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Xbox Live Indie Game Imagines A World Where DLC Goes Too Far
With the legions of me-too Minecraft clones and boring match-three titles choking Xbox Live Indie Games, it's easy to overlook the games that are actually worth playing on the service. Here's one you shouldn't miss: DLC Quest.
DLC Quest is a satire on the growing dependence of publishers on nickel-and-diming consumers with charged downloadable content instead of putting features in games to begin with. Luckily, you aren't paying real money for the "DLC" in this game -- you only have to collect and spend in-game coins.
What kind of core gameplay elements will you be paying to unlock? Well, virtually everything. You'll need to purchase the DLC for animations, the ability to jump, the pause screen, a weapon -- heck, even the option to move left is locked until you pay up. It's obviously an extreme vision of what could go wrong with DLC, but the DLC Quest also takes time to mock some current classics such as Zombie DLC, map packs, and, oh yes, horse armor.
The core gameplay of DLC Quest is an extremely simple 2D sidescroller. The game exists much more for the jokes than compelling gameplay, and it doesn't last very long. But for 80 Microsoft points ($1), I definitely had an enjoyable hour or so and got to giggle at the absurdity of one of our industry's strangest new trends. Check it out!
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