Age of Mythology: Retold is out today on Xbox and PC. Critics seem to like it and people who paid extra to play early are mostly happy with this remastered version of the classic 2002 PC strategy game. However, players aren’t excited at all about being asked to spend money on 22-year-old JPEGs.
Age of Mythology is a spin-off of the also popular Age of Empires real-time strategy game series. That franchise has received some solid remasters from Microsoft over the last few years and a well-reviewed big-budget sequel, Age of Empires IV, in 2021. Now, the god-filled spin-off has gotten its own fancy remaster and initial impressions sound positive. But there is one thing players universally hate and it’s the idea of paying money for DLC that is just old images first seen in the original version of Age of Mythology.
As spotted by PC Gamer, Age of Mythology has a very positive review rating from thousands of players on Steam. However, its only in-game DLC pack has a very negative review score. This DLC is $6 and is called the “Legacy Deity Portrait Pack.” And as the name implies, this pack lets you swap out the new, fancy remastered portraits of gods and replace them with the original images found in the classic version of Age of Mythology.
This pack is included with the pricier premium version of the game, which is harmless enough. But as a separate, $6 DLC? That seems ridiculous. It’s just a collection of old JPEGs.
This is the kind of thing that should just be included in the game, or something you unlock by playing it, not an extra to be locked behind a paywall, as many of the negative Steam reviews for the DLC point out, too. DLC like this is just a way to squeeze out a few extra bucks from folks by tapping into their nostalgia. It’s gross and silly and hopefully, Microsoft realizes this is a dumb idea and makes the DLC free and refunds folks who bought it.
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