You heard the drill, holes, and elbows. Cold Iron Studios has revealed a brand new DLC for the co-op shooter Aliens: Fireteam Elite. Titled Pathogen, this DLC puts players at the forefront of an entirely new campaign, one that takes place on a new planet for the Marines to confront a deadly mutated enemy, one from a mystery that should have stayed hidden.
The news was revealed exclusively at IGN Expo 2022, showing a reveal trailer. As revealed by IGN, the Colonial Marines of the Endeavor travel to planet LV-895, only to discover what remains of an ancient alien civilization. As seen in 2012’s Prometheus and 2017’s Alien: Covenant, the Colonial Marines discover The Engineers, the civilization that created humanity itself. The Marines discover corpses of Engineers, with some mauled into pieces, but others mutated into something more sinister than xenomorphs. Neomorphs, the earliest forms of the familiar xenomorphs, take shape, being far more dangerous than before. To combat these new foes, the Colonial marines bear new tools of the trade, from armored shields to an enhanced flamethrower, to what appear to be lasers, and even shoulder-mounted laser-based weapons. The Marines will battle for survival, and the truth, in this dark cosmic mystery.
Further details reveal the Pathogen DLC will be a paid-for expansion but will come complimented with a free patch that adds “hardcore mode”, which is expected to take the challenging difficulty to perilous levels, requiring unerring accuracy and coordination amongst players. The DLC also features new levels, and an entirely new campaign for players to fight in. Finally, a release date of August 30th, 2022 has been locked in.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite launched on August 24, 2021, to a lukewarm reception that has steadily become more glowingly positive in the year since it launched. The game has been lauded primarily for its survival co-op gameplay, as well as its presentation, which samples the SFX heard in the movies, as well as looking authentic. The gameplay, which gives players a variety of weapons to use and classes to choose from, has been a strong hit with players. As of this news post, Steam rates Aliens: Fireteam Elite as “Very Positive” after over 11,000 user reviews.
It’s good to see Aliens: Fireteam Elite remain strong and steady, as the tumultuous gaming climate, and the unfortunate history of the Aliens brand didn’t quite help the launch of Aliens: Fireteam Elite. The last release of an Aliens game involving the Colonial Marines was the disastrous Aliens: Colonial Marines in 2013, a game so bedeviled with problems, it sank Section 8 developers Timegate Studios, and severely crippled Gearbox Software and Sega. Having played Aliens: Fireteam Elite I can absolutely say it is a joy to play, especially with others, but it needs more players to populate those serves. Hopefully, this new expansion brings in more players and breaths new life into this promising co-op shooter.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite Pathogen DLC launches for PC and console on August 30th, 2022, along with the “Hardcore Mode” patch.
