Warframe’s Heart of Deimos is an infested open-world you can explore in a mech

Arrives on August 25

Last year at TennoCon, Digital Extremes teased a new open-world area known as the Duviri Paradox. That update for Warframe is currently on hold. Instead, more than 50 million players around the world will get access to a new open-world later this month called the Heart of Deimos. 

Deimos is the second moon of Mars that holds the origin to the Infested. As players complete quests across the satellite, they’ll uncover the mysteries of the nauseating creatures and how they came to be. During a pre-TennoCon presentation, we were given a look at this fleshy world overrun with some of the most gruesome creatures Warframe has ever seen.

Heart of Deimos will be the third open-world setting for Warframe, following Fortuna and the Plains of Eidolon. Players will be able to use some of the features they may have already unlocked in the game on Deimos, including Archwings and K-Drives, the latter of which have new Infested forms on the planet. K-Drive combat will also be possible using your secondary weapon with the Heart of Deimos update. Not only will Tenno be exploring the surface of Deimos, but also its crimson underground via procedurally generated tunnels.

They’ll also be able to explore it in a Necramech, or what we called it during the presentation, a “Corpse Gundam.” These are powerful mechs developed by the Entrati family on Deimos in their fight against the Infested. Digital Extremes says it plans on having the mechs usable on the two other open-world areas as well. Players can access these mechs at any time if they have completed The Second Dream quest. For players who haven’t got that far in the questline yet, there will be missions on Deimos that give them temporary access to these mechs. Necramechs are customizable, but they’re not on the planet just for your use. Some are still activated and will try to kill you should you cross their path.

Despite the heavy infestation, Deimos has some of the extracurricular activities of the other open-world settings, including fishing and conservation. With its orbit around Mars, this moon will be accessible by players fairly early in the game, so Digital Extremes has created a new cinematic player introduction to go along with the update. Deimos will also have a fast-travel system that was designed for previous content releases but is only now being implemented into the game.

Many part of Deimos stood out during this short showcase. The Sun Worm and Moon Worm, both locked in an eternal battle for domination, are breathtaking. The world feels alive and the way it moves and pulses reminded me greatly of Inferno from Bayonetta 2. The creature design here is excellent as well with the massive Bone Blade enemies standing out as pure nightmare fuel. K-Drive combat is a very welcomed addition, though this probably means I should find a better secondary weapon. For players hoping to expand their Warframe arsenal, blueprints for the community-designed Xaku will be found on Deimos.

The Heart of Deimos update will launch for Warframe on August 25. For the first time in the game’s history, it will debut simultaneously on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch. If you’re wondering about the game’s availability on next-gen consoles, you’ll have to keep wondering. Digital Extremes’ COO Sheldon Carter had no information on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X ports of the game.