*Risk of Rain 2*'s new DLC is here! This time, it's not just a reskin anymore

A 7 out of 10. Because this time, Risk of Rain 2’s new DLC, Risk of Rain 2: Hallowed Concepts, hasn’t revealed all that much so far—but the vibe is right. As a veteran player who’s been gaming since the PS1 era, whenever I see the words “new DLC officially announced,” my first reaction is never excitement. I always look at what you’re actually adding first—just don’t turn it into one of those cheap expansion discs from the old console days: big name, thin content.

At tonight’s “3i Initiative” showcase, the developers officially unveiled this expansion. Its core selling point is pretty straightforward: it takes players into N’Kuhana’s darker, stranger territory. Put simply, this direction is at least more promising than the kind of update that just stuffs in a few new guns and slaps on a couple of extra modifiers. At the very least, it looks like it’s trying to build a complete atmosphere, rather than digging through the warehouse for scraps.

From what’s been confirmed so far, survivors will fight in a brand-new region of Petrichor V, and new enemies will also be added. The developers also mentioned that players will encounter “unprecedented powerful forces” in Risk of Rain 2. I’m reserving judgment on that wording for now. If there’s one thing the gaming industry hasn’t lacked in recent years, it’s big talk—and when the final product arrives, the “power” can end up feeling like an uncharged soul in Onimusha: all the spectacle is there, but the impact may not follow through.

That said, Risk of Rain 2 was never the kind of game that lives or dies on its story. What has always made it valuable is that in-run experience where everything gets crazier and the pace keeps accelerating. So whether this DLC succeeds won’t come down to how cool the phrase “cult-horror aesthetic” sounds, but to whether the new maps can support the game’s movement flow, whether the new enemies can disrupt veteran players’ muscle memory, and whether that so-called new power really changes build strategy.

Judging from the few screenshots released so far, the overall art direction is clearly leaning harder into gloom and alienness. Forests, giant anomalies, ruin-like beams of light—these elements all evoke that old-school console game feel of levels that are unsettling to look at but still make you want to push deeper inside. It’s a bit like the first time you stumbled into certain hidden areas in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night back in the day: not necessarily flashy, but deeply compelling. To put it lightly, if the final gameplay can sustain that sense of oppression, then this DLC pack should at least avoid being boring.

Should players already be getting their hopes all the way up? I’d say not so fast. The trailer is still “under review,” and the information available right now is limited. Gameplay details, release timing, price, and platforms haven’t been disclosed yet. For veteran players, the safest move is still to wait and see—hold off until the full trailer and more gameplay footage are out, then judge whether this is a true expansion or just another neatly packaged mid-sized update.

If you’ve already been playing Risk of Rain 2 long-term, then this DLC is definitely worth adding to your wishlist—at the very least, its theme and atmosphere have already thrown out the hook. If you’ve long since gone AFK and only check back in occasionally, then wait until it clearly shows what the new region, new enemies, and new power actually bring to the table. It’s still too early to draw conclusions, but at the very least, this time the developers don’t seem to be wearing that “we can throw in anything and you’ll still pay for it” look. On that point, I’ll admit—it’s decent.