Top 10 best DLCs 2020: what are they? Where did they come from? Where did they go? Welcome to our comprehensive showcase of some of the greatest post-launch content we've received in 202 and, perhaps, even further than that. As the end of the year looms ever-so-closely, we found ourselves intrigued by the prospect of coming up with cool top-tier lists of stuff we think you, too, will be interested in. A comprehensive list of the very best expansion packs of the year? Sign us right up!
It's been a long, long year. Courtesy of, y'know, the pandemic. Despite - or in spite - of that, we've had heaps and heaps of downright incredible game releases. A bit of an unexpected development, if you consider that devs now have to work from home and accommodate all sorts of novel laws and rulings. Today, we're offering you our own selection of the top 10 best DLCs of 2020. So let's get to it!
Top 10 Best DLCs 2020: Numbered List
First things first, we're going to try our best not to get into the whole DLC vs Expansion Pack discussion. The payment models for games have changed a whole lot since Bethesda introduced the concept of Horse Armor in Oblivion. For the most part, post-launch content featured below can be separated into three simple categories:
- DLC or small(ish) feature sets that don't break the mold
- Expansion Packs or large, sprawling feature sets that do change things in-game a fair bit
- Season Passes or long-term content drip models
Pretty self-explanatory, all things considered, but we're sure you know what you're about, anyway.
#10 - Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass
Civilization VI is, on its own, an instant classic. When upgraded with the hefty Gathering Storm X-PAC it becomes substantially better still, and the New Frontier Pass - a novel thing for Civ - basically builds on top of these incredibly strong foundations.
What you're getting with New Frontier Pass is a full array of features we all know and love in Civ. So, new factions, new features, new options. What's been particularly interesting to us, however, are the all-new gameplay loop modifiers, like Secret Societies. These turn the central one-more-turn tenet that all Civ games abide by upon its head, adds way more to it than we ever could've asked for, and lets you loose with an added batch of features that keep things fresh for a fair bit.
Content that's part of the New Frontier Pass DLC is still coming out, but it's been worth the asking price for a number of months now. One thing to keep in mind is that there are some X-PAC prerequisites to keep in mind. Gathering Storm, for example, is practically a must-have if you want to get the most out of New Frontier Pass.
#9 - Two Point Hospital: Culture Shock
Two Point Hospital is hands-down one of the greatest management sims ever created (in our humble opinion), simple as that. Now, an argument could be made that its post-launch content has felt a tad formulaic, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, right?
True enough: you do get more of what the base game offers with Two Point Hospital's Culture Shock DLC. It's just that the trademark Two Point humor extends to new greats with each new content release, and it's hard to get this sort of experience anywhere else. Short of, maybe, Wallace & Gromit, we suppose.
Having launched a tad earlier this year, Culture Shock offers a new aspect to the game's trademark zaniness in depicting illnesses and diseases. The theme is culture and creativity, so you'll be healing patients dealing with stuff like Stunt Trouble, Soiled Self, Private Parts, and more. Great fun, trust us!
#8: Total War: Warhammer 2 - The Twisted & The Twilight
Another phenomenally well-supported game from SEGA and Creative Assembly, Total War: Warhammer 2 has got more than its fair share of awesome expansion packs and DLCs. The game's latest major release - The Twisted & The Twilight - launched with a great Wood Elf rework, as well as the usual batch of new units and Legendary Lords to choose from.
Anyone who's got any sort of experience with Total War: Warhammer DLCs knows what they're getting here. Arguably, the free content updates and refreshes don't come as part of the DLC package, but they're definitely thematically fitting, and they're definitely driven by successful sales. To that end, The Twisted & The Twilight came as a lovely surprise to us and cemented itself as a lovely addition to the ever-growing roster of Warhammer grand strategy DLCs.
#7: Anno 1800 Year 2 Pass
This long-lived Ubisoft franchise has had more than plenty hits and misses, historically speaking. Anno 1800, however, has been nothing but a slam-dunk from the start. City-building games are few and far between, and historical city-building games come even more rarely to the forefront.
Ubisoft's continued efforts in supporting Anno 1800 are paying off, too. The game's Year 2 Pass brings with it no less than three fully-fledged expansion sets, each focusing on adding depth and variety to a particular facet of the game. Seat of Power, for example, lets you boost your economy via high-brow upgrades and prestigious improvements. Bright Harvest, on the other hand, will let you invest in mechanized farming via tractors and more. Finally, Land of Lions adds the Southern continent to the mix, which means an exciting new Desert biome with a focus on irrigation systems.
All in all, we'd say this was a must-have, but we reckon you got that from the description we prepared above, right?
#6: Frostpunk: The Last Autumn
Frostpunk was not an easy game back when it launched, what with forcing players to deal with not one but several rising issues simultaneously. After all, simply surviving is not enough in the midst of an endless winter: you need for your people to thrive socially and economically, and that's a pretty darn tall order.
One would imagine, then, that a Fall expansion in a game that deals so heavily with winter would be easier. Less stressful, perhaps? Close, but no cigar, we suppose. Winter might not yet have arrived during The Last Autumn's playthrough, but it's definitely coming. Since your people haven't quite gotten stung by frostbite, they're way cheekier, and you'll have to deal with social upheavals of all sorts way more frequently.
All in all, The Last Autumn pulls off a significant change in the gameplay loop without disassembling what makes Frostpunk as good as it first was. Again, a real must-have, if our experience is anything to go by.
#5: Doom Eternal - The Ancient Gods: Part One
We'll be honest with you: much as we enjoyed Eternal, we did have our suspicions on whether its then-upcoming DLC would be any good. As it turned out, these were completely unfounded, and The Ancient Gods - Part One ended up being a total banger from the start 'till the very end.
The first half of Eternal's hefty Ancient Gods saga is longer than you'd expect, sitting at lovely six-or-so hours of playtime. In fact, that's pretty much as long as half of Doom Eternal's main campaign. This means that once Ancient Gods Part Two hits, this Doom game will have doubled in size! Impressive, isn't it? This expansion pack's heft wouldn't be worth its weight in storage requirements if it wasn't good, of course. Thankfully, not only is The Ancient Gods good, but it's downright phenomenal. Really, it's Doom Eternal, but more of it. A slam dunk, we're telling you.
#4: The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon
The first major expansion pack for the long-awaited Outer Worlds, Peril on Gorgon is precisely what many of us had been hoping for. Featuring a strong narrative focus, Peril on Gorgon takes players to the titular asteroid, where one of the many disastrous scientific research facilities ended up going under. As you can probably imagine, this leads to all sorts of tomfoolery, both good and bad.
Buyers get an increased level cap, a wide variety of new perks and flaws to outfit their character with, awe-inspiring new armor sets and scientific-oriented weaponry, and a significantly large new chunk of the game to explore. For all intents and purposes, this is an old-school DLC that we all love to sing praise to. The likes of, say, Shivering Isles. Maybe not quite that substantial, to be sure, but pretty darn awesome still.
#3: Control - AWE
Control is one of our all-time favorites, as you definitely know if you've stuck with us for any substantial amount of time. We're huge fans of the way in which it weaved its narrative, and of its uniquely liberating shooter/Metroidvania gameplay that was improved further still with its first Foundation DLC. But we're not here to talk about Foundation, mind.
AWE - Altered World Event - is Control's second and final major expansion pack. Its main draw? A continuation of the game's main story, for the most part, but also a direct connection to Alan Wake. AWE is, generally speaking, a surprisingly scary experience. The new main antagonist is as horrific as monsters could possibly get, and the introduction of light and darkness as gameplay elements was more than welcome. All in all, this ended up being an awesome finale to an awesome game, and we can't wait 'till Remedy announces something new. Alan Wake 2, anyone?
#2: Borderlands 3 Season Pass
The jury is still out on whether Borderlands 3's second Season Pass is as good a value prospect as we're hoping it is. Far as the game's first Season Pass is concerned, though, it's a no-brainer if we've ever seen one.
Featuring no less than four major campaigns bundled together in one planet-hopping super-narrative of ultra-violence, this is pretty much Borderlands at its absolute best. Make no mistake: Season Pass 1 will easily double the content you got with baseline Borderlands 3, so if you're looking for even more stuff to do, well, you know what to do.
You can even catch our substantial amount of coverage on Borderlands 3 DLCs right here at 2Game. From Legendary target-farm locations all the way to content overviews, we've got you covered on all your bases.
#1: Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
Though it technically launched in 2019, Iceborne didn't hit PCs until January 2020, for better or worse. What matters the most, however, is that we now have the ultimate Monster Hunter gaming experience at the ready, because Iceborne is more-or-less the pinnacle of this particular IP.
Not only do you get a whole bunch of new monsters to hunt and lands to roam, but Iceborne also delivers on the gameplay and customization fronts, too. Armor transmog and all sorts of bonus goodies really pull the experience together in a way that World itself never managed. Naturally, most of these feature-focused additions and improvements do scale back, so you'll have the opportunity to enjoy baseline World content with new stuff, too. It really doesn't get much better than that, truth be told.
How's that for a Top 10 best DLCs 2020 List?
We reckon we've got a pretty good list goin' on, wouldn't you agree? Better still, this is just one of our awesome end-of-year showcases. For example, have a looksie at some of the following articles, too!
- Best Indie Games of 2020
- Greatest Low-Spec PC Games of 2020
- Gamer Gift-Giving 2020: The Ultimate List of Gifts
Naturally, we've got lots more coming your way over the coming days and weeks, too. Be sure to stay tuned if you're interested in that sort of stuff.
Back to the topic of DLCs and expansion packs: we hope we've provided you with at least a few good ideas on where to turn for more gaming goodness even after you've already finished your favorite game. In fact, if you know for sure that your pal, partner, parent, or pet enjoyed one of the titles we mentioned above, why not gift them its greatest DLC to keep them going for a while longer? Have fun!
Top 10 best DLCs 2020: what are they? Where did they come from? Where did they go? Welcome to our comprehensive showcase of some of the greatest post-launch content we’ve received in 202 and, perhaps, even further than that. As the end of the year looms ever-so-closely, we found ourselves intrigued by the prospect of […]
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