Resident Evil 4 Remake Divides Fans Over DLC Discovery

Resident Evil 4's remake is approaching next month, and while we knew it would be getting DLC via the Deluxe Edition, players aren't so sure about one aspect of that DLC that recently came to light. It seems the Deluxe Edition's included treasure map expansion will make it so that more treasures appear around the map for players to collect, treasures that can then be sold to the iconic, mysterious merchant in exchange for funds for ammo, weapons, and more resources.

The discovery was shared on ResetEra by a user who found out more about the treasure map expansion after finding a description in the Xbox marketplace.

"Discover the hidden treasures that await! With this map, additional treasures will be placed throughout the game," the description of the add-on said. "Some of these treasures can only be obtained by this method."

So, with this DLC, you get extra treasures in the game because you're paying more real-world money for this kind of perk. Resident Evil 4 is a single-player game with no one player's experience having any impact on someone else's, so who cares if someone has extra treasures or not?

Some players don't think it's a big deal – this is how DLC works, after all. You pay more, you get more. But in the case of Resident Evil 4, hunting for Spinels and other treasures is arguably more entertaining than the loot you get for trading them to the merchant, so locking these extras away behind a higher price tag is naturally going to upset some. While the original Resident Evil 4 has no shortage of money and treasures for players to find, some have wondered what the economy in the new game will be like thanks to things like breakable knives – will players actually need this extra money to get through more cost-heavy parts of the game?

Another concern expressed by some in the ResetEra forums and elsewhere is the precedent this sets for the remake. The original game had things like costumes for characters unlockable by meeting set conditions as well as bonus game modes such as Separate Ways and Mercenaries. The latter two experiences haven't yet been confirmed to be in or out of the remake, so some are worried that the DLC-locked treasure is indicative of a more piecemeal approach to Resident Evil 4 content where things are sold separately instead of being in-game unlockables.

For now, it doesn't seem like there's much use in worrying about the DLC map – treasure maps can be bought from the merchant anyway to reveal treasures around the map, so this one just does that up front via the Deluxe Edition. That's pretty standard practice nowadays even if it's something not everyone's in favor of, and there's no reason (for now) to take this as an indicator for how the rest of the game's extra content will be handled.