When I first laid my eyes upon Trepang2’s gameplay trailer, I immediately had a flashback of F.E.A.R.’s slow-motion shooting shenanigans. Narrow, indoor areas full of gunmen decked head to toe in tactical gear, marginally futuristic setting to excuse the presence of sci-fi tech and opposing forces formidable enough to give a supersoldier protagonist a run for their money. If living out CQC power fantasy in target rich environment seems like your cup of tea – this title holds little back, making most of the goods available from the start. Such a premise doesn’t make the game feel like a blunt instrument though, there’s a fairly smart catch to Trepang2’s campaign, which makes it stand out from the other tales of extreme violence. Let’s just say the initial connection to F.E.A.R. turned out far more on point than I initially anticipated.

Cloak and Focus
Out of all the power-ups cooked up by the shooter genre over the years, nothing quite beats these magnificent few moments when the world slows down to a crawl. A frantic firefight suddenly becomes almost serene – bullets visibly swim through the air, muzzle flashes spark like miniature stars and the screen is showered with debris as your surroundings are torn into pieces. Then, inevitably, everything snaps back into motion and the player gets to enjoy the results of thorough wetwork or quickly join the body count as remaining enemies pile in on briefly powerless target.
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Or rather they would love to, if not for the other ace up the player’s sleeve – cloak, granting roughly 5 seconds of invisibility. It may not sound like much, however, it is all the time in the world to vacate a room full of hostiles in case you overextend during slow-motion carnage. The ability to vanish into thin air also opens up less direct avenue of approach and Trepang2 is happy to provide. It goes without saying that stealth is not the main focus of the game, nonetheless keeping a low profile and catching unaware enemies are the first skills taught to the player. On that note, staying under the radar is quite a challenge – while the player may be able to turn invisible, corpses left behind don’t, and the opposition has a surprisingly keen eye for those. Let’s take a moment to appreciate how the two abilities perfectly complement one another. Focus can only be refilled by killing enemies, while cloak refuels with time, thus becoming a backup tool to confuse survivors of initial slow-mo assault. As you mop up the strugglers with sneak attacks, at the same time you juice up for the next focus-driven charge. Perfectly balanced, unless you happen to be the enemy combatant that is.

Looking stylish
Admittedly, superpowers are the selling point of the game, however what truly brings forth their appeal is deliciously insane gunplay. Trepang2 allows you to dual-wield pump action shotguns as you slide straight into opponents’ kneecaps with force sufficient to launch the poor bastards into the air. If that’s not cool, then I don’t know what is. Truth be told, the arsenal at the player’s disposal would be fairly mundane, if not for the akimbo option – unlocked at just the right moment when the player is familiar with the general feel of the weapons. Furthermore, guns are the primary means of signifying player’s progression with increasingly heavier options and a wide range of collectable mods expanding the inventory throughout the game’s runtime. Whatever your weapon of choice may be, bear in mind that combat of Trepang2 is primarily up-close and personal.
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With all that in mind, of no less importance to this title’s appeal is the other side of the proverbial coin. That would be the game’s world. Frankly, the story is dangerously close to lukewarm pretence for which way the player’s gun is pointing – tried and tested a hundred times over by other shooter games focusing on the gameplay with little regard for the narrative. Luckily, as the this title essentially lulls you into an impression of mediocre, black-ops style corporate warfare, Treapng2 suddenly ramps up its supernatural elements. It may not make the story good, it does however manage to make further exploration an engaging prospect.

Trepang2 is not a horror game
It would be a travesty to cover this title’s worldbuilding without mentioning the spooky icing on top. Assuming you’ve seen the game’s trailer, it is hardly a mystery that the enemy roster is not entirely human. I won’t be describing the game’s bestiary, as I believe this is something best experienced first-hand. Instead, let’s turn the spotlight to how the presence of things extraordinary makes Trepang2 stand apart from its contemporaries.
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Throughout the first half of the game, the player overcomes increasingly absurd odds, gradually easing into a sense of being the apex predator. That is not to imply that this title is easy. Especially on higher difficulty settings, the enemies can drop you with a single well-placed burst. Then again, this is the power fantasy scenario and even with occasional stumbles along the way, more dudes with guns are not really going to stop the player. Roughly at a mid-point of the campaign, was also when the appeal of the game’s ultimately gimmicky combat started to wear out for me. There are only so many slow-motion charges one can make before a sensation of routine starts setting in. At the exact moment when the notion that Trepang2 may overstay its welcome appeared at the back of my head, the game suddenly displayed the capacity to build atmospheric moments. Thus, my interest was immediately rekindled, with my main focus shifting from indulgent gunplay to curiosity about what the developers may yet have in store.

Well-timed application of supernatural elements is what, in my book, elevates Trepang2 from being a decent game to a great one. Truth be told, this title doesn’t ever particularly tone down its scarier elements and yet, it still managed to take me by surprise with how crazy it can get.

F.E.4.R. that never was
Those among you familiar with Alma’s family feud trilogy, probably are already well aware that Trepang2 is essentially a spiritual successor to the series. Rest assured, despite the dubious reputation of F.E.A.R. sequels, in this particular case that’s a good thing. I believe Trepang2 learned from the trilogy’s mistakes and succeeded where its inspiration did not. Where F.E.A.R. games caused increasing controversy by departing from its horror roots in favour of action elements, Trepang2 does the opposite, putting explosive action at the forefront. After starting out with guns blazing, the game’s spookier elements are all the more impactful as control is wrenched away from the player used to dominance.

To summarise, while hardly the most innovative, Trepang2 is a brilliant piece of first-person shooter action. Designed to be a several hour-long adrenaline rush, the game does manage to maintain the tension throughout its runtime. While the main campaign takes just over 8 hours to beat, there are several extra challenges for the players hungry for more. Highly recommended to every thrill seeker out there.

every trepang has its ² - John Trepang²

A nice spiritual sequel to F.E.A.R. Buy it if less than $20, though.