Bioware's latest Descent DLC for Dragon Age: Inquisition is an interesting addition, but seems to fall short on various accounts. Released on Aug. 11 for the price of $14.00, the DLC is available on select platforms. These include the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Inevitably, comparisons will be drawn with the excellent Jaws of Hakkon DLC from before. Descent for the most part is not terrible. However, it fails to surpass what was achieved in Hakkon. More of this will be explored in the sections below.
Confusing Plot Elements, Repetitive Combat
The story takes place in the subterranean world of the Deep Roads, where protagonists attempt to discover the source of mysterious earthquakes that threaten the dwarven kingdom of Orzammar. Players will go through dark corridors facing dangerous enemies known as Darkspawn.
Descent hints at a possible connection between Dwarves and gargantuan entities called Titans. Unfortunately, this is not explored in greater depth. The story ends rather abruptly after the final boss battle.
That is a disappointment considering the hours spent slashing away at opponents. The boredom would have been alleviated had the storyline been more fleshed out. Naturally, this can be done without an overly long expositions or narrative.
Unlike Hakkon, which had engaging cinematics, Descent would have benefited with better cutscenes. Rather than adding flavor to the journey, the cutscenes are only there to tell players where the story has moved on.
More Interesting Characters Needed
Notable characters in the DLC include dwarven scholar Valta and Legion of the Dead Commander Renn. They provide some color to the plot, but appear far too short to make a meaningful impact on the overall experience. It would have been better to have Renn stay around longer.
Instead, players are stuck with an entourage of character whose purpose is only to make one feel that he or she is in good company. Apart from that, the allies do not offer any meaningful investment of emotions or camaraderie. In short, they are there just to be there.
Final Thoughts
The amount of content in Descent falls far short than the Jaws of Hakkon, but players still need to pay the same price. This is surprising considering that more could have been done to justify such purchase. In contrast to Hakkon, Descent feels more like a side-quests anthology that players can use to practice combat. With that said, Descent's price may be a bit excessive. Hence, the DLC is something that is best left for only the diehard Dragon Age fans. The average gamer can save his or her money by holding out on this DLC.
