Last year, we had one of the best lineups of games in recent times, and despite how crowded and varied the market was, the one game that stuck with me, days after seeing the credits roll and getting most of its endings, was The Alters. For me, it changed the survival/crafting formula in a meaningful way and gave this genre one of the most memorable and groundbreaking narratives I’ve experienced. Now, The Alters: The Last Variable arrives with one of the most beloved Jan Dolski from the base game, trying to solve one of the planet’s biggest mysteries alongside new Alters in a lengthy DLC that elevates one of 2025’s best games to even greater heights.
Cycles of Hypothesis and Survival
The Alters: The Last Variable puts us in the shoes of Jan Scientist, everyone’s favorite pragmatic, now turned leader, whose personal mission is to stay on the planet and discover why there’s a phenomenon called “The Oasis,” which isn’t affected by the planet’s dangerous sun.
Since this DLC takes place after the story, it is extremely important that you finish the base game, but if you haven’t, don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything here. Still, when you begin your journey, you’ll get tasked with investigating the Oasis alongside a new AI called JanBot and, of course, a brand-new group of Alters.
In terms of Alters, there are fewer this time around, but there’s a reason as to why, and frankly, I loved how the game justified focusing on a new scientific version of Jan Dolski. Just like your base game’s companions, these ones are just as memorable, and all of them have their own personalities, questlines, and good old corridor drama. With this DLC, 11 bit Studios keeps showing just how well it understands every version of Jan Dolski and delivers another group of superbly written characters for another time-sensitive adventure.
Leaving the story aside, several new mechanics really spice things up when it comes to the survival and time management parts. When you step outside of your now underground base, you have almost all the upgrades that Jan Prime left on the planet. Still, The Alters: The Last Variable doesn’t hand things on a silver platter, as there are new items you need to work toward.
For instance, there are new rocky formations with roots around them that you can only break with a new Drill upgrade. On top of that, there are new resource nodes that require specific machinery, which you’ll have to spend some time researching. While many things are at your disposal, I loved the added challenge of researching new things and working with only two new Alters for a long while, making the survival loop a bit more challenging than that of the base game.
Another layer I appreciated with an added difficulty was base-building. Your mobile base is gone, but you still have one, albeit underground and with rougher terrain to build on. The layout starts extremely limited, with some layers of the ground preventing you from installing some modules. You fix that by researching the base expansion upgrade, of course, but I was glad to see this system that had me evaluating if I had enough space to build all modules and even considering which ones would have to go for a while as I fought against a limited building space.
Outside of the base, you also have a few new things to do. Anomalies are back, and some of them will be familiar to some, but the real challenge for me was the terrain. There’s just so much verticality, narrow corridors, and rocky formations that setting up your pylon network isn’t as easy as in the base game. On top of that, you now have to install new extractors and machinery with their own pipeline network, which will also make space management another challenge.
Overall, I really loved how The Alters: The Last Variable leaned heavily on the scientific archetype with its systems and characters. I enjoyed the loop of coming up with a theory, researching it, grabbing samples, unlocking new items, and then doing all that after waking up from cryosleep once the sun hit. Yet, the really mind-blowing part is seeing how the planet changes due to your actions. I’m not talking about making it a Satisfactory-like landscape full of pipes and pylons. Terraforming changes the planet, bringing new things after each cycle, which makes the journey feel even more impactful and rewarding than before.
An Oasis For All
Just like the base game, The Alters: The Last Variable is a one-of-a-kind experience and an example of how to make a perfect DLC. It takes everything from its base game and expands on it while retaining what works, such as a memorable story, endearing characters, the plot twists, and its heavy choices that make this another must-play journey
