I had a few things bubbling around in my head that haven't come to anything, but this morning Seb and I were discussing something that's a relatively new phenomenon - the continual updating of games. We were particularly thinking of Hollow Knight when we started talking, but it got me thinking.
Remember the old days, when games were released on floppy disks and if they were full of bugs that was it? No 'day of release' bug fixes. No DLCs. The game you paid for was the game you got. And sometimes that was not a good game. I particularly remember playing the much hyped Rise of the Robots on the CD32. That was awful in so many ways...
But apart from the bug fix updates, and the paid for DLCs, these days so many indie developers keep releasing content for years after the game's official release. I don't know how they can afford to keep doing this - are they attracting new players with the new updates? Or are they just doing it because they love the game? Whatever the reason, I've thought of a few games we play that have had significant updates in their lifetime. Pay once for these and get so much more than you paid for. In the case of Terraria we've had nine years of significant updates and additions! What could be better value than that?
First game is the aforementioned Hollow Knight (PEGI-7), a metroidvania game where you have to save a beautiful bug kingdom from a mysterious infection. This was released in 2017 and has had four major updates, as well as various bug fixes etc.: "Hidden Dreams", "Grimm Troupe", "Lifeblood" and "Godmaster" (released August 2018). These DLCs go way beyond the initial Kickstarter goals and they were all FREE. They introduced new areas such as The Hive, and new bosses like Grimm, and new challenge modes like the Pantheons, with the Absolute Radiance (new final boss).
 |
Hollow Knight's last DLC, Godmaster
|
Second game is another one Seb has played A LOT - Terraria (PEGI-12), a game where you build, mine and defeat some awesome bosses. This came out in 2011 and has just had its final update - "Rounding Out The Journey". This has had lots of updates adding new enemies, bosses, biomes and items, and also seasonal events like the Frost Legion Christmas event and Pumpkin Moon Halloween event. Terraria 1.2 added some major new features including The Crimson (an alternative to The Corruption, a sort of evil biome that spreads across your world in the late game). 1.4 added "Journey Mode", which is sort of a creative mode for the game, and as such a completely new way to play it. It also added the Empress of Light, Seb's favourite boss.
 |
Terraria's last update - Journey's End
|
Third game is Stardew Valley (PEGI-12), where you have to become an expert farmer while helping out townsfolk and finding someone to marry. This was released in 2016 and I believe it's still being updated. Most updates added things like items, buildings and character interactions, but 1.3.27 added multiplayer, letting you farm with a friend. This was further enhanced in later updates, with 1.4.0 adding lots of things to the multiplayer experience, including a Four Corners farm map, meant for co-op play. (This update was huge, with all sorts of crazy things - 181 shirts, 35 hats, even Dinosaur Mayonnaise!)
 |
Stardew Valley's multiplayer update
|
Fourth game is Slime Rancher (PEGI-3), a game where you, erm, ranch slimes. This came out in 2017 and again I believe it's still being updated. Plenty of new content has appeared over the years, with "Ogden's Wild Update", "Mochi's Megabucks Update", "Viktor's Experimental Update", and "Wiggly Wonderland" Christmas events. The updates have added all sorts of things - new areas, slimes, gadgets, quests... If you've ever wanted to farm cute slimes and dress them in scuba gear, now you can.
 |
Slime Rancher Pool Party update
|
Fifth game I'm going to mention is The Long Dark (PEGI-16), where you have to survive in the Canadian Great White North after a strange geomagnetic disaster - I am on tenterhooks with this one! The game was first released in 2017 though it has changed significantly since initial release. (It began as a sandbox survival game in 2014.) There are two aspects to this game - the survival mode, and the story mode. They reworked the first two episodes and released a "Redux" update in December 2018, with dialogue re-recorded, missions changed, gameplay improvements - it made the story mode much better.
 |
The Long Dark episode 3 - Crossroads Elegy
|
Episode 3 (Crossroads Elegy) arrived in October 2019. We are still waiting for episode 4! The survival mode updates include new maps, new items, events (such as one where you had to, erm, eat Canadian food). This is a weird one, updates wise, since you pay for the game and then have to wait for them to finish it - there are supposed to be five episodes altogether. I sincerely hope they make it to the fifth one, since the fourth has been delayed until next year (boo Covid).
 |
Canadian delicacy, ketchup crisps
|
With some games, then, you have updates you never expected to happen, adding all sort of cool stuff to a game you were perfectly happy with in the first place. For completionists this can be a bit of a nightmare, since the goalposts are constantly moving - Hollow Knight is now up to 112% completion if you're speedrunning it. On the other hand, sometimes you can pay for a game and then wait years for the whole story to be released. And there's always the worry something will happen and you'll never get to send how it all ended...
However you look at it, games like these are a wonderful thing. It's fantastic to have dedicated teams of people who love their games and want to keep improving them. It's definitely not something you get with big titles. You might get some paid for DLCs. Or in-game purchases to add stuff. But you don't get the sheer quantity of free additional things that you do with these small 'indie' games.
Support these guys, show them some love, they deserve it!
