When I read that Rage 2 was free to keep this week at the Epic Games Store, my first thought was, “Doom Eternal? But that came out last year!” My brain forgot that Rage 2 existed so completely that it self-corrected for a different sequence of identification software.
This is probably unfair, because apparently Id’s open-world collaboration with the developers of Just Cause, Avalanche, paid off, and Rage 2 is a very good game. If you have an EGS account, or are willing to sign up for one, it is probably worth considering.
Here’s what Matthew said about it when he played it back in 2019, finding it really fun.
Rage 2 expanded into the post-apocalyptic world of the first game, in which most of the Earth’s population was wiped out by an asteroid. You wander among the remnants of humanity in a buggy, destroying enemies with a shotgun and following simple and satisfying missions. It is not innovative, but it has Id Software’s attention to detail in terms of how shootybangs feel.
I didn’t play at launch because I was discouraged by your difficult attempts at gonzo, Mad Max / Borderlands-style fiction. It may have been the first sentence of Matt’s largely positive analysis of Rage 2, in fact, which mentions Watson Whoopinkoff and Flitwick Mcdimbledick, two of the game’s NPCs. It looked like it would be very little funny.
Now it’s free, right? Suddenly, an average open world with an above average shotgun seems like a great way to spend ten hours. Buy it at the Epic Games Store anytime between now and February 25th at 4pm if you feel the same way.