A lot of controversy is surrounding Evolve . People aren’t too pleased with all of the launch DLC options, and I don’t blame them. To sum it up, Evolve is $60 at launch. A Hunting Season Pass, which only includes four more hunter characters, one for each class, and one additional skin for each of the three monsters in the game, is $25. $30, if you buy them separately. If someone wants two additional monsters, they’ll be $15 each. The only way to get everything at once is to immediately commit and pay $80 for a Digital Deluxe Edition, which gives the game, the Hunting Season Pass, and a Monster Expansion Pack that provides people with Behemoth. The only free DLC is map DLC.
That, combined with concerns over its Left 4 Dead style campaign that will only offer a multiplayer experience, either with real players or bots, makes something abundantly clear. Nobody should be pre-ordering Evolve . Everyone interested shouldn’t be jumping into this game at launch. It isn’t about waiting for reviews or opinions from people you know. It’s more about being smart when faced with a game that is shaping up to be something that will want too much of your money. Anyone looking at this game and wondering if twelve hunters and three monsters is enough variety to start probably shouldn’t be ready to immediately kick in their cash.
It’s best to pursue one of two courses of action, and both require some degree of patience. The first is to wait until at least March, maybe even April, to buy Evolve . It’s a AAA game, and everyone knows that these types often end up being Deals of the Day on sites like Amazon and Best Buy. If it follows trends set by other games, it could be down to $39.99 on sale within two months. Especially given its nature as a multiplayer experience.
If you really want to “win” in this situation, though, the best bet is to wait until Black Friday 2015. Yes, I realize it’s nine months away. Hear me out. Remember Titanfall ? Big deal, Xbox One game? It was released on March 11, 2014 and by the time Black Friday rolled around, it was down to $20. That made buying all kinds of DLC to expand the experience feasible. Ideally, people should be doing a similar thing with Evolve . Wait on the game until the November sales. By then, all the problems will be patched out, the price will have dropped, and the DLC will be available. You’ll be able to get the game everyone expected at launch.
As for worrying about the community, it shouldn’t be an issue. Everyone is banking on the DLC pulling people back into Evolve as it’s released, for one, so waiting shouldn’t be too detrimental. Also, waiting until November would mean getting it at the same time as thousands of other people who were waiting for the perfect price point. You’ll have no trouble finding a match, since communities will be established.
All of this comes from a place of concern. I’ve been around for a long time. I’ve seen how game cycles go. Especially with games like Evolve where DLC can end up substantially increasing the replay value of the game. You don’t want to find yourself spending enough money for two games on one. Take your time, wait a bit, and hop in once everyone else has tested the waters instead.