Trepang2

Trepang2 was provided by Team17 for review. Thank you!

Trepang2 is a fast-paced first-person shooter that pulls no punches in making you become a badass. As an escaped prisoner with abilities that go beyond human, you will blast your way through varied levels to find the truth behind what is going on. Utilizing an array of weapons and the ability to slow down time and cloak, you will demolish foes in a gory spectacle where the only goal will be to power through all of them without any mercy.

Don't go into this game expecting a deep, engaging story with multiplayer modes and more, that isn't what this game is for. The entire point of this game is to make you feel like a complete badass, and it does so fantastically. Running and sliding around, slowing down time while using a shotgun to blast the heads off of enemies, grabbing them to use as shields and throwing them with a grenade so it blows up multiple enemies, all of which done within gorgeous areas. The insane amount of gore accentuates this, making it feel like nothing can stop you.

There are some little issues I have that feel like they could have been streamlined. Some of the maps were a little bit too dark to see, though most were visible and I could discern what was what. I also wish there were some quality of life improvements implemented like a better waypoint system, I got lost a couple times, and getting rid of some of the downtime like when running to select a mission and then running back to the copter each time. I would have liked to see some of the fat cut out to just highlight and get me back to the bloody spectacle quicker.

I think the only other comment I would have is that I wish there was more content. I would have loved to see more ways to play the game, more guns, or more stages. I really enjoyed the combat and the core design of the game, which I think is the biggest hurdle, I would just like to see the small things to make the game feel more rounded. Overall, with your priorities in check, this would be a fantastic game to play and just unwind with some gory fun. It might need some compromises, but it is playable on the Steam Deck!

Trepang2 - Steam Deck Performance

Even though Trepang2 has some moments that can hit 60 FPS, the game is quite hard to run most of the time. Even at the lowest settings, the game found spots where it was not able to hit a solid 60 and could dip. Even with lower framerate limits, there were still some drops in some open areas with lots of enemies or some areas with monsters.

On a mix of medium and low settings, with a resolution scale of 80%, the game was able to keep a mostly solid 40 FPS with some minor drop spots. Swapping to 30 FPS does eliminate more of these, but the smoothness of the 40 makes the game significantly more enjoyable to play. Yes, there are still some drops here and there, but they are minimal compared to the smoothness that the extra 10 FPS helps with. The compromises do mean the game is a little blurry, but you will still be able to see the enemies and environment.

I also decided to keep the TDP limit off to do everything I could for a solid 40 FPS. Most of my time it stuck between 11W - 16W, but there were some moments where spikes to 21W happened. They weren't nearly as common though.

Trepang2 does have full controller support, cloud saves, and has support for 16:10 resolutions, which helps the experience feel at right at home on the device.

ROG Ally Performance

I also took the time to test Trepang2 on the ROG Ally to see if the performance would be better. In some areas, it definitely hits 60 FPS at around the same quality settings, but in more open areas, it still ha some drops that can go to around 40 FPS. Turbo mode helps a little, bringing it closer to 45-50, but for a device that has more power to it, it doesn't help enough to justify. Since Armoury Crate doesn't have a 40 FPS option, I would recommend either settling on 45 FPS on lowest settings or 30 FPS on medium mixed with high settings with either Performance or Turbo mode.

Conclusion

Trepang2 is an action-packed shooter that strives to be a gory, epic party. Not only does the game achieve that, but it knocks it out of the park with awesome moments like sliding on the ground, going into slow-mo, and using shotgun to explode an enemy into bits. It doesn't have much else, but honestly, it doesn't need to since that's the whole point. It would be nice to have some streamlining mixed in, but overall, it doesn't stray from its core mission. On Steam Deck and ROG Ally, the game doesn't run especially well without compromises, but if you're willing to let go of some higher settings, you will find an enjoyable first-person shooter!

Our review is based on the PC version of this game.

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