We got the chance to check out some of the best recent pieces of story DLC and will round them up in this article. The titles we checked out the DLC for were all released in 2022 and are all expansions of previously popular AAA titles. DLC is in somewhat of a strange place currently. Recent years have seen the concept go from being used to expand beloved titles for the benefit of fans, to being used to build entire games.
When the Avengers game from Square Enix dropped back in 2020, it was released as a shell of a game, with the developers intending to add more content available to players via intestinally released downloads. What they were essentially offering consumers was a clean bone, which they would then add meat to at a later date. This method was colossally unsuccessful and resulted in the project failing spectacularly.
The only slight positive which has come from that disaster is that developers seem keener to work on story DLC in the years since as opposed to uninteresting online-based expansions such as raid missions. This has meant that we have gotten some stellar pieces of post-release content and below we will list some of the best pieces of recent story DLC.
Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose
The Winter Expansion released by Capcom towards the end of 2022 added several additions to the already brilliant Resident Evil: Village. Whilst the revised third-person mode and addition of new weapons to Ethan’s arsenal made for some interesting change-ups, it was the story DLC that had fans of the classic survival franchise particularly excited.
Shadows of Rose began with a time-jump, picking up sixteen years after the conclusion of Resident Evil: Village. Rather than playing as Ethan, players now got the chance to take control of Rose, who had only ever been seen as a baby before this DLC. Now a sixteen-year-old girl working under Chris Redfield, Rose’s powers resulting from the Megamycete have amplified over the years.
Also read: Resident Evil 4 Remake Arrives On PS5, Trailer Confirms
This mutation leads to some interesting new gameplay mechanics for players to mess around with throughout the DLC. The plot of Shadows of Rose also has players revisit a few environments from Village, giving players a good opportunity to re-experience the clever level design from the original game. These are just a few reasons why Shadows of Rose is one of the best recent pieces of story DLC.
A code for Resident Evil Village was provided to FandomWire by Capcom.
Far Cry 6: Lost Between Worlds
Ever since the success of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Ubisoft have been trying their very best to recapture the magic which made Blood Dragon so great. Whilst Lost Between Worlds may not quite be able to meet the high standard set by Blood Dragon, it is probably their best attempt since that iconic expansion; given that the story DLC offerings for both Far Cry 5 and 6 were both pretty lackluster.
One of the greatest things which Lost Between Worlds does, is decide to discard any sense of logic or realism, Instead, this expansion chooses to fully embrace the weirder, wackier side of the Far Cry series with some interesting results. Interdimensional aliens randomly crash landing into Yara? Sure, why not!
Whilst the moment-to-moment combat encounters remain much the same as they were in the base game, there have been a few tweaks added in which help to keep things interesting. Though, it is the new environments that Ubisoft provides for players to explore which is arguably the highlight of Lost Between Worlds. These fascinating locations are a feast for the eyes and they alone are enough to make this one of the best recent pieces of story DLC.
A code for Far Cry: Lost Between Worlds was provided to FandomWire by Ubisoft.
Sniper Elite 5: Wolf Mountain
As is tradition, every entry in the Sniper Elite franchise is inevitably followed by a DLC mission featuring a brand new map, where players are tasked with killing Adolf Hitler and bringing an end to World War II. Sniper Elite 5 was no exception and the Wolf Mountain mission may provide one of the best Fuhrer-killing missions so far.
Whilst it completely rewrites history and breaks the universe of the preceding Sniper Elite game’s plot, it is endlessly satisfying to put a well-placed bullet between the eyes of the evil dictator. That paired with Sniper Elite 5’s tight shooting mechanics, means that this mission is an absolute joy to play through.
The new location is detailed and is well worth exploring and at the end of the day; it is more Sniper Elite 5, which is never a bad thing. The Wolf Mountain mission is absolutely worth checking out for anyone who enjoyed the base game and it earns its place as one of the best recent pieces of story DLC.
A code for Wolf Mountain was provided to FandomWire by Lick PR.
Dying Light 2: Bloody Ties
Bloody Ties is the first of many post-launch DLCs from Techland, with their announced roadmap and promises stretching on for the next five years. This first one isn’t a huge departure from the main game, with a quest marker appearing and starting an entirely new story where players get to experience the gladiatorial fights and competition to get to the top of Carnage Hall.
Whilst playing, you’ll have to choose between four different types of events; Rush, which operates, in the same way, the parkour events do in the main game, Spectacle, which is a multi-act event that has a miniature story with it; Freak Fight, which pits the player against one heavily mutated zombie, and Carnage, which is an all-out fight for your life, against human opponents and zombies alike. Alongside this, there’s a short story for players to navigate, which consists of toppling the corrupt and evil current champion of the arena.
Also read:5 Things Dying Light 2 Does Better than the Original
All of these events are fun in their own way and fans of the base game will definitely be interested in checking out the short, but exciting added plot. Bloody Ties may not quite match up to The Following, – the story DLC for the first Dying Light game, – but it is still worth checking out as it is one of the best recent pieces of story DLC.
A code for Dying Light 2 was provided to FandomWire by Premier Comms.
The Witcher 3: Netflix Expansion
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition launched at the tail end of 2022 and brought with it a plethora of new features that fans of the popular fantasy series could not wait to check out. The most notable of these additions was an added mission inspired by the popular live-action Netflix adaption of The Witcher, which resulted in players being rewarded with Geralt’s armor from the show.
This new side quest was also fairly lengthy, adding even more value to a package that already included both the Blood and Wine and Hearts of Stone expansions, as well as the colossal Wild Hunt base game. The in-game armor also looked pretty cool, giving video game Geralt a certain sleekness more in line with his live-action counterpart.
Also read: 5 Reasons Why The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Complete Edition Is Worth Your Attention
All of this earns it a place on our list as one of the best recent pieces of story DLC and the rest of the additions included in the Complete Edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt make it a value bundle well worth checking out.
A code for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was provided to FandomWire by Terminals.io.
And that completes our list of the best recent pieces of story DLC. What did you make of the expansions that we chose? Is there anything that we missed out that you feel should have been included? Let us know in the comments section down below.
