Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus Review Summary

An excellent, massive DLC with great value, though vehicle and crane glitches, technical bugs, and a lack of progression goals hold it back.

New vehicles are cool: The new vehicles introduced in the DLC look and feel fantastic, adding to the overall enjoyment. Reviewers specifically mention the drills as really cool.

DLC praised as excellent: Many reviewers consider the DLC very fun and a great expansion, with some even saying it's better than the base game. It is highly recommended for fans of the original game.

DLC offers massive content: The DLC more than doubles the base game's content and is considered objectively bigger and better by many. It adds numerous new mechanics, vehicles, and areas to explore.

Good value for money: Reviewers find the DLC worth the price, with some saying it's worth a full price. It provides an absurd amount of content for the price, making it a reasonable purchase.

Lots to do and explore: The DLC brings many new things to do and explore, especially on the new map. There is so much content that players feel there's always something to do.

Vehicle and crane problems: Vehicles frequently get stuck, have poor physics, and are hard to control, especially the crane truck. The crane's swaying and snapping make placing large machines frustrating.

Bugs and technical issues: Numerous bugs are reported, including glitched quests, achievements not triggering, save data loss, crashes, and performance problems like stutters and low FPS. These issues negatively impact the experience.

DLC is a reskin of base game: The DLC is perceived as a rehash of the base game with a lava theme, offering few new mechanics or ideas. It feels like Hydroneer with extra steps rather than a true expansion.

DLC lacks progression and goals: There is no clear goal or meaningful progression after tier 2, with tier 3 offering only minor stat increases. The DLC lacks a main quest or endgame purpose beyond an expensive trophy.

Tedious travel and shopping: Players spend excessive time driving between distant shops and locations, often only to buy a few items. The lack of bulk buying and the need to visit multiple towns for different supplies exacerbate the tedium.

New lava and water mechanics: The DLC introduces a new mechanic where lava powers machines and melts ice to produce water for conveyor belts. This adds a new level of factory optimization.

DLC is standalone: The DLC does not overlap with the base game and can be played as a separate game. It includes its own new map and progression.

Large map and islands: The DLC features a larger map than the base game, including multiple islands such as Bastion Island and a new island that is much larger than the original.

Bone collection for museum: Players collect 36 Hydrosaur bones scattered across the map to complete a museum quest. The bones reward tokens and make driving between bases more interesting.

Tier-based progression system: The DLC includes a tier-based progression system where players grind through tiers to advance. For example, reaching tier 2 is a milestone.

Severe performance problems: Multiple reviewers report that the game runs poorly, with one describing performance as garbage. Crashes and stutters also occur within short play sessions.

DLC poorly optimized: The DLC is reported to be more laggy than the core game on low-end PCs. One player notes the DLC runs at 20 FPS on full low graphics while the base game runs at 60 FPS on normal graphics.

Late-game slowdown: The game slows down as the player builds and mines faster. One reviewer previously experienced 10 FPS with a tier 3 mine.

Saving and autosave stutters: Saving takes forever and autosaves cause stutters. These issues compound the overall performance problems reported by players.

Specific areas cause lag: Reviewers identify certain locations as especially lag-inducing, including Dome town, the volcano and its smoke, and the foggy part of the island.

Strong value and recommendation: Many reviewers consider the DLC worth the price and highly recommend it, especially for those who enjoyed the base game or want more content. It is described as an incredible expansion with more than double the content for less than the base game price.

Essential for base game fans: Frequent comments state that if you loved Hydroneer or remotely enjoyed the base game, you will love this DLC. It is recommended for both long-time players and newcomers, and seen as a must-play for fans.

Not recommended in current state: Several users cannot recommend the DLC as it is, citing issues such as forced walking, lack of updates, and disappointment with its direction. Some say to skip it or stick to the base game.

Positive but with caveats: Some reviewers only recommend buying on discount or if you have no money problems, indicating mixed feelings about the full price. Others say it's okay to buy but not essential.

Achievement hunting is a chore: Achievement hunters are warned that getting all achievements is tedious, and using mods will disable achievements. This may deter completionists from fully enjoying the DLC.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $15.00.

Game completion: 40.0h.

The game is fun initially, especially when learning the new progression and seeing buffs improve ore output, but it later drops for some players due to weak late-game progression tiers, tedium, and a lack of meaningful goals.

Friction: Steep Logic Systems learning curve with no in-game tutorial; Long early waits for drills to mine, described as usually hours; No bulk purchase options; Tedious manual moving of items one at a time; Tedious driving; Buggy and more tedious than the main game.

Unlock drivers: Quests and progression shops make the game easier to stick with; Substantially changed progression is fun to learn; Structured town rebuilding adds progression; Better buffs make ore output feel rewarding; Drill setups persist across tiers, improving sense of progression; Better goals and smoother progression.

Base-Game Automation Veteran: Builds and organizes large automated production setups and optimizes efficiency in the base game. Motivation: To extend the base-game automation loop with more content, organization, and efficient machine building. Stance: buy.

Co-Op Casual Couple Player: Plays 2-player through streaming support, focusing on casual shared progression and reduced grind. Motivation: To enjoy a fresh, less grindy co-op experience with a spouse or partner. Stance: buy.

Grind-Averse Newcomer: Uses starting funds and DLC progression to move rapidly into automation rather than slow manual upgrading. Motivation: To skip the early grind and reach automation quickly as a new or returning player. Stance: buy.

Monetization: The available reviews discuss a traditional paid DLC expansion. Positive comments emphasize substantial content and good value, while the only negative points concern DLC price-to-content and an in-game endgame resource sink. There is no direct evidence of real-money gacha, loot boxes, paid power, paid convenience, battle passes, or an in-game cash shop. Under the scoring rules, this remains in the fair range.

Massive DLC content: Many players note that the DLC more than doubles the base game's content and feels like a full-fledged game or expansion. It provides comparable content to the base game for its price.

DLC pricing and value: The DLC is priced at $10, which is less than the base game, and is considered affordable. Despite being a DLC, it offers significant value.

Comparison to Hydroneer 2: Players often compare the DLC to a hypothetical Hydroneer 2, feeling it is like a sequel or a major step up from the original. Some say it should have been marketed as Hydroneer 2: Journey to Volcalidus.

Better than base game: Compared to the base game, the DLC is considered better and bigger, with improvements in various aspects.

Completion time 10-15 hours: Completion takes about 10-15 hours if you know what to do, including grinding. This indicates a substantial but not overly long experience.