Doom
Doom is probably the most direct inspiration for Rage 2’s gameplay, and the 2016 shooter became an instant cult classic upon release. Doom’s combat is blazingly fast, letting you use a multitude of weapons to maim and kill hordes of demons.
When Rage 2 was revealed, everyone drew comparisons to Doom, and for good reason. The shooting in both games is developed by id Software, the legendary studio behind iconic franchises like Doom and Quake. Id is a master of the FPS genre, and both games put that on full display.
The main difference, of course, is that Doom isn’t an open world game, but it actually benefits from that. Because there’s no need to develop an open world, Doom distills that shooting experience into intense arenas that you navigate and run around while killing demons.
If you love the intense shooting and combat of Rage 2, you’ll probably like Doom even more.
Borderlands Series
One look at the Borderlands games and you’ll instantly see where the comparison comes from. Just like Rage 2, the Borderlands games take place in a wasteland-like setting called Pandora, filled with plenty of menacing creatures and mutant psychos.
Borderlands is incredibly well-known for comedic tone and writing, with characters and a world that’s constantly tongue-in-cheek and poking fun. Luckily, the shooting is good enough to back up everything else as well.
The biggest difference between Rage and Borderlands is the latter’s focus on being a looter-shooter. In fact, Borderlands pretty much created the idea of a looter-shooter, as there are countless guns and weapons to collect, craft, and customize.
You’ll get to play as one of four different characters classes, each of which come with their own powers and abilities, usually over-the-top powers like in Rage 2. Borderlands is clearly a big inspiration for Rage 2, and although it does things differently any Rage fan should find a lot to love.
Far Cry: New Dawn
It seems like 2019 is a hot year for post-apocalyptic games, and the other one that sports a striking resemblance to Rage 2 is Far Cry: New Dawn.
Basically, a semi-sequel taking place after Far Cry 5, New Dawn once again drops you into the gorgeous Hope County, Montana, but with one catch; it’s the apocalypse.
Other than both game’s penchant for the color pink, New Dawn features the same strong shooting mechanics of Far Cry 5. The post-apocalyptic setting of New Dawn lets you use more ridiculous weapons and tools, like the Saw Launcher that shoots deadly saw blades at high speed.
Of course, New Dawn is much more grounded in reality than the likes of Rage 2, but its zany open world setting is about the closest you’ll find to Rage 2. If you’re looking to continue the fun after Rage 2, you might give it a try.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Suprise, surprise, yet another Bethesda game like Rage 2. As it turns out, Bethesda and its partners do the whole shooting thing super well, so it should come as no surprise.
Set directly after the events of Wolfenstein: The New Order, the sequel has BJ Blazkowicz and his allies fighting back against the Nazi regime that now controls America.
There’s a surprisingly gripping and emotional story to be found in Wolfenstein II, something that definitely separates it from the other games on here. However, it’s the shooting, in particular, that any fan of Rage 2 should love.
Wolfenstein II’s gunplay is brutal and bloody, just like you’d expect. There are a number of crazy technological guns and weapons to use, and dual-wielding mechanics makes you an even more dangerous machine of death.
There’s a ton of variety to the game’s shooting mechanics and the enemies you go up against, and it’s fast-paced enough to nearly match the crazy speed of Rage 2’s combat.
Mad Max
Mad Max is the granddaddy of the post-apocalyptic genre, and it’s truly amazing it took so long for the series to get a full-fledged video game. It practically goes without saying that if you enjoy the post-apocalypse of Rage 2, you’ll like Mad Max.
The game puts a huge emphasis on vehicle combat with Max’s iconic car the Magnum Opus, and there’s a vast wasteland for you to explore filled with weird and memorable characters.
In fact, playing Mad Max might show you many of the inspirations for Rage 2 considering its developed by Avalanche Studios, one of the developers behind Rage 2.
Keep in mind, however, that Mad Max doesn’t put a huge emphasis on gunplay, but rather deals with more hand-to-hand combat that plays out like the Batman Arkham games.
There are still guns, of course, but ammo is scarce, requiring you to pick and choose the best times to use them. You can’t get any more post-apocalyptic than Mad Max, and from the driving to the open world design it’s fascinating to see where many of Avalanche’s ideas came from for Rage 2.
Bulletstorm
Bulletstorm isn’t really a post-apocalyptic game, more a sci-fi one, but boy does it have some fantastic shooting and gameplay. The game’s combat is centered around a tool known as the energy leash, letting you grapple and throw enemies and items at will.
Of course, you also have plenty of other weapons and abilities, like a devastating kick that can send enemies flying. Bulletstorm is incredibly crass and violent at every opportunity, and the game actually rewards you with creatively killing enemies.
Each kill awards you points, and killing enemies in unique ways with the environment, or comboing kills together, gets you even more points. On top of that, each and every weapon has an alternate fire mode that can be even more devastating depending on the situation.
All of these elements combine into a game that has simply brilliant shooting and gameplay, supported by a vulgar sense of humor. Aesthetically the game also falls right in line with Rage 2, and you’ll be fighting a ton of mutants and crazed soldiers.
Published: May 14, 2019 03:19 pm