Evolve Does not Receive Warm Welcome from Gamers
posted Sunday Feb 15, 2015 by Scott Ertz
A lot of people were really excited for the release of Evolve. I was not counted among them, but I know several people on the team who were. I did, personally, hold a Mirror's Edge type curiosity for a relatively unknown game style from a relatively well-known studio. Unfortunately, publisher 2K was not doing anything to try and win me over - like release information about the game.
While you could play in a series of betas, it was unknown what would come with the game, how it would be distributed, etc. Despite this, people pre-ordered the game online and at retailers, not knowing whether their money would be well-spent, but certainly hoping. Then came the tiers: $60, $80, $100 - all for an online-only, multiplayer-only game. So what magical content could you possibly get for $100?
As it turns out, almost nothing more than the $60 game. In fact, the big difference is in the number of skins available: 12 hunters and 3 monsters for $60 or 18 hunters and 4 monsters and 4 skins for $100. Yes, you had to pay almost double to receive less than double the CHARACTERS. No extra play, no new content - just characters.
So, clearly the idea of asking $100 for a few minor components is insane, and that does seem to be the general consensus with online reviews. Add to it the idea that there are a slew of $4.99 and $6.99 additional add-ons you can purchase for even more skins, and a $24.99 "Hunting Season Pass" can bring the price to half that of a console.
Unfortunately, this isn't where gamers' frustrations with the game end. The base price, $60, is said to be too high, even if it came with all of the add-ons. Gamers are used to the $60 price tag, but are also used to a healthy single player campaign and a well-considered multiplayer scenario. With Evolve you only get the latter, which may be the part that gets played repeatedly, but isn't the part that makes you fall in love with the game, mechanics and, in some instances, the characters (I'm looking at you Cortana).
Have you played the game? Are you happy with what you bought? Let us know in the comments.