Separating the goods from the greats is never easy, and the best DLCs prove why that is. This list began as a humble collection of five must-play video game expansions, but after careful (see: impassioned) deliberation with my colleagues here at GamesRadar+, we’ve expanded our rankings to seven.
If you’re here off the back of the new Witcher 3 DLC announcement, you’re in the right place. There’s something magical about the transformative power of an excellent DLC, whether it sees a glorious journey come to a well-rounded conclusion (as per one of the best Witcher games) or a beloved FPS shown in a whole new light. Many games on this list count among the best RPGs, but rest assured: we’re thinking broadly for this one, meaning no genre has been ruled out.
We’ll be keeping this list updated as more new games deliver post-launch offerings, but for now, join us as we crown the best DLC of all-time.
7. Dragon Age: Inquisition – Trespasser
Base game: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One
Release date: September 8, 2015
Serving as an essential epilogue to Dragon Age: Inquisition, the Trespasser DLC was the final major expansion to come to BioWare’s third fantasy RPG. With so many narrative threads still to wrap up in the main story – which left us with a major revelation regarding companion Solas’ identity and motivations – the Trespasser DLC allowed us to confront the complex elf and perfectly set up what would come in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Set against the backdrop of Thedas’ political tensions, we also get caught up in a curious plot, and eventually determine the fate of the Inquisition in a satisfying conclusion. It’s as necessary as it is enjoyable, with the bonus of being given the chance to spend more time with the loveable companions (and your chosen paramour).
6. Lies of P: Overture
Base game: Lies of P
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Release date: June 6, 2025
Lies of P charmed me as one of the most impressive and best action-RPGs of 2023, and Overture somehow managed to top it. Introducing difficulty levels in what has to be a first for the Soulslike subgenre, Lies of P: Overture sees our steel-armed hero sent back in time to the moment the city of Krat fell apart. The new map areas breathe life and dimension to the otherwise Belle-Epoque gothic vibe of the base game – think snow-capped mountains, mutated zoo animals in a deviation from all those puppets, new status effects, and brand new weapons to craft. It’s a beautiful, engaging DLC that adds plenty of narrative backstory to the events of the base experience, and it really should be top of every Souls fan’s list to try out.
5. Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwell
Base game: Dishonored
Platform(s): PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Release date: April 16, 2013
Casting you as one of Dishonored’s antagonists, assassin leader Daud, Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall manages to both complement the main adventure and stand relatively alone. In fact, with three dense missions that the superpowered stealth assassin can complete in a variety of ways, the greater focus lends this side-tale more replayability – I’ve probably zipped through this one twice as much as the main game. This expansion allowed developer Arkane room to experiment as well, many of Daud’s powers having their own twists on Corvo’s moveset, like how Blink actually pauses time while you aim, allowing for ultra-precise assassin moves (can comes with its own charms, for further refining abilities, too). In fact, I’m redownloading it right now.
4. Mass Effect 3: Citadel
Base game: Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Release date: May 14, 2021
Saying goodbye is never easy, particularly when it comes to an RPG trilogy that made you fall in love with its characters so deeply. So, when Mass Effect 3 first came around, it was hard to let go of Commander Shepard and the Normandy crew. Thankfully, a year later, BioWare dropped the Citadel DLC to round off the adventure. Not only did it serve as a fond love letter to the series and its fans, but it also delivered the perfect, bittersweet way to bid farewell to the RPG’s beating heart: the companions.
Centered around putting on a party on the Citadel during a much-needed spell of shore leave, you get caught up in an incredibly wild conspiracy involving your own clone (because Shepard can never catch a real break). Packed full of self-aware jokes, meaningful moments, and incredibly entertaining scenarios, it has everything you could ever want from an expansion.
3. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Base game: Cyberpunk 2077
Platform(s): PC, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X
Release date: September 26, 2023
How CD Projekt Red managed to turn one of the best first-person RPGs into a spy thriller is a feat in and of itself, but Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is proof of how well it works. As both a polished-up “do-over” of sorts that saw multiple in-game systems and processes reworked as part of the major 2.0 update it released with, Phantom Liberty has become essential material that no playthrough would be complete without.
There’s new weapons, new characters, and a whole new district of Night City to explore – oh, and a couple of new endings, if collecting ’em all is your thing – and it’s more than deserving of being one of the best DLCs ever made for the sheer magic of how it makes Cyberpunk feel the way it was always meant to.
2. Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Base game: Elden Ring
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Release date: June 21, 2024
A long two-year wait separated the base game from Shadow of the Erdtree, but the Elden Ring DLC was more than worth it. It offers a uniquely narrative-driven approach, offering a glimpse into the Land of Shadow and how Queen Marika rose to power – and yes, you need to touch a withered arm to make that temporal jump.
It’s a suitably gruesome, fascinating expansion that peppers the already rich tapestry of Elden Ring with even more lore-bites, a new host of weapons, a reworked magic system, and some of the cleverest open world design among any of the other best DLCs on this list. It’s easy to see why fans call it a vital part of the overall experience, so you don’t want to miss this one.
1. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
Base game: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Release date: May 21, 2016
Geralt’s journey to Toussaint is an unmissable experience that truly completes the base game, and a decade later, I think our Witcher 3: Blood and Wine review was a little harsh on the best DLC of all-time. The lush expansion sees Geralt taking up the moniker of wine baron in a picturesque land – one with a vampire problem on its hands.
It stands out not only for its thrilling storytelling and worldbuilding, as is par for the course for CDPR, but for how beautifully it ties things up for our monster slayer (though you can still engage with the open world and clean up those side quests once the credits roll). Blood and Wine is everything a DLC should be, the definition of a must-play RPG expansion, and I won’t hear a word against it.
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