The Frozen Wilds is more of Horizon Zero Dawn, and that is in no way a bad thing. The expansion offers some closure on certain story threads whilst telling a self-contained tale that’s perfect for this ruined world you find yourself in. There’s little in terms of mechanical upgrades to the game, but Horizon never needed that in the first place...If you’re craving 15-20 hours adventuring in a world crafted by artisan game designers, you can’t go wrong with The Frozen Wilds, which is easily one of the best DLC packages on offer this year.

If somebody had asked me a few months ago how to make Horizon Zero Dawn even better, I probably would have said "just give me more". That's exactly what I got with The Frozen Wilds. My biggest criticism of The Frozen Wilds is that the story does not match the main game.

As much as I loved all the activities that Wilds provided on the side, Thunder’s Drum continued to call my name. Centering the world around the mountain provides compelling motivation to keep pushing through the main quest. I was equal parts interested in advancing the central storyline and in exploring all the side content that Wilds had to offer. That’s a rare, and joyful, feat for an open world game to achieve. Wilds pulls it off.

Horizon's DLC Frozen Wilds feels like a very natural extension of Zero Dawn. The new snowy location markedly separates it from the rest of the game, and powerful new gear gives you more than enough drive to discover the region's secrets. It's not a dramatic step forward – but if you loved Zero Dawn, then this is a snow-capped version with more addictive, beautiful and barmy adventures in a world you'll happily be buried in for hours. Roll on the sequel!

This addon can defend its existence with its head raised. The Frozen Wilds add on comes only with little improvements and a weaker story than the original game. But it does not lose the excellent gameplay and in 10-15hrs gametime it offers a selection of the best.

Don’t venture into the Frozen Wilds expecting clues as to the nature of Horizon Zero Dawn 2, then - in truth this is barely HZD v1.2. Instead, revel in a sizeable single-player, story-driven expansion that harks back to a time before season passes, loot boxes and downloadable dress-up kits, and which also provides an excellent excuse to revisit one of the year’s most enjoyable games.

The Frozen Wilds introduces many poorly-designed elements which make it a lesser experience than its brilliant base-game.