Remnant: From The Ashes is one of those Dark Souls-like games that takes the usual formula and builds upon it in fun ways. Gunfire Games really made something unique with this one, creating a unique experience for both solo and co-op players alike.
But, the multiplayer, in particular, just works so well, as long as you learn the ins and outs of it first. Truly, Remnant is a blast of a multiplayer experience for a multitude of reasons, and here are some of the best we could think of.
10 Co-Op Connections Have Never Been Easier
First and foremost we’ve got to talk about how easy it is to play Remnant online, especially in comparison to the Souls games. Anyone familiar with trying to summon a friend in the first Dark Souls knows exactly what we're talking about.
Luckily, in Remnant, it's a much simpler process where you just have to find your friends game in the Lobby system. You can even directly join their game directly through Steam, make a private lobby only friends can join, or open it up to the entire community. It just works.
9 The RNG Systems Make Each Run Feel Unique
Remnant might be a game built with multiplayer in mind, but a large focus was also on the amount of replayability. Every realm in Remnant has a multitude of Random Events that can spawn per roll, different World Bosses to fight, different merchants that may spawn, and even alternative modes like Adventure or Survival Mode (which takes a bit of getting used to).
If you truly want to experience everything Remnant has to offer, you’re going to be re-rolling each realm tons of times, and having a co-op partner will make's that grind all the more fun. Additionally, when you help your friend get through their version of a realm, Corsus for example, it won’t feel like a carbon copy of your instance since each re-roll is procedurally generated all the way through.
8 Having A Friend Helps Split The Groups Of Enemies
Now not everything about Remnant is a direct improvement on Dark Souls, there are some things it tries but doesn't quite succeed on. And, a perfect example of this is the overreliance on mobs of basic enemies, whether it's during boss fights or just as a way to fill an enclosed room.
So many bosses in Remnant have interesting attack patterns that are fun to learn until they eventually start summoning crowds of enemies to overwhelm and disorient you. Thankfully, in co-op, it's a lot harder to get overwhelmed or disoriented, especially if you figure out roles with your partner first. If one person is focused on taking out mobs while the other fights the boss, it makes a lot of boss fights a total breeze.
7 Cuts Down On Backtracking & Hunting Down Items
We mentioned it above, but there are a lot of different variables in Remnant. Not only are there a ton of different ways to build your character, but there’s also an insurmountable amount of items, weapons, armor sets, and weapon mods (one, in particular, is the community favorite) to collect for the perfectionists out there. And, a lot of these Realms have many wide-open areas with plenty of places for items to be sneakily hidden.
While combing through these areas is fun for a while, it gets a bit tedious after your 15th re-roll, which is why playing through Remnant co-op is so much better, since your friend can help and is likely happy to help since the items that are picked up during a multiplayer game are given to all players.
6 A Lot Of The Bosses Are Much Easier
Yes, playing Remnant in co-op does make a lot of the encounters easier, but what about bosses specifically? We’re not talking about the mobs that bosses summon, but rather, how does playing this game co-op change the way the boss actually fights? To put it simply, it makes them dumber and splits their attention.
The AI for the bosses in Remnant is, for the most part, pretty good, but it is still rather easy to get them caught in a loop of switching back and forth between targets or having one player keep them occupied, while the other lays into their weak point. For bosses like Ixillis, the Undying King, or Shade & Shatter especially, co-op almost feels like a cheat code.
5 You Get Multiple Lives In Co-Op
Coming up now is likely one of the most obvious benefits for playing in multiplayer compared to single-player, and that's the revive system. When you die in multiplayer, as long as you didn’t jump off the map, you’ll crawl around on the ground for a while until you either bleed out, end your own suffering, or someone picks you up.
In single-player, that “downed” state just doesn’t happen, since there would be no one around to grab you even if it did. So, overall, Remnant is a more forgiving and enjoyable experience in co-op simply because it’s not a one-and-done sort of situation.
4 It’s A Blast To Shoot Your Friends
Let’s be honest, messing around and griefing your friends in video games can sometimes be an ungodly amount of fun. We’re not talking about literally ruining a game for someone, rather, we just mean stuff like shooting their character once or twice while they aren’t looking or unloading into them while waiting for the “Traveling” prompt to count down since you're both invincible during it.
And, in Remnant, messing around with your friend in this way can actually be beneficial in some ways too, as it'll unlock a specific Trait. Take a tip from us, once you get the Repulsor, try out its Banish Weapon Mod on your friends, but only right in the middle of an important fight.
3 Co-Op Gives Your Character More Of An Identity
Like we said before, there is a ton of different weapons and armor sets to try out in Remnant. And, almost assuredly, you’re going to be switching between armor sets or weapons depending on the situation. But, in co-op, it’s a little bit different. People love to have “their specific gimmick” in multiplayer games, like being the melee character, or the support, it's why titles like Borderlands or Overwatch are still so popular.
And, in Remnant, it’s fun to create these identities for you and your friend, whether it's investing in all close-range weapons and armor while your friend acts as the sniper or running around the map together swinging swords around.
2 Your World Is Separate From Theirs
This next one is both a pro and a con, to be frank. Progression in Remnant is individual, meaning whatever you help your friend do when they're the host, it will not transfer over to your “world”. Does this mean you’ll be running most Realms, even the more difficult ones, more than once? Absolutely. But, that's where the replayability of Remnant's design comes in.
And, fighting the same World Boss multiple times is actually neat for those whole like to get both the one-on-one and multiplayer experience. For example, we adore the Cessnya The Iskal Queen boss fight in the Swamps of Corsus DLC, but doing it with a co-op partner makes it too easy and takes a lot of tension out of it, so we’re glad there's the option to do it both ways.
1 But You’ll Still Get Rewards For Helping Their World
And lastly, let’s talk about rewards. Every Boss in Remnant drops a Material you can then take to McCabe in Ward 13 to craft into Weapon Mods/Weapons. So, if you’ve already beaten a boss, what’s the incentive to help your friend do it, other than being considerate? Well, there’s a couple of reasons.
One, most Bosses have alternate kills that give different rewards, meaning you could get something completely different the second time around. Two, the game still gives you scrap and experience for items you've already received before. And three, the Realm map leading up to this boss could be completely different in their game than yours was, with completely separate items to find.