Everyone loves new content for their favorite games, but not everyone shares the same opinion on how they get their new content. While there are multiple ways a developer can keep a game fresh, I personally believe the expandalone is the best way to go about adding new content. So, here’s what an expandalone is, and why I love them so much.
What Is an “Expandalone” Game?
An “expandalone” is a nebulous term to describe the continuation of adding content to an existing game. In fact, the term is so nebulous that I had a miniature debate with our Editor-in-Chief Ben Stegner about which games do and don’t count as an “expandalone” while pitching this article.
An expandalone is not quite an expansion, but not quite a standalone game. It comes from the combination of “expansion” and “standalone”, indicating a mix of the two types of game content. An expandalone will keep a lot of elements from the game it’s based on, but also add enough content to make it an entire game by itself. Unlike DLC or expansions, expandalones are independent games, even though they share a lot of elements of the prior game.
Some good examples of an expandalone game are Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Both of these use the same maps as the previous title, but they add enough content to justify releasing as a game by themselves. I’d also argue that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an expandalone, as it takes place on the same map but at a different time and with radically different content.
Why I Prefer Expandalone Games Over DLC
When it comes to building upon a previous title, I prefer that developers use the expandalone format over DLC. Here’s why…
A Good Expandalone Does Not Require Prior Series Knowledge
The hallmark of a good expandalone title is a game where you don’t need knowledge of the previous game to play it. Sure, having the extra context does help with enjoying the game, but it’s not at the same level as a sequel where you can easily get lost due to not knowing what happened in the prior games.
Because of this, people don’t feel they have to play the prior title before they play the expandalone. If someone read about all the good reasons to buy a Nintendo Switch and got one right before Tears of the Kingdom was released, they didn’t have to worry about speedrunning Breath of the Wild beforehand. In fact, they could enjoy Tears of the Kingdom and go back to Breath of the Wild whenever they liked without any loss of context.
Expandalones Can Allow the Designers to Tell a Brand New Story Using the Same Setting
Because an expandalone title has to stand on its own two feet without any prior series knowledge, it means the designers can use the time to tell a brand new story using the same world.
DLC tends to tell stories related to the game they’re based on, and sequels tend to take the adventure to a completely different world. Expandalones are the perfect middle-ground between these two mediums to breathe new life into a familiar world without being tied to the restrictions of the prior game’s plot.
Expandalones Often Allow Greater Developer Creativity and Freedom
Speaking of breathing new life into a game, an expandalone allows developers to add brand new mechanics to the same world. Perhaps these mechanics were thought up after release, or maybe they were left on the cutting room floor during the first game’s development due to time constraints.
Either way, most of the work is already done with an expandalone. The engine is set up, the characters are set up, the AI has been coded, and the map has been done. This gives developers more time to add creative tools, mechanics, and characters to really bring the world to life and make the title stand out from its predecessor.
They Allow Developers to Rework Prior Gameplay Issues
In an ideal world, all bugs, issues, and gameplay quirks that people have with the game can be fixed with a simple patch. However, some are so ingrained within the game’s system that it’s near-impossible to fix them without drastically changing how the game plays and how it’s balanced. DLC can add new gameplay elements and tweaks to improve things, but gamers typically dislike being told to buy season passes or DLC to make a game more tolerable to play.
On the other hand, an expandalone doesn’t have this problem. Because the developers are starting with a fresh slate, they can weave the desired changes into the game’s design from the very start. People returning to the series get to enjoy the new mechanics, and those coming in for the first time have a much more pleasant experience.
I don’t believe all DLC should be converted into expandalone games. DLC still plays an important role in game development, and I don’t want it to vanish completely. However, whenever a developer states they’re releasing an expandalone instead of a DLC, I’ll definitely feel a lot happier about buying the new game.
