Rebel Inc: Escalation - Sand & Secrets Review Summary

Deep strategic Middle East roleplay and positive DLC reception are undercut by lackluster DLC content, punishingly high difficulty, and extremely low income.

Positive DLC reception: Players generally praise the DLC, calling it good, amazing, and pawesome. The overall sentiment is highly favorable.

Fun new scenarios: The new scenarios are described as fun and enjoyable by multiple players. This adds significant value to the DLC experience.

Deep strategic gameplay: The DLC provides deep strategy beyond just having the biggest army, with engaging challenges where decisions have consequences. This adds depth to the gameplay.

Unique map features: The map includes unique features like the derrick idea and encirclement of mountainous areas not at the edge. These elements are appreciated for their novelty.

Roleplay as US in Middle East: Players enjoy the ability to roleplay as the US in the Middle East, especially with the theme of bringing democracy to oil fields. This adds immersive narrative.

Income is extremely low: Players repeatedly state that starting income is only $1 per month and remains insufficient even with oil derricks captured, making it impossible to control insurgents and stabilize the region.

Difficulty is excessively high: Even easy and normal modes are barely beatable, and higher difficulties like Brutal and Mega Brutal require a frustrating amount of luck compared to other maps, widening the gap with the oil field scenario.

DLC content is lackluster: The DLC offers only about 30 minutes of fun with extremely lackluster content, and players feel it should not be sold as DLC, calling the business practice greedy.

Insurgents are too strong and fast: Rebels spawn everywhere, cross multiple regions directly to oil wells, escalate within minutes, and capture districts and even the player's HQ while the AI appears to cheat with rapid movement.

Golden Sands map is poorly designed: The Golden Sands map is described as crap, annoying, horribly designed to induce rage, unrealistic despite realism claims, and the hardest one.

Oil field economic mechanic: Oil fields generate monthly income, and capturing rigs adds extra money, but this comes at the cost of reducing other income. Controlling four oil derricks is required to receive most funding, and derricks appear in random districts each new game.

DLC adds new maps and scenarios: The DLC expands the game with new maps and fresh scenarios, including Golden Sands, which originated from the mobile version. One map is designed around a high difficulty level and offers a region to learn.

Rebel insurgency pressures player: Rebels spread across the map, move toward oil wells, and can even capture oil mining and the player's HQ. Insurgent strength and spawning on two different map sides add persistent pressure.

Multiple difficulty settings available: The game offers several difficulty modes, from casual and easy to normal and mega brutal. Higher settings increase the challenge and reward.

Turn-based strategy with RTS scenario: The core game is turn-based strategy, but a real-time operation scenario shifts it into RTS. In that real-time mode players can change speed but cannot pause.

Free month justifies purchase: Several positive reviews mention that the first month is free, so buyers have no reason to complain.

Not worth buying: Multiple reviewers advise against purchasing, with some stating it is not even worth more than a euro.

Wait for a sale: Several reviewers recommend buying it only during a sale.

Thumbs-down over unfair map: Some players give a negative recommendation because the map is perceived as unfair and impossible to win.

DLC divisive: Some reviewers strongly recommend the DLC while others strongly advise against it.

Game completion: 0.5h.

Challenge-Seeking DLC Player: Seeks out difficult maps and values challenge over casual accessibility. Motivation: To test their skill against harder and more complicated DLC scenarios. Stance: buy.

Franchise Loyalist: Continues playing familiar content and values more of the same over innovation. Motivation: To get more of the original game they already enjoy, even without major new content. Stance: buy.

Casual Newcomer: Plays casual levels and expects manageable difficulty rather than complex challenge. Motivation: To play casually without facing punishing or unpredictable difficulty. Stance: no buy.

DLC free for limited time: Several reviewers note the DLC was offered free for a month after release. This was appreciated by players who obtained it at no cost.

DLC lacks sufficient content: Reviewers feel the DLC adds little content and delivers only 20% of expected output. It is described as a smaller DLC with about 2 hours of gameplay.

Paid DLC content: Some players criticize that content previously paid on mobile is now also paid on PC. Others mention DLC blocking some content behind a paywall.

New region added: The DLC introduces a new desert region to the game, featuring a sandworm reminiscent of the worm virus from Plague Inc.

Map difficulty and luck criticized: The new map is compared unfavorably to other maps regarding difficulty and the amount of luck required.