Defense Grid: The Awakening - You Monster DLC Review (zZz)
R E V I E W
Defense Grid: The Awakening - You Monster DLC is a standalone DLC which directly follows the story of the main campaign and replaces your charming British artificial intelligence companion with the witty GLaDOS from the renowned Portal series.
The DLC contains six new levels (the first two are part of the base game) in which GLaDOS keeps you company with a number of amusing observations, quips, and facetious explanations for the new and interesting mechanics that alter how four of the levels are played. Regrettably, the red and blue portal mechanic from the titular series isn't used as one of these new mechanics and I think that is a sorely missed opportunity. Otherwise, the levels are well-designed and challenging but they sometimes rely on you to react to an ever-changing battlefield, as well as the selling of towers and blocking of paths, rather than pure strategy and tower placement like the base game. Unfortunately, the 36 extra challenge missions (not 35 like the store page claims) are mostly the same for each map and there isn't much variety between them.
Overall, I recommend it but mostly for the appearance of GLaDOS who is full of quips and entertaining anecdotes and is easily the best part of the DLC; however, the new mechanics are a welcome surprise which completely change how some maps played and is a refreshing change of pace from the main game. For those who like waiting for sales, be warned that this DLC only goes on sale two to three times per year for 75% off at 1.24 USD so you might have to wait a while if you miss a sale.
A C H I E V E M E N T S
The DLC adds seven achievements which require you to earn a gold medal on 35 of the 44 missions (16 of which must be the Story and Story Challenge missions) and will take approximately 15-16 hours to complete. Unfortunately, this becomes a bit of a stale chore because the challenge missions are mostly the same for each map unlike the base game which had an abundant variety of challenge missions.