Season 2 comes to an end, but does it do it with a bang?
Type: Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Genre: Strategy, Tactics
Developer: Black Lab Games
Publisher: Slitherine Ltd.
Release date: 24 Sep, 2020
The third DLC for Battlestar Galactica Deadlock’s second season does not try to reinvent the wheel, instead it’s content with continuing the story where the last one, Ghost fleet offensive, left off.
Not much has changed with the game since last time. All the little improvements that have been added over the course of the games lifespan are of course still here, and the DLC uses the scaled back strategic map of the past expansions. You still manage Cylon threat by doing smaller resource missions between the main ones, and build new ships just like before. Unlike in the last expansion there’s no sending ships away to the ghost fleet or anything of that nature either.
After the success of the Ghost Fleet offensive the Cylons are on the back foot, but they’re not defeated yet. There’s talk of them having access to a super weapon, something powerful enough to threaten the entire human race. At the same time there’s peace talk among the colonies. There are people looking to end any internal conflicts, so that humanity can focus on the real threat, the Cylons who are still trying to bring an end to humanity. And in the middle of all this is your fleet, still chasing after the Cylons.
While the new story is not outstanding, and leaves a few plot threads hanging, it does pick up steam pretty fast, and it soon becomes genuinely interesting, at least for someone who’s not overly familiar with the source material, and don’t already know the outcome of the events. There’s also a few moments in the campaign where the story and level design complement each other in a way that they rarely did in past expansions.
The main campaign in this DLC is shorter than in the past ones at just 8 missions, where as the previous ones had 10. That’s not to say that it’s bad though, the missions are fun, and throw some surprises your way, without ever feeling unfair. Enemy ship placement, and where they warp in, all tends to make sense, and make for tense tactical battles.
Resource missions were always a bit of a sore spot in the old DLCs, because they were generally far too easy. This DLC fixes that. There’s a handful of new resource missions in this DLC that have you face stronger Cylon fleets, and the more difficult ones are harder than the hardest regular campaign missions. They’re not insurmountable, but expect to encounter multiple Basestars during these new missions.
Closing Thoughts
Should you get Battlestar Galactica Deadlock: Armistice? If you’re interested in the main storyline of Battlestar Galactica Deadlock, and want more, then the answer is a resounding “yes”. Anyone who’s more into the multiplayer part of the game, and don’t care about the campaign can safely skip this one though. This game also continues the story where the last one left off, so if you’ve not played Ghost Fleet offensive, you should do that first, there are some plot elements in Armistice that continues what Ghost Fleet Offensive started.
This is a short DLC, and that’s reflected by its low price. It does leave a few plot threads hanging though, so it would have been nice if there were 1-2 more levels to tie these up. It’s possible that the developers did not have a say in that though, as they’re working with an already established storyline, but that does not change the fact that I think the game would have been better if everything got tied up by the end.
