Gracing Xbox consoles way back in January 2016, Zheros released as part of the Games with Gold program. Sadly, it was met with almost universally negative reviews; claiming it was too repetitive and difficult. Developer Rimlight Studios listened to everyone’s concerns and released a patch that made the game much more accessible. Fast forward to spring 2017 and we have our first piece of DLC for Zheros called, The Forgotten Land. Admittedly, I never played Zheros before being offered to review this DLC, so I don’t have a bad taste of the game pre-patch. Let’s see if it’s a zero or hero in terms of value!
For the price of $4.99 (or your region equivalent) you get a new playable character, eight new levels ranging from wilderness to cities, a new vehicle and new moves. The DLC also adds three new achievements on Xbox One worth 200 gamerscore. The goal is once again to stop Dr. Vendetta and save the galaxy, this time across a beautiful oriental setting.
If you are familiar with Zheros, you basically know what to expect when it comes to gameplay. While playing as one of the three characters you progress through each level, destroying dozens of enemies in the process. I enjoyed playing as the new character; she floats, has a great geisha look, and has nice moves. This new character can be used throughout the entire game too, not just the DLC levels.
I don’t think it does Zheros justice to call it a button masher, as I was pressing a couple buttons for attacks and reflecting projectiles with my shield. The action does get repetitive, as I found myself moving from area to area clearing out the same types of enemies. There are checkpoints which are a welcome sight, but health management remains key.
Final Thoughts:
I would only suggest The Forgotten Land DLC to those gamers who loved Zheros. It provides a fair value in terms of the new levels, a new character and some extra Gamerscore. If you have kids that are still playing it or just getting into Zheros(or yourself), then this DLC is a no brainer at $4.99. I’ve certainly seen more expensive DLC offer less content in other games.