When science meets survival on a lone planet in a distant star system, you get The Alters, the acclaimed game with a brand-new DLC, The Alters: The Last Variable.
Jan Scientist is returning after the credits rolled on The Alters to pursue his infatuation with the Oasis, a lush paradise planet that is only just emerging from devastation. However, exploring an entire planet alone is a lot of work for only one person, which is where the Alters come in. Plucked from alternate timelines where Jan made different choices at pivotal moments in his life, the new Alters each have their own set of skills valuable to the exploration of a rapidly rotating and dangerous planet.
While the rest of the Jans left the planet after the end of The Alters, Jan Scientist stayed behind and made new Alters: a Geologist, a Biologist, a Chemist and a Physicist each join the ranks of Jan. With these new specializations, players can play the DLC in entirely new ways than before. There are brand new regions to explore and the option to terraform them to your liking, from the biggest crevasse to the smallest rivulet.
The catch is that there’s only so much time to explore before the planet fights back with another devastating earthquake or worse. That’s where the underground bases come into play. You, Jan and his team of Jans can build a bunker to your liking and survive the deadly natural disasters that Oasis throws at you. Customizing the base is easy too, reminiscent of Fallout: Shelter’s building system; it leans into the ease of construction with things like quantum computers and communication rooms being easily placeable, except for the fact that it’s all fully explorable in 3D.
Using your base and the researchable Cryosleep chamber, you and your Jans can witness firsthand the effects of your actions on the planet as a whole. Along with that, the DLC adds brand-new technology, which is even more amped up than in the base game, through previously unknown pickables exclusive to terraformed areas.
Totalling at about 20 hours of playtime, The Alters: The Last Variable is ready for players to explore and examine the entire breadth of the Oasis on July 13th.
