The Falconeer was an adventure game that released in 2020 in which we got the chance to explore a vast ocean landscape (the Great Ursee) littered with settlements, whilst engaging in regular aerial dogfights with enemy factions. It was a game we were fairly fond of here at TheXboxHub, giving it a solid 3.5/5 when it launched.
It looked incredibly moody and atmospheric, creating a beautiful and intriguing world to survey. However, the missions had a habit of becoming repetitive and something of a grind due to a lack of variety. Not only this, but controlling your falcon mid air was a struggle at times, often resulting in a premature death.
Still, The Falconeer landed on Game Pass so many will be looking forward to what this new content will offer. But, can it go some way to addressing the issues of the base game and breathe new life into it, like any good DLC pack should do?
Well, the simple answer is no. You see, the thing with the Edge of the World is that the extra content is pretty seamlessly integrated into the base game. So to access the new missions and what not, you don’t select them from the menu like in many other games, but instead you’ll need to discover them as you play (or by closely inspecting your world map). If you have fully completed the original game, this should be much easier.
As a result of this all the niggles from the base game remain; it is simply just new content that is on offer here. But what exactly do you get? Well, there are three new mini campaigns (A Strange Request, The Mawspring Excursion and Lost Expedition) which adds up to nine new missions in total. These will take you to brand new locations right on the edge of the world map (see what they did there?) During these you’ll discover long lost expeditions, and work to help an oddball client to recover an ancient relic whilst battling an ancient evil.
Unfortunately, the new missions don’t really vary from the ones in the base game. They usually task you with a search and find, escort or combat objective to complete (or a mixture of the three). A little more variation would have been ideal. It’s not that Edge of the World isn’t fun to play, but the effect starts to wear off as the various short missions begin to repeat themselves frequently just as they did before.
As well as the missions, you also get access to two new legendary ace classes (Arbiter and Corsair), which essentially unlock new falcons to ride. Each has varying stats from speed to hit points, offering choice depending on your style of play. Edge of the World also brings the Imperial Shocklance to the party, an electric weapon which can take out multiple enemies at once.
The final new feature in the Edge of the World is the lifting of the existing level cap from 20 to 24. Reaching the new level cap is made possible by discovering various ancient items scattered across the world.
Priced at only £6.99, the Edge of the World DLC is reasonable, and will be sure to please fans of The Falconeer by offering more of the exploration and combat hybrid gameplay. However, with no real differentiation from the base game, it won’t be winning over new fans or those not sold by the original.
The Edge of the World DLC offers much more of the same, which will please some but not everyone. To make The Falconeer a truly must have game, future additions will need to be a little more radical.
Take in the next chapter of The Falconeer with the Edge of the World DLC, now available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One
TXH Score
3.5/5
Pros:
- Still looks stunning
- Variety of new content
- Well-priced
Cons:
- Frustrations from the original remain
- Same formula won’t please all
Info:
- Massive thanks for the free copy of the game go to – Wired Productions
- Formats – Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
- Version reviewed – Xbox Series X
- Release date – 5th August 2021
- Launch price from – £6.99