Massive survival game Soulmask hits 1.0, and you can grab its Ancient Egypt expansion for free if you're fast

21 months, 800,000 players, and more than 1,800 optimizations and improvements later, Soulmask 1.0 is here. The colossal open-world sandbox is one of the most packed survival games I've seen, and it just got even bigger with its exit from Early Access and the launch of its Shifting Sands DLC. If you're worried that essentially a day-one paid expansion sounds a bit much to ask, don't worry; Campfire Studio is giving the Ancient Egyptian adventure away for free to all players who already own the game or buy it at any point within the first month of 1.0.

Soulmask is already a vast offering, with the base game alone promising up to 500 hours of gameplay, but it's continued to grow and evolve throughout its Early Access journey. Campfire Studio has typically put more of its focus on exploration, action, and town management over grinding out resources, giving you a wealth of tools that let you assign the busywork of building a civilization to your people. For 1.0, it's introduced three distinct playstyles. 'Tribe Mode' is for those who like to build and lead, 'Survival Mode' is for hardcore purists, and 'Warrior Mode' focuses on "the thrill of brutal combat."

The full launch brings an overhauled onboarding experience, with optional tutorials and advice to help you learn the ropes. To ensure you've got everything you need at your fingertips, the new 'Mask Knowledge Base' incorporates a comprehensive encyclopedia of all the materials, their locations and uses, crafting methods, and other useful information. Tribe management has been upgraded as well. You can now assign specific roles to each of your followers, so they can automatically find work to do rather than needing to be constantly micromanaged, and there are new screens to oversee everything happening across your settlement "from a true commander's perspective."

One of the most distinctive elements of Soulmask is the masks themselves. These are the key to some of the most powerful skills at your disposal, and they've been given a big upgrade for 1.0. There's a new 'Mimicry Ascension' system that lets you push each of the masks beyond their original limits. For example, Shadow Walker, which lets you turn invisible to the naked eye, can now gain the ability to make you "teleport through space and execute enemies from behind."

Then we come to the new DLC, Shifting Sands. This essentially acts as an entirely separate world "as large as the base game," heavily inspired by Ancient Egypt. It includes all the essentials you'd expect: three main story bosses, three mechanical bosses, more than ten expansive ruins and dungeons to discover, four new evolved masks, and 325 fresh tribesman talents. However, it also introduces 'Pyramid Airships,' which are basically huge, mobile sky cities that you can build using over 100 parts and defend with six weapons designed for aerial combat.

A bulky offering, to say the least. The price reflects that; by default, it'll set you back $20 / £17, pretty close to the cost of the full game. However, "as a special launch thank-you to the community," Shifting Sands will be given to all players for free for the first month of 1.0. If you already own Soulmask, you'll want to make sure you update and boot the game up during that time to receive the expansion. If it's been sitting on your wishlist for a while, it's certainly a big temptation to pick it up now rather than waiting any longer.

Soulmask 1.0 is out now, with a 10% discount through Thursday April 23 meaning you'll pay $26.99 / £22.49. If you buy the game on Steam or the Epic Games Store before Sunday May 10, or already own it, you'll automatically be given the Shifting Sands DLC for free, which will be priced at $19.99 / £16.99 afterwards. Head here to take a closer look at what's on offer.

Campfire Studio notes that some players have had trouble claiming the DLC on Steam during the initial release, but says it's "working urgently to resolve this issue." It notes that you do not need to add Shifting Sands to your cart separately - just buy the base game, and you will be granted the expansion automatically once any potential issues have been resolved. The developer also recommends ensuring your game is updated to version 1.0 to make sure the offer goes through correctly.