izigame.me

Okay, so after playing a good amount of this DLC (I have completed Greedier Mode and defeated Delirium several times, as well as trying out and finishing some of the new challenges, not to mention finding a ton of new items) I'll give my two cents on this DLC that caused the BOI community to split.
Now, is this a GREAT DLC?
No, not by a long shot.
Is it better than the previous DLC, Afterbirth?
No, not really.
Is it even better than the fanmade DLC, Antibirth?
No, I still prefer that.
But is it a disgraceful DLC, that made the game completely unplayable and ruined TBOI forever?
No. Not that either.
Overall, this DLC is 'okay'. Now, after its first release, this DLC was a complete train wreck. Broken mechanics, unbalanced features, poorly made content, all of that. The hate train was real, but less than a week later, most of the problems got fixed. Now, I say 'most', because there are still some problems, but nothing too extreme. So let's get onto it (also, I'll review this DLC content wise, so don't expect me to go ranting on the new modding tools and workshop):
- The Enemies -
Okay, when it comes to enemies, this DLC is nothing special. Most enemies are just existing enemies with some different attack of sorts, so I'll try to focus on the 'new monsters'. Stoney is an... interesting concept, though it's slightly annoying. Mushroom is a joke, basically a discount Host. And the Portals... I don't know if I can call them 'enemies', but at first, they were a complete nightmare. But now that they disappear after spawning a certain number of enemies, they're really not that much of a treat. So for the enemies, it's just 'okay'.
- The Bosses -
Oh boy, here we go. I must say, although I'm not exactly a fan of the new bosses, I don't think they're that bad either. Well, at the release, they were ridiculous. But I'm not counting that.
So, Big Horn is basically Little Horn on steroids (figures). He is definitely a challenging boss, way more challenging than most early game bosses. I think his attacks are pretty creative, specially the 'hand slam'. And the fact he throws bombs at you fits the theme of a buffed up version of Little Horn. The only thing I got to complain about him is his artwork. It's definitely not the best, and feels out of place.
Rag Mega is... Duke of Flies and Rag Man's love child. He floats around the room like Duke of Flies, and spawns spiders like Rag Man. He summons orbitals to protect himself like Duke of Flies, and fires beams from the sky... like Rag Man. The fact he can become invincible for a short period of time and that he can block projectiles with his orbitals while having very low max HP is definitely interesting. It's a boss you need to wait and make each tear count, so he gets a plus from me.
Sisters Vis... oh god. Okay, this boss is probably the worst boss from this DLC. It's basically the Cage with Mega Satan's Mega Brimstone, and that's about it. It's easy, it's poorly made, and to hear this was a scrapped idea way before Afterbirth's initial release makes me wish this thing was never concieved. But it's here, and probably to stay, so we gotta get over it.
And finally, Delirium. Okay, so, I'll say this: Delirium is not a great boss, but definitely one that is not that bad either. Design wise, I like it. It has an interesting concept, a doppelganger, and although some people say that's lazy, many games have done the same thing before, and nobody ever complained. So why not here? As for the mechanics of the boss, and its overall difficulty, I don't think it's as difficult or as broken as most people say it is. I had a couple of really basic runs where I just had some really basic items, and still managed to defeat Delirium. I never had him telefragging me, or face-raping me with his Angel form, or anything like that. This is just another bullet-spongy boss with a bullet-hell mechanic, so stop complaining. If you wanted something to rival Hush as the best final boss, I think your hopes were a little bit too high on this one. Hush is still the best and most challeging boss in Afterbirth, and that's how it is. But that doesn't make Delirium a bad boss.
As for Ultra Greedier, I'll let that for the 'Greedier Mode' part of this review.
- The New Chapter -
The Void is really nothing special. It's a just a mix of every floor. Just blast through it until you get to Delirium, and that's it. It is challeging on its own way, and the fact you have to fight a few bosses to get to Delirium is neat, but that's about it.
- The Greedier Mode -
This is the ACTUAL Greed Mode I was looking for in Afterbirth. Truthfully, regular Greed Mode is a joke. If I get some good firerate and Lump of Coal, Ultra Greed is done. He's pathetically easy, and that always bothered me. Not only that, but the abundance of coins you get during the mode is ridiculous. I mean, you need the coins to buy items, but you can at least get two items from the shop each floor, even more if you're lucky, so it's just fuckin' easy. Greedier Mode is fucking GREEDY. One coin per wave, an additional wave, and a second phase for one of the easiest final bosses in the game that will make your jaw drop. THIS is Greed Mode, and even though it's difficult, it's not impossible. And it's fuckin' fun.
- The Soundtrack -
I always try to consider the soundtrack when I'm talking about a game, and in Afterbirth Plus' case, I really don't have anything to complain about. Terminus is a good track, Sepulcrum is a good ending theme, and Delirium is fuckin' awesome. Probably my favourite boss theme in game, really. It's just plain kickass. Not only that, but the two bonus tracks are pretty good as well. Makes me wonder why they haven't been used in the game, but oh well. Good job as always, Ridiculon.
- The Challenges -
The new challenges are pretty darn good. Aprils Fools is funny, and HOLY SHIT the Bloat is literally every boss. That's nice.
Pong is easy, but certainly fun. Ultra Hard is... ultra hard. And Backassward is creative as shit. They're very nice, and I also prefer them over some regular Afterbirth challenges, so yeah. Pretty good.
- The new items and trinkets -
Okay, most items are not that great, but I enjoy some of them. YO LISTEN! is a discount X-Ray Vision, but it's still useful. And it also finds marked rocks, which can be absurdly useful in some later floors. Eye of Belial is a darn good item, and Jacob's Ladder is pretty darn awesome. There's also Cone Head, Smelter, and I don't need to say anything about the Void. As for the Trinkets... ugh... they're okay, I guess. They're nothing special, really. But overall, this adds a good layer of new items for you.
- Apollyon -
Apollyon is probably one of best additions to the game I've seen in a long time. It's just a plain fun, balanced, and good character. The only thing I have to complain is that you don't need to do anything to unlock him... just buy the DLC. Seems a little bit unoriginal to me. But it's still a good character.
- Overall -
Overall, I'll give this DLC a 7/10. It's denifitely not a GREAT DLC, but it's decent and adds a ton of fun stuff. It lacks a little bit of polish too, but I'm sure the devs will fix that at one time or another. But now, is it worth the price it's currently at? Kinda, but still, wait until a nice discount or something. Save yourself some money.
I review this positive. No regrets.