It's safe to say that the release of Remnant 2 has been a rousing success for developer Gunfire Games, with a strong average of roughly 80,000 active Steam players since launch and plenty of fans enjoying the game on consoles. And while the developer will no doubt continue to support the game via regular updates and DLC expansions down the road, the release of Remnant 2 being in Gunfire Games' rearview mirror brings up the possibility of what is next for the talented studio. Its body of work up to this point taken into consideration, it might be time for Gunfire Games to craft a more classic Soulslike in a sequel to Chronos: Before The Ashes.

Gunfire Games released Chronos: Before The Ashes in 2019 as a loosely-connected prequel to Remnant: From The Ashes, albeit one that leaned more heavily into the Soulslike aspects of its gameplay than Remnant. The title was commended for being a competent and original take on the Soulslike genre, complete with a unique aging mechanic and several Easter Eggs connecting the title to the Remnant universe. Between the Soulslike elements of Remnant's gameplay and the studio's success in crafting more traditional Soulslikes in both Chronos and Darksiders 3, a sequel to Chronos: Before The Ashes could flesh out the Remnant universe and see the studio expand its repertoire.

RELATED:Remnant 2's Visual Aesthetic Helps It Stand Out Among Soulslikes

How a Sequel to Chronos: Before The Ashes Could Make Good on its Premise

As is often the case with follow-ups to new and novel game designs, the second entry in a series typically refines mechanics and systems from the first game to make good on a premise that was more of a proof of concept and not quite fully-fleshed out. Players have already seen this exact scenario play out in a number of franchises, with Remnant 2 itself being an example of a sequel that improves upon its predecessor in nearly every way. The result is that Remnant 2 takes every great unique premise from Remnant: From The Ashes and refines it, iterating on what worked while not fixing what wasn't already broken.

Although not the first Soulslike that the studio worked on, Chronos: Before The Ashes was more similar to Dark Souls than the studio's "Soulslite" take on the Darksiders franchise or their blending of Soulslike and co-op shooter in Remnant. Several of the ideas implemented in Chronos were unique concepts that, for one reason or another, didn't quite come to full fruition in the final game. One of these ideas is the game's use of aging the character to impact how they play and the effectiveness of skills.

Each time the player dies in Chronos (which, as a Soulslike, is often), the protagonist ages by one year, with significant impacts on gameplay occurring every 10 years. The intention of this mechanic was to have the protagonist's age impact how skills either gained or lost utility as a result of the player character becoming more frail as they got older. With youthful exuberance and energy long gone, the idea was that magic and spell casting would be more useful than skill points allotted toward melee combat and endurance. It is a great idea in theory, however in utility it didn't quite work out as intended and players could still reliably lean on melee even into their sixties.

Since the release of Chronos, not only has Gunfire Games grown and developed as a studio, but other games have successfully tackled dynamic aging mechanics as well. Most notably, Sloclap's Sifu ages its protagonist to great effect and the aging mechanic has a tangible impact on gameplay. Now that Remnant 2 has solidified and perfected the concepts of the franchise introduced in Remnant: From The Ashes, Gunfire Games has a great opportunity to craft a compelling traditional Soulslike that does the same for the Chronos offshoot series.

Remnant 2 is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

MORE: Remnant 2: Can You Pet The Dog?