EXTRA TIME
From Mario Kart 8 to Lego Star Wars, we can’t wait for these expansion packs
IN THE early days of gaming it was hard for fans to get more of the games they loved.
Players who fell in love with a title were either forced to wait for a sequel or, if there was no hope of another offering, delete their save game and play it through again.
That was until the advent of the ‘expansion pack’, discs sold in stores that added levels, maps and characters to existing games, refreshing and building on stories that fans had been playing to death.
The problem was, if you weren’t a PC gamer, these packs didn’t give you much of a look in.
Then the internet arrived, and everything changed.
Sega’s much-missed Dreamcast was the first console with online support as standard, allowing players to access Downloadable Content (DLC) from the comfort of their own home.
Although size limitations of the Dreamcast’s memory card meant that early DLC wasn’t amazing, it was still a groundbreaking innovation.
It was a model Sony and Microsoft soon adopted for their consoles, initially offering free extra content to players who owned the original game.
By the mid-2000s, games like Guitar Hero, Just Dance and Rock Band relied heavily on DLC as a way to keep players engaged, releasing themed ‘packs’ that players could download to expand their song libraries.
Today, DLC is seen as a standard part of gaming, with as much anticipation around some releases as the main games themselves.
But while fans don’t mind paying extra when they are getting tons of extra levels or story expansions, when you’re being asked to pay for new costumes and characters that should really already be in the game, it can feel a bit much.
With that in mind, here’s just four DLC expansions we can’t wait for this year.
MARIO KART 8 DELUXE BOOSTER PACK (PEGI 3) Switch Release: March 18
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe arrived on the
Wii U eight years ago, and it’s been another five since it launched on the Switch.
It’s the biggest selling Switch game of all time, and last month Nintendo revealed it is finally getting some much needed DLC.
The booster pack will contain 48 tracks collected together from previous games in the series.
The bad news here is that they will be issued in dribs and drabs, starting with the first wave of circuits – the Golden Dash Cup and Lucky Cat Cup – hitting the console this week.
Five more cups will be released between now and the end of 2023 – hopefully by then there will be some news of Mario Kart 9.
CUPHEAD: THE DELICIOUS LAST COURSE (PEGI 7)
PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC Release: June 30 The extended
adventures of Cuphead have been a very long time coming – nearly five years to be exact.
But if developers have paid the same stunning attention to detail, it will be more than worth the wait.
The standout indie game of 2017, Cuphead’s cartoony exterior belied the hard-as-nails action that awaited.
This DLC sees Cuphead and Mugman joined by Ms Chalice, opening up a whole new island for our porcelain pals to explore.
With new weapons, charms and a whole new character, expect fresh frustrations, insane new levels and devilish new bosses to push your skills – and your patience – to the max.
DYING LIGHT 2: STAY HUMAN (PEGI 18) PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, PC Release: Monthly
Developer Techland has pledged an impressive five years of support for its newest RPG survival horror. A post-release road map shows DLC every month until June, under the banner Start of the Journey.
This month sees the release of a free update with the working title “set of challenges 1”, followed up in April with what’s teased as “Mutated Infected”, a series of events that could be time limited.
The first story expansion, which will be paid content, arrives in June, with a second paid for story expansion due later in the year.
With so much promised content, fans might want to invest in a ‘season pass’ which covers current and future DLC at a discounted rate.
LEGO STAR WARS: THE SKYWALKER SAGA (PEGI 7)
PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, Switch, PC
Release: April 5
This new Lego game isn’t even out yet, and the anticipation around its planned DLC is palpable.
Spanning all nine Star Wars movies, the game boasts hundreds of playable characters to experience the story through.
Seven DLC packs have already been announced for the game, which will bring in additional characters from outside the original movies.
The first Character Collection packs are themed around the first series of The Mandalorian, the Classic Characters, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and the Trooper pack.
These will be available from launch for players who pre-ordered from certain stores, and available to the rest of us from April 9.
Again, you can choose to pay to add on packs as you go, or pay up front for a Season Pass that will allow you to download packs as they become available.