Highlights

  • Persona 3 Reload has received some fan backlash for delivering its soundtrack and artbook as standalone apps.
  • The criticism mainly stems from PC players, who are used to receiving such bonus content as raw files instead of DRM-burdened Unreal Engine apps.
  • The format even prevents the Persona 3 Reload soundtrack from playing in the background.

Persona 3 Reload has garnered some vocal fan criticism for attaching DRM to its auxiliary DLC, specifically the soundtrack and artbook. The ongoing backlash adds an unenviable footnote to Persona 3 Reload's otherwise highly successful launch.

The remake of the third game in Atlus's long-running RPG franchise launched for PC and the last two generations of non-Nintendo consoles on February 2. Persona 3 Reload was also a day-one Xbox Game Pass release, although its presence on Microsoft's subscription service did not stop it from debuting as one of the ten best-selling games on Steam. The RPG can also currently be found in the Trending section of the Xbox Store, while the PlayStation Store lists it among the top ten games in the U.S. as of February 5.

Persona 3 Reload Steam Launch Good
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Persona 3 Reload Is Off to a Strong Start on Steam

The recent Persona 3 Reload launch on Steam achieves a new milestone for Atlus and Sega's JRPG series on the PC gaming platform.

Persona 3 Reload Fans Baffled With Decision To Bundle OST and Artbook as Standalone Apps

Despite that strong commercial momentum, a vocal section of the fandom is currently advising gamers not to shell out for the Digital Deluxe Edition of Persona 3 Reload. Priced at $79.99, this version of the RPG comes with an artbook and original soundtrack. And while some fans were fine with paying an extra $10 for those bonuses, they were less than pleased to find out that both the OST and artbook are delivered as separate apps. The general expectation with this sort of bonus content is to receive artwork in a PDF format, and music as raw audio files.

As a result, both DLC packs have already garnered a couple of hundred predominantly negative Steam reviews. Although the Digital Deluxe Edition is also available on PlayStation and Xbox (where it's called the Digital Premium Edition), the negative scores almost exclusively originate from Steam users. That's presumably because PC players are the only demographic that's used to receiving raw files when it comes to this kind of bonus content.

Apart from describing the decision to bundle the Persona 3 Reload soundtrack and artbook into executables as baffling, some fans have also taken issue with the fact that they aren't even allowed to take screenshots of the artwork using Steam's built-in screen capture functionality. Others have criticized the fact that the OST's audio is heavily compressed instead of being delivered in a lossless format. A number of players also bemoaned the fact that having music bundled into an Unreal Engine app prevents it from playing in the background.

Not even the actual contents of the artbook proved to be immune to criticism, with some fans being disappointed to find out that the vast majority of the included artwork had already been revealed as part of the game's marketing campaign, leaving them to wonder what exactly did they pay for. The game's artbook and soundtrack are currently the only two pieces of Persona 3 Reload day-one DLC not available for purchase separately.