Spore’s post-game content doesn’t seem to get talked about very much. Nothing changes after beating the game, but it’s safe to say that you haven’t experienced all of Spore just because you got to the glowing center of that star-flavored lollipop. Even for me, there are many tools and weapons I’ve yet to get for my spaceship, and so much of the galaxy that I’ve never been to, and I’ve been playing the game for 9 years! Spore has a lot more to offer after reaching the Galactic Core, and it also has additional downloadable content (DLC for short) in the form of the Creepy & Cute Parts Pack and the Galactic Adventures expansion pack. But the Creepy & Cute Parts Pack and Galactic Adventures cost $20 each—that’s the same price as the base game, twice. If you’re interested in expanding your Spore adventures, I recommend buying these packs on sale (I did!).
There’s also the online part of Spore, which really comes into play once you reach the Space Stage. If you manage the somewhat tricky task of connecting to the still up-and-running Spore servers then you can share and download other people’s creations, and then find them in your game as well. Space Stage really lets you have free reign, but still manages to put challenges for you to overcome along the way—even after the game has been completed.
For example, say you want to expand your empire, but one of your allies has their empire right where you want to expand. You likely have the resources to conquer that empire, but it’s up to you to actually decide the best way to do so. Even after the game is finished, there are still more ways to become more powerful and give you that feeling of progression.
But what if you’re not into all that? What if you just want more of what you most likely came here for the Creature Creator? Well, the Creepy & Cute Parts Pack has you covered. This pack is exactly what it sounds like: it adds more parts for you to make and customize creatures. I personally love this pack for its selection of mouths. A lot of the mouth options in the base game tend to fall towards the uncanny valley, but there are some friendly-looking mouths in this pack that I like using a lot. This pack also gives you more coloring options for your creatures as well as some new dances and emotes to use in the test drive section of the Creature Creator. But what if you want something new to occupy you in the Space Stage?
The second DLC pack is my favorite of the two. Galactic Adventures allows you to beam down on planets in the Space Stage to go on new missions and, if you’re interested, make your own adventures. This pack really benefits from online play, because it lets you play other people’s adventures. As you complete missions you earn points that level you up. When you level up you get to choose a new piece of gear to strengthen your captain. You can also play Adventures outside of Space Stage with the quick play option.
Spore is one of my all-time favorite games. There are a lot of neat little easter eggs and bits of trivia surrounding Spore—check out my Spore Page here.