In a year with a massive roster of truly epic games to play, I still haven’t forgotten one of my favorites, Remnant 2 – a soulslike looter shooter with procedurally generated levels that I’ve easily put more than 100 hours into at this point. And as luck would have it, there’s more of that sweet multiversal goodness on the way with The Awakened King, a DLC that will add a sizable chunk of fresh content and plenty of reasons to grab some friends and jump back into the fray. In a hands-off demo of the expansion, I saw some tasty items, weapons, enemies, and, of course, bosses, and I already can’t wait to revisit one of my most beloved games of 2023.
The Awakened King adds a bunch of new content for one of Remnant 2’s standout areas, Losomn, the Bloodbornian Anor Londo-esque world filled with extremely aggressive angelic knights and dirty cockney newsies with coal streaks on their faces and a hatred of outsiders in their hearts. Anyone who played the Fae storyline probably already knows about that world’s departed king, who was betrayed and put into an endless sleep by conspirators and usurperpers. Well, now he’s awake and none too happy about all the unauthorized shenanigans that’ve been going on in his absence – and it’s up to you to do something about that.
The added story comes with a unique overworld called The Forlorn Coast, which takes you from a seaside shanty town all the way up to the king’s regal castle, which he’s rudely parked right on top of a Dran settlement. During the demo, I saw a preacher in the streets rallying his fellow commonfolk against the returned king’s iron fist and a blademaster serving that king with deadly efficiency as he impaled a trespasser in Remnant 2’s first Fatality-like boss fight death animation. According to developer Gunfire Games, this new route is slightly larger than other Remnant 2 stories, owing to the fact that Losomn has become something of a fan-favorite. The fact that only one of the main three realms will have an extra option going forward isn’t lost on Gunfire Games, who told me they hope to expand the other two as well with future updates, adding even more possibilities to a game that prides itself on replayability.
Interestingly, The Forlorn Coast is a tad less procedurally generated than some of the other stories, a move the developer says was inspired by the likes of the Losomn asylum storyline, where fewer random variables allowed for a more cohesive story. According to them, The Awakened King intends to pack a narrative punch and move the needle on the goings-on involved in the Fae/Dran conflict. Whether that strategy will be worth the diminished diversity with the procedurally generated areas remains to be seen, but what little I saw so far already seemed much more focused on telling a story.
And of course, it wouldn’t be Remnant 2 without some more weapons to blow enemies away and trinkets to expand your buildcrafting options, and The Awakened King promises a significant number of shiny toys to play with. The developers were pretty tight-lipped about what exactly is in store or how much is being added, but they called out that a lot of the equipment is themed around the DLC’s story and will offer buffs that play into the king’s bloody quest for vengeance.
The expansion also provides a novel solution for veteran players to enjoy all the added content without having to reroll Losomn in hopes of getting the DLC storyline. Anyone who’s already beaten Losomn will have the ability to roll the third Losomn storyline specifically and play a bespoke version of it that only includes the DLC encounters. On subsequent playthroughs (or if it’s your first time in Losomn), old content will be mixed in with the fresh stuff to retain Remnant 2’s procedurally generated goodness. But I really appreciate that I won’t have to fish around for the new content when the king awakens later this month.
