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Ever played a DLC that felt like a brand new game? This list explores incredible expansions, including Red Dead Redemption's 'Undead Nightmare' and The Witcher 3's 'Blood and Wine,' that are secretly sequels in their own right.
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00:00Although DLC has certainly had its fair share of controversies over the years, which is probably
00:05still an understatement, I think we can all agree that when DLC goes right, it's because it brings
00:10something significant to the table. Whether that's new areas to explore or an exciting new questline
00:16to follow which expands upon the main plot, these expansions are made with just as much quality and
00:22attention as the base game. However, there are some add-ons out there that are so substantial
00:27they could easily qualify as a standalone outing. I'm Jess from WhatCulture and here are 10 video
00:33game DLCs that are secretly sequels. Number 10, Undead Nightmare, Red Dead Redemption.
00:39Although the phenomenal masterpiece that was Red Dead Redemption 2 never received any DLC,
00:45unfortunately, those who checked out the first game were treated to Undead Nightmare. Once again,
00:51stepping into the cowboy boots of grizzled protagonist John Marston, this add-on spun an
00:56alternative narrative in which the Marston family's dreams of having a quiet life are interrupted
01:02when a zombie infection breaks out. The premise of Cowboy Zombies is a fantastic one, and Rockstar
01:08fully leaned into the concept with this DLC, but the expansion's far more than just an amusing gimmick.
01:14From its sizeable storyline that brought back fan-favorite characters from the base game,
01:19a collection of new challenges to complete, and a handful of new undead horses to tame,
01:24Undead Nightmare gave fans a substantial amount of content to sink their teeth into.
01:29Throw in some multiplayer modes to that as well, and Undead Nightmare became the sequel that Red Dead
01:35Redemption fans didn't know they wanted. Well, until the sequel, but the sequel was actually a prequel.
01:42Anyway, number 9, The Knife of Dunwall and the Brigmore Witches, Dishonored. After saving the young
01:48Empress Emily Coldwyn at the end of the first game, Dishonored 2 begins with Corvo and the now
01:54all-grown-up ruler being attacked by new antagonist Delilah Copperspoon, a dangerous witch who aims to
02:01take the throne for herself. Although Delilah seems to be a brand new addition to the Dishonored verse,
02:07those who played the two-part DLC for the previous game will already be well acquainted with her.
02:13In these expansions, titled The Knife of Dunwall and the Brigmore Witches, respectively, players took
02:18on the role of Dowd, the antagonist from the first game. Taking place a few months after the events
02:24which set the first game in motion, the assassin embarks on his own parallel adventure when he's
02:29approached by the mysterious Outsider to investigate Delilah. Totalling a combined six missions,
02:36these expansions are a bite-sized serving of more of Dishonored's wonderful stealth gameplay.
02:41With its selection of new abilities giving players more tools to experiment with.
02:46However, it's the significant plot revelations around Delilah's motives which make these so
02:51unmissable that they're kind of like essential sequels. Equipped with a better understanding
02:56of who Delilah is, Dishonored 2 becomes an even more enjoyable experience for fans.
03:01Number 8. Blood and Wine. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt is a massive RPG that
03:08took
03:08players on an epic journey through its war-torn world as titular monster hunter Geralt, searching
03:14for his surrogate daughter Ciri. Fans were absolutely treated by Cetaproact Red as well,
03:20because while the Hearts of Stone DLC already added an arguably unmissable chapter to The Witcher 3,
03:27its impact is minuscule compared to what Blood and Wine accomplished.
03:31Taking players to the sunny lands of Toussaint, this outing saw Geralt become embroiled in the
03:37pursuit of a dangerous vampire. It was a grand odyssey that saw the gravelly-voiced protagonists
03:42participate in nightly tournaments, be transported to a fairytale land, and slay fiendish monsters for
03:48coin. It also had a more light-hearted tone than the base game, and treated players to some of the
03:53game's silliest quests, with Equine Phantoms being a memorable standout. By taking everything that made
04:00the main game so amazing, and taking everybody off to a brand new setting, Blood and Wine did such an
04:06impeccable job that it sort of feels like the Witcher 4 addendum to The Witcher 3, and it's a
04:12wonderful epilogue for Geralt's story. Number 7, The Delicious Last Course, Cuphead. A full five years
04:19after players experienced the punishing run-and-gun action of Cuphead, developer studio MDHR served up
04:26The Delicious Last Course. Although this expansion only included six main bosses, there was nevertheless
04:32more than enough highly polished content to satisfy the hunger that fans had for more Cuphead. Combining
04:38its tough but fair gameplay with the gorgeous animation style inspired by cartoons from the
04:441930s, The Delicious Last Course just gave fans more of what they wanted, and it was absolutely pitch
04:51perfect. More than just a handful of extra bosses to fight, the quality of this expansion was just as
04:56good, if not better, than anything players could have expected. While the bosses were appropriately
05:02tougher this time around, they were also some of the most memorable and impressively animated in the
05:07entire game. In addition to looking spectacular, the expansion likewise offered more ways to play,
05:14bringing new weapons and charms for players to use, and also, in what is probably the biggest change,
05:20players could now play as the more powerful Miss Chalice to get a fighting chance in the heart of
05:26fights without making things too easy. With still no official word on Cuphead 2, The Delicious Last
05:31Course might be as close as fans are ever going to get to a sequel, and at least if that
05:35happens to be
05:36the case, it's an awfully good bite-sized chunk. Number six, Phantom Liberty, Cyberpunk 2077. The second game from
05:44set of Project Red to feature on this list, Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty DLC took players into the
05:50independent and lawless district of Dogtown. Although this location wasn't as big as Blood and Wine's
05:57Toussaint, what this expansion lacked in scale, it more than made up for in depth. After receiving a
06:03distress call from the president of the NUSA, you then find yourself in Dogtown needing to rescue the
06:10president after her chopper went down. And this is just the beginning of a gripping espionage thriller.
06:16Teaming up with the sleeper agent Solomon Reed, played by an incredible Idris Elba, players soon
06:23find themselves entangled in a complicated conspiracy, unsure of who they can trust. Though this DLC's plot
06:30is designed to slot into the main game, Phantom Liberty has enough meat on its bones to make for its
06:35own standalone experience. Not only is the main quest captivating all the way through to the end,
06:41but the developers also added more fleshed out side quests this time around, in addition to an
06:46assortment of environmental details which make Dogtown feel just as alive as the rest of Night City.
06:52Moreover, the 2.0 update that arrived alongside Phantom Liberty did such an incredible job of overhauling
06:59the experience that basically what you got was a new and improved Cyberpunk 2077.
07:04Number 5 Minerva's Den Bioshock 2
07:08Helmed by a different development team this time around and putting players in the hulking
07:12diving suit of one of Rapture's big daddies, Bioshock 2 was a notable departure from its iconic
07:17predecessor. While this sequel did bring some interesting ideas to the table when it came to
07:23the protagonist's relationship with the atom harvesting little sisters, alongside adding some fun
07:28tweaks to the combat, the game was nevertheless a step backwards from what the first game achieved
07:33three years earlier. However, Bioshock fans would get the sequel that they deserved and wanted when
07:39Minerva's Den arrived in 2011. Playing as another big daddy, this time named Subject Sigma, players once
07:47again returned to the underwater dystopia where they're tasked to retrieve a powerful supercomputer known as
07:53the Thinker by its creator. Although this DLC was small in scale, it succeeded in weaving a profound and
08:01deeply personal tale surrounding the computer's creator and their desire to use it to recreate
08:06the personality of his dead wife. Throw in a bombshell reveal that rivals Bioshock's famous
08:12would you kindly twist and Minerva's Den becomes a far better Bioshock sequel than the base game ever
08:19was. It really is no wonder that this DLC is frequently on lists including ours of the best
08:25DLC packs ever made. Number four, The Ringed City, Dark Souls 3. With Dark Souls 3 marking the end of
08:32the
08:32Dark Souls trilogy, it's possible that a fourth installment will never be made. However, fans did
08:38get to experience a fitting send-off to the iconic trilogy in the form of the Ringed City DLC. Access
08:44towards
08:45the end of the base game, this expansion transported players to the eponymous city. Like other Soulsborne
08:51expansions, this one is full of tougher enemies, powerful bosses that put veteran players through
08:57their paces and jaw-dropping locations that are as beautiful as they are decayed. In addition to its
09:03challenging difficulty and absolutely visually spectacular setting, this also served as a really
09:09nice round-off point for the trilogy. Subtly incorporating areas from each game throughout
09:15the level design, players witness previous cycles of the world covered in ash as they make their way
09:20to the end of time itself. Not to mention it ends on an astounding boss fight. The Ringed City is
09:27nothing short of perfection. Number three, Shivering Isles, The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion. Almost two decades
09:34after its release, Oblivion, which was a 10 out of 10 game, is of course best remembered for its
09:40incredible DLC, Horse Armour. It's outrageously expensive Horse Armour. But if it wasn't remembered
09:47for that, it probably should be remembered for this incredible expansion we're going to talk about.
09:51Released in 2007, The Shivering Isles begins with players stepping into a portal which transports them to
09:58the realm of Shiogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness. He's looking for a champion to stop a catastrophic
10:04event, and upon accepting his request, players are taken on a grand adventure spanning over 20 hours.
10:10Compared to the rest of the game, The Shivering Isles was a more light-hearted outing, which leaned
10:15into the sheer madness of its setting, which made for a wonderfully madcap experience. The environments
10:21were more colourful and fantastical, and there's a stark contrast between the primary areas of mania and
10:27dementia. With this expansion's insanity making for some of the most memorable quests in the game,
10:33and that's for Oblivion which already has plenty of memorable quests, no experience of Oblivion is
10:39quite complete without playing The Shivering Isles. Number 2, Echoes of the Eye, Outer Wilds.
10:45Despite receiving universal acclaim, Outer Wilds has nevertheless become one of the most
10:51underappreciated releases in recent years, and developers Mobius Digital recreated this magic
10:57with the Echoes of the Eye expansion. Upon discovering a new exhibit in Timber Hearth,
11:03the game leads players to a satellite, and if you already played the original and you mastered those
11:09tricky controls on the little spaceship, hey, why not jump into even more absolutely wonderful discovery?
11:15Upon further investigation, you'll find yourself exploring a new area hidden within the solar system,
11:21while you uncover the secrets of the owl-like alien race who once called this place their home.
11:27Like the base game, exploration and puzzle solving are key to discovering this location's many secrets.
11:33Although the puzzles themselves are more challenging this time around, gradually piecing the answers
11:38together to unearth what happened is just as rewarding an experience as ever. The biggest change,
11:44though, is that Echoes of the Eye ups the ante of the little bits of horror that were in the
11:49base
11:49game to all-out horror as you try and avoid detection from the game's antagonists. And if you already
11:56found the original game scary enough when you were in that area where the sand kept going up and you're
12:01like, cool, I'm just going to suffocate and die in the sand, whew, you're in for it with this one.
12:05Complete with a plotline which satisfyingly ties into the main game, Echoes of the Eye builds upon
12:11Outer Wilds in unexpected and remarkable ways. 1. Shadow of the Erd Tree – Elden Ring
12:17When Elden Ring released back in 2022, From Software threw players into its most ambitious title yet,
12:25replete with things to discover, adventures, and of course, incredible challenges to overcome.
12:30Two years later, the development team succeeded in making fans fall in love all over again with the
12:35Shadow of the Erd Tree DLC. From the moment the players stepped out of the cave at the start of
12:40the DLC to see the realm of shadows sprawl out in front of them, they knew they were in for
12:46an epic
12:46adventure. Despite the fact that we'd already heard game director Hidetaka Miyazaki tell us that the game
12:52map for the new DLC was going to be the same size as the starting area for the base game,
12:58we really
12:59couldn't be prepared for just how big this thing was going to actually be. Given it takes about half the
13:05length of the full game to complete, players can lose themselves for hours exploring off the beaten
13:10path in order to uncover large optional areas and the imposing bosses that await there. With the new
13:16Scar of the Tree blessing system putting the most overpowered builds on an even playfield, alongside
13:22lore bombshells that changed how fans understood the world, this expansion is the closest that players
13:28will ever get to seeing a proper Elden Ring sequel. I just finished Elden Ring after 150 hours and felt
13:35so relieved and so done I had no intention to play the DLC because I just wanted to pat myself
13:41on the
13:41back, put down my magma greatsword and move on with my life and now I have to play the DLC.
13:45So thanks to the
13:47author of this list.