The Riftbreaker: Into The Dark Review Summary

Fun DLC with a new biome, enemies, mechanics, and underground gameplay, but game-breaking progression bugs, longstanding issues, and poor performance in the new zone hold it back.

New biome and enemies added: The DLC introduces new underground biomes, enemies, weapons, and defensive structures. These additions provide variety and fresh challenges for players.

DLC is fun and enjoyable: Overall, players report having a good time with the DLC, finding it a fun and refreshing addition to the base game. The new content is engaging and provides many hours of entertainment.

New mechanics and underground gameplay: The DLC introduces unique gameplay mechanics such as digging, limited energy generation, and underground base building. These changes offer a fresh experience compared to the surface gameplay.

Story and campaign expanded: The DLC expands the game's storyline, particularly focusing on Ashley's backstory, and adds new campaign missions. It integrates well with the main game, allowing players to hop in and out.

Boss fights are enjoyable: The addition of boss fights is well-received, with many praising their mechanics and the challenge they provide. Some note that the fight can end quickly with high-damage weapons.

Game-breaking progression bugs: Several bugs block progression: after building the fourth seismic analyzer, the drill elevator cannot be activated. After defeating the behemoth, the player cannot descend or return, ending the campaign.

DLC is boring and uninteresting: Players find the DLC boring, junk, and the least interesting of the bunch. Many describe it as not fun and lacking engaging content.

Longstanding bugs remain unfixed: Multiple reports indicate a bug has persisted for years, since 2023, despite patches. Patches have been released but the bug remains unresolved.

Story is weak and undeveloped: The story is considered meh, with a good idea that is too little developed and botched. It lacks a proper start and end.

Underground stuck progression bug: The game gets stuck when going underground, making it impossible to continue. Players cannot enter the underground cave, blocking progress.

Digging and Cave Exploration: A core new mechanic involves manually digging tunnels through soft rock to create paths. This is tied to a cave or underground setting, adding exploration elements.

Boss Fights with Story: The DLC includes boss fights integrated into the story, some with their own arenas and dialogue choices. This adds narrative and challenge.

Base Building and Exploration: The DLC emphasizes base building and map exploration, allowing players to construct underground bases and outposts. This adds a strategic layer.

New and Reskinned Enemies: The DLC adds a variety of new enemies, including armored and difficult foes, as well as variants of existing ones. Many monsters are introduced, enhancing combat variety.

New Weapons and Unlocks: The DLC introduces new weapons such as Shard Gun, Sonic Fist, and Sonic Grenade, along with buildings and walls. These unlocks expand gameplay options.

Performance issues in new zone: Multiple reviewers report heavy lag, stuttering, and freezing in the new zone or biome, especially with many monsters spawning. The game also experiences crashes and performance degradation over time.

Unoptimized even on high-end PCs: The game lags and stutters on top-tier hardware such as an i9-13900k and RTX 4090. This indicates severe optimization problems across all system configurations.

Optional DLC, skippable but enjoyable: Many reviewers consider this DLC optional side content, not essential to the base game. Some enjoyed it but wouldn't miss it if skipped.

Wait for sale or discount: A recurring recommendation is to wait for a discount or sale, as the DLC is not worth full price. Some suggest a deep sale of 90% off.

Worth full price for many: Numerous reviewers found the DLC worth it at full price, citing good content and reasonable pricing.

Recommended for base game fans: Those who enjoy the base game and want more content are likely to appreciate this DLC. It is recommended for fans seeking additional hours.

Support small developers: Some reviewers recommend buying the DLC to support the small independent development team, even if the content is not essential.

Community fair range: $25.00 - $35.00.

Game completion: 6.0h.

Story completion: 4.0h.

According to these reports, the DLC does not develop a fun phase; players describe it as boring, tedious, and adding little useful content, with a difficulty spike that makes early starting worse.

Friction: Difficulty spike when started early; Tedious cave system for base building and exploration; Repetitive events and difficult building; Fewer chances to use towers; Long, boring dialogues outside the core moment; No useful equipment or technology added for the rest of the game.

Base-Building Wave-Defense Enthusiast: Focuses on base construction, outpost management, and twin-stick combat against huge enemy swarms. Motivation: To build and optimize bases while defending against large-scale enemy attack waves. Stance: buy.

Veteran Challenge-Seeking Optimizer: Delays DLC content, manages gear tiers carefully, and analyzes enemy resistances and attack patterns. Motivation: To find and preserve a meaningful combat challenge rather than trivialize the game with late-game power. Stance: sale.

Dev-Supporting Franchise Loyalist: Plays the base game plus DLCs, follows community streams, and advocates for future features like co-op. Motivation: To support the developers, keep the game growing, and remain connected to its community. Stance: buy.

Monetization: The reviews focus on DLC/expansion pricing and content. Some praise the DLC as cheap and worthwhile, while a few criticize content quality or value. There is no direct evidence that the game sells real-money in-game purchases, loot boxes, premium currencies, paid power, or battle passes. The monetization therefore appears to be a traditional paid DLC model, which is fair under the scoring rules.

Often compared to Metal Terror: Many reviewers compare this DLC unfavorably to the previous Metal Terror expansion, citing less excitement, less balance, and less impressive rewards. Some say Metal Terror was better overall.

Bug workarounds with save reload: Some players encounter bugs that require workarounds such as saving and reloading the game or using console commands to finish stuck triggers. The developer also fixes bugs quickly.

Second DLC in series: This is the second DLC for The Riftbreaker, part of a series of add-ons. It is sometimes bundled with the first DLC in a complete pack.

Comparisons to other games: Reviewers compare this DLC to various games like Deep Rock Galactic, StarCraft, Dungeon Keeper, The Binding of Isaac, and Hell Let Loose. Some note similarities in art style and mechanics.

Good visuals and new biome: The DLC offers pretty visuals and improved graphics, with a new biome that is more pleasant visually than the first DLC's biome. The crystal caverns map is also available for free in survival mode.