Video games are rarely a one-and-done affair these days. Even standalone games that tell a finite story have additional content. DLC has become the prime way to monetize games after their release. This sometimes motivates studios to partition off parts of the game or release low-quality extras for profit.
However, this isn’t true of all DLC. Some are just as much a labor of love as the base game. Some DLCs take everything players love about a title and add even more to keep them hooked. Some parts of extra game content are as beloved by fans as the rest of the game, or even better.
10 Iceborne
Monster Hunter: World
Monster Hunter: World is beloved for bringing the Monster Hunter franchise to modern consoles and mainstream attention. The base game is known for its high-quality combat, enthralling game design, and potential as a time sink. However, its DLC Iceborne takes all of these features to another level.
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne adds vast new content to the base game. It’s a full-sized expansion rather than a simple content pack. It comes with its own Master Rank story, new versions of beloved monsters, and almost as many creatures as the rest of World. It improves on nearly every part of Monster Hunter: World. Some reviews consider it better than most of 2019’s full games.
9 Left Behind
The Last Of Us
Left Behind adds another chapter to The Last of Us. Its gameplay is very similar to the base game. Instead, Left Behind‘s focus is on expanding the story. Unlike The Last of Us, the DLC focuses on Ellie over Joel. She’s the star of both of its intertwined storylines.
Left Behind adds content between two of The Last of Us‘ chapters, showing Ellie helping a wounded Joel. It also flashes back before the game to focus on Ellie’s friendship and romance with Riley Abel. It’s a poignant and bittersweet experience in its own right that enhances The Last of Us‘ near-flawless narrative.
8 The Old Hunters
Bloodborne
Many fans herald Bloodborne as FromSoftware’s best title. It puts its own brutal spin on Dark Souls‘ combat and gameplay, all set within a beautiful gothic Victorian city. Bloodborne‘s aesthetic, challenge, and gameplay all fascinate fans. Its DLC, The Old Hunters, doubles down on all of them.
The Old Hunters includes some of Bloodborne‘s most thrilling and challenging areas. It also adds beloved boss battles like Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower and Ludwig the Accursed. Its weapons are more creative and exciting than the rest of Bloodborne‘s. Everything fans love about Bloodborne is present in its DLC.
7 Brave New World
Civilization V
Civilization V contends with Civilization IV and VI as the best game in the franchise. A common point of criticism is that it lacks some iconic franchise mechanics. Civilization V lacks international trade. Its diplomatic and cultural systems are underbaked. Its gameplay can feel shallow and predictable.
Civilization V: Brave New World upends all of these criticisms. It adds missing mechanics like trade, the United Nations, and a tourism-focused Cultural Victory. On top of that, it fleshes out the game with new units, technologies, civilizations, and more. It also contains all the Gods and Kings DLC’s features, like espionage and religion. Brave New World transforms the entire game.
6 Citadel
Mass Effect 3
Mass Effect 3 is infamous for its controversy. This also extends to its DLC. Fans accuse both From Ashes and Leviathan of feeling like content left out of the base game. However, there is one expansion that most Mass Effect fans agree is near-perfect. Citadel is the final piece of content for Mass Effect 3. Despite taking place before the ending, it’s a deliberate farewell.
Everything about Citadel is designed to reward fans for playing and loving Mass Effect. It’s unashamed fanservice. Beloved characters return. Running jokes get a final payoff. The main goal is to throw the perfect party for Shepard and their crew mates. Citadel is at odds with the rest of Mass Effect 3. However, it’s a near-perfect experience for it.
5 The Ballad Of Gay Tony
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto is known for its high-impact, chaotic gameplay. However, franchise fans know GTA can create sympathetic, likable characters and put them through hell. The Ballad of Gay Tony DLC balances these aspects better than any piece of Grand Theft Auto IV content.
The Ballad of Gay Tony makes minor tweaks to GTA IV‘s gameplay. It adds new missions, vehicles, and weapons. Most of these have a less realistic and more fun focus than the base game. It also tells a standalone story about Luis Fernando Lopez and his best friend, criminal socialite Gay Tony. It’s engaging, surprisingly heartfelt, and an endless amount of fun.
4 War Of The Chosen
XCOM 2
XCOM 2 is one of its franchise’s most beloved games. That alone is an impressive achievement, given the pedigree of XCOM‘s decade-spanning games. However, the War of the Chosen expansion adds enough to transform it into a new game.
War of the Chosen doesn’t just add missions or new content to an XCOM 2 campaign. It uses new mechanics to change how every part of the game plays. The Chosen and their campaign against the Commander alter XCOM 2 on every level. War of the Chosen makes XCOM 2 unpredictable and more challenging but gives it more potential than ever before.
3 The Knife Of Dunwall
Dishonored
Dishonored‘s best-known piece of DLC tells a companion story to the main game. It doesn’t return players to the role of Corvo Attano. Instead, Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall flips the script. Players control Daud, one of Dishonored‘s antagonists. The DLC focuses on Daud’s guilt after killing Empress Jessamine Kaldwin and his search for the truth about Delilah Copperspoon.
The Knife of Dunwall improves on Dishonored in several ways. The change of protagonist helps. Corvo is silent in Dishonored, and not very compelling. Daud oozes with personality and has the story’s single best character arc. The DLC is short, but that lets each of its three levels shine as an intricate work of art. The Knife of Dunwall deepens both the story and gameplay.
2 The Shivering Isles
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has a bevy of uninspired minor DLC. However, The Shivering Isles is a full-blown expansion. Its ambition, creative vision, and sheer passion are all clear to see. It adds a new plot arc to Oblivion’s story. The player travels to the titular isles and helps the Daedric Prince Sheogorath save them from destruction.
The Shivering Isles adds tens of hours to Oblivion‘s already-impressive length. It introduces an entirely new locale with its own NPCs, quests, and secrets. It doesn’t revolutionize the gameplay. It simply offers more of what Oblivion fans love about the game, polished to as fine a sheen as The Elder Scrolls can manage.
1 Blood And Wine
The Witcher 3
Gamers and critics alike consider The Witcher 3 one of the best RPGs ever. It’s iconic for its characters, story, and pitch-perfect open-world gameplay. It’s hard for any piece of gaming content to match its quality. However, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine manages the impressive task.
Blood and Wine is a post-game story that takes Geralt to the land of Toussaint. It introduces new characters, new missions, and a gripping plotline in its own right. Blood and Wine is also held as the perfect ending to Geralt’s story, even better in this regard than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt base game.