Easy Red 2 Shanghai/Nanking DLC reveal trailer and my thoughts.
Earlier today, Corvostudio finally announced a release date for the much anticipated Shanghai/Nanking DLC for Easy Red 2. The announcement also included a reveal trailer, and we're now finally able to see the new vehicles, weapons and the brand new Chinese faction in action. Weeks earlier, the DLC page was listed on steam for users to wishlist, and the trailer as well as new screenshots are now on the page. The DLC is said to be released on the 28th of March, 2025, just under a week from now.
Two maps, one DLC
Shanghai/Nanking will naturally include two maps, making it the second DLC for Easy Red 2 which brings two maps. According to the DLCs description page on steam, the DLC will include,
- "New campaign set in China: includes the Shanghai and Nanjing maps with 23 new missions
- The Chinese faction with new voiceovers.
- New Chinese and Japanese uniforms, for a total of more than 70 clothing items.
- New vehicles and aircraft: A4N, Hawk-3, Type 24 HMG, Type 89, Chinese versions of the P40, I16, T26, and Panzer I, Vickers Crossley and more...
- New weapons: Type 24 rifle, Hanyang, Zb 26, Chinese MP18, SIG20, Fn Type D and more... Over 100 new props and buildings for the Mission and Map Editor."
This makes the Shanghai/Nanking DLC the most extensive DLC in the game yet, and the DLC will get more even more features, tweaks and fixes as time goes on, much like the Stalingrad DLC did. Shanghai/Nanking will also feature the first missions in the game to utilize a new LUA based scripting system, which was introduced a month ago. The system allows you to add custom objectives, dictate exact AI movements and more. How much scripting will be in these missions remains to be seen, however, we did get a glimpse of a scripted mission in Discord post from the lead developer, Marco, which reads:
As for how much the DLC costs, we don't know. However, I am expecting it to be around 5-10 pounds/dollars, given as how all previous DLC has been in that price range.
Screenshots
Below is some screenshots from both the official discord, the Steam page and the trailer. There is alot more, but I thought I'd compile some of the things that I am looking forward to most.
Closing thoughts
In my opinion, this is set to be the the most impressive DLC for the game. The wealth of content aside, it is also a huge change of scenery. As far as I know, no FPS game covers the Second Sino-Japanese war at all, and in the west, it is a surprisingly unknown conflict despite the huge ramifications it had in East Asia, so I think it was incredibly bold for a western studio to spend all this time making and researching a conflict that so few of us know about, and even fewer understand. From a gameplay point of view, it will also be a change of scenery as most of the missions in the game take place in relatatively large, open spaces with plenty of distance between armies. However, the battle of Shanghai is famous for being one of the earliest examples of full blown urban warfare, and the engagement distance could be as short as a few yards. The new vehicles, paticularly the armoured cars, will be a great reflection of this early urban warfare, and it will be awesome using these obscure 1930s war machines in the urban sprawls and rolling hills of China.
Judging from pre-release screenshots, missions will not be restricted to just the cities. There seems to be lots of little villages, settlements and rural areas shown in these screenshots, so we can expect a good mix of urban and conventional warfare.
The addition of over 100 new props/buildings will also give mapmakers a lot more range in Asian themed maps, so not only are we getting 23 dev-quality missions, we are also getting hundreds if not thousands of new missions made by the community. This opens up a whole new front when it comes to mapmaking, and I am really looking forward to all of the wacky scenarios the community can come up with. Even now, there has already been some universally acclaimed maps set in the backdrop of the Sino-Japanese war, all made with extensive mods, but now that there will offically made props and vehicles, the quality and stability of these missions will increase ten-fold. We could expect more missions that explore other conflicts in China, like the Soviet Invasion of Manchuria, the warlord era, the civil war and more.
When this DLC releases, I will be writing an entire review for it, and will probably create some videos showcasing it, so stay tuned. Until then though, you can watch the official trailer by pasting the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VjKBlBBvKI