Like the last mission pack, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. In terms of level design, there are higher highs and lower lows. Some levels are dull, overlong mazes with almost linear progression, while others are enjoyable romps with clear goals pursued in a player-determined order. The new level themes also help the overall mission pack feel visually distinct.
All the new weapons are upgrades of existing ones, and they have separate ammo pools from their base weapons. The upgraded Nailguns are the laziest because both only do additional damage and possess no other differentiating effects. However, the Plasma Gun—an upgrade for the Thunderbolt—fires electrical balls that explode and do lightning-based splash damage, which is fucking awesome. The explosive weapon upgrades are okay, only increasing the number of explosives detonated with each pull of the trigger. The Nightdive version of the game struggles to handle all the explosions at 60 FPS on PlayStation 5. There are no shotgun upgrades, which is a colossal missed opportunity.
Most of the new enemy types suck compared to what Scourge of Armagon offered. Electric Eels aren't too different from Rotfish, Statues are the same as their organic counterparts, and the Hell Spawns can be disposed of so quickly that you might miss how they're distinct from regular Spawns. Worst of all are Wraths, which are essentially just Vores that move quickly and fire faster projectiles. Vores work as enemies because they're mostly stationary; you can avoid damage by keeping them out of view and outpacing their projectiles. You can't do that against Wraths, so encounters with them quickly become frustrating, and the frustration compounds when the designers decide to throw multiple at you in a tight space. Despite all these missteps, I did enjoy the fights against the Guardians and the Dragon. This mission pack is another guilty pleasure.
All the new weapons are upgrades of existing ones, and they have separate ammo pools from their base weapons. The upgraded Nailguns are the laziest because both only do additional damage and possess no other differentiating effects. However, the Plasma Gun—an upgrade for the Thunderbolt—fires electrical balls that explode and do lightning-based splash damage, which is fucking awesome. The explosive weapon upgrades are okay, only increasing the number of explosives detonated with each pull of the trigger. The Nightdive version of the game struggles to handle all the explosions at 60 FPS on PlayStation 5. There are no shotgun upgrades, which is a colossal missed opportunity.
Most of the new enemy types suck compared to what Scourge of Armagon offered. Electric Eels aren't too different from Rotfish, Statues are the same as their organic counterparts, and the Hell Spawns can be disposed of so quickly that you might miss how they're distinct from regular Spawns. Worst of all are Wraths, which are essentially just Vores that move quickly and fire faster projectiles. Vores work as enemies because they're mostly stationary; you can avoid damage by keeping them out of view and outpacing their projectiles. You can't do that against Wraths, so encounters with them quickly become frustrating, and the frustration compounds when the designers decide to throw multiple at you in a tight space. Despite all these missteps, I did enjoy the fights against the Guardians and the Dragon. This mission pack is another guilty pleasure.