Sometimes, the DLC completes the game or makes it infinitely more memorable. DLC, or downloadable content, adds extra content to an existing game. The contents of these DLCs differ; some add new regions or characters, but it is essentially a unique story told as an extension of the original.
As such, let’s look at some of the best video game DLCs worth playing.
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine
Every Witcher fan can agree on one thing – Blood and Wine is one of the best (if not the best) DLCs CD Projekt has ever created for the franchise. It is the second and final DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and it’s worth every hour spent on the base game.
Blood and Wine introduces you to new characters, bosses, monsters, and locations while letting you indulge in a marvelous story. Playing this DLC feels like an entirely new Witcher game, which is always welcome.
Geralt travels to Toussaint, a place far removed from the war and issues of the base game. Here, he works on tracking down a mysterious beast that is said to be terrorizing the region. He continues to unravel all sorts of twists and secrets intertwined with the truth.
2. Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
Everyone loves a little zombie action, especially when done right, and Undead Nightmare tops the charts. It feels shorter than most DLCs, but you can replay it and relive your experience. Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare is set in an alternate universe where John Marston returns to find a cure to the zombie epidemic that has infected his loved ones.
Marston goes through the story and liberates towns that have fallen under the attack of the undead while completing side quests and assisting NPCs. It is a single-player campaign, but you do get two multiplayer modes to share the fun with some friends.
This DLC gives a new and addictive spin to Red Dead Redemption’s open-world action-adventure game set in the Wild West. It is one of the best video game DLCs and one of the more fun undead gaming experiences. It’s an incredible experience from Rockstar Games.
3. The Elder Scrolls Iv: Oblivion – The Shivering Isles
The Elder Scrolls series is a beloved series of open-world RPG games, so it felt like a gift when The Shivering Isles dropped. This DLC expanded the world given to us in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, with more enemies and bosses to beat as you become unstoppable.
The game is set in the Sheogorath’s plane of Oblivion, as the Daedric Prince of Madness needs a mortal champion to save the realm from the Greymarch and the Daedric Lord of Order. This is an open-ended expansion to the original game. You can directly ignore the main quest as you explore the new world and interact with others.
Players team up with the Prince of Madness as his protege to prevent the isles from destruction. This expansion is beloved for its creative quests and a vast world to explore that complements its base game.
4. Mass Effect 3: Citadel
Due to its subpar and underwhelming ending, BioWare attempts to make reparations by releasing expansion packs to further explore the game’s ending. Needless to say, it did the job superbly. Out of all the DLCs released, Citadel is arguably the best one. It feels like a love letter to the game, filled with fan service and a fitting ending.
Citadel follows Commander Shepard and his crew on shore leave, where they encounter a conspiracy against Shepard. To destroy the threat, they must defeat a private military corporation. We’ve got a stellar storyline, stealth missions, and a boss fight that is selectively picked based on your character.
After resolving the story and its conflicts, Shepard throws a party, and you unlock a new area. The area includes a casino, arcade, stores for party supplies, and a combat arena. As Shepard, you will get invitations to meet with each crew member individually and later start the party.
5. Cult of the Lamb: Relics of the Old Faith
This vast expansion adds a post-game questline with four bishops to slay and new attacks to add to your arsenal. It also amps up the old bosses and enemies by giving them new attack patterns and making things more challenging.
Furthermore, new game modes like Boss Rush and Dungeon Gauntlet are added, giving more variety and content to the already lore-filled game. New follower abilities, follower forms, and new relics help with your attacks.
Best part? It’s free! The developers decided to listen to the complaints from its player base. They gave them this considerable update at no cost and focused on making the combat more challenging. It is easily one of the best video game DLCs released in 2023.
6. Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep
Borderlands has an enchanting and weird world, and the Tiny Tina DLC is one of the best the game offers. In this DLC, Tiny Tina is the game master to your tabletop RPG adventure, inspired by Dungeons and Dragons gameplay.
It still contains all the original base game’s looter shooter, sci-fi, and comedic elements. Still, it incorporates the DnD gameplay to create a fantasy first-person shooter experience. With Tiny Tina holding the power to do whatever she wants, what results is chaotic gameplay filled with twists and turns according to her whims.
This DLC is recommended for players who have reached level 30 and above if you don’t want to get battered by its difficulty level. Either way, it is one of the best video game DLCs and a must-play for Borderlands fans.
7. Bloodborne: The Old Hunters
Fans of the Souls genre would have heard or played through Bloodborne: The Old Hunters DLC, and they would agree that it is one of the best video game DLCs out there. This DLC features new locations, armor, weapons, and legendary bosses within the community.
Furthermore, it made the Bloodborne lore more comprehensive for players, and the difficulty is through the roof. You will spend hours going through this challenging DLC, but it will all be worth it. In Old Hunters, you are playing through a nightmare where old hunters of the past are captured.
It’s a twisted nightmare that takes the Bloodborne lore to another level, a treat to those who love a challenge and Soulslike games.
8. Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores
Burning Shores culminates one of the biggest battles of the entire series, and it did it refreshingly and impressively. We are introduced to a volcanic archipelago that was formed from the ruins of Los Angeles. This DLC will only be accessible after Aloy’s storyline in the base game is completed.
Aloy pursues a new threat to the planet, and along with it comes new machines, characters, and experiences. Don’t fret; this also means new abilities are added to your skill tree to combat these creatures effectively and survive. The latest volcanic area adds new ways to play the game regarding exploration and puzzles.
The combat does fall flat occasionally, but it is worth the playthrough if you love the franchise. It sets up the future of Horizon Forbidden West and the main character, Aloy. Plus, the visuals are top-notch, and it may be one of the best video game DLCs to come out in 2023.
9. Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss
Truly one of the best DLCs of all time, Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss brings more challenge to the already challenging Dark Souls franchise. It is a challenge on top of a challenge that will make you feel like a winner for completing it.
The difficulty spike isn’t all that awaits you, but the more profound lore that provides an insight into Artorias and his dishearteningly emotional story that suits the dark theme. We are taken 100 years into the past, where we must save Oolacile from destruction at the hands of Manus, Father of the Abyss.
You can access Oolacile after obtaining the ‘Broken Pendant’ item. The pack includes four bosses, several optional bosses, and new armor and weapons to equip. There’s even a PvP multiplayer arena for you to fight other players and dominate leaderboards.
10. The Last of Us: Left Behind
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A DLC exploring one of the two main protagonists in The Last of Us is welcome as the game takes the world by storm. Similar to the base game, it is set in the post-apocalyptic world. However, Left Behind switches between the two main stories.
The first story is set three weeks before the events of The Last of Us, where Ellie joins her best friend Riley in an abandoned mall. The second story occurs between Fall and Winter during The Last of Us, focusing on Ellie scouring the abandoned mall for medical supplies to heal Joel.
The game is in the third-person perspective. Players utilize stealth, makeshift weapons, and firearms to defend against zombies and survive. The story itself is highly praised, not to mention the fully fleshed-out characters and depiction of female LGBT characters.
11. Civilization V: Brave New World
Civilization V is already a highly replayable game with tons of content and historical characters tied to it. The Brave New World DLC adds fun and flavor to the expansive turn-based game.
With this DLC comes a ton of new features and content, but the highlights would be the addition of nine new civilizations, a new trade route system, and the World Congress. The DLC reintroduces Christianity, which splits into three main branches. Even the social policies in the game get an overhaul with a new ideology system.
If you would like a deeper insight into humanity, history, and the formation of the world, look no further than Civilization V: Brave New World. It may be the best DLC in the franchise and one of the best video game DLCs worth playing.
12. Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony
The second episodic expansion pack available for Grand Theft Auto IV, The Ballad of Gay Tony, is much more than you would expect. The events that unfold in this DLC are concurrent with the story in GTA IV as well as The Lost and Damned, which is the first episodic expansion pack for the game.
This time, the story follows Luis Fernando Lopez, a former drug dealer turned bodyguard who is best friends with Anthony ‘Gay Tony’ Prince, a nightclub magnate and socialite. Luis tries to help Gay Tony with a variety of issues, from drugs, debts, and disputes with the mafia, all of which threaten both their lives.
It ties up all the loose ends of the base game and first DLC and nicely connects the storyline of all three games. The Ballad of Gay Tony is a well-done expansion pack that all GTA fans should experience at least once.
13. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Sure, Cyberpunk 2077’s release may be a wonky disaster. Still, their commitment to fixing their game and giving us what we want is admirable. With new gadgets and skills, the Phantom Liberty DLC feels different from the 2020 base game. Thankfully, there are no glitches or annoying bugs this time, either.
This time, the game is set in Dogtown, a new location showcasing new characters, quests, and gigs. The level cap is now 60, with the release of new weapons, vehicles, and trippy quickhacks to have fun with. Similar to the original storyline, your decisions will influence your ending.
As V, you pair up with FBI agent Solomon Reed on a spy mission to save Rosalind Myers, the new President of the United States. Phantom Liberty is one of the best video game DLCs worth playing.
14. God of War: Ragnarok – Valhalla
After Ragnarok’s events, Kratos accepts an anonymous invitation to Valhalla. He travels there with Mimir, and he gets stripped of his powers. Now, he must traverse Valhalla to defeat all his past enemies to gain back your power and freedom.
At first glance, it does feel like a DLC jam-packed with seemingly random combat encounters with past enemies, but it is more than that. Kratos goes through a whole lot of character development and emotional growth. Valhalla was a sweet wrap-up of his character and the trials he has gone through, almost like an ode to his past.
It’s free, too! Truthfully, it would be remiss not to have played through this DLC, especially if you have put hours into the base game.
15. Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag – Freedom Cry
An open-world pirate game with assassins is already a wild and hard-to-beat premise for a stellar game. Still, Freedom Cry takes it to another level. This DLC highlights one of Black Flag’s characters, Adewale, who gets shipwrecked in the Caribbean.
Now, Adewale is determined to track down the cruel Templars running a terrible slave ring in the West Indies while trying to rescue those in the Brotherhood of Assassins. Even if it is a short game, it highlights some crucial messages in history and has a fleshed-out character at its helm.
Explore the beautiful lands of Saint Domingue, beat some Templars, and enjoy stealth gameplay with Freedom Cry.
That’s the 15 best video game DLCs worth playing! Be sure to explore and add these to your list if you haven’t already. These are some of the most memorable DLCs to date and are guaranteed to give you a good time. For more gaming lists like these, you can check out 15 Offline PC Games to Play When the Internet is Down or stay updated on our site.
