hidden intel, gun parts, and new weapons of mass destruction. Adding context to the not so apparent situation as he secures intel, and lays waste to those guarding trade secrets. Something that is later fully fleshed out through campaign missions and side missions via the Taskforce 27 safehouse. A hub of operations that doubles as a means for combat practice, character customization, and weapon preparedness. 

Gameplay in the main campaign and side missions have subject 106 cleaning house at various locations and for various reasons as Horizon's army is alerted of his presence. This comes in arena based waves often times ending with a conclusive boss fight. The path from beginning to end in each mission are mostly linear, and will point you in the direction you need to go from time to time. Sprinkling in the odd interactive objective to mix things up on occasion. 

Between the combat, and stealth applications 106 will be able to search for weapons, weapon parts, weapon customization chests, and intel that feeds you snippits of character interactions related to Trepang2's story. There are a set amount of intel to be found in each mission as well as bot info secured from hovering drones. Leaving the combat and survival being the mainstay goals outside of that behind the scenes style of storytelling and collect-a-thon based item gathering. 

Customization and options are plentiful in Trepang2, thankfully. Not only can you customize the various pieces of 106's attire via a locker, but you can also customize weapons with attachments and camos. Some of which can be unlocked through gameplay achievements. Additionally the game has an unlockable cheats menu that takes in account NPCs, Weapons, Abilities, and other Miscellaneous things. Everything from gameplay effecting special effects to absurd visual distortions like big head mode or spooky mode are made available if you can complete the difficulty specific requirements. Speaking of which Trepang2 has several different difficulty settings to choose from including easy, normal, hard, very hard, extreme, and rage. Making the game as easy or as trying as the player prefers. 

No matter the difficulty you will need to master the mechanics to be able to survive the barrage of bullets and grenades that come at you from all angles. This includes the ability to sprint, slide, go into cloaked mode, enter a slowdown bullet-time state, take an enemy as a shield, and execute a grabbed enemy soldier. The special two abilities, in particular, being the only features on a cooldown after use.

 Alongside this you gain access to a variety of different weapons that can be found or picked up off of dead soldiers. The assortment of guns includes pistols, sub-machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, and shotguns. As 106 you'll also gain access to a variety of different grenades including flashbangs, and explosives. On occasion you'll even happen upon mission specific equipment that can also be put to use, both for exploration purposes and damage dealing reasons. 

Weapons, in general, come with a limited stock of ammo by design. They must be restocked by collecting stock from crates or through fallen soldiers. The same goes for armor and health though they come from bullet proof vests and medkits that are found lying around. Even grenades come in pick' em up containers that are purposefully limited to make each mission playthrough dependent on player precision. 

For those of you needing combat practice the Taskforce 27 safehouse has a place to do just that. These wave based enemy encounters have you starting off with a pistol, and earning cash for kills. Using that earned cash you'll be able to gain access to better weapons, and apply weapon attachments in the brief window of opportunity you are afforded before the next wave begins. Each combat session takes place at a selected story location with a closed in map that has been made to test your mobility, and gunplay as well as the use of your abilities.

The Verdict ...

Trepang2 is a game that's obviously inspired. When I was playing it thoughts of "F.E.A.R." came rushing back to mind as the game harbors both bloody gunplay, paranormal abilities, and mixture of horror elements. The similarities are noticeable. In Trepang2's case though there is definitely a hint of indie design behind the facade. By that I mean combat is not as fluid or polished as some streamers may make it seem. It is wholly dependent upon the player to make things in the game look stylish. 

One thing that really complicated what should have been more fast, fluid, and frenzied was the control layout. Mechanics like sliding are awkwardly placed on the face buttons or shoulder buttons of the control pad making mobility and gunplay less connected than it should be. Had the developer gone for a more Call of Duty style approach it would have been much better. The added fact you can't even ADS (Aim Down Sight) takes away from the FPS focus, in this regard.

Combat complaints aside the mission formula feels more classic Doom-ish than it does a modern FPS. Almost repetitive at times. I do get that's the kind of thing Trepang was shooting for (pun intended), but I feel this is the type of experience that would have been better molded after modern DOOM or modern Wolfenstein with a hint of Call of Duty thrown into the mix. Indie games will be indie games though, and to that end Trepang2 isn't horribly bad by any means. It has it's gory gunplay gimmicks, and interesting story. I just feel that under a bigger budget with a staff experienced in 'Triple A' coding Trepang could be a series that's truly new-gen in nature. I'll leave it at that.