Just Cause 3 Sky Fortress DLC Review

I think we can all agree that nobody really loves DLC for various reasons. But that’s no reason not to not love some single-player story DLC! Honestly, I’m not a multiplayer gamer, so story DLC is the only stuff I actually buy.

And so the first part of Just Cause 3's Air, Land & Sea Expansion Pass has arrived, with the Sky Fortress DLC. The Sea and Land components haven’t been revealed yet, but that’s why this isn’t a review of the whole Pass. In Sky Fortress, you’re pitted against eDEN and its many, many attack drones as they attempt to mine Medici of its precious mineral: bavarium.

You'll grow sick of them as they keep droning on

Full disclosure, I hadn’t bothered to finish the main story before now. I’ve had the game since release, but I play games for the story. My wife likes the series as much as I do, and managed to finish the game before me. As I watched her do the final mission, I pretty much stopped playing afterwards. It’s the same reason I haven’t played Sleeping Dogs since we bought the PS4, and leave it three months between viewings of 1986s classic The Transformers: The Movie. Okay, it’s actually six weeks...

To help with the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier-esque titular sky fortress, you’re given a brand new wingsuit, fitted with a bavarium-powered jetpack. And machine gun. And missiles… Yes, as if the planes already at Rico’s disposal weren’t enough, now he is turned into one! If there’s anyone happier than me about the fact Rico is now basically a Transformer, they don’t exist.

Yes, it can lift you out of the water, if your head is above the surface

With this newfound tech at your disposal, you’re probably thinking Rico is now immortal. Unfortunately it adds absolutely no armour, fires a single missile at a time and the machine gun overheats. These are upgradeable, as with everything else in the main game, upon collecting cogs which you win for doing well in the four new challenges. Three of them are Flight Master -- which is just a wingsuit race with the new jetpack. The other is Sky Terror, which I honestly wish there were several of. It’s simple: you fly around and destroy drones for points. It’s that simplicity which makes it fun!

So what of the story? Told through animatics (static images with very few movements), rather than the engine-driven cutscenes of the main game, Rico goes through three missions, which includes clearing four settlements. It took me about two hours to finish, which included getting all but one of the Trophies, and that’s because I didn’t bother getting five cogs on every challenge.

I mean, they're not bad, but it's noticeable

Outside the DLC you still have full use of the bavarium wingsuit, although it’s not useable in normal wingsuit races. Apart from that, feel free to fly around Medici doing as you will. If you’ve already finished the main story, then honestly this alone is not worth the price unless you intend on playing through again. Myself, I plan on playing through a few more times before Just Cause 4 comes out because I’m a damned fanboy. However, if you do intend on getting Sky Fortress, you should definitely get the Air, Land & Sea Expansion Pass, as it’s basically Buy Two, Get One Free.

The bavarium wingsuit is very fun, and the new gun is quite useful for murdering. The most interesting addition is the drone which you can summon as a Rebel Drop. It hovers around killing your enemies -- and although you can ride on top of it, I would not recommend it. It will explode, you will die in a fiery explosion…