this is a great DLC, and helps validate my claim that returnal could've been a better game if the roguelike elements had been retooled. this DLC ends up being less roguelike and more arcadey third-person shooter, which works a lot better for this formula imo. improvements include that the tower of sisyphus has guaranteed drops in it that housemarque was able to design its challenges around. there's still choice to be had in these drops as well (do you go for the health upgrade or the damage upgrade? which penalizing parasite do you go for? etc.), so it never feels like the game is taking you on a railroaded experience.
but, most importantly, you're given a guaranteed random level 3 gun by the second floor to pick from, which suddenly makes every single run feel like it can 100% be my fault as opposed to "i got stuck with the shitty base pistol and died because i couldn't get something else to drop". i know i've harped on this, but the guns are such a vital part of returnal as an experience, so amplifies the player experience to get more self-expression from the getgo. these things sound small, but they add up to making the moment-to-moment gameplay retain that fun, frenetic energy while also keeping the player consistently challenged. lastly, algos is a great boss and honestly blows the base game's bosses out of the water for me. he's simple, but focused, and it's refreshing that the game staggers out his second and third phases so you can get comfortable with his first one.
yeah, i'm just really impressed that they were able to refine what didn't work about base game and turn it around here. this has overall made me more positive on returnal as a package, and seeing this much improvement in a free DLC surpasses my expectations. if anything, this has made me interested in seeing what housemarque puts out next, because i can see this being part of an upward trend in quality for them.
but, most importantly, you're given a guaranteed random level 3 gun by the second floor to pick from, which suddenly makes every single run feel like it can 100% be my fault as opposed to "i got stuck with the shitty base pistol and died because i couldn't get something else to drop". i know i've harped on this, but the guns are such a vital part of returnal as an experience, so amplifies the player experience to get more self-expression from the getgo. these things sound small, but they add up to making the moment-to-moment gameplay retain that fun, frenetic energy while also keeping the player consistently challenged. lastly, algos is a great boss and honestly blows the base game's bosses out of the water for me. he's simple, but focused, and it's refreshing that the game staggers out his second and third phases so you can get comfortable with his first one.
yeah, i'm just really impressed that they were able to refine what didn't work about base game and turn it around here. this has overall made me more positive on returnal as a package, and seeing this much improvement in a free DLC surpasses my expectations. if anything, this has made me interested in seeing what housemarque puts out next, because i can see this being part of an upward trend in quality for them.