Up For Debate – Enhanced or Complete Editions are really off-putting for early buyers

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Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition

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8.5 user review score. Average score out of 10, based on 4 review scores” style=”background: #4db53c”>
8.5

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9.1

DLC can come in all shapes and forms. Like anything, some of it can be utterly enthralling while others can be money-grabbing dirge. None of it’s quite so annoying as the enhanced editions though. The keenest fans who pick up a game at launch are then charged another £40 for the privilege of a revamped version, egregiously asking they play through the entire game in order to reap the benefits.

You’ve probably all seen a few in your time. The third iteration of Pokemon games has always been a prime example. We’d get Pokemon Red & Blue, for example, and then Pokemon Yellow would turn up with a tiny smidgen of new content. This concept has been spun out in so many different ways since though. Final Fantasy XV was patched for years until the eventual ‘Royal Edition’. Finally, fans were given an explanation for gaping plot holes and an unfinished experience. The problem? You need to play through the entire game again to even enjoy.

Then there are the Kingdom Hearts remixes, or Kingdom Hearts 3’s upcoming ReMind DLC, which will sprinkle critical new cutscenes through the story campaign. Persona 5: Royal, a revitalised edition of game which already clocks in at well over 100 hours. Where’s our ‘Just Show Me The New Shit’ button?

While not strictly enhanced editions, there’s also DLC for the Souls games to consider. Typically, Souls expansions don’t bolt onto the end of the game. Oh no, that would be far too simple. You need to play them in the middle. After finishing Bloodborne there wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to replay 60% of the entire game just so I could access The Old Hunters content. Accessing that DLC is so difficult there are YouTube tutorials explaining how. That’s ridiculous. I don’t know about anyone else but I think once you pay for something it should be incredibly easy to access said content.

It would seem, based on my examples, that this is somewhat a Japanese tradition. There are Western titles which attempt similar feats, although it’s seldom as frustrating. Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition added thousands of revamps including new and revised story content but at least it had the good grace of being a free update for current owners.

The hodgepodge approach to adding DLC content to some games is probably why the recently announced Expansion Pass for Pokemon Sword & Shield was met with open arms. Rather than being a legion of fans stricken by Stockholm Syndrome, the simple fact is that traditional DLC expansions are far more consumer friendly than asking players to buy and play an entire 60-hour game just to experience 10 hours of new content. Likewise Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, which did away with the usual ‘Ultimate’ versions in favour of a proper expansion pack.

What are your thoughts on this matter then, are you of enhanced editions? Do you mind if you have to play through a game again to access DLC? Is there any DLC you’ve bought which you’ve flat out been unable to even get to? Let us know!