Saying goodbye to a beloved game is never easy, but great DLCs give us more to enjoy, often enhancing or redefining the experience. Some expansions go beyond simple add-ons, introducing fresh gameplay, deeper lore, or bold tonal shifts that make them unforgettable.

The best DLCs leave a lasting impact, sometimes even surpassing the base game in quality and content. After all, more than remakes or remasters, it is sometimes expansions that truly make a game ageless. Whether through gripping stories, thrilling mechanics, or stunning world-building, these 10 expansions proved that DLCs can be just as legendary as the games they build upon, cementing their place in gaming history.

10 Undead Nightmare, Red Dead Redemption

The Wild West gets wilder

Rockstar has always been known for crafting rich open-world experiences, but with Undead Nightmare, they did something completely unexpected — turning the Wild West into a zombie apocalypse. This was a full-blown re-imagining of Red Dead Redemption, delivering an eerie, supernatural twist to the world players had already come to love. With an entirely new campaign, eerie lighting shifts, and hauntingly empty towns overrun by the undead, Undead Nightmare made the American frontier feel more dangerous than ever, almost becoming an all-new horror game by itself.

Players hunt and chase Biblical and supernatural creatures, while story missions revolve around finding the cause of the end of times and fixing it. Classic Western gunslinging now comes with the added challenge of mowing down relentless hordes of the undead. With around six hours of fresh content, Undead Nightmare proved Rockstar wasn’t just about realism — they could go completely off the rails and still create something iconic.

9 The Following — Dying Light

Country road

Nobody in 2015 expected Dying Light to be as fantastic as it turned out. A personal favorite of yours truly, it had atmosphere, gravitas, and a gameplay loop that stayed fun even after 500 hours. The story was never king, but drop-kicking zombies off rooftops made it a moot point. Then came The Following, a stellar expansion with a massive new map, new enemy types, and every gamer’s dream — a dune buggy built for mowing down the undead.

Now launching zombies off cliffs instead of just roofs, Kyle Crane hunts for a cult’s secret immunity on the outskirts of Harran. The buggy was upgradeable, required care, and, of course, turned walkers into roadkill. Gaining the village’s trust felt rewarding, and The Following cemented itself as one of the greatest DLCs ever. Incredibly, Techland wasn’t done — they supported Dying Light for a whopping seven years before the sequel arrived.

8 The Ballad of Gay Tony — Grand Theft Auto IV

Guns, Drugs, and No Pants

Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV was a gritty, grounded tale of crime and consequence. Its second expansion, The Ballad of Gay Tony, threw all that realism out the window in favor of the GTA we all know and love today, with over-the-top action, wild set pieces, and pure, unfiltered chaos. This DLC brought back the glitz and excess that GTA IV had mostly shied away from. With high-rise shootouts, underground fight clubs, and skydiving missions, this DLC finally felt like the sequel to San Andreas we’d always hoped and waited for.

But The Ballad of Gay Tony wasn’t just about mayhem — it also gave us one of Rockstar’s most memorable supporting casts, with Tony Prince himself stealing the show. The nightlife setting, the absurd yet thrilling missions, and the return of fan-favorite toys like the parachute and explosive shotgun made this expansion an instant classic. With The Ballad, Rockstar yet again proved that they could master grounded storytelling and absolute insanity within the same game.

7 Phantom Liberty — Cyberpunk 2077

I need a rundown of all your chrome

It took CD Projekt Red a couple of years to finally fix Cyberpunk 2077 and transform it into the sci-fi RPG it was meant to be. Keanu Reeves, playing the tabletop game’s infamous anti-hero, Johnny Silverhand, still remains one of the greatest video game reveals ever. When the time came for some proper story DLC, they pulled out all the stops, enlisting the enigmatic Idris Elba to play Solomon Reed, an excommunicated NUSA spy whose help we must enlist to save the President.

Playing like a high-octane spy thriller, Phantom Liberty is packed with secret meetings, identity-switching, high-stakes betrayals, and did I mention the occasional mech? With standout characters like Elba’s fantastic Reed, Songbird, and Kurt Hansen, this expansion shifts Cyberpunk 2077 into an entirely different genre without ever feeling out of place. With multiple endings, gripping storytelling, and thrilling set pieces, Phantom Liberty sets a new standard for what DLC should be. It left us wanting more — too bad we’ll have to wait for the sequel to get our fix.

6 Blood Dragon — Far Cry 3

Neon, nukes, ninjas

After Far Cry 3, which was undoubtedly the most memorable Far Cry from Ubisoft, nobody expected a DLC quite like Blood Dragon. Rather than expanding on Jason Brody’s jungle adventure, Ubisoft took us into a neon-drenched, synthwave-soaked, 80s action movie. Blood Dragon puts players in a dystopian 2007 (yes, really) in the shoes of Sergeant Rex Colt, voiced by none other than The Terminator's Kyle Reese. This was a better time when Ubisoft made bold decisions and wasn't afraid to experiment instead of just sticking to its annual Assassin's Creed games.

Blood Dragon was a complete B-movie, with over-the-top one-liners, VHS-style cutscenes, and a pulsating synth soundtrack straight out of a Terminator fever dream. It also refined Far Cry 3’s gameplay while littering the world with massive, laser-firing reptiles that gave the expansion its name. Blood Dragon never took itself seriously, making it an absolute joy to play from start to finish. Very few DLCs have managed to completely transform a game’s tone while still keeping its core mechanics intact, as Blood Dragon did, and it's certainly a trend in games we wish to see return.

5 Valhalla — God of War Ragnarok

Nordic therapy

Whether God of War Ragnarok deserved GOTY over Elden Ring remains a hot debate even today. However, both games came out with DLCs that truly belong in the hall of fame. With Valhalla, Sony Santa Monica gave us a roguelite while stripping Kratos of his abilities to let us start anew — something our beloved, burly Spartan needed to do himself.

Valhalla served as the perfect bow to tie around Kratos’ muddled, sordid Greek past and Norse present while giving him a glimpse into what a future of true godhood held for him. Fans of the original trilogy rejoiced at the sincere service Kratos’ Greek past received, while the plot itself helped him look forward, forgiving himself to finally be at peace with himself. A brilliant story, stellar Broadway-esque writing, and an unforgettable ending — this is what makes Valhalla a perfect DLC, sending Kratos off while giving him the peace he had always deserved.

4 Blood and Wine — The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Sun, swords, and sangreal

Leave it to CDPR to deliver DLCs that always hit the right spot, eh? Very rarely do expansions feel like an all-new game, but Blood and Wine isn’t just an expansion — it’s a farewell letter to The Witcher 3. Players enter Toussaint, a sun-drenched land of chivalry and wine so vastly different from the base game’s atmosphere that it feels like stepping into a whole new world. Packed to the brim with rewarding side quests, fantastic characters, and pop culture references, Blood and Wine is The Witcher at its most playful.

Beneath the charm, though, Blood and Wine brings meaningful change as well. New abilities, an overhauled UI, proper dungeons, and an emotional final sendoff for Geralt — this is what made this DLC as memorable as they come. Sure, Dettlaff really was never too convincing an antagonist as Olgierd, but Blood and Wine was still a beautiful swan song that gave our White Wolf a chance at peace.

3 Shivering Isles — The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Horribly wonderful!

Not adding Shivering Isles to this list would be like walking into the Shivering Isles and telling Sheogorath you're "just passing through" — utterly unhinged and bound to end poorly. This Oblivion expansion wasn’t just more of the same — it was a complete and glorious descent into madness. Shivering Isles introduced the Daedric Prince of Madness himself, transporting us to a realm that reflected the very essence of Sheogorath’s unpredictable nature.

Some of the best quests in Oblivion were in Shivering Isles’ stunningly unique world, including bizarre trails, eccentric characters, and moments that were hilarious, disturbing, but above all, unforgettable. This DLC felt powerfully fresh and unexpected, with masterful storytelling, striking environments, and deep RPG choices. To this day, Shivering Isles feels like one of the best RPG experiences ever, behind perhaps a fully-modded Skyrim.

2 Shadow of the Erdtree — Elden Ring

Pure and radiant

Elden Ring didn’t just give players some of the hardest and most memorable bosses in gaming but also a fantastic DLC that truly could have been a standalone title. The time we spent waiting for Shadow of the Erdtree to drop was truly worth it as we entered the new Land of Shadow, which almost rivaled Limgrave in size. The combat system became deeper and more intricate, and the tale From Software spun around Miquella is cemented in our minds, never forgetting the fate of those who followed the Tarnished.

Shadow of the Erdtree is just as beautiful as it is brutal, doubling down on everything that made Elden Ring the legendary game it is. In fact, this DLC set the bar so high that it earned its own nomination for Game of the Year 2024 at the Game Awards last year. The bosses were nightmarish as always, the exploration rewarding, and the lore as deep as it was haunting. Through it all, Shadow of the Erdtree reinforced FromSoft’s mastery of world design and storytelling.

1 The Old Hunters — Bloodborne

New nightmares, old hunters

Bloodborne fans might continue to live in doubt about a new-age remaster, remake, or PC port for their favorite game, but the one thing we’re absolutely certain about is that The Old Hunters DLC stands as one of the best expansions ever. Hunter’s Nightmare, Research Hall, and the Fishing Hamlet weren’t just new locations — they were full-fledged nightmares dripping with atmosphere and dread. Thankfully, with PS4 emulation finally available for PC, playing the game on Windows is no longer impossible.

The Old Hunters dropped heavy lore for the ones who love learning everything about the world they’re in, and there are boss fights aplenty for others who can’t get enough of a challenge. To this day, Ludwig carries the curse I put on him and his existence. Furthermore, The Old Hunters also gave us the Whirligig Saw, among other new weapons, which completely refreshed the Bloodborne experience, redefining it to the point of being a masterpiece.

A Legacy of Legends

It is never just about extending playtime when it comes to being great DLC. The best expansions redefine words, push boundaries, and sometimes even outshine their base games. These expansions stand as milestones in gaming history as blueprints for how to do expansion just right, proving that sometimes, the best part of a game comes long after the initial credits have rolled.