Base game vs the DLC
The base game is the full Brotato loop: 20-wave runs, six weapon slots, characters, items and Workshop mods. Primal Dread adds a second 20-wave map, the Jungle, plus 10 characters, 17 weapons, 40 items and Evolution. Update 1.2.0.0 is free for everyone.
The question behind this page is usually "do I already own enough Brotato". The answer depends on what the base game actually contains, which has changed twice since 2023: once with Abyssal Terrors, and once with the free 1.2.0.0 update that shipped alongside Primal Dread.
Here is the split, with the caveat that the base game's own content is larger than any single DLC and is not fully enumerated anywhere official.
Owning the base game
Brotato launched out of early access on 23 June 2023. It is a top-down arena shooter where you control a potato with up to six weapons, survive twenty waves, and spend materials in a shop between waves. That loop is the whole game, and it is free-standing: no DLC is required to play it.
| Base game element | What it is |
|---|---|
| Run structure | Twenty waves, a shop between each, a boss at the end |
| Weapons | Six slots, class-based set bonuses |
| Characters | A large roster, each with a win achievement |
| Items | Shop items that stack, plus consumables and pets |
| Difficulty | Multiple difficulty levels including Nightmare |
| Co-op | Local and shared split screen, Remote Play Together |
| Mods | Steam Workshop support |
| Achievements | 200 entries in the current list, including DLC additions |
The 200 figure needs a footnote: it is the total list today, which includes the ten character achievements added by Primal Dread. The base game's own count is lower, and the only way to see the split is the achievement grouping described on the achievements page.
Added by Primal Dread
Primal Dread is additive content for the same loop. It does not change how a run works, it changes where a run happens and who you can play.
| Element | Primal Dread | Effect on the base loop |
|---|---|---|
| Map | The Jungle | A second arena with its own enemy set and hazards |
| Waves | 20 new | A full run, separate from the Crash Zone |
| Characters | 10 | Ten new potatoes, each with a win achievement |
| Weapons | 17 | New options in the same six slots |
| Items | 40 | New shop pool entries, including fossils |
| Pets | 3 | New persistent companions |
| Stat | Evolution | A new system that changes enemy behaviour |
| Achievements | Separate list | Progress visible without diluting base completion |
The important structural point: the DLC does not add a mode, a difficulty or a progression system outside the run. It adds a second arena and a stat that mutates the fight inside that arena.
Free with 1.2.0.0
This is the part that gets lost in DLC coverage. Update 1.2.0.0 shipped the same day and is free for every owner of the base game, whether or not they buy Primal Dread.
| Free 1.2.0.0 feature | What it does | Requires the DLC? |
|---|---|---|
| Item Set | Switches whole content packs on or off from character select | No |
| Nightmare rebalance | Nerfs Crash Zone spikes, projectile counts, enemy health and speed | No |
| Character buffs | Eight older characters improved, including Hiker and Diver | No |
| Shop changes | Better odds of seeing weapons you own, plus class-based offers | No |
If you own the base game and are undecided about the DLC, you already received half of launch day. The Item Set page and the Nightmare page cover the free half; the four-dollar question is only about the Jungle.
Overlap and interaction
Three interactions matter when you own both:
Item Set can hide the DLC. If you want a vanilla-feeling run, switch Primal Dread off in the Item Set menu. The Jungle, its items and Evolution leave the pool.
Abyssal Terrors and Primal Dread are independent. Neither requires the other. You can own one, both or neither, and each adds a self-contained map and content set.
Evolution only exists in the Jungle. It is a DLC system tied to that map's drops, not a global stat. Base-game runs do not have Mecha parts or mutagens on the floor.
Which to buy first
If you own neither DLC, the honest comparison is on the Abyssal Terrors page, and it comes down to content mix: Abyssal has more characters (14 to 10), Primal Dread has more items (40 to 30-plus) and a new stat system.
If you own the base game and play it regularly, Primal Dread is the newer of the two and the one whose systems interact with the current patch. If you are a roster collector, Abyssal is the better character buy.
Where the numbers run out
It cannot give you a base-game character count, because the base roster is not enumerated in any official list this site can cite, and counting achievement entries produces a number that includes DLC characters. It also cannot tell you which DLC is "better", because that depends on whether you play for characters or for systems.
What it can tell you is the shape: the base game is the loop, the DLCs are arenas, and 1.2.0.0 is free. That is enough to decide whether four dollars is worth a second arena.
Checked 2026-11-04 against the 1.2.0.1 build.