Remnant 2: The Forgotten Kingdom DLC returns us to Yaesha with a beautiful new map

The Forgotten Kingdom DLC has been announced for Remnant 2 and with it comes an all-new adventure in Yaesha. Players will be treated to all sorts of new content including a new overworld map, plenty of new bosses, enemies, weapons, a new archetype, and more to explore. With all of this fresh content on the way, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Remnant 2 Principal Designer Ben “Tragic” Cureton and Principal Level Designer Cindy To, both of whom gave us peek at what’s coming.

Deeper into Yaesha’s secrets

The Yaesha biome, home of the Ravager, the Red Doe, the Pan, and all sorts of Root horrors, plays host to the story and content of The Forgotten Kingdom. It starts by offering players an all-new overworld map to explore. This version of Yaesha is absolutely vast and gorgeous. It’s a series of outposts and ruins strung between the high cliffs and large tree branches of the land. The surrounding canopy is flush with glittering hanging plants that lend a bluish and purplish light to the area.

Verticality and scope were key points in designing this map. The Gunfire team told me that it was a big undertaking, but it may be some of their best level design yet. It presents a scape in which you’ll see prominent structures and scenery in the distance, and be able to go to it, as well as climbing high into the overhanging settlements and being able to look down upon the vast stretch of space this new version of the biome has for you. In short, it’s massive, beautiful, and chockful of secrets for you to unearth. Around every corner was a collection of familiar foes, but also new enemies like mimics that would hide in plain sight until you got close before attacking.

Bosses are looking daunting and unique as well in The Forgotten Kingdom. I was introduced to one such creature: an absolutely giant living pot. This being sat stationary in the middle of a large arena, and once it noticed our presence, it began to unleash what can only be described as a bullet hell. Lasers, ground fire, minions, and more were set to keep players from laying down regular fire on some small weak points on the pot. Destroying these points made it unleash even more firepower, and eventually opened up the pot’s core which was the main target to kill. This was just one of a few concepts Gunfire pursued to change up how we face down bosses in the DLC.

Returning players will be able to jump right into The Forgotten Kingdom DLC and ensure they see a large portion of the new content with the One Shot option, just like they could with The Awakened King. This allows players to create an instance where their quest through a biome will be filled with the new DLC so they won’t simply be retreading familiar ground.

Moreover, there is a lot of content here to explore. Even after a One Shot experience, The Forgotten Kingdom is a DLC that is meant to be played through over and over again to your heart’s content just like the rest of Remnant 2. You could get lucky and roll an instance that has most of everything in one go. More likely, you’ll experience everything The Forgotten Kingdom has to offer as it mixes nicely into the rest of the game, giving newer players a seamless experience of the content as it blends with the rest of what Remnant 2 offers.

Speaking of which, the existing content in Remnant 2 is getting quite a bit of work to try to ensure that no item can be considered useless or redundant. Rings, necklaces, mutators, weapons, and more are being balanced and/or reworked to give them more viability in various builds. The team doesn’t want to see a good ring completely left by the wayside because it doesn’t fit anywhere. Hopefully, this balancing should help all of Remnant 2’s gear feel refreshing and useful for more versatile kits and builds.

The Kingdom awaits

After our short time with Remnant 2: The Forgotten Kingdom, it’s easy to say there are exciting times ahead for players and fans. The balance patch will be a delight for everyone, allowing for more experimentation on existing equipment, but the new adventures in Yaesha are looking exciting and gorgeous. We only scratched the surface on what this DLC offers in terms of new enemies, environments and dungeons, weapons and gear, and deadly new bosses. You’ll be able to see for yourself when Remnant 2: The Forgotten Kingdom comes out later this month, so stay tuned.

This preview was based on a remote, hands-off demonstration by the developers. Remnant 2: The Forgotten Kingdom will release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on April 23 for $9.99 USD.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.