Across the Obelisk has created one of the strangest situations in modern gaming. On one hand, developer Dreamsite Games implemented the most player-friendly DLC system imaginable where buying an expansion means your entire multiplayer party gets access regardless of who owns what. On the other hand, the pricing structure has players calculating percentages and writing frustrated Steam reviews about how the main expansion costs $19.99, exactly the same as the base game, while delivering roughly 21 percent of the content. This paradox where the developers are simultaneously incredibly generous and seemingly tone-deaf about pricing has turned the game’s DLC strategy into a case study of good intentions meeting questionable business decisions.
The cooperative deck-building roguelite launched in August 2022 after spending over a year in early access. Players create parties of up to four characters, engage in tactical card-based combat, and navigate branching paths through a fantasy world that changes based on decisions. The game supports solo play but really shines in multiplayer where each person controls their own character, coordinating strategies and arguing over which path to take. It became a sleeper hit with positive reviews praising the depth of its deck-building mechanics and replayability. Then the DLC started rolling out, and the community discovered just how complicated their feelings about this game could get.
The Revolutionary DLC Sharing System
Across the Obelisk’s DLC sharing deserves recognition as one of the most consumer-friendly systems in the industry. If anyone in your four-player party owns expansion content, everybody gets full access during that session. Want to play the new Amelia character from a $4.99 hero pack? Only one person needs to buy it, and all four players can choose her. Planning to explore the Sands of Ulminin expansion zones? As long as the party host or any member owns that DLC, the entire group can experience those maps, enemies, and story content together.
This extends across all platforms with full crossplay support between PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch. You can have a four-player party where everyone is gaming on different hardware, and the DLC sharing still works perfectly. Paradox Interactive and Dreamsite Games explicitly designed this feature to recreate the tabletop RPG experience where someone brings the latest expansion book to game night and everyone gets to use the new options. It removes financial barriers to multiplayer sessions and ensures groups aren’t locked out of content because one person can’t afford or doesn’t want to buy every expansion.
Why This Matters for Multiplayer Games
Most cooperative games fragment their player base with DLC. If you don’t own the map pack in a shooter, you can’t join those lobbies. If you don’t buy the expansion in an MMO, you’re left behind as your friends progress through new zones. Fighting games lock characters behind paywalls, and even cooperative titles typically require all players to own content before anyone can access it together. Across the Obelisk completely sidesteps this problem by making purchases benefit entire groups rather than individuals.
The system also has interesting social dynamics. In many friend groups, one person becomes the de facto DLC buyer who unlocks content for everyone else. Some players buy expansions specifically to share with their regular party members who might be more budget-conscious. It creates a communal approach to supporting the game where purchasing decisions consider your entire group’s experience rather than just personal preference. From a player experience standpoint, this is nearly perfect design.
The Pricing Problem That Ruined Everything
Here’s where the paradox kicks in. The Sands of Ulminin expansion, the game’s biggest and most substantial DLC, launched at $19.99. That’s the exact same price as the base game. Players immediately started doing math, and the results were damning. The base game features four acts with multiple paths and encounters per act. Sands of Ulminin adds one act with one main path. The base game has 16 playable characters. Sands adds two characters plus makes one base character playable. That’s roughly 12.5 percent of the character content.
The base game advertises around 200 items in its card pool. Sands of Ulminin adds 30 items, representing 15 percent of that content. When you add up acts, characters, cards, enemies, and items, the expansion delivers approximately 21 percent of the base game’s content for 100 percent of the base game’s price. Steam community members broke this down in exhaustive detail across multiple discussion threads, creating spreadsheets and comparison charts demonstrating the value disparity. No matter how you slice the numbers, the DLC offers a fraction of the content at the same cost.
The Community Backlash and Developer Response
The pricing structure generated intense debate on Steam forums and Reddit. Long-time fans who loved the base game felt betrayed by what they saw as exploitative pricing. The argument that the base game was incredibly cheap at $19.99 for potentially 100-plus hours of gameplay actually made things worse because it highlighted how overpriced the DLC seemed by comparison. If the base game is worth $19.99 for 100 hours of content, how can an expansion with 21 percent of that content also cost $19.99?
Defenders pointed out that the base game’s pricing was unusually generous, almost underpriced for the value delivered. They argued that measuring DLC against an abnormally cheap base game creates unrealistic expectations. If the base game had launched at $39.99, nobody would complain about $19.99 expansions. The problem is perception. When consumers get exceptional value once, they expect that ratio to continue. Paradox Interactive and Dreamsite Games responded in developer diaries acknowledging the pricing feedback, particularly around the Wolf Wars DLC which also faced controversy. They explained their pricing logic but haven’t significantly adjusted their approach for subsequent releases.
The Sahti Collection and Continued Expansion
Despite the pricing controversy, Dreamsite Games continues releasing new content. The Sahti Collection launched in January 2025, bringing a pirate-themed adventure to the game with new islands, factions, and mechanics. Individual character DLCs like Amelia the Queen and Tulah the Spider Queen cost $4.99 each, which players generally consider fair value. Smaller content packs like Spooky Night in Senenthia add themed events and cosmetics at reasonable prices. The main problem remains the large story expansions that approach or match the base game’s cost.
The Wolf Wars expansion at $9.99 received better reception on price despite having balance issues where the new boss fight feels unfairly difficult and the pirate enemies seem overpowered for non-endgame content. Players will accept higher prices if the content justifies it, but they’ll also criticize poor execution regardless of cost. Across the Obelisk’s DLC strategy stumbles on both fronts sometimes, offering generous sharing features while charging premium prices for content that doesn’t always deliver premium quality or quantity.
What Other Games Do Differently
Comparing Across the Obelisk’s approach to other games highlights how unusual this paradox is. The Witcher 3 charged $10 for Hearts of Stone and $25 for Blood and Wine, with the latter adding 30-plus hours of content including entire new regions. Super Smash Bros Ultimate charged $5-6 per fighter, but those characters came with stages, music tracks, and were immediately playable in all modes. Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty launched at $30 but delivered a massive spy thriller campaign comparable to the base game’s main story.
None of those games offer DLC sharing like Across the Obelisk does. You want to play the new Smash character? Everyone in your group needs to buy them. Want to explore Blood and Wine with a friend? You both need to own it. The trade-off in traditional DLC models is higher individual cost but more content per dollar. Across the Obelisk inverts this by making one purchase serve multiple people but charging more per unit of content, presumably to compensate for lost sales from sharing. The math makes business sense but feels bad from a consumer perspective.
The Bundle Strategy and Sales
Paradox Interactive offers bundles that somewhat address the pricing concerns. The Starter Set includes the base game, Sands of Ulminin expansion, and Amelia the Queen character for $37.50 compared to $44.97 if purchased separately. That’s roughly 16 percent savings, and for new players, it represents decent value for a complete package. The DLC frequently goes on sale, with discounts of 30-50 percent common during Steam seasonal events. Patient gamers who wait for sales can assemble the complete edition at significantly reduced costs.
This creates a two-tier ecosystem where early adopters and hardcore fans pay full price while casual players wait for discounts. The DLC sharing feature actually enables this because only one person in a friend group needs to bite the bullet on full price purchases if they want content immediately. The others can wait for sales or never buy at all, relying on their generous friend’s library. Whether this sustainable long-term for Dreamsite Games’ revenue is questionable, but it does maximize the number of players experiencing the content even if fewer people are directly paying for it.
The Indie Developer Context
Part of the controversy stems from expectations around indie pricing. Dreamsite Games is a small independent studio, not a AAA publisher with massive budgets. The base game’s $19.99 price point was likely driven by competitive pressure in the crowded roguelite deckbuilder space rather than reflecting the true development cost. Games like Slay the Spire, Monster Train, and Inscryption all launched around $20-25, setting market expectations that Dreamsite Games had to meet to get attention.
Creating substantial DLC costs money and time that small studios struggle to recoup if they price too low. The generous DLC sharing feature further reduces potential revenue per unit of content created. From a sustainability standpoint, Dreamsite Games may have painted themselves into a corner where they can’t afford to price DLC lower without jeopardizing their ability to continue development. That’s a sympathetic position, but it doesn’t change how players perceive the value proposition when comparing DLC cost to content delivered.
FAQs
How does Across the Obelisk’s DLC sharing work?
If anyone in your multiplayer party of up to four players owns expansion content, everyone in that session gets full access. This includes expansion characters, story maps, items, and enemies. The sharing works across all platforms with full crossplay between PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch.
How much does the Sands of Ulminin expansion cost?
Sands of Ulminin costs $19.99, the same price as the base game. This pricing generated significant controversy because the expansion adds approximately 21 percent of the base game’s content including one new act, two characters, 30 items, and new enemies for the same price as the full original game.
Are there cheaper DLC options for Across the Obelisk?
Yes, individual character packs like Amelia the Queen and Tulah the Spider Queen cost $4.99 each. Smaller content packs like Spooky Night in Senenthia and The Sunken Temple also cost $4.99. The Wolf Wars expansion is priced at $9.99. These are generally considered better value than the main Sands expansion.
Does only one person need to buy DLC for co-op?
Correct. Only one player in your party needs to own DLC for all four players to access that content during multiplayer sessions. This applies to expansion characters, maps, and story content. The player who owns the DLC does not need to be the host for sharing to work.
Is Across the Obelisk worth buying in 2025?
The base game at $19.99 offers exceptional value with potentially 100-plus hours of deck-building roguelite gameplay. It launched in August 2022 and continues receiving updates and new content. If you enjoy cooperative deck builders and have friends to play with, the base game is absolutely worth it. DLC purchases depend on your budget and whether you find sales.
What platforms is Across the Obelisk available on?
Across the Obelisk is available on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch as of November 2024. All platforms support full crossplay multiplayer and DLC sharing features, allowing mixed-platform parties to play together seamlessly.
How many DLC packs are available for Across the Obelisk?
As of 2025, there are 10 DLC packs available including major expansions like Sands of Ulminin and The Sahti Collection, mid-sized content like The Wolf Wars, and individual character packs. The total cost of all DLC significantly exceeds the base game’s price, which is common but controversial given the content-to-price ratios.
Conclusion
Across the Obelisk represents a fascinating case study in how good intentions can create unexpected problems. Dreamsite Games built the most generous DLC sharing system in modern gaming, removing financial barriers for friend groups and recreating the tabletop RPG experience where one person’s purchase benefits everyone at the table. This is genuinely player-friendly design that other developers should study and potentially adopt. But the pricing structure undermines that goodwill by charging premium prices for content that doesn’t match the base game’s exceptional value proposition. When your main expansion costs the same as the full game but delivers 21 percent of the content, no amount of generous sharing features will prevent players from feeling exploited. The paradox is that Dreamsite Games appears both incredibly generous and tone-deaf simultaneously, creating a situation where fans genuinely love the game and want to support continued development but feel frustrated about how that support is being monetized. For a small indie studio trying to sustain ongoing development of a live game, the financial pressures are real and the DLC sharing feature cuts into potential revenue. For players comparing content volume to price tags, the math simply doesn’t add up favorably. Both perspectives are valid, which is what makes this paradox so difficult to resolve. The game remains excellent, the DLC sharing is revolutionary, and the pricing continues to generate heated debates in Steam forums. That’s Across the Obelisk in 2025, a game that somehow manages to be both a model for how to do multiplayer DLC right and a cautionary tale about pricing strategy all at once.