We don’t normally do this, but 2014 was an incredible year for expansions to existing games, and we thought it was about time we celebrated those extra bits of content that we love so much, rather than posting more about how microtransactions for miniscule pieces of game are ruining the industry as we know it.
Everything from DLC packs for popular shooters to standalone releases of DLC – such as Killzone: Shadow Fall’s Intercept, Assassin Creed IV’s Freedom Cry, and inFamous First Light – were all considered, but which one of these did we love the most?
inFamous First Light, coming in third place, did a lot of things right: rather than releasing as part of the game – more of the same for most – it came as a separate download, allowing people to be introduced to the series without shelling out on a bigger release. It was just the right amount of content too, and the challenge maps added another dynamic to the gameplay.
In second was the DLC pack for our overall Game of the Year, Mario Kart 8. The Add-on Content Pack 1, or the Zelda DLC as we’ll colloquially call it, hinted at the future of the Mario Kart franchise and expanded the game beyond its core, bringing in tracks, karts, and even a character in the form of Link from outside the Mario series. At a really competitive price, adding about a quarter of the game’s content again for just £7, it brought us back to a game which we love so dearly.
And it was our DLC of the year which brought us back to last year’s Game of the Year. The Last of Us’ Left Behind expansion provided a new chapter into the story, filling in a much needed gap while also providing some backstory. It was just as effective and brilliant as the full release, packing a lot of story and plenty of emotion into a short amount of time without tarnishing the reputation of the original. The Last of Us was an incredibly hard game to follow up, but Naughty Dog achieved it with aplomb.
The Last of Us: Left Behind is TheSixthAxis’ DLC of the Year 2014.
Tony Cawley
I’m so very glad the destiny dlc is nowhere to be seen, worst implementation of dlc ever seen.
Forrest_01
To be fair, they did do quite a few things wrong with the DLC (locking off weeklies & nightfalls to non-subscribing customers the first week it released as one example), but they have also done a lot right with it imo. Although I complained about the extortionate pricing to begin with (& I am still not sure I was 100% right to support the pricing model), I am definitely getting my money’s worth out of the new content.
They would have been much better off creating 2 sets of weeklies/nightfalls though – The first stays as level 28 & works the way it always did & then the new ones include DLC strikes & go up to level 30. They could also have done the same thing with the level 24/level 26 strikes. Keep the 24’s as they were (still offering semi-decent rewards for those without the DLC) & then have a slightly higher tier one for DLC owners that include the new strikes.
I can see that they want to promote the new stuff of course, but a slightly less underhand way of doing it would have been appreciated by all I believe.
JustTaylorNow
Still haven’t played left behind, need get back into it
bunimomike
Just finished The Last of Us (PS4 version) and must get around to the DLC as well. Looking forward to it but hitting a couple of other games very hard at the moment. :-)
Lieutenant Fatman
Left Behind is excellent, well deserved.
Looking forward to playing First Light when we get it as part of PS+ on Wednesday.