Gunfire Games has shown me Remnant 2’s third and largest DLC, The Dark Horizon. It also includes its free roguelike Boss Rush Mode and endgame progress system.

Remnant 2 is one of my favorite games from last year. It does what it sets out to do very well and doesn't go on too long. It continued to impress through its DLC The Awakened Kingdom and The Forgotten Kingdom. Both DLCs offer an expansion of the game's core system--new items and classes--as a well-rounded 5-8 hour campaign at a very affordable price ($10/PS8.50 per pop).

The only problem is, as I said when I was talking about The Forgotten Kingdom, that these DLCs can be difficult to discuss from a journalistic perspective because, well, it's more of the same. I mean this in the most complimentary manner possible. These things will be a hit with those who liked Remnant 2 because they add more Remnant 2 to your Remnant 2 game. There are only so many different ways I can tell you "you're getting more cookies" if you like cookies.

This time, I don't face that problem. I sat down with principal designers Ben "Tragic Cureton" and Cindy To and I'm happy to report that, while The Dark Horizon looks poised to pile gravy on potatoes, it feels like Gunfire Games biggest flex yet in terms of content--ending the trilogy of promised DLC, with both a new endgame progress system as wellas well as a new Roguelike game mode, which are both free.

They're not giving you anything.

The Dark Horizon is releasing on September 24. Here's what I, and other Remnant 2 fans, will get for free.

First, some updates to the quality of life. The dozens of rings that define your build now have an item filter. This allows you to sort through all the bling in your bag by selecting terms like damage, shield and so on. Relic Fragments, a system that I admit I didn't care much about, now has a new display and some housekeeping.

Cureton told me that they removed 15 old fragments, because the stats were not appealing. "We found out that 14-15 fragments were not being used. So we removed them and added 20 fragments in total." There's also the new "Boss Rush", which I'm informed is a bit misleading. Cureton admits that the title is misleading.

Boss Rush, or roguelike, is a mode that you can use in the base game to grind materials, items, and XP. It comes in three flavors: Triple Threat, where three bosses are fought, Trial by Fire where seven bosses are fought (including Annihilation - the base game's most infamous brawl), and The Gauntlet which has 19 bosses. You know, just in case you want to suffer.

The routine is as follows: You drop into the dungeon and kill enough enemies to fill up a bar. Then you spawn an Aberration, a mook with a lot of extras, and you murder it. You then grab your roguelike bonuses from a pylon. These can be stat boosts, "hacks" that change the game's functionality, like making enemies explode upon death, spawning black holes, or creating healing orbs. You kill your boss, grab a new perk, and repeat the process until you win or die (Cureton has recently provided a detailed breakdown of the game on Twitter).

I'm here to see it through. Remnant 2 has procedurally generated worlds, but working through them in a loop is a bit slow and meandering. It sounds great to be able jump in and get a concentrated dose of boss battles.

This new mode is a way to grind out Prisms. You can unlock seven Prisms, each of which is capped at level 50. This takes about 10-12 hours. You can choose 45 different stat boosts for each level. These can be fused together to give you even more slots.

Prisms have legendary segments that you can add to a Prism after it reaches its capstone. "There are more than 40 legendary segments." One fills in your core traits, which increases your traits by 40 points. Another gives you the best perk from both classes. One gives you infinite stamina... Look, some are better on paper than others, but our goal is to make them all game-changing.

This is just a nice bonus that you can get for free if you own the game. This was a preview of a DLC. I guess I should talk about it, huh?

The Dark Horizon

The Dark Horizon takes place in an agricultural area of N'Erud. Like its sister DLCs it aims to flesh N'Erud out while offering its hand-arranged "Adventure Mode", which lets you see the new content that you'd otherwise stumble across randomly on a regular run of the basegame.

"We received some feedback saying that N'Erud was kind of desolate, and flat"--and so we said, we will show you desolate, and flat!" Cindy To exclaims. "It is a lot more colourful, vibrant." She is not lying. What I see is a grim cyberpunk smorgasbord, a splatter of pestilence on space farms, like HR Giger adding some potpourri in order to freshen up the place.

The DLC's gliders are the main attraction. You can hop on one at a designated node, and glide over large lakes that are filled with black gunk, and marked by wind gusts that will shoot you into the air.

What's really unique about this game is how much ground you can cover and how many nooks and crannys To and Cureton have hidden their secrets. This is a welcome departure from the Diablo-style halls that have been a staple of Remnant 2.

There's a new Archetype called the Warden. This Archetype has a drone that can switch between three passive effects: Healing, Combat and Shielding. The Repair Tool is a signature weapon that also focuses on teamwork. Players can shoot enemies to death, or shoot allies back to life. You can also send a drone to accompany your fellow players and transfer its buffs.

There are new rings and weapons that will help you achieve this. I was asked not to discuss much, but I can confirm it turns you into Space Goku. Finally, I can fulfill my most specific fantasies.

Ultimately, I'm downright impressed. Gunfire Games' Remnant 2 post-launch support is excellent. Three solid expansions for a reasonable price are a great combination. Just because? I feel that the studio is just flexing its muscles at this point.

To says: "We are going all out. We're not just completing it. We want to get as much stuff for the player--and yes, I know that sounds like PR-ish, but yeah, this is for them. We're giving them more than they ask for."

I would agree that "for the player" sounds like PR, but Remnant 2 has earned my trust. The Dark Horizon will be released on September 24, along with the free update to the game.