Evolve: Criticisms Against DLC Are Unfair
Recently, Turtle Rock Studios co-founder, Phil Robb, posted on the official Evolve community forums in response to criticism regarding the downloadable content options for the Evolve game. Robb addressed the Evolve community to quell concerns that Turtle Rock Studios is planning to roll out a bunch of day one DLC to sell separately. Robb’s response was well stated and written. I believe the criticisms against the DLC for Evolve in this case are a bit unfair.
I can understand the anxiety of players regarding DLC. More and more, it seems like players are only playing for half of a game or a marginal experience, while the rest of the game is left aside for DLC. I do not care for the practice of locked content on disc that requires a DLC code to unlock it. 2K Games released a Season Pass for WWE 2K15 that did not even offer all the DLC content that was being released for that particular game.
In the case of Evolve, most of the DLC content was not finished or ready to be released with the game. The Behemoth is a pre-order bonus monster for the game, and that monster will not even be ready at the time of the game’s launch. As an online multiplayer shooter, Evolve is a game that will most likely live and “evolve” later on through its updates and DLC released. Turtle Rock Studios already revealed that any new maps and gameplay modes release for the game will be free. Another positive aspect is that Robb stated that players who do not purchase DLC content will still be able to compete against players who have purchased the content.
For the most part, Turtle Rock Studios’ release plans for the DLC sound pretty fair–at least in comparison to what 2K Games and Visual Concepts did for WWE 2K15. In addition, Turtle Rock Studios is offering various bundle and discounted options for the DLC. Is it as awesome as CD Projekt Red offering a completely free DLC program for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt? No. However, I do not think Turtle Rock Studios should be condemned for these cases of DLC content.
Also, at the end of the day, players do not have to buy the DLC. From the sounds of the plans for the game, there will be a good deal of content for the game without DLC options. So, it does not sound like DLC will be essential to playing and enjoying the game. Evolve finally hits the shelves next month on February 10. The game will be available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC.