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| source// Rockstar |
It’s hard to not be cynical about downloadable content in video games. Since the concept really started to gain popularity around 10 years ago, gamers have had to endure waves of DLC that either failed to contribute anything meaningful, or worse, exploited fans by overcharging them for something plain awful.
While those that exploit this business model have been accused of ruining the game industry by creating a toxic consumer environment, the bigger sin of bad DLC is that it makes it easier to write off the very idea of downloadable content.
Though they sometimes feel like the exceptions that prove the rule, there are actually DLC releases out there that provide an experience that is well worth the extra time and money.
In fact, the very best of them often manage to exceed the quality of the game they are based on.
10. The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles
As great as Oblivion is (it may be the best Elder Scrolls game ever) there were those fans that felt it sacrificed some of the depth and environmental creativity of its predecessor Morrowind in order to be more accessible and have shinier graphics. It’s all opinions, of course, but they were valid complaints.
Shivering Isles did quite a lot to address such comments. Taking place in the realm of Daedric Prince of Madness, Sheogorath, this expansion provides some of the franchise’s most creative environments and amusing quests. There is a sense of fun about this expansion that often felt missing in the more traditional sword and sorcery world of Oblivion. Absurdity is a way of life in Shivering Isles and the way the game presents the most outlandish aspects with a straight face lends it a presentation style unlike anything else.
In many ways, Shivering Isles is The Elder Scrolls at its very best.
9. New Super Luigi U
New Super Mario Bros. U was a fun Wii U game that showed off the potential of the system’s controller and made for some entertaining multiplayer moments. However, it ultimately didn’t feel like anything that special.
New Super Luigi U doesn’t have that problem. While Nintendo could have just thrown a Luigi theme onto the original and called it a day, with this they really took time to examine how playing as Luigi would fundamentally alter the experience. Using the character’s greater jump height and other unique characteristics to the game’s advantage, Nintendo was able to craft a Mario game that doesn’t quite feel like any other Mario game. These are some of the most creative 2D Mario levels they’ve ever given us, and there are almost as many of them as there are in the main game.
While Nintendo’s “Year of Luigi” didn’t quite lead to a renaissance for the company’s most unappreciated hero, it did give us this DLC gem.
8. Civilization V: Brave New World
It’s one thing for DLC to improve upon a game that clearly had problems and quite another for it to vastly improve on something that not many people felt needed many in the first place.
Such is the case with Brave New World. Civilization V gave us what many felt that was the best Civilization game ever when it released, but just a few years later, the debut of Brave New World showed us how much more the series could accomplish. Along with the fleshed out content that this expansion provided (more civilizations, more troops, more land, etc.) what Brave New World really contributed to the Civilization V experience was an expanded focus on diplomacy and government. Whereas the game had previously emphasized pursuing military dominance, now it was just as viable – and just as fun – to conquer the world without firing a single shot.
While diplomacy was always an option in Civ, no other game in the series showed how incredible that pursuit could be quite like Brave New World.
7. Dark Souls II: The Lost Crowns
A bit of a cheat here since The Lost Crowns is actually three separate pieces of DLC, but combined they form perhaps the greatest Dark Souls adventure ever.
While Dark Souls II wasn’t really a bad game, it was something of a disappointment in the way its gameplay and design changes compromised many of the best parts of the first title. The Lost Crowns worked to rectify many of those design mistakes by providing some of the most memorable levels and boss fights the series has ever produced. What’s truly incredible about these DLC releases, though, is the story they form. Without betraying the Dark Souls style of minimalist storytelling, the Crowns trilogy crafts a fascinating narrative that makes the world of Dark Souls feel more significant than ever before.
Of course, the real reason that most Souls fans remember this DLC so fondly is for how punishingly difficult it is. Getting a Dark Souls fan to admit that the game is genuinely hard isn’t easy, but none will deny this is – especially seeing as it features an invisible boss that’ll tear you in half.
6. Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina's Assault On Dragon Keep
In recent years, it’s become more and more common for game developers to use DLC as a chance to do things with the main game that otherwise wouldn’t quite fit. Like the previously mentioned Shivering Isles or Rockstar’s incredible Red Dead Redemption add-on Undead Nightmare, these DLC releases are all about lightening the mood and having fun.
The very best example of this style may be Tiny Tina’s Assault On Dragon’s Keep. In it, you use your characters to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons (referred to as Bunkers and Badasses) set in the Borderlands universe. This not only means a hefty amount of fantasy and pop culture references, but it allows the developers to dynamically alter the game at several points under the premise that the dungeon master is changing the game.
You just never know what is going to happen next while playing Assault On Dragon Keep and you won’t be able to stop playing until you’ve seen everything this incredible game has to offer.
5. Dishonored: The Knife Of Dunwall
Dishonored may just well be the best stealth game made in the the last 10 years, but at the time of its release it encountered something of a lukewarm reception. Most agreed the game was good, but it wasn’t quite the blow-away blockbuster hit some expected it to be. There was just something missing.
That missing piece would arrive in the form of The Knife of Dunwall. Running parallel to the main game’s story, Knife of Dunwall sees you playing the role of the assassin that triggers the events of the main game. This warped perspective on the Dishonored story not only adds to the original game in a meaningful way, but proves to be a more compelling adventure in its own right. The incredible gameplay of Dishonored is only improved upon , while the game’s story adds a level of motivation that the main campaign sometimes lacked.
Dishonored was gifted with some of the best DLC any game has ever received; even among incredible competition, The Knife of Dunwall is the biggest highlight.
4. Mass Effect 3: Citadel
While 90% of Mass Effect 3 was an incredible adventure worthy of being the final entry into one of gaming’s greatest trilogies, the game is largely remembered for its incredibly disappointing ending which essentially negated everything that came before. Many thought that developer Bioware may use the game’s DLC as a chance to redo the finale.
In some ways Citadel is that redo, but it’s not the one most were expecting, being based around the idea that the surviving main characters of Mass Effect 3 have a weekend of shore leave while their ship is being fixed. While this inevitably leads to an action-fuelled adventure, much of this DLC is actually focused on giving us one more chance to spend time with the characters. In many ways, Citadel is the closest we’re ever likely to come to a proper Firefly game, as the vast majority of the experience is watching beloved sci-fi shipmates trade hilarious dialogue with each other.
Citadel isn’t your typical game ending, but this incredibly funny and genuinely entertaining final journey in the Mass Effect universe is in many ways one of the best franchise endings ever.
3. Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad Of Gay Tony
Although many fell head over heels in love with GTA: IV when it was released (some even called it the greatest game of all-time) there was a vocal contingent that argued the game removed too much content from GTA: San Andreas and was a step down in terms of fun.
That aspect most certainly returned in Ballad of Gay Tony. There are seven new weapons, the characters are more lighthearted and the missions might be the best that GTA has ever produced. In fact, the quest line involving the spoiled Arab Prince Yusuf and his desire to find increasingly elaborate gifts for his Sheik father may just be the most entertaining series of missions in GTA history.
Yet the biggest improvement Gay Tony made to GTA IV is how much it gives the player to do after the campaign is over. From managing night clubs to base jumping, Ballad of Gay Tony actually gave you a reason to come back to GTA IV and still does after all these years.
2. Destiny: The Taken King
Upon a wave of hype, Destiny entered the gaming world to a decidedly mixed reaction. Many were quick to point out the game’s numerous design flaws and yet those same people admitted that they couldn’t stop playing it. It was apparent that if Bungie could fix the growing pains of their new pseudo-MMO concept, they would have something special on their hands.
While The Taken King didn’t quite bring the game to that level, it did attempt to address nearly every flaw that held back Destiny at launch. Through a combination of quality of life fixes (such as better quest management) as well as more missions that provided players with something to do beyond “Clear the area, rinse, repeat” The Taken King finally allowed players to experience the potential of Destiny as opposed to just imagining it.
Had The Taken King been released in place of the original vanilla game, Destiny’s reputation would be decidedly different today.
1. BioShock 2: Minerva's Den
In an earlier article, I lamented the fact that so few people gave Bioshock 2 a chance. To be honest, a big part of the reason why that’s such a shame is that it means few people ever played its DLC add-on, Minerva’s Den.
Just as in BioShock 2, Minerva’s Den has you step into the role of a Big Daddy. This time, you are tasked with entering the titular area of Rapture and stealing code from a man called The Thinker. What follows is quite simply one of the greatest stories in gaming history. Much like the original BioShock, Minerva’s Den speaks deeply on subject matter like religious idealism and human value. Unlike BioShock, Minerva’s Den doesn’t fall apart at the end and actually delivers a finale worthy of the ideas it poses along the way.
The BioShock series has long been about atmosphere and story above action, and so far as those elements go, Minveva’s Den may just be the franchise’s greatest outing.
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