Tropico 5’s Big Cheese DLC is a fromage homage

El Presidente’s cheese has a robust, uncompromising flavour.

Since El Presidente is already the figurative big cheese, I guess it makes some kind of vague sense to literally get him involved in cheesemaking too. At least … I think it makes sense. Tropico is a series that’s all over the map tonally speaking, and Tropico 5 doesn’t seem to be any different. One minute it’s jokes about cheese, the next it’s political dissidents being executed in midnight raids.

Is any of this satire? A pastiche of vicious regimes like Azerbaijan that have a terrible record for making journalists ‘disappear,’ but also sponsor the Athletico Madrid football team and get travel features in The Guardian? I just don’t know any more. It probably mostly is.

Anyhow, this DLC (available today for $4.00 USD) is, indeed, all about cheese. El Presidente wants to create his own cheese brand, and you’re going to help him. Or help yourself, I guess, since you’re basically playing as the dictator.

Here’s what The Big Cheese DLC adds to the game, in handy bullet points I stole from the marketing materials.

• New standalone scenario: ‘The Big Cheese’ – Create and promote an artisan cheese brand
• New building: The Creamery – Produces cheese from milk
• New dynasty avatar accessory: The Chef’s Hat
• New sandbox map: Arco Iris Beneditas
• New music track: ‘Eclectro-Hijinx Orchestra – Amiga’

And, in addition to today’s DLC release, Tropico 5 has received a general patch for all users. Here are the notes for Update 1.04:

• Multiplayer: Added save/load game feature (matches are saved to all players locally and re-synced upon load)
• Multiplayer: Fixed issues with determining territory ownership
• Multiplayer: Fixed some asynchronous game states
• Fixed issues with some task chains
• Fixed food consumption modifiers when cancelling Extra Rations edict
• Fixed issues with rebuilding buildings with upgrades
• Fixed rare issue causing never ending fires
• Budget setting is restored for rebuilt buildings
• Fixed issue with “Send Army” action for protests
• Fixed a bug resulting in tanks destroying critical buildings they are not attacking
• Rebalanced cooldowns of Industrialization and Urban Development edicts
• Disabled radio announcements between campaign missions
• Democracy constitution mode no longer prevents military coups
• Coups and Uprisings no longer happen during the Colonial Era
• Modernization of Coffee and Cotton Plantations, Llama Ranches now restore upgrades correctly
• Various tweaks and improvements to controller input
• Depleted deposits display ruin piles to signify that the location is not suitable for construction