This Steam Game's $35 DLC Is Just a PDF

Steam game Hadean Labs is an old-school text adventure that is played entirely by typing in commands. It also has some curious DLC that's come to people's attention, and I daresay it's the first of its kind.

The Solo Promise Certificate, as it's called, is quite literally that: a digital certificate that allows you to promise to complete the game without using any tips or guides. It costs $35.

"That's all! You print out the certificate, sign it, and hang it on the wall," the store description (via Eurogamer) reads. "This is strictly on the honor system. The DLC does not change the behavior of the game at all."

Should you purchase it, it'll show up in the game's Certificate folder in PDF and JPEG formats.

Following the description above is an FAQ stating yes, really, that is what the DLC is, and no, there's nothing to stop you from buying this and then resorting to a walkthrough anyway. The final question in the FAQ isn't actually a question, simply stating, "You can't be serious about this," to which the response is, "I assure you, I have never been more serious in my life."

This is, of course, a joke, although it is for sale on Steam nonetheless. Not only that, but the game's developer said on the Steam forums that it'll never go on sale. "In fact maybe I should increase the price slowly over time," they said.

Elsewhere on the forums, the developer accepted praise for the idea, saying, "Thanks! I was hoping people would be amused. (And I hope some people will put down money for it, of course. But that's not a requirement.)"

"Really, I think everyone gets the joke. I haven't gotten any really angry comments," the developer wrote in a more recent post. "Sure, there's always someone who says, 'It should be cheaper!' but that's true of every price tag on Steam. You learn not to sweat it."