Rage 2 (stylized as RⒶGE 2) is a first-person shooter video game developed by Avalanche Studios in conjunction with id Softwareand published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is the sequel to the 2011 game Rage. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on May 14, 2019. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Rage 2 is a first-person shooter. Players assume control of a ranger named Walker, who is free to explore the game’s apocalyptic fiction open world. Players are given control over some of Walker’s attributes, such as their gender, skills, or attire. Walker is able to wield various firearms and tools to fight against enemies, including returning weapons such as the wingstick. Players can develop Walker’s skills with Nanotrite-based powers. Through a mode called Overdrive, Walker’s guns do more damage, enemies drop more energy and they get healed constantly — providing players with an aggressive way to mow down enemies. Nanotrites from the first game, which act as special powers and ability boosts, can also be used to increase combat efficiency. The game also features vehicular combat, including trucks, buggies and gyrocopters, with the player being able to drive any vehicle in the game’s world.
Rage 2 is a joint development between id Software and Avalanche Studios. Avalanche was selected as the collaboration partner for the project as id Software was impressed by Avalanche’s work on Just Cause 3, especially its physics-based emergent gameplay. According to Tim Willits, the team hoped that the sequel could deliver on the promise made by the first game, which was limited by technology during its time of release. Willits added that Rage 2 was designed to be the player’s “power fantasy”, thus they ensured that they will not feel underpowered at the beginning of the game. The game features a colorful color palette so as to distinguish itself from other id Software’s games. Rage 2 utilizes Avalanche Studios’ Apex game engine instead of id Tech. The Apex engine allowed the team to create detailed indoor environments as well as broad outdoor locations, also allowing players to transition between these worlds without any loading screens.[ The game engine uses the Vulkan API exclusively.
