As listeners of TheXboxHub’s Official Podcast will know, I have an issue with a game that releases DLC so late into its lifecycle. This is especially true for complicated games like The Riftbreaker, as in order to do this DLC pack justice, you’ll probably want to roll things back to the very start again, learning the mechanics and the complicated control scheme over again.
However, that is a positive in as much as it’s a negative and what playing through to the point where the new Metal Terror DLC kicks in has done is remind how much fun The Riftbreaker actually is; it’s a game that you need to play if you haven’t already. But, we are here to talk about the Metal Terror expansion, which promises to add more of everything to the campaign, whisking us off to a whole new world. Ready to get down with the Metal Terror?
The story of the Metal Terror DLC for The Riftbreaker is very good indeed, and in a nice plus point, is integrated seamlessly into regular progression. If you have finished the game already, you can continue from where you left off and events will unfold as you play, or if you start afresh, the DLC is wormed in as part of the story.
Basically, Ashley and Mr Riggs witness a meteorite hit the ground, which is giving off dark radiation. This leads to scanning a new area of the world, called Metallic Valley, and contact with an alien race that lived – and died – there a long time ago. Or did they? Ashley and her robot buddy find that some of the works of the aliens, that they christen X-Morphs (flashbacks to EXOR Studio’s last game), are not only still active, but hostile. With a whole new set of technology that becomes unlocked, the scene is set to make sure that the world of Galatea-37 is going to be hot like never before.
Visually the Metal Terror expansion ties in nicely with the main game, integrated with a new biome to explore, the aforementioned Metallic Valley. The vegetation here seems to be blended with metal, as does the local fauna, and these are very well designed. Building new alien artifacts, such as Morphium Towers affects the way the landscape looks, as they can not only defend your installations, but also act as keys to disassemble some inconvenient alien structures, allowing you to explore to your heart’s content. However, be warned, not all the alien structures are dormant, and as you go through, their defenses start to wake up and they begin to make organic creatures fused with machines to attack you. These Flurians are funny looking things, but fit the overall aesthetic very well.
The audio that plays through this new technology is very well done as well, and the noise that the Morphium Towers make -while odd – is strangely right. Add in the new exposition and dialogue between the two main characters and all in all, the present is correct, and fits in perfectly.
Now, the new stuff that you can do in Metal Terror is pretty interesting. In the levels of the DLC, you will find liquid called Morphium, and this can be used to not only provide power to the base – with powerplants once you have researched them – but it can also power the towers. What makes it interesting is that the towers need no AI Cores: just a pipeline and a pump for the tower to keep your base safe. In the meantime, your Morphium power plant will provide a lot of energy, and again just needs a pump and pipeline to make it work nicely. Linking this to other defensive mechanisms that have already been developed in the base game (the laser turrets are the best) will mean you can soon have a pretty impregnable base set up. Enemies come near you at their peril.
While talking about the enemies, the thing you have to be careful of this time around is that some of them can fly, and can and will not only pop over walls to cause chaos, but will also think nothing of whizzing across a pool of liquid to attack your undefended flank. I quickly learned that if I had a vital building somewhere it would be best to surround it with turrets, even if it was a long way from the perimeter fence. I did get used to hearing “Our base is under attack!” quite quickly, as a lot of the enemies in the Metal Terror are also ranged attackers, including things that look for all the world like Fallen Servitors from Destiny 2, attacking from afar with an eye laser beam that most turrets seem to ignore. Adapt or die seems to be the watchword for this new part of the campaign.
So, what we have here with The Riftbreaker: Metal Terror is a DLC pack done right, integrated very nicely with the base game and capable of offering new things that you feel like you have to work for. The side story is interesting, and with the new technologies to take advantage of, there is a good eight hours of additional play in this pack; maybe even more if you want to become familiar with all the new creatures and plants.
All in all, if you liked The Riftbreaker (and what’s not to like?) then you’ll like the Metal Terror DLC.
The Riftbreaker: Metal Terror is available from the Xbox Store
