SPIDERS EVERYWHERE: Metro's Developer Pack DLC

What's the deal with game developers and spiders? I'm actually working on a podcast-ish feature thing that tackles that very subject (it's been quite enlightening so far!), but for now I will sum up my findings in a brief, easily parsed expression of unbridled terror: EWWWEWWWWEWWWW. And also this for good measure. Metro: Last Light's "Developer Pack" DLC continues gaming's heartfelt, eight-legged embrace of arachnophobia with a horrific-sounding Spider's Lair solo mission. Also, it includes a bunch of a fun developer tools (think AI battlefields, etc) for you to toy around with. This, I assume, is merely a distraction so that the spiders can sneak up behind you and lay eggs in your hair.

Spiders spider spiders spiders spiders spiders spiders. Also spiders:

"Awaking unarmed, with only your lighter and compass, you must escape the murky depths of the Spider’s Lair – a forsaken Missile Silo that has become infested with arachnids. Light and fire become your weapons – the latter provided by a new addition to the Metro arsenal, the hand-pumped Flamethrower."

"The Spider’s Lair is pure survival horror, Metro style - it combines all of our limited resource mechanics to pile pressure on the player. You’ll be frantically wiping gore from your cracked mask, and hunting for spare filters as your oxygen ticks relentlessly down. The flamethrower’s fuel tank needs to be constantly cranked to maintain pressure, and you’ll need your torch on full beam at all times…"

The developer pack part of the, er, Developer Pack, meanwhile, reworks a bunch of actual dev tools into a big playground for your amusement. Want to pit various AI beasties against each other? Go for it. There's also a shooting range with every weapon in the game (and a new one), plus a museum that lets you take an up-close-and-personal look at various elements of the game sans the risk of them, you know, killing you.

The Developer Pack will be out on September 17th, which is next week for the date-impaired/man-shaped-amalgams-of-spiders-in-trench-coats among you. After that will come the story-based "Chronicles Pack" at some point in the future. It'll feature Pavel, Anna, and Khan, and Ulman on crazy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky adventures that tie up loose ends from Artyom's adventure.

For now, though, spiders! Spiders spiders spiders spiders spiders spiders spiders spiders.