Summary
While many people played the firstRemnantgame AKARemnant: From the Ashes, not a ton of people paid close attention to its story and the connections between NPCs. However, the ones who did know thatRemnant 2and both its prequel games (ChronosandR: FtA) focus on a world full of complex lore, interesting concepts, and all sorts of memorable NPCs.
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Thankfully, the sequelRemnant 2is very respectful to those lore-loving fans, as there are tons of little references or nods to previous Gunfire Games creations that only they would understand. So, let’s go over some of the best examples.
7Mud Tooth & Brabus In Ward 13
First off, when entering Ward 13, players will have the chance to meet all the different NPCs living in this settlement, with some of them having singular lines of dialog and others (usually merchants) having multiple threads of conversation players can choose to go down. Mud Tooth and Brabus are two examples of the latter, but only fans of the first game will actually feel anything when seeing them here in Ward 13.
See, inRemnant: From the Ashes, Mud Tooth was one of the most lovable NPCs thatplayers could find in their ‘rolled’ version of Earth(though he didn’t always appear), and Brabus was a potential Dungeon Boss encounter that players could either fight or peacefully interact with. There were multiple endings to the ‘side quests’ both of these NPCs offered, with the ‘best’ result being to get the Pocket Watch quest item from Mudtooth and then give it to Brabus instead of fighting him. And it seems like this is the ‘canon’ result, as that choice led to Brabus reconnecting with Mud Tooth, disbanding the Mud Dogs altogether, and settling down in Ward 13.
6Dr. Norah’s Journal Entry About Mud Tooth’s Stew
Speaking of Mudtooth, other than being a vital part of obtaining the Bandit Set inRemnant: From the Ashes, he’s also a fantastic NPC Merchant. See, Mudtooth offers players his stew whenever they come to see him (after listening to one of his many stories), and by opening his shop players can see these Stews and Tonic Concotions up for sale. Drinking either of them will increase the player’s Health or Stamina by a sizeable amount for an hour (even after death), so it’s a pretty powerful meal.
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Well, players hunting around Ward 13 for secrets inRemnant 2will likely eventually stumble on the Journal of Dr. Norah found in her homemade from a shipping container behind her clinic. And, this Journal, among many other entries, has a whole entry dedicated to Mud Tooth’s Stew. In this entry, she describes that people who have it always come to her to look for ways to calm down their beating heart or help their stomach as a result, but nothing she seems to do works, as the effects of that Stew just aren’t normal.
5Root Rot Being Incredibly Annoying & Semi-Permanent
Anyone who played through most ofRemnant: From the Ashes, or at the very least through the Earth realm will be familiar with the Status Effect called Root Rot. This is inflicted by Root enemies, typically ones that explode into a pinkish mist when they die. And, the main effect of this ailment, when applied, is that the player character is constantly interrupted in their actions with a coughing animation. Whilenot nearly as deadly as other Status Effects like Burning or Overloaded, Root Rot is by far the most annoying simply because it can only be cured with a Consumable (or by sitting at a Worldstone), and it’s so tedious being interrupted by coughing.
With that in mind, think back to the tutorial where Cass is found to have Root Rot. It’s not revealed until Bo points it out, but players familiar withRemnant: From the Asheswould’ve noticed long before this as Cass could barely walk ten feet or get a sentence out without coughing. And, as an additional little reference, think about why Cass has dealt with having Root Rot for so long. Remember that when player characters actually get Root Rot in-game, it lasts until they ‘treat’ it with Oilskin Balm or they die. But, since only the Traveler, the Wanderer, Commander Ford, and maybe Clementine have the option to respawn at Worldstones, that’s not really a method anyone else can use to cure Root Rot.
4The Hub Area SMG MP60 R
If there’s one thing that bothRemnant 2andRemnant: From the Asheshave in spades, it’s guns. Both games have a lot of guns that players can collect from bosses, through solving secrets, or just found in treasure chests, but one of the best early-game gun options is actually found in the hub area. InRemnant: From the Ashes, players can get an SMG Hand Gun very early on by heading down into the lab underneath Ward 13 and progressing through this lab area, solving a couple of stopgap puzzles along the way, until they open a locked door with the SMG found within.
Well, funnily enough, what seems to be the exact same SMG (called the MP60 R inRemnant 2but was just called the Submachine Gun inR: FtA), can be found in Ward 13 inRemnant 2. It’s not as tedious of a process this time around, players just need to use the code found on the bottom of their flashlight to open Ford’s chest in his room, then take that key to the locked door in the ship at the far end of the Ward 13 map. In this room is the SMG, which sort of implies that the player character ‘Wanderer’ from the first game hid this in the hub area so that their successor would stumble upon it while exploring, just like they did originally.
3The Steady Progress Of Yaesha’s Root Invasion
There’s only one real ‘world’ ofRemnant 2that players would’ve seen inRemnant: From the Ashes, and it’s Yaesha. Yaesha is this dense, forest-like world where a species called the Pan live. In fact, this is the only world that appears in all three games, outside of Earth of course.InChronos: Before the Ashes, the player character actually kills the Guardian of Yaesha a month before the events ofR: FtA, which opens this world up to be invaded by the Root in the first place.
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InR: FtA, Yaesha is where the Wanderer finally finds Commander Ford and is also where they find out there’s a bit of Root to be found here now, as they seem to have been sending an ‘advanced scouting party’ before the full invasion. However, the Realm is pretty different inRemnant 2. Instead of having a general blue-ish tone to it, in terms of color, Yaesha is now tinted red (even outside of the Blood Moon event) and isheavily infected with the Root. In fact, the Ravager that players either slayed or spared in the first gamehas now been infected by the Rootand the whole of Yaesha is basically heading towards its end.
2The Moving Pan Statues In Yaesha
Funnily enough, the next reference is one that was thought to only be a reference to the iconic Weeping Angels fromDoctor Who, and it’s the moving Pan statues found during one of the events in an area called the Chimney in Yaesha. In this area, players might stumble across a small outcropping of stone in between all the Root-infested terrain, depending onhow lucky their procedural generation of this zone was. If found, this outcropping will have 4 Pan statues standing in a square formation. Shoot the brightly shining gems on the faces of all four statues, then take the (now revealed) elevator down.
Grab the Lithic Signet Ring here and start heading out. Players should quickly hear a noise behind them and turn around to see a Pan Statue has moved and is slowly approaching them while their back is turned. While this is also a reference to the Weeping Angels, it’s actually primarily a reference to the prequel game of the franchise,Chronos: Before the Ashes, where players find these same statues in their exploration of Yaesha. While these statues can be killed, it takes some fast reflexes to do so orat the very least a capable co-op partner.
1Who Clementine Is & Why The Keeper Is Drawn To Her
Anyone who is starting withRemnant 2is going to seem very confused as to who this ‘Clementine’ person is in Ward 13 and why everyone seems to talk as if she’s the most important person around. Additionally, they won’t really understand the concept of Dreamers, Guardians, or why Wallace can see a bit of the future.
Of course,Remnant: From the Ashesplayers, at least the ones who finished theSubject 2923DLC that takes place in Reisum, are already very familiar with Clementine, her exploits, and why she feels so disconnected from everyone else. Additionally, inRemnant: From the Ashesplayers will see the similarities between the Keeper being drawn to Clementine and ‘Fuzzy’, the Guardian of Reisum, being drawn to her as well. Clementine is literally hundreds of years old and was tortured by humans all of her life as a Dreamer, so it’s no wonder she feels so disconnected from everyone else in Ward 13.
Remnant 2is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC
