‘Half-Sequels’ Like Uncharted Lost Legacy Are The Future
Standalone Expansions, half-sequels, glorified DLC… whatever you want to call it, I’m a fan of these kinds of not-quite-full game, not-quite-DLC experiences. And with AAA game development now expected to take longer than ever, these half-sequels might be a way to address a potential new release shortage. So far nobody has done them better than PlayStation.
Looking back, it shouldn’t be surprising that these standalone expansions rank as some of my favorite games in the past decade. Uncharted Lost Legacy is one of my two favorite Uncharted games in the series, alongside Uncharted 2, and Miles Morales’ big advantage over Spider-Man was telling a story I had rarely heard before. Consider this: I’ve watched three different Peter Parker movies and watched him star in countless cartoons, but I never read an Ultimate Spider-Man comic in my life. It was new and fresh, but with all of the things from Marvel’s Spider-Man that I already loved.
It’s not just PlayStation either. FromSoftware has never released a DLC I wouldn’t consider among my favorite games of all time, from Dark Souls’ Artorias of the Abyss to the all-time hall-of-famer, Bloodborne: The Old Hunters.
Personally, I also prefer shorter games. This jet-set lifestyle of mine means I’m always traveling to exotic locales (like, uh, Edmonton?) and playing new games. And while I’m no statistician, if a game is shorter there’s a better chance I finish it (I also appreciate that for some, having lots to do in a big, sprawling game is what people want). Also, it’s not really fair to call these games short. How Long to Beat pings both Miles Morales and Lost Legacy at close to 20 hours for a full playthrough.
Admittedly the distinction between a standalone expansion and DLC is
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