Always keeps us coming back for more
Replayability is a word that gets thrown around a lot, both as a criticism of games and as part of their development. It’s an important factor to consider — your game has to be fun enough to play and creative enough as it goes on that players will always want to have another go, regardless of how many hours they’ve put into it.
This idea of playing a game over and over is not only a testament to how well it’s designed, but can also help prolong the life, and revenue, of any particular title.
Take Twitch streaming for example — a lot of the content is from players who are going back through their favorite games, which exposes viewers to that game again. That could drive players to return to a game they had put down and all but forgotten about, or even encourage them to purchase it for the first time.It’s also a symptom of a devout fandom. When you really love a game, oftentimes you’re willing to replay it because you want to experience that world again, and DLC just means more of it.
So this word comes up all the time when we’re talking about a base game, but often DLC falls out of that conversation entirely. With all these new expansions dropping likeLife is Strange: True Colors’ Wavelengths,Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye, and of course the announcement of thefinalSmash Ultimatefighter Sora, it got me thinking about what DLC out there is worth the replay. They deserve some love, too!
DLC itself can vary a lot in terms of what it offers the player — sometimes it’s just a cool outfit you can equip in-game, sometimes it’s a new game mode or map, and other times it’s a story expansion that bolsters the whole experience. So for the sake of our argument, I think anything that has you coming back for more is fair game.
For me, most of the time that means the story content. My number one DLC is easilyThe Last of Us: Left Behind. Sometimes I can find backstories a bit predictable, but I thoughtLeft Behindbuilt on Ellie’s character in asubstantial way, while also giving us some of the most challenging and compelling gameplay of the series. Maybe I’m a bit biased as aLast of UsPart Ifangirl, but this is one of the all-time greats for me.
BioShock Infinite‘sBurial at Seais another one of my personal favorites — it draws on the main series in a fun way, the visuals are to die for, and there are some really show-stopping set pieces. It’s a fun change of pace to play as Elizabeth, especially when you get to stealth more than you usually would in aBioShockgame. I honestly thinkBurial at Seais a stronger story thanInfinite, too, but that’s a debate for another day.
Those are just the few that I’ve played and really loved, but there are so many other DLCs out there that I know are worth the price of purchase alone. I hearMinerva’s DenfromBioShock 2is one of the best pieces of video game storytelling ever (that series really knows what it’s doing with DLC). There’s alsoRed Dead Redemption‘sUndead Nightmare, which brought the game new life with ahorror-themed zombie mode. you’re able to never go wrong with zombies, and having them set in the wild west? Sign me up. I’ve been meaning to pick up theBreath of the WildChampions’ Ballad, because I hear it addsa lot of challengeto the gameplay.
So we wanna know, which of your favorite DLCs get you coming back time and time again? What is it about it that you like? Which games don’t have DLC that would make you give it another try if they did?
