Here’s something to brighten up a reigny Monday morning: RimWorld’s free 1.1 update is rolling out to everyone today, and better still, a surprise DLC called Royalty has launched. Don’t worry, it’s not a battle royale.
The expansion means some rather glamorous figures can grace your space hovel, as the DLC introduces a new “honour-bound culture wield[ing] hyper-advanced technology”. Despite their sci-fi capabilities, the Empire still uses a hereditary system of rule, and can bestow royal titles upon your colonists. While this gives colonists psychic powers, they also become rather hoity-toity, demanding luxury bedrooms and beautiful clothes while issuing “wild decrees that must be carried out”, and occasionally playing piano, harp and harpsichord. I’m not sure how my flatmates still put up with me.
The bonus for putting up with all this is your colonists gain the psychic power to make enemies vomit en masse… amongst other things. The DLC also introduces high-tech weapons that “speak directly to the wielder through a psychic link”, and a selection of body implants. I’ll take the nuclear stomach for next time I go to the pub.
Along with these new toys, somewhat unexpectedly, Royalty adds a bunch of quests to RimWorld. That may sound unusual for a procedurally-generated sim game, but the quests are also procedurally generated to match: with different goals, enemies, rewards and world conditions to add variety to each challenge. Some will require you to host guests, while others ask the player to build “something special”. Allies can request colonists for help, nearby sites can open up for exploration, and threat quests can throw a combination of horrors at your colony. Survive those and you’ll be rewarded with gear, titles, allies and faction goodwill.
Thankfully Royalty doesn’t cost a princely sum, and can be picked up for £15.49. For all the details on the expansion, make sure to check out the Steam page.
Meanwhile, update 1.1 (which was trialled on unstable Steam launch a few days ago) is now available for all players, and adds a bunch of quality of life changes, new animals, weapons and traits – all for free. Unlike the cost of satisfying your fancy colonists.
