Unexplored takes on Aliens in free DLC

Unexplored [official site] is one of my favourite new dungeon-crawling roguelikes, using smart procedural generation to create levels that don't play like anything else out there. There are puzzles and monsters and loot chests, and I love it dearly even though it isn't even slightly turn-based. I also love Alien, even though it seems to have become a scab that Ridley Scott can't stop picking at.

The latest DLC for Unexplored, Ripley Run, puts some Alien into the game. And it's free.

In a normal Unexplored run, the greatest challenge is figuring out whether you should fight or flee, and whether you should try to stick your face into every nook and cranny or preserve your health and equipment by sticking to the slightly more well-trodden paths. Try to find everything and you're likely to burn out, but plunge downward without gathering the essentials and you might end up overpowered.

There's already been one free DLC that switches things up, dropping you in the Mines of Moyrondor and challenging you to collect as much cash as possible. Ripley Run remixes the main game in a similar way - by changing the core objective. Rather than exploring and surviving, here you just have to kill as many critters as possible.

"In The Ripley Run only your number of kills count. Face off hordes of Creeps with your repeater crossbow, a Ring of Detect Life, and a stack of explosive potions. Kill the Visitor Queen to finish the run and double your kills.

"The real challenge of the Ripley Run is to carefully manage your resources and learn where to look for more in the overrun mining colony. Unlock several achievements to improve your character from the start and you just might set a really high score."

It's great to see continued support for what is still one of my favourite games of the year. To learn more about what makes Unexplored so damn good, check out my review and our Mechanic feature on the unusual procedural generation techniques.