Developer: Maschinen-Mensch
Publishers: Thunderful Group, Thunderful Publishing
Platform: PC, Switch, Xbox One, PS4
Tested On: PC
Curious Expedition 2: Shores of Taishi DLC – Review
Last year Curious Expedition 2 was released on Steam, with the game’s first DLC following later that year. Dubbed Highlands of Avalon, said expansion introduced a brand new type of island with its subsequent items, creatures, and characters. Now, the latest DLC, Shores of Taishi, has been released, with similar content as that of the first DLC, but this time based on Asian mythology.
Similar to the previous DLC, Shores of Taishi doesn’t add any story material to the main game. Instead, it simply provides players with a new kind of map to explore during their missions, alongside some new items and characters to recruit. Exploring the type of island added by this DLC is completely optional.
These island types also feature a unique gimmick in the shape of teleportation tiles. These tiles are interconnected with others and will move the player through the segments of the area. On top of this, some of these tiles will serve as a sort of “nexus”, allowing teleportation to any of the other tiles instead of a single linked one.
Alongside this gimmick, Shores of Taishi introduces several brand new enemies, although these don’t particularly stand out other than in their design. The same applies to the recruitable characters, divided into islanders, tanukis, and red pandas. Out of these, the tanukis have the special “belly drum” ability, which will generate noise in an area and provides some more storage, while the red pandas can double as mounts.
Conclusion
Shores of Taishi is an alright DLC that provides slightly more variety to the base game. Those looking for a bit more content, but also to break up the other, more samey, islands, might find what they’re looking for in here. However, the expansion is nothing particularly impressive, as it does not overhaul or change the main gameplay loop in any meaningful way. Sold for $/€5,99/£4.99, the DLC is not particularly expensive, although this bite-sized expansion is absolutely not required to finish the game. Shores of Taishi does not contain anything players might regret missing out on, and perhaps picking it up in a sale would be a good idea.
Personal Opinion
“While the DLC is not bad, the content it adds is kind of underwhelming. Paying a fourth of what the base game costs for a new type of island and hardly anything else is not really worth it. It is not like these islands have brand new lore, a side-story, or any actual meaningful content. The DLC just has some trinkets to spice things up a bit. During a sale, or maybe as a bundle with the base game, it’s not a bad purchase, but I personally wouldn’t buy it after beating the base game.”
Curious Expedition 2: Shores of Taishi DLC - Review,
No Comments