11 bit studios has revealed the first expansion for The Alters, and it’s coming next month and will be a chunky piece of content.
For those who played and loved The Alters, you might even be wondering how an expansion will work, and we’ll get into that. But first, it’s called “Last Variable”, is coming on July 13th to PC and console, and will be a pretty long affair.
The developer says that Last Variable is 20 hours and will introduce “new mechanics, an underground base to build, and a refined gameplay loop centred on terraforming parts of the planet into lush, oasis-like biomes, Last Variable will have you commanding a crew of brilliant minds that look like you, but don’t always think and feel like you.”
Unravelling the mystery of the Oasis requires specialized analysis from specialized alters – a Geologist, Biologist, Chemist, or Physicist. Yet each Jan has his own view on what science truly means. While you descend into a years-long cryosleep in your underground base, waiting for the planet’s scorching sun to retreat, those working in Field Labs don’t have that privilege. As they age without that protection, can the vulnerability of time still change them?
Here’s the key details:
- The next story focuses on Jan Scientist(s): Jan Scientists, with their perfectly aligned minds, can offer the expertise needed to unravel the phenomenon of the Oasis.
- Explore new regions and terraform them: Each transformation shifts the landscape, spawns new resources, and awakens the planet’s defensive mechanism – more frequent earthquakes, severe radiation waves, and other threats.
- Expand underground and survive cycles: Build in different soil types, construct new components, and research new modules like the Cryosleep Chamber, which will buy you more time and let you witness the long-term effects of your scientific actions.
- Develop new tech and set field labs: Each planetary cooldown offers a brief window to explore a dramatically changed surface, and Field Labs introduces new assignments for alters to continue their work while you cryosleep.
The Alters is out now for PC, Xbox, and PS5, with this new expansion coming on July 13th.
