It’s been two months since Double fine delivered one of the most adorable yet instantly loved downloadable games, Costume Quest. While a bit short it was some of the craftiest work we’ve seen for a downloadable title with alot of thought put into it (Original Costume Quest Review Here). Fast forward and they have now released a DLC expansion story dubbed Grubbin on Ice. What you get is new things all around but is the jump back into Costume Quest for this latest DLC worth the trip and buy?
The story for Grubbin on Ice sets you up a little bit after the events from Costume Quest. [SPOILER ALERT] After Reynold saves his sister from the monsters with the help of his friends (or Wren depending on who you picked in the beginning), Lucy wants hard evidence that the monsters actually existed. Everett and Lucy go out to get proof of this when they come across a portal. A monster then captures Lucy and takes her to the new enemy Araxia on the other side. This all happened before Everett could express how he felt about Lucy, so determined to get her back you now team up with Reynold, Wren and Everett to rescue her.
The first thing you notice is that you now get to play with both brother and sister together unlike Costume Quest since you were trying to save one or the other. We’re pretty sure that everything you had in the original Costume Quest carries over, however we had all the battle stamps, costumes and level cap, we can’t be entirely sure since they left us that way.
We do have to note that anyone thats looking for a completely new experience won’t find it here. The game retains all its concepts from the original, like the fighting and going door to door but this is not a bad thing. The additions to the DLC were seen right away though.
The new monster world of Repugia looked great and had such a nice feel compared to the original three places in Costume Quest. In the prospective of a monster village you are the monster looking in, so it was great to see that take on it. The new costume additions with abilities were the pirate costume with a zipline ability that allows players to slide down wires using the hook hand. The Yeti costume which has the ability to shield the entire party and is geared more towards strength. The last is the Eye ball, a little harder to retain and will reveal secrets within the new world. You also get new battle stamps and cards to collect that give different buffs during battle. They did go ahead and fixed an issue from the original game which was saving the game. There is now a dedicated save spot in the DLC which is nice to have.
Like Costume Quest your not only getting a pretty game with some addicting aspects but writing at its best. The DLC has all its witz and charm like the original. The feel of Costume Quest being released on Halloween and this being released near christmas sets the tone tremendously. I love the way they set up the story on how you must find new monster recruits by going door to door. Double Fine really knows how to put quality work in its game no matter how big or small.
Our biggest gripe with the DLC is that its short … real short, this thing can be beaten in a single play through of three hours or so.
While it is short you will fall in love all over again. If you’ve played or own CQ then the 400 MS points or $5 on PSN is a no brainer. If you’ve never played the game then getting the entire thing for $20 is something to consider. While the DLC is short it does fit right into the world and leaves a desirable cliff hanger at the end which leaves us wanting more of this game. More costumes would have been nice but this looks like its just a set up of more to come from Costume Quest itself.
Overall = 8.1
