Nominees for Destructoid’s best of 2013 add-on DLC

Best of 2013

Substantial DLC can be a really great thing. Beyond the veil of microtransactions and penny-pinching, some studios can really craft some great meaty content worth of your buck. From full-on expansions to thrilling campaigns, some developers have made it really easy to keep playing.

Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina Assault on Dragon’s Keep

Looking back, although I did enjoyCaptain ScarlettandMr. Torgue, neither of them were nearly as in-depth as this DLC, which is a benchmark for future Gearbox add-ons. Although they could have stood to have gone a little farther with the concept, if you can only choose one campaign, this is easily it.

Saint’s Row IV – Enter the Dominatrix

This is unfinished content from Volition’s dirty little vault, now revived and tweaked for your whipping pleasure inSaints Row IV. New missions, weapons, sex workers — everything you… uh, need.

The Walking Dead – 400 Days

Despite this,The Walking Dead: 400 Daysis a worthwhile, bold narrative experiment. It throws away most of the trappings of the adventure game genre that the first season still hung onto; it’s more directed, which perhaps makes it less compelling toplay, but just as wonderful to experience. IfThe Walking Deadis more about dialogue and choices than the occasional puzzle and cupboard searching, then400 Daysis an excellent addition to the series.

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode One

Whatisneat aboutBurialis the juxtaposition of Booker knowing intimate details about Rapture while Elizabethpretendsto know nothing. There’s one part specifically where she explains her wormhole power as a “new Plasmid,” and you can almost feel the shiftiness of her eyes in her voice.

Dishonored – The Knife of Dunwall

After finishingDishonoredI wanted more, andThe Knife of Dunwallgives me exactly that. Hell, at moments I even completely forgot that I was no longer playing Corvo, as both he and Daud do play in generally the same way. The promise of more DLC has me excited, if not to finish Daud’s adventure, then to explore more of this detailed world, and embark on more devilishly challenging assassinations.

XCOM – Enemy Within

If you haven’t played the newestXCOMyet, now is a perfect time to do so with theEnemy Withinpackage. For all theXCOMveterans out there, you’ll find a solid amount of new activities to engage in, as well as an unprecedented amount of squad customization. In other words, this is now the definitiveEnemyexperience.

Mass Effect 3 – Citadel

If this is how BioWare wants to close Shepard’s chapter, I can live with this. It’s not a perfect finale, but it’s one that highlights the best we’ve seen from the series so far, and it’s not without its own set of endearing idiosyncrasies.

Civilization V – A Brave New World

If you have been sitting out onCivilization Vbecause you feel it’s not as awesome asCivilization IV, you really need to get on this side of the fence now.Brave New Worldbrings in all the best parts ofGods & Kingsand it makes the game into something complex yet simple to learn.

The ways you can play are greatly opened up with the new systems, and you can take very different approaches to each victory type. While it still seems less complicated thanCiv IVwith all of the expansions,Civ VwithBrave New Worlddoes have a lot more going on and it’s just easier than ever to get to all of it. That’s always a good thing.

Eve Online – Odyssey

EVEis getting some changes. There’s new ships, re-balanced old ships, ice overhauled ice mining, exploration is nothing like it used to be, you’re able to find relics in space, two characters can train at once, and lots of small changes will make playingEVEmore enjoyable.

Assassin’s Creed III – The Tyranny of King Washington (I-III)

While I don’t want to spoil anything in particular, the final confrontation makes use of your powers in a unique way, to the point where I really feel like Ubisoft could handle a spin-off series with a character primarily centered around magic use. The fight itself is remarkably brief, but it brings forth some interesting concepts that I wish were expanded upon further.