10 Video Game DLCs That Are Secretly Sequels

Although DLC has certainly had its fair share of controversies over the years, which is probably

still an understatement, I think we can all agree that when DLC goes right, it's because it brings

something significant to the table. Whether that's new areas to explore or an exciting new quest line

to follow which expands upon the main plot, these expansions are made with just as much quality and

attention as the base game. However, there are some add-ons out there that are so substantial they

could easily qualify as a standalone outing. I'm Jess from WhatCulture and here are 10 video game

DLCs that are secretly sequels. Number 10. Undead Nightmare Red Dead Redemption. Although the

phenomenal masterpiece that was Red Dead Redemption 2 never received any DLC, unfortunately, those who

checked out the first game were treated to Undead Nightmare. Once again stepping into the cowboy

boots of grizzled protagonist John Marston, this add-on spun an alternative narrative in which the

Marston family's dreams of having a quiet life are interrupted when a zombie infection breaks out

The premise of Cowboy Zombies is a fantastic one, and Rockstar fully leaned into the concept with

this DLC, but the expansion's far more than just an amusing gimmick. From its sizeable storyline

that brought back fan-favorite characters from the base game, a collection of new challenges to

complete and a handful of new undead horses to tame, Undead Nightmare gave fans a substantial

amount of content to sink their teeth into. Throw in some multiplayer modes to that as well and

Undead Nightmare became the sequel that Red Dead Redemption fans didn't know they wanted

Well, until the sequel, but the sequel was actually a prequel. Anyway, number nine

The Knife of Dunwall and the Brigmore Witches, Dishonored. After saving the young empress Emily

Coldwyn at the end of the first game, Dishonored 2 begins with Corvo and the now all-grown-up ruler

being attacked by new antagonist Delilah Copperspoon, a dangerous witch who aims to

take the throne for herself. Although Delilah seems to be a brand new addition to the Dishonored

verse, those who played the two-part DLC for the previous game will already be well acquainted with

her. In these expansions, titled The Knife of Dunwall and The Brigmore Witches respectively

players took on the role of Dowd, the antagonist from the first game. Taking place a few months

after the events which set the first game in motion, the assassin embarks on his own parallel

adventure when he's approached by the mysterious outsider to investigate Delilah. Totalling a

combined six missions, these expansions are a bite-sized serving of more of Dishonored's

wonderful stealth gameplay, with its selection of new abilities giving players more tools to

experiment with. However, it's the significant plot revelations around Delilah's motives which

make these so unmissable that they're kind of like essential sequels. Equipped with a better

understanding of who Delilah is, Dishonored 2 becomes an even more enjoyable experience for fans

Number 8. Blood and Wine. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt is a massive RPG that took

players on an epic journey through its war-torn world as titular monster hunter Geralt, searching

for his surrogate daughter Ciri. Fans were absolutely treated by Setuproact Red as well

because while the Hearts of Stone DLC already added an arguably unmissable chapter to The Witcher 3 its impact is minuscule compared to what Blood and Wine accomplished Taking players to the sunny lands of Toussaint

this outing saw Geralt become embroiled in the pursuit of a dangerous vampire

It was a grand odyssey that saw the gravelly voice protagonists participate in nightly tournaments

be transported to a fairytale land, and slay fiendish monsters for coin

It also had a more lighthearted tone than the base game and treated players to some of the game's silliest quests, with Equine Phantoms being a memorable standout

By taking everything that made the main game so amazing and taking everybody off to a brand new setting, Blood and Wine did such an impeccable job that it sort of feels like the Witcher 4 addendum to The Witcher 3, and it's a wonderful epilogue for Geralt's story

Number 7. The Delicious Last Course. Cuphead. A full five years after players experienced the punishing run-and-gun action of Cuphead

developer studio MDHR served up the delicious Last Course. Although this expansion only included six main bosses

there was nevertheless more than enough highly polished content to satisfy the hunger that fans had for more Cuphead

Combining its tough-but-fair gameplay with the gorgeous animation style inspired by cartoons from the 1930s

the delicious last course just gave fans more of what they wanted, and it was absolutely pitch

perfect. More than just a handful of extra bosses to fight, the quality of this expansion was just

as good, if not better, than anything players could have expected. While the bosses were appropriately

tougher this time around, they were also some of the most memorable and impressively animated in

the entire game. In addition to looking spectacular, the expansion likewise offered more ways to play

bringing new weapons and charms for players to use and also in what is probably the biggest change

players could now play as the more powerful Miss Chalice to get a fighting chance in the

harder fights without making things too easy. With still no official word on Cuphead 2 the

delicious last course might be as close as fans are ever going to get to a sequel and at least

if that happens to be the case it's an awfully good bite-sized chunk. Number six Phantom Liberty

Cyberpunk 2077. The second game from Setup Project Red to feature on this list

Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty DLC took players into the independent and lawless district of

Dogtown. Although this location wasn't as big as Blood and Wine's Toussaint, what this expansion

lacked in scale, it more than made up for in depth. After receiving a distress call from the

president of the NUSA, you then find yourself in Dogtown needing to rescue the president after her

chopper went down. And this is just the beginning of a gripping espionage thriller. Teaming up with

the sleeper agent Solomon Reed, played by an incredible Idris Elba, players soon find themselves

entangled in a complicated conspiracy, unsure of who they can trust. Though this DLC's plot is

designed to slot into the main game, Phantom Liberty has enough meat on its bones to make

for its own standalone experience. Not only is the main quest captivating all the way through to the end, but the developers

also added more fleshed-out side quests this time around, in addition to an assortment

of environmental details which make Dogtown feel just as alive as the rest of Night City Moreover the 2 update that arrived alongside Phantom Liberty did such an incredible job of overhauling the experience that basically

what you got was a new and improved Cyberpunk 2077. Number 5, Minerva's Den, Bioshock 2

Helmed by a different development team this time around and putting players in the hulking diving

suit of one of Rapture's big daddies, Bioshock 2 was a notable departure from its iconic predecessor

While this sequel did bring some interesting ideas to the table when it came to the protagonist's relationship with the Adam-harvesting little sisters, alongside adding some fun tweaks to the combat, the game was nevertheless a step backwards from what the first game achieved three years earlier

However, Bioshock fans would get the sequel that they deserved and wanted when Minerva's Den arrived in 2011

Playing as another big daddy, this time named Subject Sigma, players once again returned to the underwater dystopia where they're tasked to retrieve a powerful supercomputer known as the Thinker by its creator

Although this DLC was small in scale, it succeeded in weaving a profound and deeply personal tale surrounding the computer's creator and their desire to use it to recreate the personality of his dead wife

Throw in a bombshell reveal that rivals Bioshock's famous Would You Kindly twist

and Minerva's Den becomes a far better Bioshock sequel than the base game ever was

It really is no wonder that this DLC is frequently on lists, including ours of the best DLC packs ever made

Number 4. The Ringed City – Dark Souls 3 With Dark Souls 3 marking the end of the Dark Souls trilogy, it's possible that a fourth installment will never be made

However, fans did get to experience a fitting send-off to the iconic trilogy in the form of the Ringed City DLC

Accessed towards the end of the base game, this expansion transported players to the eponymous city

Like other Soulsborne expansions, this one is full of tougher enemies, powerful bosses that put veteran players through their paces

and jaw-dropping locations that are as beautiful as they are decayed. In addition to its challenging difficulty and absolutely visually spectacular setting

this also served as a really nice round-off point for the trilogy

Subtly incorporating areas from each game throughout the level design, players witness previous cycles of the world covered in ash as they make their way to the end of time itself

Not to mention it ends on an astounding boss fight, the Ringed City is nothing short of perfection

Number 3. Shivering Isles The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. Almost two decades after its release, Oblivion, which was a 10 out of

10 game, is of course best remembered for its incredible DLC, Horse Armor. It's outrageously

expensive Horse Armor, but if it wasn't remembered for that, it probably should be remembered for this

incredible expansion we're going to talk about. Released in 2007, The Shivering Isles begins with

players stepping into a portal which transports them to the realm of Shiorgore, the Daedric Prince

of madness. He's looking for a champion to stop a catastrophic event, and upon accepting his request

players are taken on a grand adventure spanning over 20 hours. Compared to the rest of the game

The Shivering Isles was a more light-hearted outing, which leaned into the sheer madness

of its setting which made for a wonderfully madcap experience The environments were more colorful and fantastical and there a stark contrast between the primary areas of mania and dementia

With this expansion's insanity making for some of the most memorable quests in the game

and that's for Oblivion, which already has plenty of memorable quests, no experience of Oblivion is quite complete without playing the Shivering Isles

Number two, Echoes of the Eye, Outer Wilds. Despite receiving universal acclaim, Outer Wilds has nevertheless become one of the most underappreciated releases in recent years

and developers Mobius Digital recreated this magic with the Echoes of the Eye expansion

Upon discovering a new exhibit in Timber Hearth, the game leads players to a satellite

And if you already played the original and you mastered those tricky controls on the little spaceship

hey, why not jump into even more absolutely wonderful discovery? Upon further investigation, you'll find yourself exploring a new area

hidden within the solar system while you uncover the secrets of the owl-like alien race

who once called this place their home. Like the base game, exploration and puzzle solving are key to discovering this location's many secrets

Although the puzzles themselves are more challenging this time around, gradually piecing the answers together to unearth what happened is just as rewarding an experience

as ever. The biggest change though is that Echoes of the Eye ups the ante of the little bits of

horror that were in the base game to all-out horror as you try and avoid detection from the

game's antagonists. And if you already found the original game scary enough when you were in that

area where the sand kept going up and you're like, cool, I'm just going to suffocate and die in the

sand. You're in for it with this one. Complete with a plotline which satisfyingly ties into the

main game, Echoes of the Eye builds upon Outer Wilds in unexpected and remarkable ways

Number one, Shadow of the Erd Tree, Elden Ring. When Elden Ring released back in 2022

From Software threw players into its most ambitious title yet, replete with things to discover

adventures, and of course, incredible challenges to overcome. Two years later, the development team

succeeded in making fans fall in love all over again with the Shadow of the Erd Tree DLC

From the moment the players stepped out of the cave at the start of the DLC to see the

Realm of Shadows sprawl out in front of them, they knew they were in for an epic adventure

Despite the fact that we'd already heard game director Hidetaka Miyazaki tell us that the

game map for the new DLC was going to be the same size as the starting area for the base game

we really couldn't be prepared for just how big this thing was going to actually be

Given it takes about half the length of the full game to complete, players can lose themselves for hours exploring off the beaten path

in order to uncover large optional areas and the imposing bosses that await there

With the new SkadoTree Blessing System putting the most overpowered builds on an even playfield

alongside lore bombshells that changed how fans understood the world, this expansion is the closest that players will ever get to seeing a proper Elden Ring sequel

I just finished Elden Ring after 150 hours and felt so relieved and so done I had no intention

to play the DLC because I just wanted to pat myself on the back, put down my magma greatsword

and move on with my life and now I have to play the DLC. So thanks to the author of this list