Every The Surge game, ranked
All 2 The Surge games we hold, spanning 2017 to 2019: 2 ranked by the GamingPickz Score and plotted below, the rest listed in release order so nothing in the series is missing. Together they carry 21,773 Steam reviews.
Where to start
- For the best-reviewed: The Surge 2 (GamingPickz Score 6.8), the highest-rated entry we can score.
- For canon order: begin with The Surge (2017) and follow the release-order timeline below.
- For the money: The Surge gives the most score per dollar right now.
The The Surge games on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueThe same 2 games, plotted rather than listed. The two axes below are the ones the ranking is built from, so a game sitting high and right is a game the formula placed near the top. Change either axis to see the field a different way. Where we hold a publisher wordmark, the game is drawn as its mark rather than a dot.
2 games have both
Axes are fitted to these 2 games rather than the full 0 to 100 scale, because a filtered list shares a narrow band and would otherwise sit in one corner. End values are marked. A point on the left edge is the lowest of thesegames, not a low score.
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
2 best The Surge games, ranked
Ordered by GamingPickz Score. Every figure links back to the source that produced it.
- 1
The Surge 2
Best for: Handheld play, small install and Deck verified
6.8GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceThe Surge 2 at a glance Released 2019 Studio Deck13 Player sentiment 75% positive of 9,558 Critics 76/100 Price $29.99 Steam Deck verified Install size 20 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 75% shrinks to 75.4 on 9,558 reviews, then blends with the 76 critic aggregate, giving 6.8.
What the data supports- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
The Surge at a glance Released 2017 Studio Deck13 Player sentiment 75% positive of 12,215 Critics 72/100 Price $14.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 15 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 75% shrinks to 75.3 on 12,215 reviews, then blends with the 72 critic aggregate, giving 6.7.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
Best and worst entry
The best-received The Surge game we can score is The Surge 2 at 6.8. The lowest is The Surge at 6.7, a 0.1-point spread across the series. The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Cheapest way in, and best value
- Cheapest right now: The Surge at $14.99. Prices are read live from Steam and move.
- Best value: The Surge, the most GamingPickz Score per dollar in the series at its current price.
On a Steam Deck
Valve's own Deck compatibility rating for the The Surge entries on Steam:
- Verified: The Surge 2
- Playable: The Surge
Platforms across the series
Where the 2 The Surge games have landed, counting every entry we hold:
| Platform family | Entries |
|---|---|
| PC | 2 of 2 |
The The Surge series, game by game
Every The Surge game we hold, in release order. Each description is the game's own, from Steam where it has a listing and Wikipedia for the older entries, never ours.
- 2017
The Surge
6.7Welcome to CREO, the megacorporation saving the world! A catastrophic event has knocked you out during the first day on the job… you wake up equipped with a heavy-grade exoskeleton, in a destroyed section of the complex. (Steam)
Plot
The game takes place in a dystopian future where mankind has exhausted the world's resources , leading to strained social service and environmental diseases. According to the developers, the game paints a grim portrait of the future where the evolution of technology in relation to society and the environment has led to a decadent era for humanity. The proliferation of drones and working robots has created mass unemployment, with humans forced to resort… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The Surge received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic . IGN stated, " The Surge makes good use of its detailed sci-fi setting and provides an engaging experience throughout the 30 to 40-hour campaign, mostly thanks to its widely customizable inventory and wickedly fun combat system. It may struggle to keep the action moving and tell a strong story amid the chaos of battle, and its weapon progression plateaued… (Wikipedia)
- 2019
The Surge 2
6.8In a bid to survive, explore the sprawling, devastated Jericho City. Fight ferocious threats in brutal, unforgiving combat, slashing and tearing the limbs off your opponents to steal their equipment. (Steam)
Plot
Setting The Surge 2 is set in a dystopian future where humans have exhausted the world's resources , leading to strained social and environmental conditions bringing mankind to the brink of extinction. CREO, one of the largest tech conglomerates, makes attempts at restoring the environment but with the task taking too long, a second process is developed, Project UTOPIA, a means to use nanites to complete the project faster but costing the lives of 95% of… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The Surge 2 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic . ^ "The Surge 2 for PC Reviews" . Metacritic . (Wikipedia)
The Surge, head to head
Two entries side by side on score, price, specs and reception:
The Surge vs other series
How The Surge stacks up against other series in the same genre, as a whole:
Also: The Surge vs DARK SOULS, The Surge vs Dragon Age, The Surge vs DRAGON BALL, The Surge vs Mass Effect, The Surge vs Monster Hunter, The Surge vs Mount & Blade, The Surge vs Yakuza, The Surge vs ARK, The Surge vs Borderlands, The Surge vs Deus Ex, The Surge vs Risen, The Surge vs State of Decay, The Surge vs The Witcher, The Surge vs Torchlight, The Surge vs Watch, The Surge vs ArcheAge, The Surge vs Divinity, The Surge vs Dragon's Dogma, The Surge vs Dungeon Siege, The Surge vs ELDEN RING, The Surge vs EverQuest, The Surge vs God of War, The Surge vs Gothic, The Surge vs Hades, The Surge vs Heroes of Hammerwatch, The Surge vs Kingdom Come, The Surge vs Kingdoms of Amalur, The Surge vs Marvel’s Spider-Man, The Surge vs Middle-earth, The Surge vs Might & Magic, The Surge vs NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, The Surge vs Pathfinder, The Surge vs Prototype, The Surge vs South Park, The Surge vs Street Fighter, The Surge vs The Lord of the Rings, The Surge vs Tom Clancy’s The Division, The Surge vs Two Worlds, The Surge vs Wasteland
Common questions
How many The Surge games are there?
We hold 2 The Surge games in the catalogue, released between 2017 and 2019. 2 of them carry enough Steam data to rank; the rest are listed in release order below, including console-only entries with no Steam listing.
Which The Surge game is best?
By the GamingPickz Score, The Surge 2 rates highest at 6.8. That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, computed the same way for every game, not our opinion. The full ranking is above.
What order should I play the The Surge games in?
Release order is listed below, from 2017 to 2019. For most series that is also story order, but we list dates rather than telling you a canon; the timeline is read from Wikidata.
More franchises
Browse every game franchise ranked the same way, or head to the full grid.