Remnant: From the Ashes Swamps of Corsus DLC Review — Surviving the Pit

Remnant: From the Ashes was one of the surprise titles of 2019. It sold extremely well and got almost universally positive reviews (including from us). We were excited to hear that the game’s first major DLC, Swamps of Corsus, was headed our way with a few new tricks up its sleeve.

We’re loading up our rifles to go hunting through the DLC, and we’ll tell you whether or not it warrants another adventure through the twisted world of Remnant. If you’ve never played the base game, you might want to check out our original review before diving in.

Remnant: From the Ashes Swamps of Corsus DLC Review — Surviving the Pit

If you aren’t familiar, the most basic description of Remnant: From the Ashes is “Dark Souls with guns.” Obviously, this is a reductive way to summarize the game, but it puts us all on the same page. You move through a dark, mysterious world, hunting monsters and incrementally leveling your character.

There are waypoints you can jump between, if you die and make it back to your corpse, you get your XP back, and you will do a lot of dodge rolling (particularly against the tough-as-nails bosses).

What we weren’t particularly expecting from the original Remnant was how much the developers were able to add to that formula to make Remnant its own thing. The game’s improved maneuverability, slight randomization of world layouts, extensive co-op options, and emphasis on New Game+ elements made it an enjoyable and fun ride through multiple playthroughs. It’s a strong contender for “best surprise” of 2019.

The best part of this new DLC is that the elements that are added are neatly incorporated into every new world you start. You can tackle the new modes and start grabbing new equipment almost immediately, and the new zones are seamlessly incorporated into the existing content once you load a new world.

Considering how much replayability Remant: From the Ashes already has, it means this DLC is, at a base level, just more stuff to play with. If you’ve been away for a while and want to dive back in, you’ll start seeing new content right off the bat. It also means that, if you’re new to the game, it’s just more stuff to optimize your character with.

New weapons, traits, enemies, and more will all appear in the Swamps of Corsus DLC, so you’ll have to start rethinking some of your tried-and-true strategies to find what works best.

The Swamps are Calling

Swamps of Corsus beefs up the Corsus realm, which is already part of the base game. The DLC molds it into a full-fledged world complete with devious enemies and gigantic bosses. The new enemies have some really fun designs and attacks, and unlike some of the creatures that could seem like reskins in the original game, the new Swamps of Corsus enemies are very unique.

The bosses in Swamps of Corsus also deserve a special callout. Maybe it’s just because I had practiced so much on the base game bosses and these were all brand-new, but the DLC bosses seem tougher than anything I had previously faced.

When you get past fearsome design, some of the original bosses have fairly easy exploits. Not here. The new bosses in Swamps of Corsus will put your dodging, aiming, and positioning to the ultimate test.

Survive, If You Can

All that aside, the big draw of Swamps of Corsus is the new Survival Mode. This mode is separate from the main game, but it completely transforms Remnant. When you load into Survival Mode, you are dropped into a hub with a bit of scrap to your name and some very basic equipment. You can purchase a few traits or weapons, but then it’s time to set out.

You’ll travel through corrupted worldstones, each loading up a random area full of enemies and pickups. A timer counts down and each time it hits zero, enemies will get a strength increase. Your goal is to continue picking up items and defeating bosses to make it as far as you can before you are overwhelmed.

Survival turns Remnant into a roguelike, which is a fantastic way to extend the life of the game if you played it into the ground when it first released.

Survival runs can go horribly wrong, too; I had multiple runs where none of the equipment I picked up gelled, and it was only a matter of time before enemies picked me off. As I started shaking off the rust, however, my skills started pushing me through until I could start figuring out a decent build, and all those good vibes started flooding back from my first time starting to master Remnant.

In short, Survival mode breathes new life into Remnant: From the Ashes; if you enjoyed it back on its initial release, you should probably have the Swamps of Corsus DLC on your radar.

Remnant: From the Ashes Swamps of Corsus Review — The Bottom Line

Pros:

• New weapons, items, and bosses fit well and bring new life to Remnant
• Much of the content is available right off the bat
• Survival Mode is a whole new way to play, and it might be more enjoyable than the main game

Cons:

• If you got bored of Remnant‘s style, there isn’t a lot here that will reignite your interest
• If it was already too difficult, the new bosses are even worse

If you already have and enjoy Remnant: From the Ashes, this DLC is a no-brainer. It’s only $10, and the Survival Mode on its own is like a whole new game. That, coupled with the new content, means this is providing a good bang for your buck.

If you’re brand-new to Remnant: From the Ashes, there’s no reason to not just tack the DLC on when you pick it up. Since everything is incorporated already, it’ll just give you more options as you make your first journey through the gameworld.

Swamps of Corsus is a slam dunk. About the only big issue we could find is that only PC players have access at this point: console gamers will have to wait to venture into the swamp. But that will sort itself out in time, as the DLC is set to hit consoles sometime this year. 

[Note: A copy of Remnant: From the Ashes — Swamps of Corsus DLC was provided by Perfect World Games for the purpose of this review.]