Trepang2
- June 21, 2023
- Trepang Studios
- 10h median play time
Trepang2 is the most unabashedly fun first person shooter since 2016’s DOOM.
"Trepang2" is a single-player story-driven game where you play as an escaped soldier with supernatural abilities, seeking revenge. Master your enhanced strength, speed, and arsenal of weapons to fight off mercenaries and uncover the truth behind your lost memories, all while utilizing brutal melee combat and strategic stealth tactics. With its next-level super-powers and intense action, players must overcome a deadly threat and bring together a mystery even greater than themselves.
Reviews
- Fast-paced, fluid gunplay with satisfying mechanics that make players feel like a badass super soldier.
- Engaging and atmospheric environments, with a mix of horror elements that enhance the gameplay experience.
- Strong voice acting and a killer soundtrack that complements the intense action.
- The campaign is relatively short, with only a handful of missions that may leave players wanting more content.
- Some boss fights can feel tedious and lack variety, leading to frustration during gameplay.
- The story is often considered weak or predictable, relying heavily on intel pickups for lore rather than integrating it into the gameplay.
- story2,468 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story of Trepang2 has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its brevity and disjointed nature, often describing it as a simple framework to support the gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. While some appreciate the intriguing elements and environmental storytelling, others criticize it for being predictable and lacking depth, with much of the lore conveyed through collectible intel rather than direct narrative engagement. Overall, the game is primarily praised for its fast-paced action and gunplay, with the story seen as secondary to the gameplay experience.
“Trepang2 offers a gripping storyline that unfolds as players progress through the game.”
“The plot follows a protagonist with a mysterious past, navigating through a world fraught with danger and conspiracies.”
“This game is such a wild ride with an interesting plot and worldbuilding to boot, it would have and still could seriously benefit from more missions to really delve into and unpack the conspiracies you uncover during the game.”
“The story is just kinda there.”
“The main campaign is very short, but with 6 side missions, 20 horde maps, weapon parts to find and customize your guns, and an unlockable cheat menu, you'll be replaying and checking everything out this game has to offer as you unlock everything and master the combat.”
“The story is lacking and the campaign is a bit short, but it looks good, sounds great, and the gameplay is wild.”
- gameplay1,183 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of *Trepang2* is widely praised for its fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled action, combining elements from classic shooters like *F.E.A.R.* and *Doom*. Players appreciate the engaging mechanics, such as bullet time and cloaking, which enhance the combat experience, while the level design and enemy variety keep encounters fresh and exciting. However, some critiques highlight issues with repetitiveness and a lack of depth in the story, suggesting that while the gameplay is a standout feature, it may not be enough to sustain long-term interest for all players.
“The adrenaline rush never got old, and though the mechanics are really simple for an arena shooter, the beautiful arenas and their thoughtful layouts and designs, as well as the different enemy types, weapons, and utility items keeps the combat fresh through every single encounter.”
“Trepang2 is an electrifying first-person shooter that delivers a visceral and exhilarating experience, expertly blending intense action, engaging mechanics, and a compelling narrative.”
“The gameplay is stellar, music is banging, story is interesting, and the game is very replayable not to mention there are unlockable cheats like doom eternal and a sandbox mode where you can play around with the AI.”
“I beat the campaign and every side mission and at no point during any horror sections did I feel any amount of fear, just an immense boredom and hope that the gameplay will start again.”
“The gameplay is very dynamic and fast, graphics are extremely good and both dual wielding and weapon customization are very neat as well.”
“The gameplay loop of this is a standard FPS but with lots of style and panache; combat feels amazing, some of the best it has ever felt in an FPS.”
- music519 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in "Trepang²" has received widespread acclaim for its heavy metal soundtrack, which enhances the game's intense combat and overall atmosphere. Many players have compared it favorably to the soundtracks of iconic games like "Doom," noting its ability to elevate the adrenaline-fueled gameplay experience. However, some critiques mention issues with audio mixing, where the music can overpower other sound effects, detracting from the immersive experience. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
“The audio design further amplifies the atmosphere, with a gripping soundtrack that heightens tension and excitement during gameplay.”
“The game excels in its sound design, with a heavy metal soundtrack that perfectly complements the high-stakes combat, keeping adrenaline levels high and making each fight feel even more exhilarating.”
“The brilliant soundtrack from Brandon McKagan is guaranteed to keep your adrenaline pumping through every action sequence from start to finish.”
“The music is overpowering and unbalanced; the 'crunchy guitar' seems mismatched for the game, and despite its aim to add gritty atmosphere, it just becomes an annoying distraction.”
“The music is aggressive and repetitive, and doesn't serve to set much of an atmosphere. The voice acting and script writing are subpar at best, and at worst are reminiscent of Ironfall: Invasion.”
“The music in this game is 1/10.”
- graphics387 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Trepang2" have received widespread acclaim for their stunning visuals and atmospheric design, effectively complementing the game's dark and gritty tone. Players appreciate the detailed environments, dynamic lighting, and impressive gore effects, although some have noted issues with film grain and oversharpening. Overall, the game showcases the potential of indie development with its high-quality graphics, despite some minor inconsistencies and performance concerns.
“The game employs a stylish aesthetic that seamlessly combines realism with artistic flair.”
“The graphics are beautiful on the epic settings, making the game shine even more in its technical and visual elements.”
“Trepang2 is an excellent debut title for an independent studio, and being a graphically impressive first-person shooter stands out among other indie games on the market.”
“My only graphical complaint is there's a film grain you can't disable and the game has a weird oversharpened, over-hd thing going on that I lack the vocabulary to explain.”
“The graphics and gameplay mechanics seem much more dated than its 2023 release date - honestly surprised when I checked the date after playing it for a while as I assumed it would be at least a decade old.”
“The graphics are terrible and look like Unity-bought models with visually different art styles between some objects and flat lighting, with that in-engine sheen that makes everything look pretty poor.”
- atmosphere164 mentions
- 49 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in Trepang2 is widely praised for its dark, gritty tone, enhanced by stunning visuals and immersive sound design that effectively pulls players into its world. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to create tension through atmospheric music and well-crafted environments, reminiscent of classic horror shooters like F.E.A.R., although some note that it occasionally falls short in delivering genuine scares. Overall, the combination of intense gunplay and atmospheric elements makes for a compelling experience, despite some criticisms regarding the depth of horror and storytelling.
“The atmosphere is dark and gritty (including some horror aspects), which fits the game’s tone well, and both the visuals and sound design help pull you into that world.”
“The audio design further amplifies the atmosphere, with a gripping soundtrack that heightens tension and excitement during gameplay.”
“The atmosphere, inspired gameplay mechanics, and thrilling combat more than make up for its disappointing story.”
“There is zero atmosphere in this.”
“Where it falls short next to fear is with its horror atmosphere; this makes an attempt but what’s here is a bit laughable honestly, like there’s one level that’s literally just the backrooms for some reason which was ???”
“The music is overpowering and unbalanced 'crunchy guitar' but seems mismatched for the game, and despite its aim to add gritty atmosphere, it just becomes an annoying distraction.”
- replayability163 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability through various difficulty levels, unlockable content, and engaging combat modes, including a combat simulator and horde challenges. While the main campaign is relatively short, players can enjoy returning to complete missions on higher difficulties, unlock cheats, and collect cosmetics, ensuring a fun and dynamic experience. Overall, the replay value is praised, making it a worthwhile investment for fans of the genre.
“The game’s design encourages replayability, with various difficulty levels and unlockable content that invites players to return for more challenges.”
“The combat simulator is extremely fun and made for replayability, with the horde gamemode putting you against 20 waves of increasingly difficult enemies, the endless gamemode being exactly that, endless waves of enemies, and sandbox for messing with NPCs and creating your own scenes.”
“The gameplay is stellar, music is banging, story is interesting, and the game is very replayable not to mention there are unlockable cheats like Doom Eternal and a sandbox mode where you can play around with the AI.”
“The game is absurdly short, but has some replay value in terms of difficulties.”
“The level design is incredibly basic, the 'story' may as well not exist, weapon variety is extremely limited, and there's not much replayability to speak of.”
“Gameplay is good, visuals are nice, and voice acting is stellar, but the music is forgettable, very little replayability and it tries really hard to have a story but fails to take the time to give it any depth since it never changes pace, making it just annoying.”
- humor102 mentions
- 99 % positive mentions
- 1 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players highlighting its blend of absurdity and comedic moments, such as funny enemy interactions, hilarious voice lines, and amusing ragdoll physics. Many reviews note that the developers embraced a lighthearted tone, making the gameplay enjoyable and entertaining, even amidst the chaos of combat. Overall, the humor adds a unique charm to the game, enhancing the overall experience for players.
“This game is hilarious in the best way possible.”
“The enemy banter is also hilarious!”
“Voice acting is top notch and genuinely made me laugh multiple times; the dialogue is pretty funny in my opinion, you can tell the devs had fun making this.”
- optimization100 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with many players praising its smooth performance and stability across a range of hardware, including older graphics cards. However, some users reported significant stuttering and frame drops during intense combat scenarios, suggesting that while the game is generally well-optimized, it may struggle under certain conditions. Despite these issues, the majority of reviews highlight the game's impressive optimization relative to its graphical quality, making it a solid choice for players seeking a fast-paced shooter experience.
“Despite the downsides, it is an incredibly well-optimized game.”
“Trepang2 is a well-optimized shooter with amazing writing, a little unpolished and wild, but for the money, it is a lot of 'bang' for your buck.”
“The optimization is incredible, keeping a steady and high framerate throughout the chaos (tested on both a 1070 & a 4070).”
“However, I keep getting this stuttering issue where my frames dip into the single digits during combat, and while it definitely makes combat more challenging, it's not the kind of challenge I'm looking for.”
“I don't know if it's the engine's fault or if this game is just really poorly optimized, but any crowd larger than 3 people shooting turns my game into a slideshow, so I'll be refunding this.”
“You can tell this was meant to be a cross-platform/console game rather than a straight-up optimized PC shooter.”
- monetization80 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 63 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, primarily due to the absence of an aim-down-sights (ADS) mechanic, which many players find frustrating. While some appreciate the nostalgic, fast-paced gameplay reminiscent of classic shooters without microtransactions or loot boxes, others criticize the decision to lock ADS behind a "cheat" that affects gameplay progression. Overall, the lack of ADS is seen as a significant design flaw that detracts from the experience for many players.
“A wonderful reminder of what things were like before microtransactions and lootboxes!”
“No microtransactions, battle passes, or generally scummy business practices to be seen.”
“You will rarely ever use a scope in the game, and by default there is no ads mechanic, as it would've been a waste of time with how fast you're zooming around the maps.”
“My biggest complaint is that there is no gun ads which makes you depend on bullet time if you want to have any accuracy in mid-range gun fights.”
“Shame about how ads aren't included by default and require a cheat.”
“One thing I cannot understand is the lack of ads by default; the game is genuinely better with ads (it can be activated via the 'cheats' menu), and the SMG and rifle are crazy inaccurate in hip fire, which is kind of annoying.”
- grinding46 mentions
- 2 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 78 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often citing long walking segments, repetitive mission structures, and challenging boss fights that can feel drawn out. While some enjoy the gameplay initially, many agree that the experience becomes monotonous over time, particularly when pursuing achievements or higher difficulty levels for cosmetic rewards. Overall, the grind detracts from the enjoyment, making it a significant point of contention among reviewers.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“There's so much downtime, tiresome walking sections, forced dialogue and cutscenes with random elevators to ride on from section to section, waiting for doors to open, a separate room for choosing missions and on top of that going to a helipad to launch said missions... why not just make a straight-to-the-point action-arcade game instead of this tedious and cinematic tech demo?”
“The difficulty would not be too much of an issue but some of the skins you earn through the DLC are locked behind tedious slogs of challenges.”
“Get it if it's on a good sale or if you're okay playing through the more tedious parts of the game, but if you hate that kind of thing in a game, then don't bother.”
- stability36 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 6 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag; while many players report excellent performance with no significant frame drops or major glitches, there are frequent mentions of minor bugs, audio issues, and problematic UI elements. Some users experienced frustrating glitches during gameplay, particularly with physics and cutscenes, but these did not detract significantly from the overall enjoyment. Despite these issues, the game is generally considered well-optimized and visually appealing.
“It runs great too and doesn't drop frames at all even with lots of stuff happening on screen.”
“I experienced no glitches in the whole campaign, the whole thing was just awesome.”
“The game runs great with essentially zero stutters or bugs.”
“Horrendously buggy audio with loud, headache-inducing crackles after explosions and most unsuppressed gunshots, which was an immediate turn off.”
“Far too short and annoyingly buggy.”
“Excessive loading times, too buggy; it took about two hours to get the game to run properly and detect the controller.”
- emotional30 mentions
- 97 % positive mentions
- -7 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
Players report a wide range of emotional experiences while engaging with the game, from unexpected sadness and nostalgia to feelings of empowerment and joy. The emotional impact is often tied to intense gameplay moments, such as betrayal or thrilling combat, which evoke strong reactions, including laughter and tears. While some players feel a lack of deep narrative connection, others appreciate the blend of fun and emotional highs, reminiscent of childhood gaming experiences.
“This game also made me feel emotions that I was really unprepared for when I went into it.”
“Trepang2 is a story of hope, love, and a heartfelt exploration of love during times of terrific horror (in this case, late 18th century London).”
“It's been a while since a specific game made me feel this way.”
“The emotional depth of the characters felt shallow and unconvincing, leaving me disconnected from the story.”
“I expected to feel something, but the game failed to evoke any real emotions; it was just a series of events without impact.”
“The attempts at emotional storytelling fell flat, making it hard to care about the outcomes of the characters.”
- character development3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is praised for its thoughtful crafting and compelling arcs that enhance the overall experience. The character designs are visually appealing, complemented by a diverse range of environments, contributing to a rich and immersive world.
“Character development is thoughtfully crafted, with compelling arcs that add depth to the experience.”
“The art direction is solid with cool character designs and a surprising variety of environments.”
“Amazing visuals, gunplay, world, sound, character design, and gore actually work and are optimized.”
Critic Reviews
Trepang2 Review - A Furious Though Overly Brief Ode To F.E.A.R That Still Satisfies
I never wanted Trepang2 to end and that was the problem - it ended much, much too quickly for my tastes. While it lasted through, Trepang2 was a glossy, flying-kicking, baseball-sliding, slow-motion neck snapping first-person shooter extravaganza that provided me with some of the most satisfying shooting I've seen all year. More of this, please.
75%Trepang2 Review
Trepang 2 is a short but sweet tribute to classic slow-motion shooters like F.E.A.R. with great action and a throwaway story.
80%Trepang2 | UNITING PLAYER VOICES
Trepang2 offers a thrilling, action-packed experience that lives up to its promise of making you the ultimate badass. With its intriguing story, superhuman abilities, and brutal combat, it keeps players engaged from start to finish. If you have a penchant for over-the-top action and are not squeamish about gore, Trepang2 is a must-play title.
90%