izigame.me

While I agree that many of the other reviews on this product have been a tad harsh, they're not entirely far from the truth in my opinion.
I noticed the good reviews on Steam for WL3 and purchased it looking for a new, yet Fallout-esque type of game. I have some experience with isometric games, though WL3 still ended up being a new type of game for me. After learning the ropes, I proceeded through the game and each combat continued to flow like the previous ones had, with the variations being in enemy types, existence of different objectives, terrain, and even the resources and equipment your squad has on hand; you had the freedom to choose the playstyle you wanted to use. The game was very enjoyable overall until I started this DLC. Suddenly, I was faced with what many other reviewers have cited as their main grievances:
- Enemies that don't die even after reaching zero health, meaning if you activate their last stands all at the same time then their whole squad gets another turn which they can use to wound crucial story NPCs that can't be healed because of a subsequent cutscene that starts right after combat, which means the crucial story NPC dies during the cutscene which bugs out the other NPCs, meaning you now have to start the combat over again in order to proceed.
- Tedious objective-driven combat encounters which, while shown to work in the main game when rolled out cautiously, were cranked up to a 10 in this DLC.
- A stacking debuff that is chiefly present in areas with lots of loot and can only be removed via a limited resource that is acquired far too late. Of course, this can be mitigated by having just one squad member take the entire debuff, but then they're much less useful in combat, and there are often certain abilites that this squad member doesn't have that are needed for certain areas where this debuff is present, so now you just can't get much of the loot, where previously you could.
- Infinitely spawning enemies that can exponentially stack and are very challenging to avoid. To the game's credit, it does tell the player that stealth is preferable and careful navigation can guarantee success, but the radical changes this presents to one's playstyle are far more trouble than they're worth. Having companions and pets in one's party is pretty much a no-go as they'll simply trip the alarms, so they now have to be left behind or dismissed. One could send in a single squad member with high stealth stats to perform the necessary tasks, but there aren't any guarantees that they won't be spotted through solid walls, and the amount of time it takes to learn proper movement in this regard is simply not worth it, as this isn't used much in other parts of the game.
Ultimately, my distaste with this DLC is derived from the drastic, abrupt changes that are enacted from the get-go and detract from its overall experience. This does not mean to imply that I'm opposed to trying new things or innovating with gameplay structure, I just feel that it was far too heavy-handed with this content pack. If you're like me and you enjoy a comparatively causal or consistent gameplay experience, you may certainly try this DLC to see if you like it, though I doubt that such would be the case. I get the impression that the more positive reviews for this DLC are posted by players who crave a more hardcore experience and are not deterred by such a sudden, multifaceted shift in difficulty, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I am simply not one of them.