Feel free to either watch the review below or read it, the old fashioned way. I like to cater to all tastes.
The Trespasser DLC is more or less an epilogue for the game. This is the last piece of DLC for Dragon Age Inquisition and so it both acts to wrap up the old plot and lay some foundations for the next game, Dragon Age 4. So does that make it miss-able then? Well, possibly. The repercussions of the events in the DLC will likely be felt in the next game, so you wouldn’t be left oblivious of the events, but without a doubt the DLC is well worth playing. It expands a lot on the final event in the main game. Anyone who’s played the game will know what that is. You know, the one that got away? Here’s a small hint if you still can’t remember.
Anyway, once you’ve purchased the DLC you can start the quest chain from the campaign board. However, once you do so, you can’t return to the main game. So don’t overwrite your save if you might want to continue the main game or other DLC quests later. That would lead to tears and tears lead to broken keyboards. Just something to keep in mind, really. My keyboard nearly broke at the end of the main game, but that’s another story…
So, the final DLC takes place two years after the main story. Many of your team have moved on with their lives, but most come back for this final adventure. You’ll be short one mage, but you’ve still got two to choose from. You also might want to choose your party carefully, as another of your team might deflect if he’s in your party at a certain point in the quest line. Just another warning for you. So, the Inquisition has become a little too powerful and a council has been called at the winter palace to decide its fate. With whispers of disbanding it rife, the Inquisitor is naturally there to defend it. There’s some fairly amusing cut scenes available, if you choose to catch up with your old friends. And if you feel that all Dragon Age Inquisition was missing was a Mabari then Cullen has it covered. Unfortunately, his new pet is not a playable character, but at least Morrigan and her socks are at a safe distance.
Then the politics gets underway with the commencement of the exalted council. The Inquisitor is forced to defend actions taken during the battle with Corypheus as both Orlais and Feralden turn against the inquisition, in an attempt to grasp the power its gained and claim it for themselves. But this soon grinds to a halt when a particularly grisly discovery is made, a dead Qunari soldier found within the Winter Palace.
The discovery raises both questions and concerns which our Inquisitor is eager to investigate and so with her old comrades at her side she ventures off, following in the dead Qunari’s footsteps in order to discover the individual’s origin and fate. The trail leads to an active eluvian and a complex of ancient Elven ruins. I really loved exploring the ruins. They were both beautiful and surreal with, floating islands and half destroyed buildings and even a massive floating upside down structure.
The environments have been created with true attention to detail and create a real sense of atmosphere and history. You can really feel the sense of destruction and loss in the ruins, with the souls of the departed clinging to existence just like the disintegrating buildings they’d once inhabited. The destruction of the Elven Kingdom has been mentioned a lot. Particularly by Solas during the main game and finally we’re given the chance to discover the truth of what happened. The truth behind the downfall of the Elven Gods and the existence of the veil and I really enjoyed the journey of discovery.
The part I didn’t like so much was yet another stint in the deeproads. It was a thankfully short stint but after the grandeur of the Elven ruins, the contrast just leaves the deeproads section feeling and looking more bland than ever, but the storyline was strong enough to draw me through and prevent me feeling too bored by yet another maze of underground rooms and corridors, and on reaching the destroyed library all was instantly forgiven.
The DLC has a great narrative, particularly if the ending of the main game left you wondering. It ties up all the loose ends and adds a rich and vivid back story to the lost Elven culture. The DLC adds only about seven hours of gameplay which considering the length of the game isn’t massive but you can see the effort and time which has been lavished on it. In my opinion the environments in this DLC are some of, if not the most beautiful in the game; from the extravagance of the winter palace to lonely and mystical desolation of the ruins. It was the visuals as much as the story which gripped me in this DLC.
There are no real changes in terms of gameplay. The Inquisitor gets a new mark ability, which considering the vast crowds of enemies being thrown at you, quickly becomes an important means of survival. There’s no new playable characters, just the old crowd but that didn’t put me off, at all. Overall, this is a solid end to the Inquisition story and a forms firm platform from which to launch the next game in the series. For anyone who enjoyed the main game this is well worth a play through.
Good
Wonderful graphics
A strong narrative
Detailed and lovingly crafted environments
Decisions made in the main game are carried forward
Ends the game with a fanfare
Bad
If you’re expecting new characters or abilities, you’ll be disappointed
There’s a lack of rewarding loot
More deeproads – Just flood them all with concrete and end the blight forever, please. Oh and throw Vivienne in while you’re at it.
