Category: DLC

PlayStation Plus Essential: 1 Month, The Subscription Top-Up That Taught Me a Lesson

DLC Review · Purchased December 19, 2024 · $13.43 CAD via PSN

PlayStation Plus Essential tier artwork
PlayStation Plus Essential. Photo: PlayStation Store

The Setup

A single month of PlayStation’s entry-level online subscription tier, required for online multiplayer access and monthly free game claims, purchased as a short-term top-up rather than a longer commitment.

The Review

There is genuinely not much to review about a subscription service doing exactly what a subscription service is supposed to do: it granted online access and monthly game claims for the month I paid for, without incident. The real lesson from this purchase is entirely about math rather than the service itself: paying month to month like this works out to meaningfully more per month than committing to PlayStation’s 12-month plan, which is a common subscription trap across basically every service in this category, not unique to PlayStation specifically.

What I Liked

  • Does exactly what it promises, no complaints about the service itself
  • Useful as a genuine short-term top-up if you only need a single month

What I Didn’t

  • Noticeably worse per-month value than committing to a longer subscription term
  • Easy to accidentally overpay if you use PS Plus regularly but keep buying single months out of habit

The Verdict

Rating: 3/5

Only makes sense as a genuine short-term top-up. If you use PS Plus regularly, the 12-month plan is meaningfully cheaper per month than paying monthly the way I did here.

Where to Buy

The Casting of Frank Stone: A Well-Made Detour Into Dead by Daylight’s Universe

DLC Review · Purchased December 21, 2024 · $41.93 CAD via PSN

Key art for The Casting of Frank Stone
The Casting of Frank Stone. Photo: Steam

The Setup

A standalone narrative horror game set within the Dead by Daylight universe, developed by Supermassive Games in the same branching-choice, cinematic style that defines their Dark Pictures Anthology work.

The Review

The Supermassive DNA is unmistakable throughout: strong atmosphere, solid voice acting, and a branching-choice structure that gives individual playthroughs a genuine sense of consequence. As the last purchase of my entire 2024 spreadsheet, it closed the year on a reasonably strong note, atmospherically at least. Where reception, including my own reaction, landed more mixed was on how well the story actually capitalized on its connection to Dead by Daylight’s established lore, several reviewers felt the link to that wider universe was more surface-level connective tissue than a substantive deep dive worth the price of entry for existing Dead by Daylight fans specifically hoping for real lore payoff.

What I Liked

  • Strong atmosphere and voice acting consistent with Supermassive’s other work
  • Branching choices give real weight to individual playthroughs
  • A solid horror narrative on its own terms

What I Didn’t

  • Connection to Dead by Daylight’s lore feels more surface-level than substantive
  • General narrative-horror fans without franchise attachment may want to wait for a discount

The Verdict

Rating: 3/5

Reasonable for horror and Dead by Daylight fans specifically looking for more narrative context on that universe, general narrative-game fans may want to wait for a sale before jumping in.

Where to Buy

Disney Dreamlight Valley: The Storybook Vale, More of a Formula I Still Enjoy

DLC Review · Purchased November 20, 2024 · $71.76 CAD via Xbox.com

Key art for Disney Dreamlight Valley: The Storybook Vale
Disney Dreamlight Valley: The Storybook Vale. Photo: PlayStation Store

The Background

Disney Dreamlight Valley built a loyal audience by blending cozy life-sim mechanics (farming, decorating, friendship building) with actual Disney and Pixar characters and storylines, and The Storybook Vale is a premium expansion pack adding new realms, characters, including Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, and story content on top of that established foundation.

Living With It

This is the priciest DLC purchase in my entire 2024 spreadsheet, and coming in above the $70 mark puts it in a different category than the roughly $12 PowerWash packs and $21 currency bundles that make up most of this section. That price is more defensible than it might first appear, given how much new content the expansion actually adds: new realms to explore and decorate, meaningful character-specific storylines rather than generic filler quests, and enough new systems and content to genuinely extend the life of a game that some players had already worked through the bulk of.

Reviews at launch (and my own time with it) landed on similar ground: this is a well-produced, content-rich expansion that clearly understands what the existing Dreamlight Valley audience wants, more of the same core loop, done well, with new characters and settings to wrap around it. What it is not is a reinvention of the formula, and a small number of reviewers specifically flagged that as a minor disappointment given the price point, wanting the premium expansion to push the format somewhere genuinely new rather than expanding it along the same lines.

For someone already invested in the base game’s rhythm, spending an evening building out a new Rapunzel-themed area of the valley delivered exactly the kind of relaxing, satisfying progression loop that made the base game worth playing regularly in the first place.

What I Liked

  • Genuinely substantial amount of new content, not a thin premium reskin
  • Rapunzel and Flynn Rider’s storylines are well written and true to the source material
  • Extends the life of a game I was already invested in rather than replacing what worked

What I Didn’t

  • The priciest DLC purchase of my entire year, worth going in with clear expectations
  • More of the same established formula rather than a meaningful evolution of it
  • Value is heavily dependent on already being invested in the base game’s core loop

The Value Verdict

Rating: 3/5

Reasonable if you are already invested in Dreamlight Valley as an ongoing game, this delivers real, substantial content. Just know going in that this is a “more of what you already like” purchase rather than a must-have reinvention.

Where to Buy

PowerWash Simulator: Shrek Pack, The Meme-Friendly Crossover That Delivers

DLC Review · Purchased October 12, 2024 · $12.31 CAD via PSN

Key art for PowerWash Simulator: Shrek Special Pack
PowerWash Simulator: Shrek Special Pack. Photo: Steam

The Setup

The fifth and final PowerWash Simulator crossover pack I bought in 2024, this one sends you scrubbing down the Swamp and other Far Far Away locations, complete with recognizable music cues from the films.

The Review

Of all five crossovers in my 2024 haul, this was the one the wider gaming community seemed most excited about before it even released, and playing it, the enthusiasm makes sense. There is something inherently funny and satisfying about power-washing an ogre’s swamp specifically, and the developers clearly understood the meme potential of the pairing, leaning into it with genuine care in the level design and audio rather than treating it as a cheap licensing grab. Closing out my year of PowerWash crossovers on this note felt appropriate, easily one of the two or three strongest packs in the entire line.

What I Liked

  • Genuinely fun, meme-aware execution of the crossover concept
  • Strong recognizable music and setting work
  • A satisfying way to close out the year’s run of these packs

What I Didn’t

  • Same short-content tradeoff as the rest of the line
  • Appeal leans on already finding the Shrek and PowerWash pairing funny

The Verdict

Rating: 5/5

One of the more fun packs in the entire series, purely for the novelty of power-washing an ogre’s swamp, and a great note to end my year of these crossovers on.

Where to Buy

Astro Bot Deluxe Digital Upgrade: The Cheapest Yes of the Whole Year

DLC Review · Purchased September 6, 2024 · $11.20 CAD via PSN

Key art for the Astro Bot Digital Deluxe Edition Upgrade
Astro Bot Digital Deluxe Upgrade. Photo: PlayStation Store

The Setup

A digital upgrade purchased the same day as the physical copy of Astro Bot and the limited edition DualSense controller, unlocking extra cosmetics and bonus content tied to the game’s Deluxe tier.

The Review

Given how thoroughly Astro Bot earned its Game of the Year win (reviewed at length elsewhere in this series), an eleven-dollar add-on to an already excellent game is about as low-risk a purchase as exists in this entire spreadsheet. The extra cosmetics and bonus content are exactly what you would expect from a digital upgrade tier: nice to have, not remotely necessary to enjoy the core game, but a pleasant bit of extra flavour for a game I was already thrilled to be playing.

What I Liked

  • Trivially cheap add-on to an outstanding base game
  • Extra cosmetic content is a nice bonus rather than a cynical upsell

What I Didn’t

  • Entirely unnecessary if you are budget-conscious, the base game does not need this to be excellent

The Verdict

Rating: 4/5

As a cheap add-on to a Game of the Year-calibre title, this is easy to recommend, more because the base game earns it than because the upgrade itself is essential.

Where to Buy

PowerWash Simulator: Alice’s Adventures Special Pack, Wonderland Gets the Deep Clean

DLC Review · Purchased August 31, 2024 · $12.31 CAD via PSN

Key art for PowerWash Simulator: Alice's Adventures Special Pack
PowerWash Simulator: Alice’s Adventures Special Pack. Photo: Steam

The Setup

Listed in my own records simply as “Alice in Wonderland,” this is officially PowerWash Simulator’s Alice’s Adventures crossover pack, sending you through a grime-covered version of Wonderland armed with nothing but a pressure washer.

The Review

Consistent with every other entry in this crossover line, the whimsical, slightly surreal aesthetic of Alice in Wonderland translates well into the game’s cleaning-focused gameplay loop, and the level design leans into the property’s most recognizable imagery in ways that reward familiarity with the source material without requiring it. By this point in the year, having bought several of these packs already, the consistency of quality across the whole line had become its own kind of reassurance, I no longer hesitated before buying a new one.

What I Liked

  • Whimsical, well-realized Wonderland-themed levels
  • Consistent quality with the rest of the crossover line
  • Low price, low risk

What I Didn’t

  • Same short-runtime tradeoff as every pack in the series
  • Nothing here breaks new ground for the format at this point in the line’s history

The Verdict

Rating: 4/5

On brand with the rest of this DLC line’s reliably good value. By this point in the year, PowerWash Simulator’s crossover team had fully earned my trust to just buy on release.

Where to Buy

PowerWash Simulator: Warhammer 40,000 Special Pack, The Crossover Nobody Expected to Work This Well

DLC Review · Purchased March 11, 2024 · $12.31 CAD via PSN

Key art for PowerWash Simulator: Warhammer 40,000 Special Pack
PowerWash Simulator: Warhammer 40,000 Special Pack. Photo: Steam

The Setup

On paper, this is the strangest pairing in PowerWash Simulator’s entire crossover catalogue: the grim, ultra-serious tone of Warhammer 40,000 meets a game about cheerfully spraying grime off objects with a pressure washer.

The Review

That tonal mismatch is exactly why this became one of the most talked-about packs in the game’s community. Cleaning centuries of grime and battle damage off Space Marines, Titans, and other iconic 40K hardware, rendered in PowerWash Simulator’s cheerful, low-stakes visual language, creates a genuinely funny contrast that the developers clearly leaned into rather than shying away from. It helps that the underlying level design and attention to the source material’s iconography is just as careful here as in the more conventionally “fun” crossovers like SpongeBob or Back to the Future.

What I Liked

  • A genuinely inspired, funny tonal mismatch that works better than it has any right to
  • Strong attention to Warhammer 40K’s distinctive iconography
  • One of the most talked-about packs in the whole crossover line for good reason

What I Didn’t

  • The joke and appeal depend heavily on knowing Warhammer 40K’s tone well enough to appreciate the contrast
  • Same short runtime as every pack in this series

The Verdict

Rating: 5/5

Genuinely one of the standout packs in the whole PowerWash Simulator crossover line, and easily my favourite of the five I bought this year specifically because the concept should not work and absolutely does.

Where to Buy

Jurassic World Aftermath Collection: Tense, Stylish, and a Little Too Short

DLC Review · Purchased February 16, 2024 · $17.91 CAD via PSN

Key art for Jurassic World Aftermath Collection
Jurassic World Aftermath Collection. Photo: PlayStation Store

The Setup

A stealth-adventure VR experience set in a dinosaur-infested Jurassic Park facility, distinguished by a cel-shaded, comic-book art style rather than attempting photorealism, bundling both included episodes into one collection.

The Review

The art direction is genuinely the standout feature here: sneaking around a facility while avoiding raptors hits differently when the whole world looks like it stepped out of a graphic novel, and it holds up better over the course of the game than a more realistic art style might have on comparable hardware. Tension-building is well handled throughout, with a strong sense of danger even though the actual dinosaur encounters are more about evasion than direct confrontation. Where reviews (and my own experience) landed more critical was pacing across the back half of both included episodes, where the core stealth loop starts to feel a bit repetitive before the credits roll.

What I Liked

  • Distinctive, well-executed cel-shaded art style
  • Genuinely tense stealth gameplay in the front half
  • Both episodes bundled together for a reasonable price

What I Didn’t

  • Gameplay loop wears thin by the later stages
  • Overall runtime is on the shorter side even with both episodes included

The Verdict

Rating: 3/5

Reasonable at this price for a good tension-building VR experience, just do not expect a long campaign or a lot of mechanical variety across the runtime.

Where to Buy

PowerWash Simulator: SpongeBob SquarePants Pack, The Most Charming of the Bunch

DLC Review · Purchased February 3, 2024 · $12.31 CAD via PSN

Key art for PowerWash Simulator: SpongeBob SquarePants Special Pack
PowerWash Simulator: SpongeBob SquarePants Special Pack. Photo: Steam

The Setup

Bought one day after the Back to the Future pack, this crossover sends you scrubbing down Bikini Bottom locations, the Krusty Krab included, using the same core PowerWash Simulator gameplay loop.

The Review

Of the five PowerWash crossover packs in my 2024 haul, this is the one I would call the most charming purely on aesthetic fit: SpongeBob’s exaggerated, colourful art style translates into the game’s cleaning mechanics in a way that feels almost purpose-built for it, grime and grease disappearing off cartoonishly oversized objects with the same satisfying visual payoff the base game is built around. The attention to specific, recognizable Bikini Bottom locations shows the same level of care the Back to the Future pack demonstrated a day earlier.

What I Liked

  • Aesthetic and gameplay loop fit together unusually well
  • Recognizable, well-realized Bikini Bottom locations
  • Consistent quality with the rest of the crossover line

What I Didn’t

  • Same short-content-for-the-price tradeoff as every other pack in this line
  • Appeal is entirely tied to fondness for the source material

The Verdict

Rating: 4/5

Cheap, short, and well made, consistent with everything else in this DLC line, and a personal favourite among the five packs I bought this year specifically for how well the visual style fits the gameplay.

Where to Buy

PowerWash Simulator: Back to the Future Special Pack, The One That Started My Crossover Addiction

DLC Review · Purchased February 2, 2024 · $12.31 CAD via PSN

Key art for PowerWash Simulator: Back to the Future Special Pack
PowerWash Simulator: Back to the Future Special Pack. Photo: Steam

The Setup

The first of five separate PowerWash Simulator crossover packs I bought across 2024, this one lets you scrub down the DeLorean and other Back to the Future locations using the base game’s signature power-washing gameplay loop.

The Review

PowerWash Simulator’s crossover packs have become a genuine phenomenon within the game’s community specifically because they are so consistently well produced: a handful of new levels built tightly around the licensed property, recognizable music cues and voice work where licensing allows, and level design that clearly understands what made each specific piece of media memorable in the first place. The Back to the Future pack nails the small details, cleaning grime off the DeLorean’s iconic panel lines feels specifically satisfying in a way a generic vehicle would not.

What I Liked

  • Faithful, detail-oriented level design
  • Short but genuinely well-crafted content
  • Strong recognizable music and audio cues

What I Didn’t

  • Very short additional playtime for the price if you are not already invested in the base game
  • A pack you either want specifically for the license or can easily skip

The Verdict

Rating: 4/5

If you already own the base game and like the property, these packs are short but polished, which turned out to be the norm across every single one I bought this year.

Where to Buy