Trepang2 seems a little basic in terms of modern game design. There are no progression tracks, no meters constantly going up for completing pointless micro tasks and manipulating you into playing the game for far longer than you had wanted to. There aren’t a bazillion guns that mostly perform the same with hundreds of mundane modifications. What Trepang2 does have, however, is fun and it has it in droves.
The game hearkens back to simpler times, where the main focal point of game design was fun and not player engagement metrics. Trepang2 trades the fluff of modern games for pure, unadulterated, high octane action. Sure, the game looks simple and the levels may feel sparse, but it more than makes up for the lack in aesthetics with very smooth movement and gun play.
The shooting in Trepang2 feels amazing. You can rip through enemies very quickly and efficiently. You can’t aim down sights for most guns so you have to move quickly and shoot even faster to dispose hordes of enemies. There’s no time to think. Added on top of this is the excellent movement system that adds a burst of frenetic energy to situations and just overall increases the level of chaos in the game.
You can slide very quickly underneath obstacles and towards enemies. The slide will knock enemies down. To make things even crazier, you can slide towards an enemy, grab them as they get knocked, throw them immediately into the air, and then blast them in the face, all while sliding! You can even activate a bullet time ability to slow things down and bask in the glorious chaos.
Whenever things get a bit frantic, you can activate a temporary stealth ability to reposition yourself and catch a breather. You will need to use this a few times in certain parts of levels because you will be overwhelmed with enemies. Even then, thanks to the fast paced nature of the game, those sections will be over quickly and leave you with a slight increase in adrenaline and sweaty palms.
The game play isn’t the only thing reminiscent of classic FPS titles. There’s a slight shift from straight up action to horror as the game progresses. You’ll run into screaming cultists carrying molotovs in both hands, definitely bringing back memories of the crazy enemies in Serious Sam. After encountering the cultists, you’ll start running into monstrosities with slightly creepy undertones in the levels. Most people compare the game to the classic horror FPS F.E.A.R. which is high praise for Trepang2 in my humble opinion.
You’ll run into fast zombies with explosive and corrosive flesh, a vampire like bat creature that I affectionately call Morbius, and even an aggressive Hulk like creature. The action is always fast paced and the shooting fun and now there are slight undertones of unease and anxiety thanks to the horror elements. It truly manages to combine all these components into a complete package that’s fun to explore.
Trepang2 is just simple fun and I hope more game developers focus on how to make a game more fun instead of focusing so much on engagement metrics. You can’t measure fun through numbers, you have to experience it and that’s something that’s getting lost these days.
Additional Info
Steam Store Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1164940/Trepang2/
Review Score: 94% positive with a total of 3088 reviews as of this writing (08/26/2023)
Developer: Trepang Studios
Publisher: Team17
Release Date: Jun 21, 2023
MSRP: $29.99
I received a free key from Keymailer. Thank you to the rad person who approved my request!
Time spent: 6.8 hours
Achievement Score: 21/49
Ducky Obrien 