Unlocking achievements is just as important as completing a game, and this is true for many PC players. And to be quite honest, this is true not only when it comes to video games. There is just something about seeing that 100% completion status, especially after spending hundreds of hours working towards the goal. Unfortunately, Steam has one very annoying problem with achievements. To be more specific, the release of new DLCs, like Cult of the Lamb‘s Woolhaven, could sometimes interfere with players’ ability to maintain their completion status, even if everything in the base game has already been unlocked.
Thankfully, Valve introduced the Steam Achievement Sets in beta on October 15, 2026, which basically allowed developers to start addressing this issue. Then, later on October 19, 2026, it was confirmed that Cult of the Lamb had separated the achievements belonging to its Woolhaven expansion from those of the base game. Many players would agree that this is a welcome change, especially considering that this way developers should be able to introduce more content without taking anything away from the players. However, what’s more important is that this highlights why completing games shouldn’t require purchasing every single expansion that comes out, even years after the original release.
Completing a Game Shouldn’t Require Buying Every DLC
The previous achievement system had a lot of issues, with one of them being that players could lose access to 100% completion only because a new expansion became available. Imagine a player’s surprise when they have unlocked every achievement in the base game, only to discover that additional objectives have appeared and completing them requires purchasing a separate DLC. Sure, some people feel more inclined to purchase the expansion when this happens, but others find it extremely frustrating and may sometimes even refuse to buy it just because they feel forced.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Of course, Steam’s new DLC Sets offer a much more reasonable approach, with the system only counting DLC achievements towards completion for the people who actually own the corresponding content. In other words, it’s simply not necessary to finish the DLC content to complete the base game. To be quite honest, being expected to complete something that you simply do not own in order to achieve 100% completion is just unfair, so this new approach will most probably be appreciated by a lot of people.
Achievement Sets Make Tracking Progress Much Easier
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Image via Massive Monster -
Image via Massive Monster -
Image via Massive Monster
Another issue with the previous approach that is worth mentioning is that new achievements could very easily interfere with accomplishments that players had spent years earning. And this is particularly important for games that keep receiving updates even years after their initial release. This can be especially frustrating for veterans who pride themselves on having achieved 100% completion. However, Steam’s Achievement Sets take care of all the details because, according to Valve’s official documentation, developers can organize achievements around different game modes, chapters, and other categories, which gives the studios a lot of flexibility when designing their achievement systems, especially for those who offer different types of content.
It’s important to mention that Achievement Sets are still in beta, so whether other developers will adopt the feature remains to be seen.
Moreover, the previous system meant that having achievements from the base game and multiple expansions in the same list could make it very difficult to figure out which objectives belonged where. And although this is not always a problem, it is very annoying when we’re talking about games with huge achievement lists. What’s more, the system also supports separate artwork and links to the corresponding DLC’s Steam page, so it’s easier to identify what each set really represents. And although these may seem like minor improvements, they can make achievement hunting a lot more straightforward. Ultimately, what really matters is that players spend time actually completing objectives rather than sitting there trying to figure out how to deal with this giant mess of achievements.
Cult of the Lamb Sets an Example for Other Steam Developers
Maybe the most important aspect of Cult of the Lamb adopting Achievement Sets is that it really demonstrates how games can benefit from Steam’s new feature. According to Valve’s official Steamworks documentation, these sets can be configured directly through Steamworks, and developers don’t have to make any additional changes to the games’ code. This means that old games don’t have to develop new achievement systems or wait until their next release to implement this feature. They can simply reorganize their achievements and address some issues that have been ignored for years.
It’s important to mention that Achievement Sets are still in beta, so whether other developers will adopt the feature remains to be seen. In any case, Cult of the Lamb is setting a good example by taking advantage of the system, and hopefully more studios will follow it, especially those who are big fans of new expansions. It would also be interesting to see whether we make any further improvements to achievements; after all, this is a new feature, and its long-term usefulness depends on how many people use it and whether their feedback is taken seriously.
- Released
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August 11, 2022
- ESRB
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Teen / Blood, Violence.
- Developer(s)
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Massive Monster
