With everyone hanging out at home for the foreseeable future, many have taken the opportunity to sift through their gaming backlog and play all of the games they were previously unable to complete.
In addition to the games themselves, it’s easy to lose track of DLC expansions as they’re released. When it comes to games you enjoy and have already put quite a bit of time into, it’s often worth it to buy the DLC.
It depends on what you want and have time for, however. Many DLC releases give you a small chunk of additional content. With others, you’re basically buying a whole new game, and it’s these lengthy DLC expansions that we want to spotlight here.
If you’re looking for a way to pass the time, we’ve got a list DLC that’ll keep you properly preoccupied for the next few weeks!
The Witcher 3 – Blood and Wine, Hearts of Stone
Did you love the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher that released back in December? You’re not alone. With the show’s release came a surge in people playing and replaying The Witcher 3. It trickled off as new games came out, but right now, jumping back in isn’t a bad idea.
For those who’ve only ever played the base game, or are looking for an experience outside the main story, the DLC for The Witcher 3 is a must. The Witcher 3 has not one, but two beefy DLC options: Blood and Wine, and Hearts of Stone. We feel both are worthwhile ways to spend your time, though it depends on how much time you want to spend.
The “shorter” DLC is Hearts of Stone, which can be completed in anywhere between 10 to 15 hours on average. Meanwhile, Blood and Wine can clock in at 30 to 40 hours in length, if not more with all the side quests. If you have a lot of time on your hands, you can always buy and play both for 40 to 55 hours of extra fun in The Witcher 3!
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Shop NowMonster Hunter World: Iceborne
Are you a Monster Hunter World fan with 35 to 55 hours to spare? If you said yes, the Iceborne expansion is the perfect DLC for you right now! If you’ve never played Monster Hunter: World, we can confirm the game is extensive with completion times reported at anywhere from 50 to 100 hours.
Yes, you can easily sink 100 hours into Monster Hunter: World alone which is why it’s so awesome that a DLC was released that adds so much additional content to a game that’s already packed to the brim with content.
For $29.99, Iceborne gives you a wealth of new Monsters, Story Assignments, locations to explore like Hoarfrost Reach, gear (items, tools, armor, weapons), End Game activity, and more. Between Iceborne and Monster Hunter: World itself, you’ll have plenty of gaming, grinding, and monster-slaying to keep you occupied for the long haul.
Destiny 2 – Forsaken and Shadowkeep
Destiny 2 is an incredibly popular multiplayer game where people can sink hundreds and hundreds of hours in farming for Exotics, playing Crucible matches, doing Raids, etc. If you’ve never played Destiny 2, take our word for it when we say there are a lot of things to do in Destiny 2.
If you’ve already put a considerable amount of time in Destiny 2, you may find yourself interested in a new story experience. Fortunately, two sizable DLC expansions have been released for Destiny 2, with the most recent one being Shadowkeep. Both Forsaken and Shadowkeep can take anywhere between 5 and 10 hours to beat.
As such, buying and playing both will certainly keep you busy outside of the base game for up to 20 hours. With Shadowkeep in particular, you get a cool new location to explore, The Moon, as well as new story missions, new Raid opportunities, new Exotics to farm, and more.
As a side note, added incentive to return to Destiny 2 if you haven’t played for a while are the Seasons. The latest, Season of the Worthy, released back on March 10th and includes new activities and Exotics as well.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – The Fate of Atlantis
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was pretty well-received by gamers, with many sinking anywhere between 40 to 100+ hours into the game. It can be a bit of a grind to make it through to the end, but it’s worth it as the adventure you’re given is a ton of fun.
To continue that adventure, you can purchase DLC for the game like The Legacy of the First Blade, and The Fate of Atlantis. For the longest DLC on offer, you’ll want to drop $24.99 and get yourself The Fate of Atlantis. It’s an absolutely gorgeous addition to an already gorgeous game, and it gives you some of the coolest locales to explore including – you guessed it – Atlantis.
Furthermore, you get new pieces of story content and new gods to battle like Poseidon and Hades. Best of all, The Fate of Atlantis is longer than the first DLC released for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. On average, players have reported beating The Fate of Atlantis in anywhere from 8 to 12 hours.
It may not be as long as some of the other DLC on this list, but it’s long enough to be both fun and worthwhile.
Elder Scrolls Online – The Season of the Dragon
Similar to Monster Hunter: World, working your way through Elder Scrolls Online will take you a considerable amount of time, anywhere from 40 to 120+ hours. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Elder Scrolls Online is worth a try if you love Elder Scrolls in general.
To add to the fun of Elder Scrolls Online, a collection of expansions were made available that add a plethora of new content to the game. Specifically, we recommend a group of expansions under the Season of the Dragon which includes Wrathstone, Elsweyr, Scalebreaker, and Dragonhold.
As of right now, there’s no clear consensus on how long all four of these expansions will take you to complete. If they’re anything like Elder Scrolls Online, we’re guessing quite a while. If these four aren’t enough to satiate you, you’ll be happy to hear that the Elder Scrolls Online has other DLC and add-on content available.
For more on all of these pieces of content, head over to the Elder Scrolls Online updates and DLC page.
Final Fantasy XIV – Shadowbringers
Last, but certainly not least, we have the Shadowbringers expansion for Final Fantasy XIV. Shadowbringers joins the 100+ hour DLC club when it comes to potential content. Unlike some of the DLC on this list like Iceborne though, it’s strongly recommended that you play the core Final Fantasy XIV campaign through to completion in order to understand the story elements in Shadowbringers.
Or, at the very least, enough to get accustomed to the game’s world and characters. For dedicated Final Fantasy XIV players, Shadowbringers is more than its incredible story alone. It also offers several features for Final Fantasy XIV players including new races (Hrothgar, Viera), new towns (Eulmore, Crystarium), a level cap increase, new areas, new dungeons, and new jobs to name just a few.
We mean it when we say that Shadowbringers is worth every penny of its $39.99 purchase price. The sheer amount of content it gives Final Fantasy XIV players is commendable, and its sweeping story is one that will linger with you once you finally get to the end. You know, after you put in 60 to 100 hours.
If none of the DLC listed above appeal to you, we still recommend returning to some of your favorite games and seeing if any new expansions or DLC released while you were playing other games. For example, Control recently released an expansion as did Kingdom Hearts III. No matter what your type of game is, we’re willing to bet it has some additional content on offer to keep you busy and keep you inside!
Read More: Black Mesa: The Half-Life Game You Can Play While Waiting For Alyx
That Half-Life: Alyx gameplay sure looks fun, huh? Too bad it’s only for those of us lucky enough to own certain VR headsets. Worry not though, because whether you’re losing your mind over the wait for Alyx, or are weeping at the price of a Valve Index, there’s a new Half-Life game you can enjoy right now, and it’s called Black Mesa.
Morgan is a writer, metalhead, horror lover, and indie game enthusiast. When it comes to games, they love nothing more than to wax poetic about all the latest and greatest indies to anyone who’ll listen. On a typical day, you’ll find Morgan perched in front of the computer like a gargoyle browsing through Steam’s new releases with a large cup of coffee. You can find them on Twitter@Author_MShaver
