Earlier this month, Insomniac Games and Microsoft Studios released the final piece of DLC add-on content from their insanely popular Sunset Overdrive video game.
Dawn of the Rise of the Fallen Machines is a brief, but fun adventure that gives us more of the playful apocalypse we’ve all grown accustomed to. Here are a few more reasons why this may or may not be worth your time and money.
Dawn of the Rise of the Fallen Machines takes place after the main game and revolves around our hero coming face to face with some of the deadliest, upgraded Fizzbots ever made. The adventure kickoffs when players cross over into a different region of Sunset City and are then tasked with stopping the full-fledged production of Fizzco’s military grade robots at their headquarters. While there, the hero is also expected to rescue two prominent teachers that are related to the geek faction introduced early on in the original game.
The mission structure for this adventure is very similar to the Mystery of the Mooil Rig add-on content released late last year. This means fans can expect a handful of story based missions, some side quests, timed challenges, a new Night defense base, two new weapons and amp upgrades, new enemies, and more chaos squad missions. If you’re only focused on the campaign, then it should take you roughly two to three hours to see all that the story has to offer.
When it comes to gameplay and graphics, fans can expect the same level of quality that they are already familiar with. Insomniac writers continue to break the fourth wall and give us jokes that are both creative and thought provoking. One particular mission that I enjoyed had our hero dressing up in a cardboard robot costume and using it as a disguise while navigating through the Robotics facility. This brand of humor may be cliché for some, but the characters and storyline are so fun and charming that you’ll definitely find yourself cracking a smile or two.
I mentioned earlier that this add-on introduces two new weapons into the game. These items are the Fizzco DSRC and the Swarming Nanobots. The Fizzco DSRC is a sniper rifle that tags multiple enemies and obliterates them instantly by shooting lasers from the sky. The Swarming Nanobots is essentially a cloud of nanomachines that can deal severe electrical damage to enemies when they get near them. Both weapons have their own set of pros and cons, but can be highly beneficial when used under the right circumstances.
One final positive thing that I enjoyed about this adventure was the choice of Sunset TV Host Brandon Winfrey as the final boss. Brandon has been a fixture within the game ever since it launched last October. While some may find both his personality and jokes cheesy, the writers played up these aspects in advance and the final payoff is nothing short of awesome. Those who don’t like Brandon will definitely enjoy taking him down to close out the final chapter of Sunset Overdrive for good.
The final issue that I wanted to reemphasize again is that this brand of humor may not necessarily appeal to everyone. What I find funny about a game might not be exactly what you find entertaining too. If however you did enjoy every minute of Sunset Overdrive, then you’ll definitely get a kick of this content too.
Dawn of the Rise of the Fallen Machines is a great piece of DLC and a fitting end to the overall experience. It will be interesting to see what Insomniac Games has planned (if anything) for the future of the franchise. Hopefully we will get an answer on this and more in the not too distant future.
This review was based on a digital review copy of Sunset Overdrive: Dawn of the Rise of the Fallen Machines for the Xbox One provided by Microsoft Studios.
