Expanding on an exceptionally recreated period piece can't be an inviting prospect, to a development team just emerging from a 5 year development cycle.
First and foremost, mechanically. Red Dead Redemption needn't be the subject of this review, but it's context is important to the addon. It's the symbiosis of original adventure mechanics and a clever setting, that made the game so appealing to many. The marriage of a toolset that enabled the user the cliches of the cinematic West, with a setting that is slowly showing the aforementioned genres demise, was so wholesome to me.
It's easy to feel when a setting is shoehorned into a certain type of game, or mechanic. Regardless if one or both are bad. And far more easy to identify when the two aspects are in harmony.
With the hard work done already, I expected a little more of Undead Nightmare. It's work subverting and trivialising the game's tone, would have allowed far more freedom in self aware development of the mechanics.
When all the game really does is reintroduce a familiar toolset, to overcome a different challenge. It's a new a way to apply them, and is fun enough for a while, but it comes across as a stagnant vessel for entertaining cameo pieces. Essentially fodder between cutscenes.
Which was the level on which it was most successful. Returning characters and a mere semblance of canon, mostly satirically referenced, is a level on which the writers at Rockstar thrive.
Given that, and the superb price, I'd say it's a sound investment of time and money.
Undead are the peace makers.
Seriously, like even to the point of criticizing a game for being complete out the box and not dropping microtransactions on a storefront every month. Outlets were really out here mad that Hogwarts Legacy was finished and didn't need any battle pass, or "seasons" of DLC. So brainwashed they don't even know how to handle a game with an actual ending.
The first time I felt like a game got DLC right was Borderlands 1. $10 for hours of content.
I paid $5 for Sleeping dogs DLC that added an entire campaign, new fighting styles and weapons, and basically turned the whole City into a zombie survival thing. Then another $5 for a full kickass tournament parading game of death which added an island, and lots of new fighting styles
Fallout 3, Mass Effect 2 & 3, Borderlands 1 & 2, GTA IV - those are my gold standards of DLC.
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Something they couldn’t even give us in GTAV or RDR2
I honestly thought we’d get some Alien type of DLC for one of them at least
The Undead Nightmare expansion for the original Red Dead Redemption was a massive success, and Rockstar should take this formula to a standalone game.
They already have; this expansion is their zombie game. No need to create a new IP just for this.
The author clear doesn’t understand the essence of what made the dlc so good… it wasn’t zombies and it definitely wasn’t a dedicated IP to zombies.
It was the sheer ambience and un seen mixing of a game with elements that were non existent in said game’s theme. It was a perfect fantasy mash up that changed the game in unbelievably awesome ways.
NoobFeed Editor Joshua Burt writes - It is now a mainstay of gaming that post a title's release, and DLC will accompany the game. Some of the most popular games of the last fifteen years have followed this practice. But there are some DLCs that are better than others. That stands on the shoulders of their base game, and in some cases… Surpass it. These are the 10 expansions that were better than the main game.
Damn, I feel stupid when years ago I played all the dlc for fallout 3 except the pitt. My younger ass looked at it and thought it was boring without trying I believe... Well good reason to fire up the old dusty ps3!
Solid list, I'd add inFamous: Festival of Blood, although it was a standalone download, it still felt like an inFamous 2 expansion.
Blood and Wine might be the best ever though.
I'd also add in Horizon The Frozen Wilds. As I started it, I wasn't sure I had the energy, but my God that was awesome. Some of the best weapons, enemies and missions in Horizon for sure.
Blood and Wine is always the reason these "best DLC of all time" list gets made in the first place nowadays.
Don't think CDPR can come any where near with any upcoming CP2077 DLC.
I have beaten Bloodborne but though i have the DLC I never played through it. For now I want to wait and see if it gets a Bluepoint remake.
