Developer: Hyperstrange
Publisher: New Blood Interactive
Steam Deck Compatibility?: N/A
Rrp: £11.89 (Epic) £12.79 (Gog.com and Steam)
Released: 18th December 2024
Available on: Epic, Gog.com and Steam
Played Using: Mouse and Keyboard
Approximate game length: 8 Hours
I bought this DLC almost immediately after completing Blood West, I’d enjoyed the base game so much that I wanted more of it. However, what I got was… well it was more but it was also different. What I can definitely say is that this DLC doesn’t fall under ‘more of the same’.
First things first, this DLC is separated from the rest of the campaign, you play as a different character in a different location. With this new location come quite a number of new enemies to defeat (or avoid) and even a couple of new mechanics. One such mechanic is soul essence. Each enemy you kill will give you soul essence which acts as a currency for one of the NPCs you’ll speak to often. Of course, the normal currency system is also there allowing you to continue to trade items the enemies drop or you find in the world for money. Another, more major, mechanic is summoning friendly monsters to attack your enemies. Summoning can be done in a couple of ways but the most common is to consume an item. For example a Wraith Wolf’s jawbone can be consumed to summon a Wraith Wolf. These friendly monsters have their own health and won’t take orders but will attack any enemy they happen to spot nearby.
When you start the DLC it warns you that it’s intended for experienced players and that warning isn’t kidding. At the start of the game you are extremely underpowered compared to most of the creatures in the world. On top of this the number of character upgrades available to you when you level is much smaller (and different) than that of the character in the base game. It took me a while to adjust to this different scenario but found a lot of enjoyment once I did. That being said, I can see why many players of the base game could be turned off from this DLC or at least feel some disappointment. This isn’t the same as the base game, not quite, and it requires you to retrain yourself to a different method of play. I’d argue that this DLC embraces the stealth aspect even more than the base game and for me that’s why I enjoyed it.
