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DLC that is better then the main game
- Thread starter HMS_Pinafore
- Start date
Borderlands 1: Zombie Island of Dr. Ned.
You could tell the graphical changes came kinda late to the main campaign of BL1, there's actually not a lot of humor and what is there is definitely darker than where the series eventually goes.
But with Zombie Island you could tell they really embraced the cartoony look of the game with a much more colorful area than the base game (lots of forest and swamp environments) and also got a lot goofier. There are some pretty funny audiology you can find about a character who is clearly a Shaggy from Scooby Doo parody.
And they had a lot more fun with the enemies, with zombies, Frankenstein monsters, werewolves, etc.
I was looking it up online recently and was very impressed that this came out just a month after the game launched, and then the second and third DLCs came out very soon after as well, with only the fourth one being a while later.
You could tell the graphical changes came kinda late to the main campaign of BL1, there's actually not a lot of humor and what is there is definitely darker than where the series eventually goes.
But with Zombie Island you could tell they really embraced the cartoony look of the game with a much more colorful area than the base game (lots of forest and swamp environments) and also got a lot goofier. There are some pretty funny audiology you can find about a character who is clearly a Shaggy from Scooby Doo parody.
And they had a lot more fun with the enemies, with zombies, Frankenstein monsters, werewolves, etc.
I was looking it up online recently and was very impressed that this came out just a month after the game launched, and then the second and third DLCs came out very soon after as well, with only the fourth one being a while later.
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Does this really count as DLC, though? TLL, Death of the Outsider, etc. are all fantastic, but I wouldn't count them as DLC. To me, that's also like calling Miles Morales DLC when it's absolutely not.
As much as I enjoyed the base game of The Witcher 3, the DLC was far more compelling.
Whereas the base game's story was somewhat lackluster, the stories of the two expansions were some of the best I've experienced in video games.
Whereas the base game's story was somewhat lackluster, the stories of the two expansions were some of the best I've experienced in video games.
Oh shit really? I've been itching to get reacquainted with Splatoon, maybe I'll check out the DLC finally.
DLC/Expansions better than the base game
Last night I finished Little Nightmares, and it is fantastic, I liked it a lot more than Limbo or Inside personally. However, I'd bought the complete edition as it's on sale, and I started the DLC to find myself pretty disappointed, and that's a familiar feeling for me when it comes to DLC. DLC...
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What is your favorite expansion or DLC that you think is better than the base game?
Video games are experimental endeavors and you learn so much throughout development. You get comfortable with the tools you're using. You get comfortable with the code you're writing. By the end of your long journey, you've learned invaluable things about your own game. It would be amazing to go...
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DLC that’s better than the main game...
I still have fond memories of playing Dead Space 3 (I played it co op so it was good) but the DLC completely destroys the main game (except for the shit ending).
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On topic, I found Muramasa's DLC to be far superior to the main game, especially because the DLC characters are more varied in terms of gameplay while the main game's two characters are mechanically identical.
Yep, they fixed a lot of problems and made it fun to explore. I hope they takes the lessons they learned for next year's game.
Hearts of Stone was good, but Blood & Wine was truly a Witcher 3.5 type of expansion and enhancement upon the base game.
I don't play much DLC, but that was the only one to blow me away.
I don't play much DLC, but that was the only one to blow me away.
It started out as DLC which is why you could obtain it by buying the season pass for Uncharted 4. It just got so big that ND spun it off into a standalone game.
Shit, I should play these at some point. I haven't touched AC7 since finishing it, but I did pick up the season pass on sale awhile back.
Far Harbor might be the most fun I have had on my XBOX, it added so much to Fallout 4.
I loved Citadel too for ME3, really made the game for me.
I loved Citadel too for ME3, really made the game for me.
Mass Effect 3: Citadel is probably some of the best Bioware content we have gotten since Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic IMO
It's partly the reason I would love to have a spin-off game set on the Citadel, perhaps driven by CSEC investigative drama narrative - I just love that setting, and the potential for a fun smaller scale adventure.
It's partly the reason I would love to have a spin-off game set on the Citadel, perhaps driven by CSEC investigative drama narrative - I just love that setting, and the potential for a fun smaller scale adventure.
I know it's not technically DLC, but I preferred Future Connected to the main game in Xenoblade Chronicles. Character building was sooo much stronger it wasn't funny, the weak-ass cast of the main game just brought down the whole experience tbh. The Shoulder is so much more enjoyable to explore than anywhere else in the main game. Hell I completed the Shoulder to like 95%, when I don't think I completed any main game area to more than 30 or 40%. You can tell Monolith has learnt a lot about game design and writing since XC debuted, because the quality difference is quite stark. And yes, I know I'm going to get murdered for saying this. Funnily enough, I wouldn't say I enjoyed Torna more than XC2 though, that side quest gating can go fuck itself.
Wipeout HD Fury essentially doubled the main game and added an entirely new aesthetic to game which is generally what it's known for now.
Wipeout HD Fury essentially doubled the main game and added an entirely new aesthetic to game which is generally what it's known for now.
Aye, first thing that comes to mind when these topics show up. Daud is a much, much more interesting character than mute Corvo. And Michael Madsen does a great job at bringing the character to life.
I can't think of another DLC (well, ok, this is technically an expansion in an era where they're all now called DLC) that so thoroughly supplants the base game. If you're playing XCOM 2 and not using War of the Chosen, you're either playing Long War or straight up playing it wrong.
WotC adds the titular Chosen and a plethora of other changes and additions, changing every facet of XCOM 2 and improving it all. It's fundamentally better in every way, feeling more like XCOM 2.5 than just some DLC. It really is that good.
Overall I agree but I do think WOTC added a little too much mustache-twirly cartoon villainy to what was straight military SF. But yeah chasing them down, getting those ridiculous messages from the Chosen, etc.is pretty fun.
Left Behind doesn't fully work without the context of Part I.
This is my post too. And I love BL2. But that DLC is easily the best content across the 4 main games. It had so many fun ideas, and the entire premise of it being an imaginary world constructed to help Tina cope with the events of the main game makes it easily the most engaging storyline.
Assuming standalone expansions count, First Light and Lost Legacy are better than Second Son and UC4. I couldn't even finish Second Son but First Light feels way more tightly designed and Fetch is just a way better character than Delsin ever was.
If we're talking purely DLC, Minerva's Den is better than Bioshock 2.
If we're talking purely DLC, Minerva's Den is better than Bioshock 2.
Does that matter? DLCs rarely do, to be honest. Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep's emotional moments also don't work without the context of BL2. Same with TW3 & Blood and Wine.
Regardless, I still think the parts of it that do work without the context of Part I (everything with Ellie and Riley) still outshine Part I and II in terms of writing.
Is death of the outsider not included in the definitive edition of Dishonoured?
Do I need to play it before the second game?,
Do I need to play it before the second game?,
Iceborne might honestly be the best DLC exapnsion I've ever played. It was basically a much improved* sequel to the base game.
(*Clutch Claw/Tenderizer balance notwithstanding)
(*Clutch Claw/Tenderizer balance notwithstanding)
Horizon The Frozen Wilds. Better animation, graphics, acting, NPCs and meaningful side missions.
I love Death of The Outsider and really enjoyed playing as Billie, but it is noway better than Dishonored 2. Same goes for Lost Legacy imo.
I love Death of The Outsider and really enjoyed playing as Billie, but it is noway better than Dishonored 2. Same goes for Lost Legacy imo.
Dark Souls 2's DLCs, all three of them are just absolutely some of the best content in the series. I love them so much. I find DS2 pretty dull, ranging from pretty okay down to pretty bad and a few random great things like a few characters. But I have played through it several times just as an excuse to play the DLC again.
@OP I feel like honestly there are a ton of games where maybe the DLC wasn't "BETTER" per se than the main game, but the smaller, tighter focus, and the more room to experiment with some new cool ideas without having to run them into the ground, can make for some of my favorite gaming experiences ever. Every FROMSOFT DLC has been this way for me, and other things too.
Forza Horizon 1's Rally DLC is definitely not better than the main game, but it's also really really fun.
Shadow of Mordor's Bright Lord wasn't "Better" per se and I don't think I really needed it to be a full game, but having a shorter experience to try out the new powers and follow that DLC and hear sauromon and the elf square off back and forth puffing their chests lol was really fun.
Halo 3 ODST absolutely would normally have been a DLC, but was expanded a bit into a "full" small type game to fulfill a contract. I mean, look at the name too. Look how short it is compared to the others. They had to make firefight to help justify it as a full package. And it's really fantastic. Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon is another game that absolutely would normally be a DLC, but was kind of a "standalone" DLC instead. It's absolutely fantastic. Great, short, tight experience that doesn't overstay it's welcome. It's cheap often and easy to recommend. Wolfenstein The Old Blood is another similar situation. There's a fair amount of these I think. Maybe they bend the definition a bit but I think the general concept is satisfied. But again even if not the core point of how a tighter, more experimental set up can be very successful is worth recognizing.
EDIT: And I think one important point about them and why I separate them from other "AA" games is because like, ....hm. Not sure how to approach this, but basically the topic on my mind right now is like, ya know context informs experience. Emotional experience, remembered experience, intellectual, etc. With an AA game like, it is a single, tight, focused experience. And that's cool, and very valid and I think a lot is done well with this. I wish Ubisoft would do more of those because they had some good ones. But the reason I think my examples above stand out as a bit of a separate category, along with others like Minerva's Den, and others like that, is because they are all empowered by being a part of something bigger. Same with the Dark Souls 2 DLCs I'll talk about more below. I don't even like the main game all that much tbh, but because of the added context and established aspects of Dark Souls 2, adding the DLCs onto it mean that I have already spent a full game becoming immersed in this world and getting on board with the game. I'm used to it's ticks and everything. So having this fresh tight experience with the context I'm coming with, cuts away a lot of the fat that a full game would have to deal with. Similarly with Wolfenstein Old Blood I'm already invested in and attacked to B. J., and his sidekicks, so having this shorter prequel is really satisfying. I'm already emotionally immersed here. Same with ODST. With Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon, I've already fallen into all the normal mechanics and internalized them, so all the new stuff really stands out and that's what I remember out of that experience, which makes it feel even tighter. It can spend less time introducing me to all that stuff and just, go. Idk that entire idea is intriguing to me right now.
Like again, Dark Souls 2's DLCs are a great way to explore this.
The first doesn't have any unique overarching mechanic, but it is really focused and well paced. Just overall very well done. There are the dead knight armors though. I like that a lot. I also love that you can kill them with magic, if difficult, before you figure out the mechanic. It makes taking down one so you can slip through and do whatever you're wanting to do much more exciting. It's great fun.
The second however introduces an overarching mechanic that spans the whole DLC:
I think when you have a shorter, tighter experience like this, you can dedicate more time to well crafted systems like this that maybe wouldn't make it into a full game. The idols you have to destroy have several purposes, including granting you gear, affecting the final boss, opening up new areas, etc. I think without this mechanic the level design would just be okay and not near as memorable. But the idol mechanic, even if you find it on it's own maybe not that interesting, which I totally respect, you can at least recognize the way in which it directs the levels and pacing. And they do really go out of their way to vary it up. Sometimes it heals a miniboss. Sometimes it gives you really fast curse but dammit the asshole you were fighting ran down there >:(. Sometimes it just blocks a path. It's a lot of really well thought out things that aren't just there. They give life to the entire experience. If this DLC had existed in the main game, I mean, just judging by how most of the levels in Dark Soul 2 and how they aren't near this elaborate or have this many touches, I think it would have been so neutered to perhaps even have made me never have cared about it at all.
The third DLC is just fantastic.
Now, it does have some of the tedium I don't like in Dark Souls 2. And that definitely drags it down (like, some forced trap fights and stuff), but still, overall it's pretty great. This time rather than having a bunch of unlockable enemies, and instead of having a bunch of a mechanic reappear in many different forms giving cohesion to the level and building up to the final boss, instead, this time you are unlocking ALLIES. You can fight the final boss absolutely at any time you want. And in fact you should, since the enemies drop decent items that become pretty difficult to farm once you've iced off all portals. And you can stop at any time you want and go fight him. The levels are worth exploring though, for some pretty neat gear. The Outer Limits is perhaps not everyone's favorite level lol. But I love that they were able to try a more bold, unique idea like this in this smaller, more focused package.
I think this trilogy of DLCs should just, seriously be studied by game designers. Such a fantastic experience. And as someone who finds game design really fascinating, very fun to analyze.
@OP I feel like honestly there are a ton of games where maybe the DLC wasn't "BETTER" per se than the main game, but the smaller, tighter focus, and the more room to experiment with some new cool ideas without having to run them into the ground, can make for some of my favorite gaming experiences ever. Every FROMSOFT DLC has been this way for me, and other things too.
Forza Horizon 1's Rally DLC is definitely not better than the main game, but it's also really really fun.
Shadow of Mordor's Bright Lord wasn't "Better" per se and I don't think I really needed it to be a full game, but having a shorter experience to try out the new powers and follow that DLC and hear sauromon and the elf square off back and forth puffing their chests lol was really fun.
Halo 3 ODST absolutely would normally have been a DLC, but was expanded a bit into a "full" small type game to fulfill a contract. I mean, look at the name too. Look how short it is compared to the others. They had to make firefight to help justify it as a full package. And it's really fantastic. Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon is another game that absolutely would normally be a DLC, but was kind of a "standalone" DLC instead. It's absolutely fantastic. Great, short, tight experience that doesn't overstay it's welcome. It's cheap often and easy to recommend. Wolfenstein The Old Blood is another similar situation. There's a fair amount of these I think. Maybe they bend the definition a bit but I think the general concept is satisfied. But again even if not the core point of how a tighter, more experimental set up can be very successful is worth recognizing.
EDIT: And I think one important point about them and why I separate them from other "AA" games is because like, ....hm. Not sure how to approach this, but basically the topic on my mind right now is like, ya know context informs experience. Emotional experience, remembered experience, intellectual, etc. With an AA game like, it is a single, tight, focused experience. And that's cool, and very valid and I think a lot is done well with this. I wish Ubisoft would do more of those because they had some good ones. But the reason I think my examples above stand out as a bit of a separate category, along with others like Minerva's Den, and others like that, is because they are all empowered by being a part of something bigger. Same with the Dark Souls 2 DLCs I'll talk about more below. I don't even like the main game all that much tbh, but because of the added context and established aspects of Dark Souls 2, adding the DLCs onto it mean that I have already spent a full game becoming immersed in this world and getting on board with the game. I'm used to it's ticks and everything. So having this fresh tight experience with the context I'm coming with, cuts away a lot of the fat that a full game would have to deal with. Similarly with Wolfenstein Old Blood I'm already invested in and attacked to B. J., and his sidekicks, so having this shorter prequel is really satisfying. I'm already emotionally immersed here. Same with ODST. With Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon, I've already fallen into all the normal mechanics and internalized them, so all the new stuff really stands out and that's what I remember out of that experience, which makes it feel even tighter. It can spend less time introducing me to all that stuff and just, go. Idk that entire idea is intriguing to me right now.
Like again, Dark Souls 2's DLCs are a great way to explore this.
The first doesn't have any unique overarching mechanic, but it is really focused and well paced. Just overall very well done. There are the dead knight armors though. I like that a lot. I also love that you can kill them with magic, if difficult, before you figure out the mechanic. It makes taking down one so you can slip through and do whatever you're wanting to do much more exciting. It's great fun.
The second however introduces an overarching mechanic that spans the whole DLC:
I think when you have a shorter, tighter experience like this, you can dedicate more time to well crafted systems like this that maybe wouldn't make it into a full game. The idols you have to destroy have several purposes, including granting you gear, affecting the final boss, opening up new areas, etc. I think without this mechanic the level design would just be okay and not near as memorable. But the idol mechanic, even if you find it on it's own maybe not that interesting, which I totally respect, you can at least recognize the way in which it directs the levels and pacing. And they do really go out of their way to vary it up. Sometimes it heals a miniboss. Sometimes it gives you really fast curse but dammit the asshole you were fighting ran down there >:(. Sometimes it just blocks a path. It's a lot of really well thought out things that aren't just there. They give life to the entire experience. If this DLC had existed in the main game, I mean, just judging by how most of the levels in Dark Soul 2 and how they aren't near this elaborate or have this many touches, I think it would have been so neutered to perhaps even have made me never have cared about it at all.
The third DLC is just fantastic.
Now, it does have some of the tedium I don't like in Dark Souls 2. And that definitely drags it down (like, some forced trap fights and stuff), but still, overall it's pretty great. This time rather than having a bunch of unlockable enemies, and instead of having a bunch of a mechanic reappear in many different forms giving cohesion to the level and building up to the final boss, instead, this time you are unlocking ALLIES. You can fight the final boss absolutely at any time you want. And in fact you should, since the enemies drop decent items that become pretty difficult to farm once you've iced off all portals. And you can stop at any time you want and go fight him. The levels are worth exploring though, for some pretty neat gear. The Outer Limits is perhaps not everyone's favorite level lol. But I love that they were able to try a more bold, unique idea like this in this smaller, more focused package.
I think this trilogy of DLCs should just, seriously be studied by game designers. Such a fantastic experience. And as someone who finds game design really fascinating, very fun to analyze.
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