Rage 2
A post-apocalyptic shooter with vehicular combat and nanotrite powers.
Rage 2 is a first-person shooter released in 2019, developed by Avalanche Studios with id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. It follows up on the 2011 game Rage. The title launched on PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on May 14, 2019. Critical reception was split: reviewers liked the combat but found the story, characters, and open world lacking.
In gameplay, the player controls a ranger named Walker, exploring a post-apocalyptic open world. Walker’s gender, skills, and clothing can be customized. The character uses firearms and tools like the returning wingstick to fight enemies. Nanotrite-based powers let players improve Walker’s abilities. The Overdrive mode boosts gun damage, increases energy drops from enemies, and provides constant healing, encouraging aggressive play. Nanotrites from the first game serve as special powers and ability upgrades. Vehicular combat is included, with trucks, buggies, and gyrocopters all drivable.
The story follows Walker, the last Ranger of Vineland, surviving a world hit by the asteroid 99942 Apophis. Most humans died in the event, and new settlements and factions emerged, with the Authority claiming military control. In the prologue, the Authority’s rebuilt Abadon mutant armies attack Vineland, killing Walker’s adoptive aunt Prowley. Before dying, Prowley leaves a holotape asking Walker to complete Project Dagger, a plan to stop General Cross. Walker becomes the last Ranger—Ark survivors with nanotrite-powered suits—and must find three other Project Dagger members: Loosum Hagar, Marshall, and Dr. Kvasir. Prowley’s daughter Lily gives Walker the Phoenix, an indestructible vehicle, and promises to rebuild Vineland.
Marshall is located in Gunbarrel. Walker helps restore power there and retrieves a scout named Gulo from the Immortal Shrouded clan. The scout swallowed a recorder with a bunker’s location, which Walker recovers from her gut. They clear the bunker of the Immortal Shrouded and an Authority patrol, securing data to bypass Authority security scans.
Loosum Hagar, mayor of Wellspring, survives an assassination attempt that Walker foils. She suspects tycoon Klegg Clayton, who later admits working with General Cross. After fighting through Klegg’s men, Walker warns Loosum and finds a Xerxes III Authority Predator tank in Klegg’s catacombs.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Rage 2
- Developer
- Avalanche Studios / id Software
- Publisher
- Bethesda Softworks
- Director
- Magnus Nedfors
- Producer
- Susan Paula Holman · Erik Olsen · Anders Strid
- Writer
- Odd Ahlgren · Loke Wallmo
- Programmer
- Stefan Dagnell · Fredrik Egeberg · Alvar Jansson
- Artist
- Jeremy Miller
- Composer
- Johan Nilsson · Andreas Kinger · Eirik RølandAdditional music by Jukka Rintamäki
- Platforms
- PlayStation 4 · Windows · Xbox One · Stadia
- Released
- PS4, Windows, Xbox One / May 14, 2019 / Stadia / November 19, 2019
- Genre
- First-person shooter
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Rage 2 is set in an apocalyptic open world after the asteroid 99942 Apophis struck Earth, killing most of mankind. Players assume control of a ranger named Walker, the last Ranger of Vineland, who must survive against dangerous mutants and crazed bandits. A group called the Authority has declared itself the new military power. The game's prologue begins in Vineland, a city founded by former Ark residents and their descendants, which is stormed by the Authority's rebuilt Abadon mutant armies. Walker's adoptive Aunt Prowley is killed by General Cross, leaving a pre-recorded holotape asking Walker to carry out Project Dagger, a mission to stop General Cross. Walker is inducted as the last Ranger, a group of Ark survivors whose nanotrite-powered suits give them enhanced combat abilities. The Ranger must find three other members of Project Dagger: Loosum Hagar, Marshall, and Dr. Kvasir. Prowley's biological daughter, Lily, provides Walker with the Phoenix, an indestructible vehicle to travel the Wasteland. The plot involves securing data, fighting through enemy clans, uncovering Authority plans to build massive Abadon mutants called Titans, and ultimately infiltrating Authority HQ to deliver a nanotrite virus that corrupts General Cross's DNA, preventing future clones. However, Walker's own nanotrites are also susceptible to the virus, and the Ranger is saved by Lily's intervention.
Reader's Guide
Rage 2 represents a collaboration between id Software and Avalanche Studios, with Avalanche selected due to id Software's admiration for Avalanche's work on Just Cause 3, particularly its physics-based emergent gameplay. According to Tim Willits, the team hoped the sequel could deliver on the promise made by the first game, which was limited by technology at its time of release. The game was designed as a player's 'power fantasy,' ensuring players do not feel underpowered at the start. It features a colorful color palette to distinguish itself from other id Software games. The game utilizes the Apex engine instead of id Tech, allowing detailed indoor and broad outdoor environments with no loading screens. A sequel was hinted by Bethesda's Pete Hines, and rumors were fueled in mid-May 2018 when Walmart Canada's website listed unannounced titles including Rage 2. Bethesda formally revealed the game on May 14, 2018, with a teaser trailer and a gameplay trailer the next day. The game was released on May 14, 2019. Willits revealed the game would be a game as a service and promised no lootboxes. The Steam release used Denuvo digital rights management, but the game was cracked within a day because the version on Bethesda's own store did not use Denuvo, which was subsequently removed from the Steam release. An expansion pack titled Rise of the Ghosts was released on September 26, 2019, introducing cheats, new vehicles, a new story, and pilotable mechs.
Did You Know?
- Rage 2 was developed by Avalanche Studios in conjunction with id Software, using Avalanche's proprietary Apex engine rather than id Tech.
- The game's Collector Edition includes a severed mutant head voiced by Andrew W.K.
- The Steam version of Rage 2 initially used Denuvo DRM but was cracked within a day because the Bethesda store version did not use Denuvo.
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