Remnant 2: The Awakened King Review | The King’s Wrath

When I first heard about Remnant 2’s upcoming The Awakened King DLC, I was interested to see what it might bring to the table. Remnant 2 was great to play earlier this year and is easily one of the most replayable games I’ve played in a long time. While The Awakened King does bring more of that polished, replayable goodness that fans should expect, it struggles to stand out among the rest of the base game.

There’s Treachery Afoot

The Awakened King brings us back to the iconic region of Losomn for a fresh story. The One True King has awoken, and with his slumber ended, his wrath begins. After being twisted by the ever-powerful Root while asleep, the King sees betrayal and treachery behind every corner and through every window. This has brought about hardship for Fae and Dran alike, which you’re here to stop. Definitely for the benefit of them and not for your own gain, of course.

If I had to give one big mound of praise to Remnant 2’s The Awakened King, it’d have to be the sense of scale and how it’s utilized from a level design perspective. While both Yaesha and N’Erud offer plenty of scale with the former’s colossal trees and the latter’s overbearing skyscrapers, Losomn rarely offered that same level of scale. The Awakened King immediately fixes that with a colossal Fae castle towering over the region, and it isn’t just there for show. You’ll travel there throughout the DLC, allowing the world to feel fully connected from the Dran backstreets all the way to the top.

The new enemies the DLC introduces are also quite interesting. The infested creatures bring a lot to the table in area denial by creating pustules in the air, creating damaging fields on the ground that must be shot. Some new elite enemies also bring quite a bit to the table, such as the dark witches who wield a large hook capable of dealing serious damage. It helps to refresh some of those classic battles since the usual Dran and Fae enemies are reused plenty.

All of this is wrapped in that same choice-based progression that gives plenty of replayability to the game’s story. I played through The Awakened King a couple of times to experience its content, and it was interesting to see how different key items and choices could affect the loot rewards, along with how the story itself would change based on those choices. It’s what fans should come to expect, but I’m happy to see that sentiment carried forward.

A Good, Yet All Too Familiar Meal

However, that doesn’t prevent The Awakened King from failing to find a memorable footing among the game’s other locations. This DLC is a mashup of dilapidated Dran towns and royal Fae halls we’ve come to know but rarely offers locations that truly stand out. While this isn’t too bad since it helps the DLC fit into Losomn nicely, I would’ve loved to see something more unique given the prospect of additional content. Maybe a part of a Dran town that’s ravaged by the chaos of bits and pieces of Fae architecture landing within?

I wasn’t as impressed with most of the bosses as I hoped I would be. While the final boss stands on its own two feet, the remaining bosses are entirely larger versions of the elite enemies introduced with the DLC. They may have the odd attack change, throwing a handful of smaller fodder at you, but they’re almost identical. Remnant 2 itself isn’t perfect here, but there’s a big leap between a few rehashes and a majority.

Not Quite King-Sized, But Solid Enough

Remnant 2: The Awakened King feels solid enough to justify its $10 price tag. It offers some new content, another reason to revisit Losomn, and a great final boss fight. Yet, I can’t help but shake the feeling that more could’ve been done to flesh out the region rather than melding together familiar concepts. It’ll satisfy those who want another reason to jump back in and explore again, but Remnant 2: The Awakened King feels like Gunfire Games is only dipping their toes into a wide sea of potential adventures.

7

Remnant 2: The Awakened King

The Awakened King continues with that replayable goodness the base game offered, but fails to stand out amongst the crowd.

Pros

• The sense of scale is great to see in Losomn.
• New enemies provide welcome challenges to overcome.
• Choice-based progression makes a return.

Cons

• Feels very similar to the other Losomn regions.
• Most bosses are bigger versions of the DLC's new elite enemies.

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review. Reviewed on PC.