Best expansion packs and DLC just like the full game

Key Takeaways

• Grand Theft Auto 4's “The Ballad of Gay Tony” offers a fresh story that shines just as brightly as the base game's story.
• Prey's “Mooncrash” expansion delivers random, replayable challenges that promise a new experience every time you run them.
• Monster Hunter World's “Iceborne” expansion pack significantly expands the base game by introducing a massive new subcontinent.

At worst, video game downloadable content (DLC) is a way for publishers to cut out parts of their main game and resell them for bags full of coins and coins. The best part is the opportunity for fans to get a little more of what they love from the base game in the form of skins, maps, and gameplay mechanics.

In the Internet age, there is less of a difference between DLC and expansion packs, with the latter tending to be considered a package that includes a significant number of new features, but is by no means guaranteed. However, there are some beautiful examples of games with expansion packs or DLC that far exceed everyone's expectations, sometimes rivaling or even surpassing the base game.

8 Grand Theft Auto 4 – The Ballad of Gay Tony

Encore and more in Liberty City

• Estimated play time: 14 hours

Each open-world sandbox city is a masterpiece in its own right, so it seems fitting that Rockstar would revisit Liberty City and explore its full potential. unequal grand theft auto 5San Andreas as the background GTA: Online After a great offline campaign, Rockstar gave fans an entirely new single-player storyline. grand theft auto 4's “The Ballad of Gay Tony” and, to a lesser extent, “The Lost And Damned”.

The expansion provides a new look at the city's nightlife scene, focusing on the flamboyant Tony Prince and his colleague Luis Lopez, who are just as prone to violence as Nico (at least in the player's hands). A spectacular ride through Liberty's club culture will give you a new perspective on the city, packed with over-the-top action, high-speed chases, and other strange creatures of Liberty over 15 to 25 hours of play time.

7 Frey – Mooncrash

Pushing your simulation engine to its limits

• Estimated play time: 18 hours

Few additional game modes offer such a fresh feel. preyThe brilliant, endlessly replayable “Mooncrash” seems to have inspired another game from Arkane. death loop. Players must recreate the attack on the moon base through a computer simulation to find out what really happened to the survivors during the disaster.

Thanks to its nearly bottomless roguelike design, each run offers something new with random challenges. Every success helps increase your odds by giving you access to better weapons or items in subsequent runs.

Off to the Island of Madness

• Estimated play time: 20 hours

Fourth mainline item Elder Scrolls series, oblivionThe “Horse Armor” DLC may have brought up some microtransaction issues, but it's also a prime example of a great expansion experience.

“The Shivering Isles” embraces janky NPC AI, a haunting atmosphere, and over-the-top floral effects. oblivion It is famous for giving the hero of Kvatch the opportunity to explore the entire island of Oblivion. This island was formed from the deranged mind of its master, the memorable Turophile Sheogorath.

5 Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – The Fate of Atlantis

A grand journey through the most fantastical realms of Greek mythology

• Estimated play time: 22 hours

If monsters are scattered across the surrounding landscape Assassin's Creed: Odyssey took the series out of the “historical fiction” video game category and not into the category of fantasy. The final DLC, “The Fate of Atlantis,” plunged the series into the deepest waters of mythology.

Of course, the series has always had supernatural elements, but the massive “Fate of Atlantis” supersized the already massive Odyssey map, including epic landscapes of the four realms of Elysium, the Underworld and Atlantis itself.

4 Cyberpunk 2077 – Phantom Liberty

Keep your dystopian promise

• Estimated play time: 23 hours

Even after years of patches cyberpunk 2077's legacy is still tinged with the negative reception it received upon release due to its initial buggy state. The disappointment about this was further compounded. cyberpunk Fans of the misplaced marketing campaign strategy are perhaps a bit overrated.

The first and only expansion pack redeemed the game in the eyes of many fans, showing that CD Projekt Red had learned some hard lessons from the base release and in many ways felt like an entirely new game. “Phantom Liberty” is filled with morally ambiguous characters and decision-driven missions, as well as new abilities, vehicles, and more dynamic combat options, and introduces Dogtown, a vast, walled corner of Night City with a distinct sense of fear and corruption. .

3 The Witcher 3 – Blood and Wine

An addictively rich and colorful addition

• Estimated play time: 29 hours

The basic story is The Witcher 3 With hours of gameplay and a replayable story, few left wanting more, but CD Projekt Red was in the mood to keep delivering with a second expansion, “Blood and Wine.” The first expansion, “Hearts of Stone,” was an incredibly generous offering that added new mechanics, narrative, and locations.

But “Blood and Wine” feels like it could have been packaged and sold as a completely standalone campaign, with the vast new region of Toussaint a vibrant place unspoiled by open war but tainted by dark secrets. It feels so fresh and separate from other places. The Witcher 3world of

2 Elden Ring – Shadow of Edtree

A full-fledged sequel disguised as an expansion pack.

• Estimated play time: 40 hours

Few people can complain about that. Elden Ring There was a lack of engaging, explorable space or challenge. Nonetheless, FromSoftware completely surprised fans with “Shadow of the Erdtree,” a game that rivals and in some ways surpasses it. Elden Ring In terms of beauty, knowledge and challenge.

“Erdtree” increased the intensity of the combat by offering a less spicy base game than usual after the opening, but the punishment-greedy Soul fanbase naturally devoured the challenge with glee.

1 Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

A whole subcontinent of Titanic prey to hunt.

• Estimated play time: 150 hours

Frost-themed expansion pack Monster Hunter World It could have been its own spin-off, but Capcom saw fit to release this massive release as an expansion, greatly expanding the base game and adding a ton of content that makes good use of the “World” moniker.

“Iceborne” transports hunters to the icy regions of Hoarfrost Reach, a vast new subcontinent (and one of the largest continents in the world). Monster Hunter series) is filled with gigantic and fearsome creatures that will test even the most seasoned hunters, chief among them being Velkhana, the Elder Ice Dragon.