The Division 2: Battle for Brooklyn Review – No Sleep Till Brooklyn

The last time I reviewed downloadable content for Tom Clancy’s The Division franchise was in 2016 with Underground. It was a rough time for sure – the end-game was underwhelming, the balance was skewed heavily in favor of enemies, the Dark Zone was…well, the Dark Zone, and so on. At $15, Underground wasn’t even a bandaid fix of new content – it just simply added a new activity that wasn’t worth pursuing and then nerfed the G36C, my beloved, for overperforming.

Fast-forward to almost nine years later with The Division 2 and Battle for Brooklyn. It’s the first paid DLC since Warlords of New York launched in 2023 to mixed-skewing-slightly-negative reactions from fans. Numerous betrayals, plot twists, conspiracies, and new modes like Countdown and The Summit later, I’m finally back to where the journey began. The nostalgia doesn’t quite hit without waiting in lines behind other Agents, but assailing the police station, set to that music, brought back some memories.

"There’s barely anything new in terms of objectives or tasks. The four new Control Points are also fine, but I didn’t really see the new promised gimmicks until the third, which had a rocket launcher turret powered by a generator that must be destroyed."

However, the rest of the experience will feel very familiar for long-time fans. It’s acceptable if you know what you’re getting into and there are some cool moments, but those expecting a breakout new experience may want to temper their expectations.

The DLC starts with a distress call from Brooklyn as the player battles the Cleaners in a bid to rescue Dr. Jessica Kandel, who returns from the first game. You eventually learn that the group has some – spoiler – diabolical plans, this time revolving around a new damage type called Purple Flame. In between trying and failing to rescue some other minor characters, you catch up with Theo Parnell, take instructions from the rightfully angry Melanie Hoskins, and even fight the Rykers and Black Tusk, the latter with their own sinister plan.

The dialogue is still somewhat hit or miss, and the facial expression quality in some scenes (especially for Mel and Theo) undercuts them further. Even though it’s really hard to feel any sense of dramatic tension – and not just because you’re an unstoppable one-man army – developer Massive Entertainment tries. I’ll admit, the Refinery mission, which culminates in a surprise ambush on The Bridge, the settlement/home base in the DLC, as you rush back to help, does feel exciting. It doesn’t really lead to any lasting consequences, but it’s a cool sequence of events.

There are only a handful of new story missions this time, and Brooklyn as a whole, despite the new locations, is pretty small. Don’t get me wrong – it’s still enjoyable to roam the streets, looting containers for Electronics, Water, and other assorted doodads to exchange for something or the other. The Division 2 is over six years old, and yet Massive still delivers some of the best-looking post-viral outbreak environments out there. From the extensive amount of graffiti and ruined structures to little details, including deer and dogs roaming the streets, piled-up trash bags, and numerous corpses, the attention to detail is fascinating.

Outside of the environmental story-telling, discovering conversation logs (even if most aren’t quite as memorable as the base game) and engaging with the side activities – be it fighting patrols, stopping propaganda broadcasts or tackling Elite Enemy Territories – remains as enjoyable as ever. “Remains” is the keyword here – there’s barely anything new in terms of objectives or tasks. The four new Control Points are also fine, but I didn’t really see the new promised gimmicks until the third, which had a rocket launcher turret powered by a generator that must be destroyed. Which is a mechanic that appears a couple of times in the story missions as well.

"It’s no secret that The Division 2 has suffered extensive crash issues on PC for years. While it seemed better the last time I played, they returned to an unbearable degree, with crashes occurring anywhere between five to ten minutes after booting the game up to half an hour in."

Again, nothing terrible or outright offensive, but it can feel repetitive. Fighting the Cleaners, even with bells and whistles like seasonal modifiers and hostile modifiers, feels more of the same (though the shooting still feels as good as ever). The Purple Flame was introduced previously but is now more common among enemies. It’s a neat mechanic since it effectively reduces your maximum armor if you don’t use an armor repair kit. It isn’t game-changing, which is seemingly Massive’s intent, for better or worse. Just consider it an additional wrinkle which you may not even care about except on higher difficulties (and even then, only slightly so).

That same familiarity affects the main story missions, though thankfully not all of them. For the lack of originality that finding four release valves within a time limit at the Refinery presents, fighting against a boss and numerous enemies while navigating the thick smoke is very atmospheric. The hunt for the Rat Queen and subsequent battle are also fairly harrowing, while the final mission offers an appropriately epic finale. I’m left somewhat apathetic afterwards at the “revelations”, though they tie into the ongoing tale. However, the overall narrative feels like a stop-gap more than a big step forward.

There’s new loot to chase in Battle for Brooklyn, including the Measured Assembly Gear Set, which I didn’t engage with due to running solo. I can see it working well for teams relying on Smart Cover, which makes a return, but it did little to dissuade me from my Crusader Shield/Attack Drone frontlining strategy. The Imminence Armaments Brand Set, which increases threat and Pistol Damage, could suit that approach, though I didn’t gather enough pieces to really experiment with it.

Perhaps the most annoying aspect of the DLC – and the update as a whole – is the stability. It’s no secret that The Division 2 has suffered extensive crash issues on PC for years. While it seemed better the last time I played, they returned to an unbearable degree, with crashes occurring anywhere between five to ten minutes after booting the game up to half an hour in. I tried almost everything to fix this – verifying game files, deleting the shader cache, enabling Exploit Protection in Windows, turning off latency and enabling Nvidia’s Fast Sync, you name it. And while it improved for a while, it’s since gone back to crashing in minutes. Your mileage will vary on this front but considering the mission length, it’s extremely annoying, even if you can reload at certain checkpoints. That’s not possible in the open world, by the way, so good luck.

"They say you can always go back but never really return home, and while I wouldn’t hold Brooklyn in such high regard, it could have used a bit more to feel like a special homecoming."

While I’m critical of how utterly safe Battle for Brooklyn is, it does offer a good amount of content for its price. There’s also something to say about sticking to what works rather than introducing a new mode that ultimately won’t pan out. Plus, the gameplay, presentation (with some exceptions) and sound design remain solid. If you’re a fan and just want some decent new content to run through, either solo or with friends, alongside the new season, it does the job.

However, given the progress that The Division 2 has made within its seasons and free updates, I was expecting a bit more from Battle for Brooklyn, and not just in terms of more story missions. They say you can always go back but never really return home, and while I wouldn’t hold Brooklyn in such high regard, it could have used a bit more to feel like a special homecoming. As it stands, this is a solid DLC offering, never outstaying its welcome or trying to be something it’s not.

This game was reviewed on PC.