Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot fans have a lot to be excited for, as the upcoming DLC release date was finally announced. With the new DLC focusing on Dragon Ball Super content dropping as quickly as Monday the 27th, fans are awaiting it anxiously. There has been a lot of confusion and misconception around the DLC since the season pass was first made available back in January, so many fans are uncertain as to what to expect from the DLC following the extremely well received base game. The bottom line is that the new DLC has some big shoes to fill.
For those less well versed in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot news, the upcoming DLC is confirmed to adapt certain events from the Dragon Ball Z movie, Battle of Gods, but is putting its own spin on things. Rather than faithfully adapting the story in the same way the base game did with the original anime, Goku and Vegeta will be able to travel to Beerus' home world and train with Whis to unlock the Super Saiyan God form before even clearing the Buu Saga. The DLC will culminate with an incredibly challenging boss battle with Beerus that will put player's skills and knowledge of the game to the test.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Reception
For the most part, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot was incredibly well received. Despite fan reservations about yet another game attempting to tell the story of Dragon Ball Z, Kakarot proved that it could do what so many others had tried so much better. The level of detail in this faithful adaptation was applauded by fans, and the move away from the fighting game genre into a more RPG style did wonders to help it stand out from the crowd of DBZ games.
That said, DBZ: Kakarot does have its flaws. While there are some minor gameplay issues such as Z Orbs being far too abundant or certain fights being too easy later on, its biggest flaw is the lack of endgame content and post launch support. After beating Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, there isn't much left to do aside from maxing out characters and finding any remaining collectibles. It lacks something in the form of replayability which caused many fans to simply stop playing shortly after beating the game. Furthermore, though CyberConnect2 has added some new features such as the time machine, there have been no in game events or other content updates.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Season Pass Confusion
These issues are made worse by the confusion surrounding the game's season pass. Both Bandai Namco Entertainment and CyberConnect2 were frustratingly silent about the contents of the season pass for months after the game's release. Despite many players having already payed for the content, news about what it would actually contain didn't come for quite some time. When the news did finally come, it was in a less than satisfying reveal that changed what fans were actually promised.
Originally, the season pass said only that it would include "2 original story episodes" and "1 new story arc." The vague wording and the mystery of the season pass was exciting at first, as many postulated what these two original story episodes could be about and where the new story arc might take the player, but most of these theories were shot down. After months of silence, it was revealed that the first DLC would in fact adapt elements of Beerus' Saga and include a Super Saiyan God transformation. Later, a new trailer changed the wording of the season pass from two original story episodes to two boss battle episodes.
While boss battle episodes are all fine and dandy, level 250 Beerus is said to be a challenge for the dev team even, they aren't quite as exciting as original story episodes. One thing that Kakarot did well was create new original content to fill in some of the gaps from the Dragon Ball Z anime and help to canonize some fan theories and such. The inclusion of Mira and Android 21 along with the introduction of a completely new character, Bonyu, led many to believe that their stories might be expanded on in these original story episodes, but none of that is to be anymore.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Super DLC
Given what is already known about the DLC, it has a lot to live up to. If the DLC isn't strong enough to bring those players that have already moved on to other great games of 2020 back and keep them there for a while, it may risk losing players altogether. There is no doubt that the prospect of going Super Saiyan God and battling Beerus is exciting for fans, and if properly implemented it could be the boost that DBZ: Kakarot needs to get back on its feet and back in the spotlight.
If the DLC falls short, however, it is unlikely that many will come back for DLC 2, which may introduce Golden Frieza to Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. Though there are those that already own the season pass and will likely check it out regardless, there are arguably just as many if not more that are planning to buy DLC separately as they come, so making a good impression with this first major content expansion is important. CyberConnect2 did an incredible job with the base game, though, so hopefully it will keep up that same pace with this new DLC.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot's DLC is sure to be a blast, but whether or not it comes with enough content to warrant the cost remains to be seen. The season pass goes for $25 and contains two of these boss battle episodes and one new story arc. With that in mind, it is unlikely that this first DLC will be massive, but it would be a shame if it unlocked Super Saiyan God for players and didn't give them anything to use it on aside from one boss battle with Beerus. With the DLC releasing tomorrow, fans don't have long to wait to find out.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and its first DLC releases tomorrow, April 27.