For players who have already spent countless hours building elaborate theme parks or sending ill-fated adventurers into the darkest corners of the Old Road, these two recent DLC releases offer very different reasons to return. Planet Coaster 2: Silver Screen Pack puts the spotlight on creative freedom, adding a lavish movie-studio theme alongside seven new rides and plenty of audiovisual flair, while Darkest Dungeon: The Fire’s Edge takes a more restrained approach by introducing two familiar faces from the sequel to the original game’s brutal turn-based combat. One expansion is all about giving builders more tools to play with, the other about finding fresh tactical possibilities in familiar misery, but both demonstrate how carefully targeted additions can breathe some life into games that already have plenty to offer.
Planet Coaster 2: Silver Screen Pack review (PS5)
Planet Coaster 2 has already experimented with plenty of different themes, but the Silver Screen Pack takes the park builder in a particularly appealing direction. Its 1950s-inspired movie-studio aesthetic brings Art Deco architecture, brass detailing, studio clutter, animatronics and cinematic effects together into a theme that feels considerably more grounded than some of the game’s more fantastical offerings. We particularly like how much of the scenery can be repurposed beyond a traditional Hollywood backlot, although the fact that a substantial portion of the scenery consists of returning Studios assets does take some of the shine off what is otherwise an impressively substantial collection.
The seven new rides are arguably the bigger attraction, and there is a good variety here. The Cinema is an especially clever addition, functioning within the existing ride framework while opening up plenty of possibilities for movie-themed storytelling, while the Big Screen Tour and Re-Motion are packed with enough customisation to keep dedicated builders busy for a long time. The slot-car attraction is another highlight thanks to its adjustable behavior, whereas Phoenix provides the pack with a more conventional thrill ride through its flying-coaster design. Not every attraction is equally exciting, though, and some of the more elaborate customisation options can feel overwhelming if we simply want to build a park rather than spend hours fine-tuning every component.
That emphasis on customisation extends to the presentation, with new music, ambient sounds, effects, lighting and scenery helping sell the cinematic theme particularly well. Projectors and studio floodlights can make a noticeable difference once the sun goes down, while the smaller maintenance props give otherwise pristine environments a more convincing lived-in quality. The PS5 version retains Planet Coaster 2’s familiar building controls, which work well once we’ve adjusted to the game’s sometimes fiddly precision, although the sheer number of editable components can make construction feel less accessible for newcomers. There are also some signs of inconsistent visual polish, with blurry textures and misplaced details on certain assets undermining an otherwise attractive presentation.
The one small problem with the Silver Screen Pack is therefore not what it adds, but what it leaves behind. Reused scenery and the absence of certain expected ride functionality, most notably a drop-tower system that would have been an obvious fit for this theme, make the package feel slightly less complete than its impressive volume of content suggests. Even the Cinema would benefit from greater flexibility for builders who want to create their own stage shows rather than use its built-in screen. Still, the combination of seven rides, a huge amount of scenery, strong audio-visual theming and considerable creative freedom makes this an easy recommendation for players who enjoy the construction side of Planet Coaster 2. It may not be the most transformative DLC we’ve seen for the game, but when everything comes together, the Silver Screen Pack gives creative park builders plenty of material to play with.
Darkest Dungeon – The Fire’s Edge review (PS4)
Ten years after Darkest Dungeon first dragged us into its miserable gothic nightmare, The Fire’s Edge provides a surprisingly modest excuse to return. Rather than adding a new campaign, location or major narrative thread, Red Hook Studios concentrates on two heroes from Darkest Dungeon II: the fire-wielding Runaway and the stance-switching Duelist. That means the premise is less about expanding the story and more about finding new ways to suffer through familiar expeditions. It is a sensible approach, although the limited scope does make the DLC feel more like a final flourish than a substantial new chapter, especially for veterans who have already exhausted much of what the original has to offer.
The Runaway is the more immediately distinctive addition, bringing the Burn mechanic to the first Darkest Dungeon and turning enemy positioning into an even more important consideration. Fire can linger on a position and work particularly well when enemies are pulled, pushed or shuffled into it, while her own mobility and stealth options make her remarkably flexible. The Duelist takes a more deliberate approach, switching between aggressive and defensive stances while making clever use of Riposte. Both heroes fit the original’s turn-based combat surprisingly well, but they can also feel exceptionally powerful, to the point of feeling overpowered. That is both their greatest appeal and a potential weakness, as their strength can undermine some of the careful party preparation that normally defines Darkest Dungeon.
The additional trinkets and three Hamlet districts are useful supporting material, particularly the trinkets that introduce limited uses, charges and effects that change as they are used. They add another layer to an already intricate system of equipment and resource management, although they rarely have the same impact as the two new heroes. On PS4, the familiar controls remain well suited to the deliberate nature of combat, where selecting abilities, managing ranks and anticipating movement are more important than speed. Visually, the Runaway and Duelist have been adapted convincingly to the original game’s grim hand-drawn aesthetic, while the oppressive gothic presentation and unsettling audio continue to make even routine expeditions feel unpleasant in exactly the right way.
The Fire’s Edge ultimately succeeds because it understands that Darkest Dungeon does not need to be reinvented. The Runaway and Duelist introduce enough tactical variation to make old encounters worth approaching again, and experimenting with their strengths is particularly rewarding once we start understanding the risks behind their considerable power. At the same time, the absence of new story content, areas or enemies makes the asking price harder to justify for anyone expecting something on the scale of a major expansion. For newcomers, there is little reason to rush out for it, but for returning players who still enjoy watching carefully prepared expeditions collapse into misery, these two wayward souls provide a worthwhile reason to step back onto the Old Road.