4) Dark Souls – Artorias Of The Abyss
Just – by the smallest of margins you could possibly imagine – beating out Dark Souls II‘s Lost Crowns DLC for a coveted spot on the list, Artorias of the Abyss pips its successor’s post-launch content to the post for several reasons, not least because of its near-flawless quality. Don’t take that the wrong way; each of II‘s expansive DLC chapters spectacularly sidestepped a majority of the criticisms aimed at the sequel, their self-contained worlds a marked improvement over the often disjointed nature of Drangleic.
Artorias of the Abyss, on the other hand, had the unenviable task of merging itself into a title that was already considered to be largely perfect, a feat it managed to achieve with flying colors in every department. With an entry point integrated into the base game so seamlessly as to suggest it had always been there, the Chosen Undead’s journey through time not only delivered on the promise of bigger, more intimidating enemies to conquer but also closed the book on several unanswered questions in the dark fantasy world’s trademark ambiguous lore.
In essence, it gave life to the legends only mentioned in passing by Lordran’s still-living present day population, although typically, the legend is often times much grander than the reality. Your role, as a time traveler, isn’t to discern fact from fiction, but to be a living, breathing paradox.
Don’t try to make sense of it, just enjoy the ride.
