I’m usually not one for survival games, as I find the endless gameplay grinds somewhat tiresome. However, I was pleasantly surprised upon diving into EXOR Studios’ newest entry into the genre. The Riftbreaker was released in 2021, and this July the first major expansion was announced. Dubbed Metal Terror, this DLC adds a breath of new content to the game. Players can dive into the bio-mechanical world of the Metallic Valley and unlock a variety of new weapons, defenses, enemies, and buildings. Additionally, some nice quality of life changes have been added, including the mass upgrade and repair tools.

The main story of The Riftbreaker follows Ashley Nowak, a human scientist who has been dispatched to the alien planet of Galatea 37 in order to gather intel and determine if the planet is suitable for human colonization. Ashley is equipped with a highly-advanced AI mech suit called Riggs, which allows for the creation of various important buildings and weaponry as you traverse through various biomes gathering data before returning to Earth. While not the most engaging narrative I’ve ever experienced, it’s certainly serviceable and provides enough structure to keep you pushing forward.

The main gameplay of Riftbreaker is a hybrid between a tower defense and an RTS game, with a few RPG elements thrown in as well. You construct a base of operations, manage resources, and explore the map. The world here is always in a constant state of motion, which does a lot to increase your immersion. New sub-missions are constantly appearing, and various weather conditions can often affect the gameplay by causing radical changes in resource production. Periodically you will also fight against waves of increasingly difficult alien hordes that will do their best to eradicate your base.

Fortunately, your mech suit can be outfitted with a variety of different guns and melee weapons that are mapped to different mouse clicks and can be swapped between on the fly with a simple press of a key. Aiming is easily accomplished through the mouse, and each weapon manages to feel unique and very satisfying to use. Additionally, your character can also be upgraded with multiple special abilities as you research more advanced weaponry, thus allowing you to self-repair, place mines, or call down airstrikes.

Make no mistake, you’ll need to employ every facet of your armory in order to survive the vast hordes that will assault you along your journey. One mistake could end up costing you huge sections of your base, forcing you to spend extra time rebuilding. However, nothing feels better than expertly navigating the map and setting up just the right defenses in order to prevail against a particularly aggressive attack.

These various elements all come together to form a very addictive and satisfying gameplay loop. I love seeing the progression of my base and the map is quite fun to explore. Each biome is gorgeously rendered and filled with nature. Though this aspect can often lead to some frustration, as in moments of high stress you can often find yourself stuck on walls or amid the foliage.

The new area of the Metallic Valley is especially exciting. I enjoyed the enemy designs and soundtrack but also found the story to be more interesting than that of the base game. It captures your imagination and employs some fun Sci-Fi tropes. I hope the developers will continue to flesh out the alien civilization introduced here in future DLC plans.

I feel this game has a lot of potential for even more content in addition to the large amount already present here. The newest tools added to this DLC are also massively helpful. Being able to upgrade and repair buildings on a large scale is necessary for reducing tedious activities and helping to ease up the strain on your time management skills.

After you finish the main story campaign, the Survival mode offers you a chance for endless replay value as you face endless hordes of monsters. Additionally, the story campaign can also be replayed on various levels of difficulty if you really feel up to a challenge. The developers have also discussed adding Co-op as a potential feature in the future, which will allow for even more challenges and avenues of gameplay features.

The Riftbreaker delivers a solid gameplay experience that merges various genres while still managing to stand on its own. Though the story does leave a lot to be desired, I enjoyed my time with the game and would encourage fans of games such as StarCraft or Age of Empires to check out this more PvE-focused take on the RTS genre.

A PC review copy of The Riftbreaker was provided by EXOR Studios for this review. 

The Riftbreaker

$9.99

7.8

Score

7.8/10

Pros

• Great Environments
• Fun Combat
• Satisfying Progression

Cons

• Surface Level Story