Remnant 2, from developer Gunfire Games, was an instant hit when it was released back in July of this year. In fact, it scored an excellent 8.5/10 in our review of Remnant 2 and is a title that I find myself going back to time and time again. Fast forward to just two weeks ago, and Gunfire Games announced the upcoming release of Remnant 2’s first DLC, The Awakened King, due out November 14th. After a few days of delving back into the dark and gritter world of Remnant 2, it’s time to take a look at all this new DLC brings to the table.
Working as a stand-alone story (though it does take place after the main campaign events), found through the adventure mode menu, The Awakened King has the player return to Losomn, this time entering the world through an entirely new zone within the world. While many of the areas will see you revisit familiar map sets, players can still expect to see and explore entirely new zones with a unique and gritty feel.
As with the base game, The Awakened King is built for exploration and is wrapped in a mystery that begs to be solved, a signature part of the Remnant 2 design. The new maps offer a fresh and unique take on Losomn and help flesh out the lore around this world.
“The Awakened King looks like it will offer players more of what they loved about Remnant 2, just on an even bigger scale.”
As for the story, players can expect to find the same sense of dread and mystery that awaited them in the base campaign. Without venturing too far into spoiler territory, Some new and familiar faces will appear, offering guidance and warning. Players can also expect to find a host of new and challenging monsters, as well as some new and creative boss encounters to enjoy.
The Awakened King also brings with it new weapons and gear for players to experiment with throughout their playthrough. Each is appropriately themed to align with this new story and likewise feels unique and fun to use. Gunfire Games has done a great job at making sure to bring fresh and interesting modifiers to each item introduced in the DLC, allowing players to hone in once again and refine their playstyle.
While not specifically a part of the DLC, the recently added Loadout update on October 26th came just in time for The Awakened King. Many of the boss encounters and areas you explore benefits for unique loadouts. This becomes even more important with the introduction of the new Ritualist Archetype (more on this in a moment).
With the new loadout feature in place, hot-swapping between builds is as easy as clicking a button. This quality of life feature helps drive players to want to explore their build as much as the new maps in The Awakened King. With a solid offering of new weapons and gear for players to discover, there are a lot of reasons to revisit the The Awakened King story.
“Remnant 2: The Awakened King is an excellent addition to an already solid game.”
Circling back to the new Ritualist Archetype, Gunfire once again has done a great job at offering a unique class for players to learn and master. Built around debuffing and status damage, players can expect to leverage the many perks and spells of the Ritualist to melt their enemies with potent damage over time effects that spread to nearby enemies.
While I’m still getting the hang of everything the Ritualist has to offer, there is a host of new gear and weapons to complement the archetype. When equipped correctly, the Ritualist becomes a powerful damage dealer that will even risk their own health for the sake of some serious damage boons.
It’s a fun, risky playstyle for players looking for something new. Like all of the other Archetypes, players will need to explore these new environments for an item to unlock Ritualist. While I won’t spoil its location, I will say that you can locate it before completing The Awakened King story.
Remnant 2: The Awakened King is an excellent addition to an already solid game. It offers a unique new story and provides a new perspective on a previously explored zone. Additionally, it offers new lore, weapons, gear and archetype for veteran players to experiment with. Priced at USD $9.99, The Awakened King is an example of DLC done right.
