Destiny: The Taken King
Let’s first address the elephant in the room. Destiny is a game that has been under a microscope since it was announced back in 2013. Bungie had created Halo, what is arguably one of the biggest FPS games out there right now (now helmed by 343 Industries), so the pressure was on. The game was well received but was notably lacking in certain areas, primarily narrative.
Two expansions were released as part of an ‘Expansion Pass’ (although each could be purchased separately at a slight premium), and while they introduced cool weapons and new areas, they still felt like more of what players already had. It was the same Hive and the same Fallen everyone had already gotten used to, and the fact that Destiny Year Two would make some of the content pretty much useless didn’t help matters. Destiny needed something grand to help carry it into its second year.
That’s where The Taken King came in. Here was an expansion that completely transformed the Destiny experience. A coherent narrative was weaved into the already existing game and expansions, and a Quest structure was introduced in order to provide easy to follow story threads. Characters were fleshed out a bit more, leveling and rewards were redone, and new subclasses were thrown in to keep things interesting. This DLC was essentially an entirely new game.
Other additions came in the form of things that should have been available since day one. Everything your Guardian wears now has stats, you can repurchase weaker versions of Exotics as long as you’ve found them before, and the infusion of weapons and gear allows you to keep some of your favorite weapons around longer. Oh, and more dancing, you can never have too much dancing.
The Taken King was proof that Bungie was listening to fan feedback. Let’s just hope they’re still listening as we move into 2016.
Hearts of Stone
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a game that is easily a game of the year contender. An amazing story, beautiful visuals, great characters, an open adventure, and engaging combat aren’t easy to pull off. Yet CD Projekt Red managed to do so with what looked like relative ease.
The developers announced their plans for expansions well before the game was released, and after playing the base game, many wondered how they could possibly build on it in a worthwhile fashion. Hearts of Stone came along to show everyone exactly how. This expansion fit right into CDPR’s way of doing things, and that means providing loads of content to players while also making it feel brand new.
Instead of just continuing where Wild Hunt left off, Hearts of Stone tells a separate side story that takes place in the same world. There are some new areas to explore, but the game never removes you from the main experience so you can enjoy everything in tandem if you so choose. The story presents a new theme and lesson to players as they endeavor to complete a few tasks for a devilish stranger. New and returning characters join you for the tale as you make your way through some interesting scenarios, tougher enemies, nightmarish encounters, and more difficult decisions are available for those willing to dive back into the harsh world of the Northern Realms.
Hearts of Stone brought more of what players already fell in love with, but it came in a more refined package. One that left out the padding and steered clear of monotony as it threw you into yet another intense chain of events.
Hearts of Stone also left everyone wondering what CDPR could possibly have in store for the next Witcher 3 expansion, Blood and Wine. The studio has gone above and beyond yet again, and that leaves no doubt that their first major Witcher 3 expansion is one of the year’s best.
The Old Hunters
Bloodborne is one brutal game, there is no denying that. It takes the violent, methodical nature of the Souls series and ramps up the speed without adding any mercy. It will take you in, chew you up, then spit you out as it waits for you to try your hand against its dark threats yet again.
The huge, gothic city of Yharnam, the dense forests that house unspeakable monstrosities, and the Great Ones that hide just on the edge of sanity aren’t just what make the game. There’s also the hunters, the ones that were once like you, eager to help those in need as they rid the world of whatever was causing all of these events. It’s those very hunters that you will have to deal with once again, only now there are more, and they are better.
The Old Hunters expansion to Bloodborne takes players to a new world, the Hunter’s Nightmare. This is a familiar place, albeit a twisted imagining of the same Yharnam you’ve come to know and loathe. Beasts and Hunters roam the land, and new monstrosities wait for you to enter their dark hallways, rooms, and corner.
The familiar sense of urgency as you engage in each fight returns, as does the crushing feeling of going up against a foe knowing full well that you are not ready. Bloodborne’s DLC managed to take the already sinister difficult gameplay of the base game and make it even worse (in a good way). The Old Hunters is more challenging than anything you’ve faced before it, and that’s how it shines
New ways to be torn to sheds, and new weapons to do some shedding of your own. The Old Hunters, unlike other entries on this list, may just give you more of what you already know without messing with the formula too much, but it does it so well that you just don’t mind. It reminds you what made the game that came out earlier in the year so great and gives more than enough reason to jump back in as we move towards the new year.
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void
While much of the eSports world has left the RTS genre behind in favor of MOBAs (and even Blizzard to an extent), Blizzard set out to finish what they started, and crafted one of the best RTS games, certainly in this generation, but possibly even of all time.
Being the final part of StarCraft 2’s trilogy, Legacy of the Void focuses on the Protoss race and provides the epic conclusion to the story arc that has existed since the original Star Craft games were released, but amplified in the previous entry, Heart of the Swarm. The storytelling by RTS standards is fantastic, and despite being a multiplayer centric game, its campaign and rich lore is definitely worth playing through to completion.
While the story itself is great, the mission structure is an equal partner in what makes Legacy of the Void’s campaign worth playing through. Missions go beyond just the traditional build a base and destroy the other base. There are MOBA elements such as hero units, decisions to make, and missions objectives that force you to adapt your play style and leave your comfort zone/units. Its campaign is varied and pushes the envelope on what people have come to expect from RTS games for both storytelling and gameplay.
Legacy of the Void also transformed how multiplayer games are played as well, making it more accessible than ever. Star Craft II has been notoriously difficult for new players to break into, but changes in Legacy of the Void have made it easier for new players to learn the mechanics and compete, while not stripping down the complexity too much for professionals. Players, regardless of skill level can focus on combat and having fun without having to constantly worry (as much) about less exciting aspects such as macro base management and resource gathering. Plus there is plenty of new content such as units, changes to gameplay, and strategies, that will keep those already familiar entrenched for hours.
All Splatoon DLC
Splatoon is one of those games that crept out of nowhere and quickly made waves as it became one of the best shooters out there and made its way onto our top 5 list. The kid now/squid now mechanic was amazing, and the sheer amount of color as teams painted every inch of every level to dominate the game is on a whole other level of fun. Nintendo had done it again, made a great game in a genre that has been dominated by the same games year after year.
Of course just making the game wasn’t enough, that alone was a great feat but going above and beyond is the essence of amazing developers. Splatoon received tons, and is still receiving, tons of neat DLC to keep the the action interesting and all of those rabid little squids dressed in the hottest gear.
Weapons such as the N-Zap ‘89, Neo-Splash-o-Matic, and Heavy Splatling Deco are amazing (and stylish) ways to deliver the color to your foes. Weapons aren’t enough? How about some stages like Hammerhead Bridge, Bluefin Depot and Kelp Dome (among many others) to keep things interesting? And while not necessarily DLC, the August update added new gear for players to customize their very own squid warriors.
It isn’t just the fact that this was all free that earns it a place on this list. The added content was truly fun to use and the variety offered by the new stages added new challenges as well as new ways to show off. Splatoon was a game on a mission, one that it successfully completed.
It’s not easy to make DLC that leave players willing to part with their hard-earned cash. The fact that five developers managed to do such a great job in the past year is definitely notable. Are there any DLCs or expansions you felt were left off of the list? Feel free to share your thoughts and favorites in the comments below.
