The Riftbreaker convinced with top graphics and a mix of building strategy, action RPG and survival. Read on to find out why the DLC is the ideal addition to the game.
We are back on Galatea 37, where the jungle burns more beautifully than anywhere else. However, it now explodes more than it burns, because against metal-enhanced biomonsters, fire is not always the first choice, especially when enemies replicate through ineffective damage instead of going in.
Because yes, although it is actually fauna that stands in the way of the humans” colonisation efforts in the form of combat explorer Ashley, in The Riftbreaker DLC Metal Terror we are dealing with half machines. And there are good reasons for that. There are equally good reasons to play the DLC, because it picks up exactly where the base game left off in terms of quality.
For ten euros you get a new biome with several levels and a storyline set to music, which fits seamlessly into the campaign of The Riftbreaker. Those who have already finished the campaign can also visit the new areas and will not regret it if they have already had fun with the rest of the action-role-playing-construction mix.
Table of Contents
What was Riftbreaker again?
For all of you who are now hearing about Riftbreaker for the first time, a short summary: Riftbreaker is a mix of building strategy, action RPG and survival elements. You build bases to collect resources, have to take care of the power supply and the defence. Among other things, you build walls and a variety of different defence towers.
When defending and especially when exploring the map, you also take up arms with both hands. In your mech suit, you”ll hunt through the dangerous environment and defend yourself against any monsters the planet throws at you. Since they have resistances to different types of damage, you have to switch between projectile weapons, rocket launchers and energy guns. The towers also work according to the same principle.
Always along for the ride is protagonist Ashley”s AI sidekick Mr. Riggs, who controls the mech suit and talks to her about what”s happening on Galatea, advancing the campaign”s content.
Metal terror
A new biome is now added in the DLC Metal Terror. Previously there were jungle terrains, desert, volcanic areas and swamp-like environments. In Metal Terror, you”ll now be in a crystal and rock-based biome that features new, unique enemy types. These include automatic defence turrets, flying swarms of monsters and square crates that roll towards you and multiply when they take damage (you must blow them up with high damage output).
With Mr. Riggs in your ear, you explore the mysteries behind the strange mix of bio-life forms and machines that inhabit this biome. Little by little, the question arises: Are humans not the first to colonise Galatea? And what happened?
More of everything
In addition to the new enemy types and the different environment, you can expect new items such as ornamental objects, skins and one-time use items, such as a small drill with which you can boost your resource income for a short time. However, the latter is actually (part of the free update), which will be released at the same time as the DLC.
There are also new technologies, such as the Morphine Tower, which allows you to change the robotic environment to remove impassable obstacles. The tower needs to be fed with a new liquid related to the metal threat to do this.
Quality of Life
But there are also new technologies that are independent of this. The lightning tower, the orbital bombardment or the orbital laser are new buildings or abilities that were developed in cooperation with the community and are also part of the free patch.
By the way, the patch also brings some quality-of-life features. It is now possible to repair, upgrade or sell several objects at once with a scalable area tool. In addition, the building menu has been revised so that you can now choose which building level you want to construct if you have already researched several levels of a building type. This is especially useful if you don”t have the resources for the highest level and don”t need them.
Lasersword or chainsaw?
Also new are some weapons. Your repertoire expands to include a kind of laser sword, a chainsaw and new firearms. But don”t worry, you are also well equipped for the new biome with the conventional machine guns, rocket launchers and fire throwers.
This actually opens up to the player in the middle of the campaign, but even those who have already finished it can use the old save game. Metal Terror is not dependent on the main storyline. As soon as you load your last savegame, the introductory DLC event begins and you can get started.
The only drawback with this variant is that the biome is almost a bit too easy with high-end gear. But even this way, we still needed four hours for the DLC content. So Metal Terror promises a lot of new playtime, even more so if you start a new or even your first playthrough. At least in our test, we didn”t experience any bugs or crashes, so Metal Terror appears well polished and in its usual graphic splendour.
Overall, the new content fits very well into the overall picture, but this can also be interpreted as a weakness. Because Metal Terror does not introduce any really big innovations. If you have had enough of the basic gameplay of Riftbreaker by now, then the DLC is not an argument to dig it out of the online library again. But if you simply want more Riftbreaker, then this DLC is made for you, especially since ten euros is a fair price for the scope.
Editor”s verdict
Riftbreaker is one of the very few games I enjoyed playing through last year. Even after the test was through, I didn”t put it aside. Because Riftbreaker is just a really good game that neither overchallenges me nor completely underchallenges me. And it also looks so gorgeous!
Accordingly, I was looking forward to the DLC. And it delivered what it promised: more Riftbreaker. There would have been a bit more room for improvement if the DLC had presented more genuinely new content that would have stayed in the memory beyond the pure playing time. But the developers were rather conservative and stuck to what already worked well in the base game. Namely, a crazy shootout in a beautiful scenery with a good portion of base building.
