Beloved colony sim on Steam may get new Cthulhu-themed DLC

“It will awaken…”

There’s good and bad news for every fan of sci-fi colony sim RimWorld out there. I’ll give you the bad news first: That modded colony you’ve got going right now and invested 100 hours into? You will have to leave that behind soon. Why? Oh, that’s the good news: The creator of RimWorld, Tynan Sylvester, posted some artwork on social media depicting a character with elements that are not present in the game currently, accompanied by a message saying: “It will awaken…”

This is how the developer teased upcoming expansions for RimWorld in the past, so it’s safe to say that we’re in for some fresh content at some point this year – so yeah, better think about wrapping up those colonies you’re playing with in the near future.

Previous teasers by the developer actually allowed the community to make solid predictions of what the coming expansion would bring to the game, so let’s interpret some art. 

There is a lot to unpack from this teaser artwork / Ludeon Studios

Naturally – or unnaturally, perhaps? – the biggest standout are the slimy tentacles sprouting from the back of the depicted woman. In combination with the book she’s carrying, which has a lock around it, as well as the “It will awaken…” message, I’m getting some Cthulhu Myth vibes here. Tentacles, grimoires with forbidden knowledge, things awakening? Those are your basic recipes for a story involving some Old Ones.

RimWorld may be a sci-fi story and began relatively grounded, but subsequent expansions have added elements like psychic powers, so getting some more “out there” stuff definitely isn’t off the table.

What else could we get from this artwork, then? Our protagonist is wearing a lot of accessories on her person – we see a calculator, pen and knife, some potions or samples around her belt, a handle of what is presumably a weapon, and something looking like a very small shield I can’t identify right next to the potions. This kind of reinforces the impression that we’re dealing with science and archaeology here, but with a darker twist. The woman is wearing a lab coat under her Indiana Jones getup, so I’d say (forbidden) science plays a big role in this update. She’s also holding a cube of gold or some other metallic substance in her gloved hands, playing into that angle.

Her carrying around all that equipment may also indicate that characters will get additional slots for accessories in the game to enhance their capabilities.

Finally, I’d like to focus your attention on the background for a moment: See those black swirls coming from the planet? That’s not normal. A corrupting aura stemming from tampering with ancient, forbidden powers, perhaps?

That’s all I’ve got for now – official information, surely, won’t be too far off.

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