Remnant 2’s jumping system follows in the tradition of its soulslike cousins, in that it’s, uh, not great. Dodge rolling and jumping are bound to the same key, and the jump is often contextual, only triggering when you’re near ledges or elevated terrain. This can lead to barrel rolls when you want to leap, and leaps when you need your iframes.
Granted, the game doesn’t need good platforming, it’s a third-person shooter about blasting horrible creatures across the multiverse, and it rarely even comes up. Except in the Labyrinth, which has this absolute nightmare of an optional jump that recently ended Reddit user MediocrePollution878‘s hardcore run.
This ledge is something I’ve had issues with before in the past. It’s an entirely optional side path, and while it looks completely innocuous, something about the platform beneath it (which regularly phases out of existence) just doesn’t connect to the ledge right. In this player’s case, the ledge glitches out entirely, stopping them from mantling into it as per usual, dangling cruelly in the air like they’d just been outsmarted by the Road Runner before plunging them to their demise.
I’m not the only one who hates this freaking thing. User Grandalf288 writes: “Yeah fuck that ledge. I died so often on my [softcore character] there that I didn’t go there on my [hardcore character].” In fact, the general sentiment on that thread is to avoid the place like a plague if you’re going permadeath—it only leads to an optional boss fight, so it’s not worth the risk.
Still, seeing as Remnant 2’s jumping is wonky—and not all jumps are optional—it really doesn’t help the game’s hardcore community that spilling off a ledge means a death sentence. Even Star Wars Jedi: Survivor had the good sense to make it so a plummet to your death only gives you a slap on the wrist—and those games have wall-running, rope-swinging, the whole nine yards. That didn’t stop a self-imposed hardcore gamer from deciding it still counted, though, so making that change might not even help the purest masochists out there.
Point being, the bonfire system—whether it’s a world crystal or a meditation point—just doesn’t vibe with jumping puzzles. Getting flattened into paste because I messed up my dodge is one thing, but the words “YOU ARE DEAD” appearing on my screen after my guy rolled into the belly of the earth on accident doesn’t make for a great game feel.
I guess it only really stands out because I’ve had so much fun with the game otherwise—though I never ticked that Hardcore option, so my experience with Labyrinth’s ledge of doom was easier for me to brush off than this poor permadeath soldier.