Do I need a constant internet connection to play music pass songs?

[YauNai]

I often play rhythm games on my Steam Deck while traveling, and most of the time, I’m not connected to the internet.

If I buy the pass, do I need to stay connected to the internet the whole time to use it, or is it enough to just be connected when I start the game and play offline afterward?

[sacredruin]

From experience playing on the go on the Switch version, you don't need to be online to play. The songs are downloaded onto your device and the menu previews are stored in cache. Though I'm sure that every so often the game will want to check whether your subscription is still active, so you can't be offline *all* the time. I think as long as you're online once in a while so the game can pass that check you should be fine.

[Areinu]

I'm not 100% sure if it will work like that on Steam version. On Switch version if you go into the Music Pass section it says "Play your songs anywhere, anytime". This sentence is missing on Music Pass section in the Steam Demo. Instead you have "Internet connection is required to use music pass". There is also a difference in payment scheme - on Switch your first week trial was free, on Steam there's no free trial, instead the first payment is 30% off.

So it's pretty obvious the pass will work differently on Steam. I still hope it works like it did on Switch, but I suggest waiting till the game comes out to confirm either way.

[YauNai]

Ah, I see. Thanks for answering!

[Areinu]

Ok, so I have news, and those are worst news possible.

The Steam version checks your pass status every single time you go to song select screen. This includes going back to song select after finishing a song.

So if you put Deck on sleep while in song select you will be able to play ONE song from pass(and only ONCE) while offline. Once you're done with it all your pass songs will get grayed out until you reconnect and another check is done.

[YauNai]

Originally posted by Areinu:

Ok, so I have news, and those are worst news possible.

The Steam version checks your pass status every single time you go to song select screen. This includes going back to song select after finishing a song.

So if you put Deck on sleep while in song select you will be able to play ONE song from pass(and only ONCE) while offline. Once you're done with it all your pass songs will get grayed out until you reconnect and another check is done.

Oh no, this is exactly what I was worried about 😭 It looks like I'll have to buy the DLCs if I want to play offline. Anyway, thanks for testing it out!