Across the Obelisk: The Obsidian Uprising Review Summary

Fun new enemies and items, compelling lore, and a visually impressive area are undermined by poor value, locked DLC content, and a pet that must be rebuilt each run.

Fun new enemies and items: New enemies are interesting to fight and the added items are enjoyable to use. The free pet is also a nice bonus for higher difficulty levels.

Compelling story and lore: The DLC delivers an engaging side story with many twists and rich lore. Bringing related heroes unlocks dedicated dialogue that enhances the narrative.

Visually impressive new area: The new explorable area has excellent aesthetics and shows clear effort in its design. Reviewers consistently praise how great it looks.

Sub-area decoupled from characters: Keeping your own characters and bringing existing party members to farm the new area is a pro-consumer design choice. This allows repeated play without restrictions.

Abundant cosmetic and content additions: The DLC includes many skins (7 unlock immediately), new items, cards, a small map, and 2 new pets. Overall gameplay remains fun with these additions.

Poor value for price: Players feel the DLC does not add enough content to justify its cost, with some saying it offers at most an hour of new gameplay.

DLC content remains locked: Players who purchased the DLC report that special skins and other content remain locked, and the game repeatedly prompts them to buy it again. Reinstalling does not fix the issue.

Pet must be rebuilt each run: The Scrappy pet cannot be kept between runs and must be recreated by detouring to the red zone every time, which players find tedious.

New map is too small: Reviewers note that the new area is not large and contains very little content, feeling like a single side area with only about eight encounters.

Lack of meaningful player choice: The story feels like the player is a passenger rather than the protagonist, with an anti-climactic ending that reveals no true choice.

DLC adds new dungeon area: The DLC introduces a new sub-map or mini dungeon that players can enter during normal runs, similar to the time rift. It appears in the volcano map and is playable in multiplayer.

New content supports repeat runs: The added content is designed for repeated use in future runs, including with friends. Players can bring existing party characters to farm and keep their own characters in the new zone.

Pet crafting and rebuilding system: A pet crafting system allows players to build a Scrappy pet and remake it at the red zone. The DLC includes two new pets.

New enemies story and items: The DLC adds new enemies, story elements, and items. It also includes a new pet as part of the content.

Multiplayer access with one owner: In multiplayer, only one player needs to own the DLC for the group to access the area. This makes the content easily shareable among friends.

Buy only on sale: Several reviewers recommend purchasing only if the DLC is discounted, indicating that full price is not justified. This suggests limited perceived value.

Ownership bug blocks DLC: A user reports an ownership bug that prevents access to the DLC, leading to a not-recommended verdict. This technical issue undermines the purchase experience.

Value only for replayers: The DLC is recommended specifically for players who regularly replay content, while those who don't are advised to skip it. This highlights a niche target audience.

Veterans need expansion: The DLC is recommended for veteran players seeking new content to extend their experience. This positions it as aimed at dedicated fans.

Unique pet and red area: The DLC is considered worth it for the unique pet and the opportunity to visit the red area. These features are highlighted as the main draw.

Community fair range: $15.00 - $25.00.

Game completion: 1.0h.

Endgame: 5.0h.

Dedicated Co-op Veteran: Plays mostly multiplayer co-op over hundreds of hours and evaluates DLC through the lens of dedicated group play. Motivation: To keep enjoying long-term cooperative runs and access new DLC content with an established play group. Stance: buy.

Sale-Waiting Value Shopper: Waits for discounts, skips optional content if value is low, and recommends the DLC only when cheap. Motivation: To get worthwhile DLC content without paying full price, especially when the added content is modest. Stance: sale.

Monetization: The reviews focus on paid DLC access failures and debates over DLC price and value. One review ambiguously mentions buying a new pet but frames it as DLC content, not a separate cash-shop purchase. No review provides direct evidence of an in-game real-money shop, premium currency, loot boxes, gacha pulls, paid power, or convenience items. The monetization evidence remains consistent with a DLC-only model, so the score is capped in the fair range.

Stronger than Wolf Wars DLC: Multiple reviewers highlight that this DLC is a notable improvement over the previous Wolf Wars expansion, with better design and consumer-friendly choices. It is considered a stronger release overall.

Content feels thin for price: Some reviewers feel the DLC offers only about an hour of new gameplay plus a pet, skins, and cards, which is too little for the asking price. Concerns are raised about the developers' ability to deliver sufficient value.

New zone retains party: Unlike Wolf Wars, the new Obsidian Uprising zone allows players to bring their existing party characters, which is seen as a significant quality-of-life improvement.

Fire region sub-area added: The DLC introduces a new sub-area in the fire region featuring new enemies, story content, items, and a pet, expanding the game's world.

Frequent developer patches: The developers are noted for constantly updating the game with patches, showing ongoing support and responsiveness.