From the Ashes sold over three million copies during its first two years and became something of a cult hit, especially after it made its way to Xbox Game Pass just before the start of the current Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 generation.
FRANCHISE ROOTS Taking place on a ruined Earth that has been overtaken by an interdimensional evil called the Root, the first Remnant invited parties of custom player characters to explore the multiverse, make key decisions that would affect entire realms, and take on foes of many shapes and sizes. While the Root was ultimately defeated at the end of the game (we’re not considering this a spoiler, this is how stories work) — there was nothing to say that it couldn’t come back and cause more trouble that would instigate more adventures. With the makings of a franchise on Gunfire’s hands, a sequel to the game for Xbox X/S and PS5 seemed inevitable — and then it was. Remnant 2 went into development alongside a non-VR version of the 2016 VR game Chronos — rebranded as Chronos: Before the Ashes, to better advertise its Remnant story links to potential buyers. The question was, what game design changes could players expect for the sequel, and where would the team find inspiration? “There was a lot of stuff we did in the sequel that was stuff we wanted to do in the first game,” says Gunfire president David Adams. “But Remnant overall was influenced by several games. Left 4 Dead, Terraria — surprisingly, I know — as well as Resident Evil 4 and the Souls games.
“I think as game developers we are influenced by many different things, including TV, Movies, books and other sorts of media. Different worlds within Remnant II draw influences from different things. [The world of] Losomn was influenced by an old game we had worked on that never shipped that took place in
the 1880s. N’Erud has a little bit of Dune in there, as well as a little bit of Prometheus or Aliens. Yaesha – well, it’s been a while since we dreamed up Yaesha, so I’m having trouble remembering the influences.” With a sequel, it’s always a question of ‘How much follow-on do you include?’ or ‘How much of a sequel should the sequel be?’, to which there is rarely a right answer. Some studio teams will throw the entire thing out and start afresh with similar themes, while others will continue stories into and beyond their ‘natural’ end points, through whatever narrative means they can utilise.
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