Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance: We Are Legion Review

The Terminator franchise is a bit of a mixed bag. Although the original three movies are rightfully considered to be classics, and all of the games that take place in its universe are decent, the newer films are lacklustre at best. So although those three sequels didn’t quite manage to ruin the series’ reputation, it did make it hard to recommend anything with, well, Terminators in it without some number of proverbial asterisks attached.

Thankfully, Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance didn’t need too many, because even though it wasn’t perfect, it was (and still is) a remarkably solid real-time strategy title. And, also thankfully, its first expansion doesn’t need many either. Although We Are Legion leaves a bit to be desired, it is one that offers more of what its base title did so well, while also adding a few new twists to make it feel fresh and worthy of a purchase.

Like in base Dark Fate - Defiance, We Are Legion throws you into the middle of an unwinnable  war between robots and humans. Most of North America is controlled by the AIs, but there are still a handful of resources and population centers that have managed to hold out against the red-eyed machines, and it’s up to you to take control of them. However, the difference between the main storyline of the title and its 5-hour-long DLC is that you need to seize them for the series’ antagonists. You take control of one of Legion’s many armies, and are tasked with hunting humans and the only weapons that pose a serious threat to the cyborgs. To do that, you complete the same type of tasks as you did when you commanded the resistance; you need to attack settlements, raid convoys, and fight tooth-and-metal nail to survive. But instead of being on the run and scavenging resources at every available opportunity, your troops are easily replaceable and have no shortage of advanced guns or vehicles.

Surprisingly, this doesn’t actually change much about Dark Fate - Defiance’s gameplay. Its first expansion is a tough but fair RTS, where every fight you get into will leave you worse off than you were before. Although you can replace your units with ease, and it isn’t hard to upgrade them or progress through the in-game tech tree, every victory you earn is a pyrrhic one. It goes without saying that those victories will be well-earned, and that they’re also supremely satisfying. It’s fun to outwit your AI opponents, see their units crumple when you pull off a perfect manoeuvre, and simply survive an exhausting encounter. The title’s loop, and consequently that of its expansion, is on par with the best strategy games. It has varied objectives, a good roster of both enemy and friendly units, and nothing that actively detracts from the experience.

Obviously, that can be said for most good RTS games, but We Are Legion stands apart with a remarkable (if slightly cliche) narrative. It’s a surprisingly human story, even though it almost exclusively involves being an apathetic killing machine. Throughout it, your character and those who you interact with force you to come to terms with being a robot that was created for the sole purpose of destroying lives and livelihoods. It plays out predictably, and you’ll probably see its few plot twists coming from the moment you start the expansion, but that doesn’t detract from its good writing and premise. Even though you can easily guess the outline of the narrative, it’s still easy to enjoy it because it’s an interesting concept riddled with philosophical arguments that you’ll think about well after you’ve sat through it.

It’s not possible to describe We Are Legion’s story without spoiling it any more than we already have, and, honestly, there isn’t a lot else to say about the expansion as a whole besides telling you that it’s absolutely worth purchasing. Of course, if you don’t enjoy real-time strategy games or the Terminator franchise, you won’t enjoy a real-time strategy video game that takes place in the Terminator universe or its first DLC. But if you did enjoy that game, or do enjoy post-apocalyptic titles filled with discussions about important topics, you’ll no doubt like We Are Legion. It doesn’t necessarily change nor refine its base game’s gameplay, but it does add another solid storyline to it, and even more battles for you to barely survive. And it’s not like you have to give its developers your clothes, boots, or motorcycle to play it, only the same amount of money that you’ll probably spend on lunch today.