Bestest best roguelite city builder Against The Storm is getting invaded by bats. Not the kind that swoop and screech and dive around your car in New Games Journalism articles that lean a bit too obviously on Hunter S. Thompson – bless our hearts, we’ve all done it – but the kind who labour at the forge and rejoice when their colleagues crumble and may even drive other workers out in order to make themselves feel better.
On the whole, I think I prefer the Fear and Loathing variety. Anyway, here’s the trailer for Against the Storm’s second DLC expansion, Nightwatchers, which will release on PC via Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store and the Microsoft Store on July 31st.
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“The Bats despise weakness and tend to thrive where others fail, making them unique but volatile companions on an expedition into the wilderness,” says a press release of the new DLC faction. “Their Manorial Court ability is used to expel a member of another species, leveraging this harsh punishment to motivate the rest of the workforce. They also gain resolve when other species leave the settlement.”
While the bats may not make for great neighbours, publishers Hooded Horse and developers Eremite Games claim they’ll stand you in good stead when exploring the DLC’s two new biomes. The Rocky Ravine is a treeless waste where you’ll find a lot of metal and stone, plus “merciless merchants who won’t think twice about exploiting you for their gain”. There’s a new Black Market to exploit here, defined by “highly volatile prices and goods availability, all hidden from the watchful eyes of the Scorched Queen.”
The second biome is Bamboo Flats, a place of heavy precipitation in at least two senses. “Though the constant rain has left these regions devoid of any fertile soil, the giant Fluffbeak is able to produce copious amounts of fertilizer to enrich the soil and help establish a flourishing settlement, provided it’s well taken care of,” the developers explain. “Manage its hunger, thirst, and warmth to reap rewards.” OK, this sounds like the more interesting part of the DLC, actually: keep Rodan happy so that it’ll shit on you regularly enough to hold starvation at bay.
The DLC will also include new orders, world events, rewards, and music. It will accompany the game’s 1.8 update, which introduces a new Smouldering City upgrade, a legendary cornerstone and various other bits and pieces, none of them as instantly compelling as the prospect of founding a colony on birdpoop. I wonder if the bats feel happier when they’re being crapped on – it seems like the kind of rough living they’d enjoy.
