Players are criticizing the first DLC for RTS game Age of Mythology: Retold, before the full game is even out. The Legacy Deity Portrait Pack costs $6 – but potential buyers are frustrated because all the DLC includes is portrait art from the original AoM. Although Retold’s advanced access is well underway, and the preorder version already includes the maligned DLC, anyone waiting to buy the standard edition will need to fork over extra cash for the nostalgic JPEGs. While this is completely optional, it’s safe to say it isn’t going down well with the community.
Age of Mythology: Retold technically isn’t even out yet, and the DLC is still being review-bombed. Premium advanced access started on Tuesday August 27, but the game doesn’t properly launch until Wednesday September 4. You can spend an extra $20 on the premium edition (from $30 for standard up to $50 for premium), and doing so nets you some extras. You get the seven-day early access, the first two expansions when they’re release – and this controversial portrait pack. This means that anyone playing now already owns the portrait DLC, while anyone buying the standard edition will have to pay an extra fee.
For players, the RTS game‘s DLC pricing is the main issue. The fact that all it does is give you images already available in the original 2002 version of Age of Mythology is rubbing people the wrong way. Some think the original diety portraits should have been included in the base game, and are voicing frustration over the nostalgia bait.
The Age of Empires: Retold DLC only has 148 user reviews on Steam, but they’re not good. A staggeringly low 16% of those reviews are positive, but the majority of the reviews call the $6 asking price greedy.
“Charging for this type of content is disgusting. I wanted early access, thankfully this was bundled with it, because no way in the seven hells would I drop $6 on a picture pack,” one player says. “This should be free. End of story” and “I hope the two future expansions are not as poopy as this DLC,” others add.
Despite this DLC debacle, we actually loved the RTS revival. Our own Age of Mythology: Retold review scored it 8/10, with Grace praising the faithfulness to the original, UI and aesthetic updates, and the “smart decision to leave AoM’s enjoyable idiosyncrasies intact.”
Age of Mythology: Retold is also coming to Xbox, PC, and Cloud Game Pass on Wednesday September 4, so you can play it at no extra cost to a subscription.
We’ve also put together all the best strategy games if you’re looking for a different challenge, alongside a breakdown of the biggest upcoming PC games to keep an eye on.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.
