Primal Dread: quick answers

Twelve questions, answered directly. These are the ones that come up in Steam discussions and in search, not the ones that make a page look thorough.

1. Do I need to own Brotato?

Yes. Primal Dread is downloadable content for app 1942280. It appears in the base game's DLC list, it has no standalone build, and buying it without the base game gives you nothing to launch.

2. How much does it cost?

$3.99. The official announcement also quoted EUR 3.99, GBP 3.39 and CNY 18.00. The base game is a separate purchase: $4.99 list, and it was $2.49 during a 50% discount when the DLC launched.

3. How many waves does it add?

Twenty. The Jungle is its own run with its own wave 1 to wave 20, its own elites and its own final boss. It is not twenty extra waves appended to a Crash Zone run.

4. How many new characters?

Ten: Archaeologist, Arsonist, Caveman, Droid, Mad Scientist, Poacher, Survivor, Time Shifter, Variant and Veteran. Each has a "Win a run with..." achievement, which is how the roster can be checked in-game.

5. How many new weapons and items?

Seventeen weapons, forty items, three pets. The store page gives the counts; it does not give the names, and neither does this site, because inventing a list would be worse than leaving it out.

6. What is the Evolution stat?

A new stat with two directions. Mecha reinforces weapons and adds stats; Mutation randomly copies items to multiply their effects. Picking up mecha parts or mutagens on the map pushes the stat toward that path, and each path makes the dinosaurs harder in a specific way: lasers and oil for Mecha, acid for Mutation.

7. Does the DLC work in co-op?

Yes. The store page lists co-op, shared split screen, Remote Play Together and Remote Play on TV, same as the base game. Patch 1.2.0.1 fixed a co-op crash involving crate rewards and two co-op shop layout bugs.

8. Are the achievements separate from the base game?

Yes. The launch post says the new achievements are "separated from the base game thanks to Steam new feature". The game's achievement list currently totals 200 entries, ten of which are the new characters' win conditions.

9. Do I need Abyssal Terrors to play it?

No. The two DLCs are independent. Neither requires the other, and Item Set lets you switch either one off independently.

10. Does it make Nightmare harder?

The DLC adds harder enemies in a new arena; the free 1.2.0.0 update made Nightmare easier. Those are separate things shipping the same day. If you are returning to Nightmare, the patch is mostly nerfs: nine enemy adjustments and eight character buffs, covered on the Nightmare page.

11. Do my mods still work?

Probably not all of them. The developers' instruction on launch day was to deactivate every mod before playing, because outdated mods conflict with the update. The mods page has a bisect procedure for finding the broken one.

12. Is there a new game mode, codes, or a battle pass?

No. Primal Dread adds a map, a stat and content for the existing loop. Brotato has no code system and no battle pass, and this site has no codes page for that reason.

A few more that come up

Does the Jungle replace the Crash Zone? No. It is a second map with its own wave table. Base-game runs are unchanged, and you can switch the DLC's content off with Item Set if you want the original pool back.

How long is a run? Twenty waves, roughly 30 to 45 minutes. A character unlock is one win.

Can I play it on Steam Deck? The game supports Linux and lists a 200 MB footprint, which is a good fit for handheld hardware. Steam Deck compatibility is not an official claim in the store data.

Is the DLC discounted yet? No, as of 4 November 2026. Abyssal Terrors took a 20% discount and sat at $3.19, so a discount eventually is likely; it will not be in the first weeks.

Does the DLC change the base game? Only through the free 1.2.0.0 update, which everyone gets.

Where to go next

If you are deciding whether to buy, the verdict page is the short version and what the DLC adds is the long one. If you already bought it, the beginner guide is a three-run plan and the Evolution overview is the system you need to understand before your third run.

If your question is not here, the contact page has the address, and a question that is not answered anywhere on the site is exactly the kind worth sending.

Still stuck

The guides index lists every page with the question it answers, which is faster than reading this FAQ twice. If the answer genuinely is not on the site, send the question to the address on the contact page: unanswered questions are how the next page gets chosen.

Checked 2026-11-04 against the 1.2.0.1 build.