INTRO:
In vanilla Sanctum, the original maps have different layouts compared to each other, though there were only a handful of them. For better or worse, Coffee Stain Studios has decided that some of the maps that would come later are to be placed behind a pay-wall. Aftermath is one of them.
Initially a stand-alone package, Aftermath has since been packaged with a few others into a single map pack, which remains premium-only at this time of writing. Aftermath has some designs that make it very different from other maps that came before it, but it has perhaps highlighted how easy the game can be if the player has devised tight lines of defences.
MAP DESIGN:
There had been maps with noticeable verticality in their designs before Aftermath, such as Mine. However, their verticality would pale in comparison with Aftermath's.
There are three distinct segments for the defence grid, with one of them being a distinct slope that is in between the other two. The segment with the slope can be a challenge to move about on, as the angle of the slope can make jumping more difficult.
These segments are connected together with make-shift bridges that the player cannot build on, but do otherwise conveniently funnel the aliens into narrow paths.
The highest segment is substantially higher than the lowest segment, and the view of the latter from the former is blocked by many obstacles, the most prominent of which is a large crane.
There are also cells located on overhangs and other isolated places. Of these, the ones near the core would be quite useless unless fitted with the long-range Violator because they are so far removed from the rest of the defence grid. They can be used as last-ditch defences, but they are too far away from the core to be of much use.
The other oddly-placed cells are far more useful, especially when used to handle the waves of flying aliens, as they happen to be in the way of the aliens.
It is worth noting here that Aftermath is actually an expanded version of Bridge, which is one of the original maps. However, this backstory is not mentioned much at all, at least not in the game proper; instead, the description of the map has to be obtained from other official sources.
COMPLAINTS:
The first two segments of the grid, which are pieces of broken bridges, are where the player's defences would be most efficient. The highest segment is obstructed by many objects and has the lowest ratio of number of cells against area, despite being the largest of the three. If the aliens manage to leak into the highest segment, the player may well be in trouble.
That said, on lower difficulty settings, e.g. anything lower than Hard, the first two segments are perhaps all that the player needs. If the player is very diligent in having the player character jump and teleport around to personally apply pressure on the aliens, he/she only needs to fortify these two segments, in addition to the oddly placed cells.
If the player wants a more frantic experience with the map and see action in the half of the map that is closer to the core, he/she may want to play Aftermath on Hard or Insane.
If the player has the wisdom to pepper the first two segments and a bit of the highest segment with Anti-Air and Violator towers, the rather dense waves of flying aliens can be dealt with quite handily on virtually all difficulty settings. Having the player character handle them is quite difficult due to awkward firing angles and the large crane that blocks the player's view of one of the turns that the waves would take.
AESTHETICS:
As mentioned earlier, this map is actually based on an original map, which is the Bridge. However, the titular bridge has been wrecked, allowing the player a closer look at the canyons on which the humans' installation is built on and across.
The player can see a lot more of the jungles that grows on the faces of the canyons, as well as the foreboding mist that hangs below. The aliens always emerge from visually obscured regions of the map, coming into view from the convincingly thick foliage of the jungles.
The wreckage and the hasty attempts to create a makeshift defence grid also look quite convincing, what with the exposed wiring and structural supports and of course the cumbersome presence of the crane. On the other hand, such scenery would have one wondering how the dumb aliens could have wrought this, if one is to discount the possibility that the defenders may have been too desperate or overzealous in preventing the aliens from overloading the core.
There is not much in the way of new audio to listen to, though the voice-over for the notification A.I. has been disabled for this map. This is perhaps not a surprise, as this map is directed at veterans of the original package of Sanctum, who may have had enough of the notifications.
CONCLUSION:
Aftermath works its splendid wreck-filled scenery into its map designs quite well, but the crane may have been too big an obstruction. The map design also allows for defensive layouts that can easily handle the waves of aliens on difficulty settings that are not Hard or Insane, thus giving an impression of a skewed distribution of challenge.