Remnant: From the Ashes had a strong launch in 2019 out of nowhere and has been well received by many players. Now it is getting its first DLC. MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus was invited by publisher Perfect World to take an early look at it.
Even before the Corona crisis reached its current magnitude, Perfect World Entertainment invited us to PAX East in Boston. There, I played Magic Legends as one of the first players and checked out the first DLC of Remnant: From the Ashes.
The DLC is titled “Swamps of Corsus” and brings several new features, as well as a completely new game mode. The new Survival Mode is the only feature that I was able to play at the event.
I played for about an hour while Level Designer Anthony Norcott answered some questions.
Remnant is a surprise hit from 2019. It was released in August and was very successful shortly after. Both players and the press praised the “Dark Souls”-like gameplay combined with a strong co-op mode. By now, Remnant has a “very good” rating on Steam with 83% positive reviews across all ratings (as of April 14).
In 2020, Remnant is still one of the best co-op games. The new DLC makes it even better, even if you haven’t played it before.
In this combination, it is actually surprising that he has only just discovered Remnant, as the game combines shooters with RPG elements, survival, and story.
What kind of new mode is this? The new Survival Mode is a rogue-like mode, in which I move through an endless dungeon with randomly generated areas instead of through specific levels. In the starting area, I equip myself and set out to defeat enemies and bosses.
The mode itself is independent of the story. It does not need to be completed first, nor does it provide important information. So if you want, you can dive straight into the Survival Mode.
How does it differ from the standard mode? Although the levels in the normal game are also randomly generated and the areas are virtually identical, the Survival Mode plays very differently.
The focus here is more on progress and continuous improvement. Anthony explained to me that the biggest difference is the permadeath feature. If you die in the normal game, you can start again at a checkpoint and try again.
However, if you die in Survival Mode, you lose everything and must start over, similar to the Hardcore Mode. Any equipment and progress are lost upon death, and you must start from the beginning. Meanwhile, your character evolves in Survival – you gain equipment and items while playing, and you can buy something after each boss battle.
We have embedded the trailer for the new DLC with images of new bosses, new equipment, and the enemies from the Survival Mode for you here:
Endless game mode without frustration
In the hour I played “Swamps of Corsus” and its Survival Mode, I was immediately excited. The anticipation of a new boss waiting at the foreseeable end of a level with plenty of loot is enticing to play.
The difficulty is regulated by a timer, which makes the enemies harder after a certain period. This constantly ticking timer adds a little spice and encourages you to put in a bit more effort, especially since your own level is displayed directly below.
Remnant: From the Ashes had not really interested me before. While I like Dark Souls, with which it is often compared, I couldn’t bring myself to try Remnant.
However, with the DLC, that could definitely change, as the action-packed rounds of Survival Mode seem very entertaining. Especially for a little gaming session after work with a few friends – and that, even though rogue-likes rarely excite me.
What I particularly noticed positively is that the frustration factor is almost completely absent. Other rogue-likes annoy me when I die. In Survival Mode, that’s not the case, at least not yet. I find it easier to just restart.
Rogue-like Survival Mode brings a lot of action
The new Survival Mode is a rogue-like mode. That means: I play for as long as I can and when I die, everything is gone and I have to start over.
The process is quite simple: Equip, enter level, kill enemies, loot, and finally defeat a boss. This keeps repeating until I eventually bite the dust – and then start from the beginning.
The goal is to get as far as possible and equip the character as well as possible. After each boss battle, there is new equipment and some rewards. However, the enemies become increasingly tougher over time.
This is how the mode works: In Survival Mode, I start in a base with no more than a pistol, a backpack, and underwear – literally. At the beginning, I have nothing but a small gun and a bit of money.
Instead, there are traders in the base, who become one of the most important features of the mode. They provide me with my first weapon, armor, and accessories. Or as much as I can afford.
With each round I play and each boss I kill, the offerings that the traders have for me change. This brings several advantages or disadvantages, depending on your perspective:
- If I have nothing useful at the beginning, I can restart and hope for something better to come
- If I defeat a boss, I can hope for better loot to buy
- If I’m short on money, my desired item may be gone the next time I visit – or I have to decide what I want to buy
Interestingly, even the strongest weapons, which in the main game require a boss to be killed, can theoretically appear in the shop right from the start in Survival Mode. This brings a whole new dynamic and new possibilities.
How does it play? After I’ve equipped myself, I can start a level. My first area is a village with ramshackle wooden huts somewhere in a wasteland with strange goatmen and dogs as enemies.
I’m told that the enemies and areas I encounter are random. So any area and any type of enemy can appear, almost like in a rift in Diablo. The first level doesn’t take long – I’m dead already. It’s not that easy when you’re just starting out, and it gives me a slight flashback to my first steps in DOOM Eternal.
Nice levels and crisp gameplay
After a while in the game, I start doing better and I can check out what is to be found. Weapons, armor, and accessories in scattered chests that pump me up directly. There is even a powerful assault rifle that I immediately equip – cool!
By the way, the Survival Mode also offers all traits from the base game. However, they do not need to be learned but can be found as loot, for example in chests. They are then automatically equipped and strengthen the character, at least as long as he lives.
What does the environment look like? The area stretches for a while until I enter a second level, for which I have to step through a portal. Here I am in a kind of cave or excavation, looking like cut stone with some jungle ornaments. However, the level feels shorter than the previous one.
Eventually, I fight my way to another gate. This time behind it waits the first boss, a satyr-like spear thrower with his goat buddies to help.
The boss fight is pretty cool and demands more from me than the levels before, my rather limited abilities. Dodging, drinking potions, firing back, and harvesting ammunition from the trash mobs so it doesn’t run out.
After a few minutes, the fight ends – and I’m dead. A close call, but I try again. It takes some time and several attempts, but eventually, I kick the butts of my first bosses.
How high is the replay value? The levels are randomly generated and therefore there will eventually be repetitions. My rounds always followed the same scheme:
- equip in the base
- clean the first area while looting
- go through a door into the second area until the boss
- smash the boss, back to the base – start all over again
I often died, but I still had a great time and was not nearly as frustrated as I usually am with rogue-likes. The action factor and adrenaline level are simply too high. Survival Mode is a blast!
Moreover, the rounds are quite brief. My rounds all lasted roughly 15-20 minutes. It’s easy to squeeze in a few levels here and there. However, I don’t know how far progress is saved for later continuation.
For me, it felt more exciting to shoot through enemies for a quarter of an hour, loot, and finally kill a boss than to struggle through endlessly long levels.
Not hard enough? Make it harder!
The difficulty in this mode actually does not lie in the enemies themselves, but in the fact that they become increasingly tougher. Every five minutes, a timer increases and the enemies become one level harder.
The challenge is to keep your own level about at the level of the timer in order to keep up. So you not only have to continuously improve but also do so in as short a time as possible and at the same time ensure that no experience points are left behind. Simply rushing through won’t work. Your level also influences the likelihood of strong items appearing.
Developer Anthony tells me that he once left the game on while he did something else as a test. The timer then stood about 30 levels above him, and the first attack from a light enemy took him out.
For Survival Mode, there are also different difficulty levels. Anthony explains that the difficulty levels affect how the game is played:
You can set a difficulty here, just like in the base game. However, it works a little differently. The enemies remain about equally strong, but the timer ticks up faster. So the difficulty ramps up more quickly. In “Nightmare” mode, the timer also does not stop while you are in the base, but continues. Bosses also get a bit more health points.
Level Designer Anthony Norcott to MeinMMO
Boses, he explains to me elsewhere, are also “world bosses” every third encounter, which in the main game are considered particularly rare and tough opponents. In Survival Mode, I have to fight against them constantly if I make it that far.
Survive together!
The new Survival Mode offers a co-op experience, similar to the base game. However, players cannot join at any time as they could in Remnant.
Instead, you can team up at the beginning of a round, that is when you first enter a base. You then equip yourselves with the necessary items and can set off together if you want.
However, once you enter the portal, the lobby is closed. From then on, no new players can join. Leaving the group is still possible.
If someone in your group dies, they remain dead until you defeat a boss. However, this is significantly harder since enemies also become a bit more challenging with more players. If you manage it, you return to base together.
“Swamps of Corsus” play – when is it coming?
“Swamps of Corsus” releases on April 28 for PC on Steam and costs $9.99. A version for PS4 and Xbox One will also come, but at a later date.
At the launch of the DLC, Remnant: From the Ashes will be available in a discounted bundle together with Swamps of Corsus for a limited time.
