Infested Planet - Trickster's Arsenal Review Summary

New ammo abilities, alien foes, and Ironman mode add fun challenge, but the underpowered spells and unclear DLC purpose make this simple game feel uneven.

New strategic abilities and weapons: The DLC adds commander abilities such as cluster bombs and airdrops, along with new weapons, that provide tactical options in the campaign. Players find these additions fun and useful against alien swarms.

New alien enemies and mutations: Aliens receive new enemy types, mutations, and structures, making missions more dynamic and requiring players to adapt their approaches. Enemies like hivecrawlers demand forethought when engaging hives.

Ironman mode adds challenge: Ironman mode disables soldier respawn in Skirmish and Weekly Challenges, emphasizing micromanagement and preventing recycling abuse. It includes leaderboards for competition and extends playtime.

Fun and simple gameplay: The game features a simple concept that is well executed, with enjoyable gameplay and many difficulty levels. It stands out on Steam for its unique feel.

Adds variety to base game: The DLC introduces new random missions in story mode, expanding the game's content and offering both easier and harder play experiences. This variety keeps the game fresh across all modes.

Unclear DLC purpose: After playing the game in its various modes, reviewers still have no idea what this DLC is, what it adds to the original game, and what it changes. Developers need to make it more clear both before and after purchase what the DLC does.

Spell system feels underpowered: Most spells beyond the cluster bomb are not useful enough to justify learning hotkeys. Spells also require sacrificing universally useful grenades that automatically hit enemies, making them less appealing.

Overwhelming for newcomers: Extra features and new alien types may be a bit overwhelming for newcomers. This can create a steep learning curve for new players.

DLC purchase restoration bug: If players bought all spells, disabled the DLC, and then re-enabled it, they must repurchase the spells in-game. This is a frustrating issue that wastes player time and resources.

Abilities unbalance the game: The new abilities harm the game's balancing, at least for most of them. This can make the game either too easy or too frustrating depending on the ability.

New Ammo-Powered Abilities: The DLC introduces seven commander abilities that consume ammo, such as Rally Beacon, Cluster Bomb, Stasis Field, Overdose, Teleport Jump, Airdrop, and Steel Curtain. These provide new tactical options beyond the base game's limited ammo use.

New Alien Enemies and Structures: New alien types and structures are added, including a hive crawler that rebuilds hives elsewhere if not killed, and a building that triggers mutations when destroyed. These require more forethought when engaging hives.

Ironman Mode Introduced: The game adds an Ironman mode that disables soldier respawn and prevents recycling, making micromanagement essential to preserve units and resources. It is available in skirmish and weekly challenges, with dedicated leaderboards for competition.

RTS Feel and Design: The game is described as having a unique RTS feel with many difficulty levels, lots of upgrades, and large unit control. It is compared to StarCraft but without base building.

DLC Adds Content Variety: The DLC adds several new weapons, including cluster bombs and airdrops, for fighting the bugs, as well as new capacities and abilities. It enhances the base game's variety and personal strategies.

Recommend for base game owners: Many suggest that if you already own or plan to get the base game, purchasing this add-on is a logical choice. It is also recommended for those who enjoyed the main game.

High recommendation overall: A significant number of reviewers highly recommend the DLC, with some urging players to get it without hesitation. This reflects strong positive sentiment.

Base game prerequisite recommended: Some reviewers advise playing the vanilla game before adding the DLC, as the extra features can be overwhelming for newcomers. This helps players get a feel for the core mechanics first.

Recommended for RTS fans: The game is recommended for players who enjoy real-time strategy games, particularly those involving base building and unit control. This targets a specific audience.

DLC offers optional abilities: The DLC provides additional abilities and content, but players are not forced to use them, making it a flexible addition. This is highlighted as a reason to recommend the purchase.

Community fair range: $20.00 - $30.00.

Challenge-Seeking Tactician: Deliberate, consequence-heavy play that avoids exploiting recycle mechanics and accepts irreversible choices. Motivation: To face meaningful, permanent strategic consequences and overcome a demanding tactical challenge. Stance: buy.

Alien-Faction Enthusiast: Seeks asymmetric multiplayer, alien campaign scenarios, and aggressive alien-themed combat. Motivation: To engage deeply with alien factions, either by playing as them or by reveling in anti-alien power fantasy. Stance: buy.

Cautious Vanilla-First Value Buyer: Starts with the base game, disables add-ons initially, and waits for discounts before committing to extra content. Motivation: To get the best value and avoid DLC overload by playing the vanilla game first and buying on sale. Stance: sale.

Monetization: The reviews concern a traditional paid expansion, the Trickster's Arsenal DLC, which adds spells, buffs, and abilities. Feedback is limited to DLC value and price criticism and one technical entitlement bug involving repurchasing spells with in-game mana. There is no evidence of a real-money shop, gacha, loot boxes, battle pass, paid power, or convenience microtransactions. All purchases described use in-game gameplay currency, and the only pricing remarks target the one-time DLC price.

Teen censor rating assigned: The game has a Teen censor rating and an age rating of 13. This suggests it is suitable for teenagers.

Developer engages in open discussions: The developer holds open discussions and chats with players. This fosters a positive community relationship.

Adds variety to skirmish mode: The DLC adds variety, especially to skirmish mode. This expands gameplay options for players who enjoy that mode.

Compared to StarCraft without base building: The game is compared to StarCraft but without base building. This highlights its unique take on the strategy genre.

Few similar games on Steam: There are barely any games like this on Steam. This indicates a unique offering in the marketplace.