As I’m making my way through Dark Souls 2 and getting into the DLC I’ve realised that the best way to have actually experienced this extra content was as it was coming out. That’s because it told a story that evolved over time as each of the DLC areas came out and ultimately ended in a spectacular conclusion that wrapped up everything. And yet as I am playing through the ‘complete’ edition I find myself missing that spark of magic that came from the release of the DLC over time.
To me the best way I can describe this phenomenon is like releasing all seasons of a TV show at once with no breaks inbetween. The time between seasons allowed for hype, speculation and ultimately allowed the final product to gain more and more fans waiting in anticipation for the next season. DLC doesn’t usually do this for games aside from say expansions in MMOs, but the only other proper game I can think of that did something similar to this is Fallout: New Vegas.
In New Vegas each of the extra DLC areas followed a story that evolved over time until eventually the final DLC, Lonesome Road, paid off all that background worldbuilding and hints to a mysterious character that had been mentioned in all the previous DLC content. It felt as though it really built up to something and now that anyone playing New Vegas will just get all the extra content immediately without any build-up or wild speculation it feels like it loses a bit of that magic. It’s a strange feeling and can only really be experienced once in the past, so I guess we can just consider it our special moment, those that waited… and waited…
What other examples of this can you describe, and is it even something that anyone else feels strongly about? Let me know in the comments! That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.