Bastion DLC arriving this week

The critically acclaimed action role-playing game Bastion was a debut hit from developer Supergiant Games, initially released as part of this year's Xbox Live Summer of Arcade before making it onto PCs and Google's Chrome Web Store earlier this year.

Now, as a show of thanks to Bastion fans around the world, Supergiant Games has announced a soon-to-be-released DLC pack for the game, which will add a fully narrated sequence and two gameplay modes to the experience.

Titled Stranger's Dream, the DLC pack will arrive on December 14 at no charge for PC users. However, the game will cost 80 Microsoft points ($1) for XBLA users. The developer stipulates in the announcement that it couldn't make the game free due to Microsoft policy.

Stranger's Dream will include a new, fully narrated "Who Knows Where" sequence that will give players more insight into Ruck's backstory, as well as the history of Caelondia. The developer says the sequence will be "bigger and more challenging" than others in the game.

The DLC pack will also add a Score Attack mode and a No-Sweat mode to the game: the former will unlock all spirits and idols in the game from the first level and will rate players' efficiency in combat, with all areas becoming repeatable; the latter will provide players with unlimited chances to move forward from the point at which they were defeated in battle, suited for those who just want to experience the game's story.

PC and XBLA versions of the game will also contain new leaderboards for Stranger's Dream and Score Attack mode. However, to access this mode, as well as the narrated sequence, players will need to have finished the original game at least once.

Stranger's Dream will be available from December 14. Supergiant Games has clarified that the Google Chrome version of the game will also be getting the DLC pack sometime "in the coming weeks"; the game will be automatically updated when the DLC becomes available.