Topic: Dead Cells: Return To Castlevania Physical Edition 1.9GB download size?

I got the game three days early, because local gaming store was selling it, and it surprised me that the game was downloading data for so long. Before downloading it, I checked from the switches menu, and it was version 1.23.1. After updating it, it is now 1.24.1. (I cant check the previous ingame version, because it wont let me play it without downloading updates first). Having downloaded the update the game is 1.9GB big now. I am confused as to why its such big download. I thought it would be few MBs and it doesnt make sense to me. Ive owned the base game with no DLCs before purchasing the physical version and I deleted the digital version before putting the game card in my switch. It doesnt say anything about downloadable content on the box either.. From what Ive read, the game is supposed to be 2GBish so 1.9GB update for the physical edition seems to be a little too much. Not to mention it defeats the purpose of buying it on card.
I am confused.. Does switch force you to redownload the digital versions of games youve bought when inserting cards? Did I buy an "empty" card? Or.. is it becuase I got the game early and the system doesnt allow me to play it from the card before the release date? Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing?

That's alarming if the physical game doesn't actually store all the necessary data.
My copy of the game just shipped today, but I may not receive it for a while due to circumstances.

I have a launch physical copy of Dead Cells, never had it digitally, but I'll be able to check what updates/DLC are installed to the game card when I get ahold of it.

@RupeeClock I hope your copy will be fine somehow. Im upset the game only has about 500mb worth of content installed. Id like to confirm this by launching it before updating it, but it wont let me..

I hope that it is ok because the devs said multiple times that everything in on the cartridge.

@Justaguest
My cartidge is being delivered tomorrow, but if I'll be able to receive it is another matter as I'm away from home for a few weeks.
As soon as I have it though I'll be able to confirm what's on there, since I can just put my Switch into airplane mode and see what's on there, hopefully no downloads required for the DLC and updated content.

Switch updates are not the same across different publishers and developers.
To give an example, Bloodstained Ritual of the Night is an oddball in that the game updates are actually larger than the base game. This is because the update apparently effectively "replaces" the original program code and assets data in full, rather than simply appending and patching what's necessary in the base. This isn't exclusive to the Switch version of that game, either. The Steam version was notorious for basically re-downloading the entire game whenever there was an update.

Another game like Marsupilami Hoobadventure (surprisingly good DKC type game based on a Franco-Belgian comic), has a major update that does appear to actually append what's on the game cartridge, with a whole new campaign with new worlds/levels on top of the original content.

My cartridge will come this Friday and if @RupeeClock did not get the game by then I will post here as well

I always try my games in airplane mode and check the content

So it sounds like the cartridge is just a link to download, very sad day if this is true, might as well just have a code in the box

@Bunkerneath I think it might be just an issue with the Switch detecting the digital version of the game and downloading it all over again.

We were aware of the Rise of the Giants having an asterisk in the marketing material for this release. But I don't believe RotG has a file size of 1.9GB? I'm not sure what's going on with this release, but considering more DLC is planned, I'll just cancel my preorder. Perhaps this game's next physical release will be in better order?

@RupeeClock Thank you, please let us know
That whole game was a mess, by the way. Im mad they screwed up the Switch version so bad. Especially knowing Curse of the Moon sold most on the Switch.

@Zuljaras Good strategy. I will be doing that from now on.

One more thing, Dead Cells is set up in a way that you have to download mandatory update before you play. I assume that wont happen if you go offline mode and then put the game in for the first time. But if you do what I did which is go online and then put in the game, you wont get rid of that restriction even if you delete the game and put the card in again. That tells me that once the servers go down we might be locked out of the game since you wont be able to download anything. That completly defeats the purpose of owning this game physical for me..

@Justaguest @Zuljaras
Okay, I've got my Dead Cells Return to Castlevania cartridge, and here are the details.

• It has Ver. 1.23.1 pre-installed, and may prompt to download a new version when launched, but allowed me to boot and play regardless
• Title Screen defaults to Return to Castlevania, and can be changed to the original under options
  From the main menu, Downloadable Content menu has Rise of the Giant, The Bad Seed, Fatal Falls, The Queen and the Sea, and Return to Castlevania ALL PRE-INSTALLED, no download required!
• When update is downloaded (Ver 1.24.1), the title screen changes to show the Clean Cut update, replacing the Dracula graphic promoting the Return to Castlevania update

Judging by the Dead Cells Change Log, the physical cartridge has all the data for version 3.3, whereas the latest update available on Switch is version 3.4 with the Clean Cut Update. So unfortunately, the physical copy lacks the latest update with all the fixes and improvements to date, but lets you enjoy all of the major DLC to date with no downloads required.

Considering the timeframe that v3.3 launched early March 2023, and v3.4 launched late April 2023, and this physical edition released this week, production of physical copies probably began between March / April to capitalise on the Castlevania cross-over. This probably will not be the final definitive physical release for Dead Cells, but I will say that the Signature Edition with the printed materials, pin badges, and soundtrack CD are all really nice and will put a smile on any Castlevania fan's face.

Also, regarding the DLC.
The cartridge appears to hold the keys for all five DLC, and the update data is where the DLC assets and content are stored.
Meaning if you haven't bought the DLC digitally and go play a digital version without the game card inserted, it probably won't let you play the DLC content.
Sonic Mania Plus was like this with its physical release.

Oh, and the update situation, it appears to be similar to what I described with Bloodstained Ritual of the Night.
New updates have to replace the previous update data by redownloading the whole thing.
If there's a roughly 2GB update download even with the physical copy, I'd guess that the physical game card also has roughly 2GB of update data on there.

@RupeeClock

Thank you for the detailed breakdown.

@RupeeClock thank you! That is some good news!

I'll be picking up my preorder tomorrow, so it's a relief to see the concerns here resolved. Thank you for your detective work!

@RupeeClock You are a star I hope the game can still be played far into the future, since I couldnt get it started without downloading the update first.

Having played this game on PC, I can't really imagine why the file size is over 2 GB on the Switch. On PC, the file size for the base game without any DLC is 500 MB, but on the Switch Store the size for the same base game (without DLCs) is said to be 2,4 GB. It's a 2D pixel graphic game without any voice acting or pre-rendered cutscenes, so why does it need so much space, and why is the base version on Switch almost 5 times as large as on PC?

@Polvasti
What's likely happening is that the PC version actually downloads the necessary data for the individual DLC packs when you purchase them, whereas the Switch version downloads all of the DLC content regardless of purchase history, and your DLC purchases are simply access keys.

Or in the case of the physical release, the DLC access keys are on the cartridge.

Wake me up when the devs decide that the game is finally completed. Jeez. Isn't this the third Dead Cells physical release now?! (Base/GOTY Edition/Castlevania)

I was mildly interested in this for the Castlevania content, but the fact that everything still isn't on the cartridge (presumably because there is still content/updates on the way), has convinced me to skip it. But I'll absolutely consider a future complete release (or I might just pick up the Castlevania release, but only on sale).

The way that software updates work on Switch is that they download aggregately, meaning that it essentially downloads all updates to date, not merely the difference between what is on the cartridge and the latest version. I suspect that one of the reasons for this was to maximise compatibility with cartridges with disparate versions (as Nintendo, for example, usually include the most recent version of a game on the cart in reprints) and also for the wireless version sharing function, which allows you to send update data to people nearby without the need for an internet connection.

@Sisilly_G There was also the Prisoner Edition.

@Magician : That's just a repackaging of the GOTY version that I'd already mentioned. I mentioned three versions specifically because they would have all had different cartridges (with whatever DLC/updates that were current at the time of their respective releases).