DLC for Dragon Age: Origins
"Assume the role of Leliana, a young bard involved in a criminal ring that deals in political secrets. Accompanying her mentor Marjolaine on a high-risk mission, Leliana soon finds herself entangled in a game of intrigue that she cannot escape with just her beauty, charm, or stealth. The only way out of this game is to kill or be killed. Features: - Explore Leliana's dangerous past and why she joined the Chantry - A fully voiced cinematic experience brings the characters to life - Unlock a unique reward that transfers into your Awakening and Origins campaign - All-new musical compositions instensify the action and intrigue"
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The little things introducing the characters remind me of those videos making fun of Bollywood editing. Or like, the opening to Snatch? It was just weird.
The music was fun and bouncy, but the DLC was just okay. I liked it more than Darkspawn Chronicles. I think Leliana's voice actress has a pretty voice, so it was nice to hear her again.
The music was fun and bouncy, but the DLC was just okay. I liked it more than Darkspawn Chronicles. I think Leliana's voice actress has a pretty voice, so it was nice to hear her again.
Fine
This review contains spoilers
Leliana's Song is meant as a retelling of Leliana's backstory, specifically the parts surrounding her betrayal by her mentor, Marjolaine. It comes off to a great start, with Leliana and her crew in Denerim at Marjolaine's service, ready to play the Orlesian game of intrigue between nobles. There's chemistry between Leliana and Marjolaine, as well as between her and her two sidekicks, and there's a bit of an open-endedness to how you can go about the objectives you're given for the night. This freedom, however, doesn't last long.
The DLC soon devolves into a lame, linear dungeon crawling romp: most of the main quest is spent going back and forth through the Arl of Denerim's estate from the main game, with fights that are either too easy or, in a couple of cases, flat out impossible without precise cheesing. There's pretty much no character progression, either: throughout the entire DLC, Leliana is a dual-wielding rogue that plays exactly like one of those would in the midgame campaign, and the starting equipment is good enough that there's little reason to be excited about whatever drops.
This would have all been fine if at least the story had been able to carry the DLC, but... okay, look, I understand the realities of game development, and how you can't exactly go creating the entirety of Val Royeaux for a piece of $7 DLC just because Leliana's story happened there: one must to find a way to use existing assets to save on cost. I also get that a bard telling a story will embellish or outright lie to make the tale more impressive -- I once listened to this dude named Varric tell this long-ass tale about a refugee and he had to repeatedly be stopped and asked to retell parts of it, but without the bullshit.
Neither of those things justifies how backwards Leliana's Song is, both as a DLC and as a retelling of Leliana's story. It doesn't reuse assets, but entire maps, and it doesn't do so cleverly: instead of making smart use of timeskips, being less specific about locations and conveniently only showing indoor or natural parts of Orlais -- which would have been indistinguishable from Ferelden maps -- it goes with a contiguous chunk of Leliana's life that is retconned to take place entirely in Ferelden, in a dizzying series of events jarringly unlike any story Leliana has ever told.
In Leliana's Song, every step of Leliana's betrayal takes place in Ferelden; she was never discovered by Orlais officials, but by some psycho in Ferelden who happened to be dating Marjolaine, and after her prison break, she sets out to have revenge on the both of them. This story is in conflict with Leliana's character from the campaign: the facts are all backwards; her worst qualities are highlighted as she is painted as ruthless and cruel, but at the same time, weak; her piety seen in the early moments of Dragon Age is absent, replaced with skepticism and lust for revenge; her resolution with Marjolaine is forced and much less impactful than the actual events in DA:O.
The excuse commonly made for it being so off is that this story is being changed on the whims of the storyteller, which sounds reasonable at first, except that that explanation contradicts Leliana's character in another way: she's the storyteller. Why does she paint herself in a much worse light in this version than she does in the one she tells the Warden? To whom is she telling a story where it makes sense to lie about the central points of the story, but say, not cover for the cleric that helps her? Why is she making her own backstory into this weird mix of romance, revenge and tragedy that is bad at all three?
Finally, I'll admit this is sort of a nitpick, but the stupid title cards. Talk about a tone-deaf way of introducing characters. They fit the opening fine by flashily introducing this band of thieves, but later usages of the device destroy the mood of the scenes they're trying to fit into. Again, nitpick, but god, does it feel like some intern directed this.
Leliana’s Song is easily the worst piece of Dragon Age: Origins DLC, a bar by no means easy to clear. It's a disappointing venture into its titular character's past, with the only conclusion that can be drawn from it being that Leliana is a terrible person and terrible storyteller. We don't take Leli slander in this house, so I think I'll just tell myself this DLC didn't exist.
The DLC soon devolves into a lame, linear dungeon crawling romp: most of the main quest is spent going back and forth through the Arl of Denerim's estate from the main game, with fights that are either too easy or, in a couple of cases, flat out impossible without precise cheesing. There's pretty much no character progression, either: throughout the entire DLC, Leliana is a dual-wielding rogue that plays exactly like one of those would in the midgame campaign, and the starting equipment is good enough that there's little reason to be excited about whatever drops.
This would have all been fine if at least the story had been able to carry the DLC, but... okay, look, I understand the realities of game development, and how you can't exactly go creating the entirety of Val Royeaux for a piece of $7 DLC just because Leliana's story happened there: one must to find a way to use existing assets to save on cost. I also get that a bard telling a story will embellish or outright lie to make the tale more impressive -- I once listened to this dude named Varric tell this long-ass tale about a refugee and he had to repeatedly be stopped and asked to retell parts of it, but without the bullshit.
Neither of those things justifies how backwards Leliana's Song is, both as a DLC and as a retelling of Leliana's story. It doesn't reuse assets, but entire maps, and it doesn't do so cleverly: instead of making smart use of timeskips, being less specific about locations and conveniently only showing indoor or natural parts of Orlais -- which would have been indistinguishable from Ferelden maps -- it goes with a contiguous chunk of Leliana's life that is retconned to take place entirely in Ferelden, in a dizzying series of events jarringly unlike any story Leliana has ever told.
In Leliana's Song, every step of Leliana's betrayal takes place in Ferelden; she was never discovered by Orlais officials, but by some psycho in Ferelden who happened to be dating Marjolaine, and after her prison break, she sets out to have revenge on the both of them. This story is in conflict with Leliana's character from the campaign: the facts are all backwards; her worst qualities are highlighted as she is painted as ruthless and cruel, but at the same time, weak; her piety seen in the early moments of Dragon Age is absent, replaced with skepticism and lust for revenge; her resolution with Marjolaine is forced and much less impactful than the actual events in DA:O.
The excuse commonly made for it being so off is that this story is being changed on the whims of the storyteller, which sounds reasonable at first, except that that explanation contradicts Leliana's character in another way: she's the storyteller. Why does she paint herself in a much worse light in this version than she does in the one she tells the Warden? To whom is she telling a story where it makes sense to lie about the central points of the story, but say, not cover for the cleric that helps her? Why is she making her own backstory into this weird mix of romance, revenge and tragedy that is bad at all three?
Finally, I'll admit this is sort of a nitpick, but the stupid title cards. Talk about a tone-deaf way of introducing characters. They fit the opening fine by flashily introducing this band of thieves, but later usages of the device destroy the mood of the scenes they're trying to fit into. Again, nitpick, but god, does it feel like some intern directed this.
Leliana’s Song is easily the worst piece of Dragon Age: Origins DLC, a bar by no means easy to clear. It's a disappointing venture into its titular character's past, with the only conclusion that can be drawn from it being that Leliana is a terrible person and terrible storyteller. We don't take Leli slander in this house, so I think I'll just tell myself this DLC didn't exist.
Though my affection for them has waned over the years, I’m still a pretty big fan of Leliana. Sheryl Chee did a great job outlining a character who, clearly being the youngest of the crew, went through a troubling development via toxic relationship with Orlesian bard mastermind Marjolaine coinciding with her increased skill and knowledge of the trade, culminating in a broken bond and fractured belief before finding a new, spirited sect to take refuge under once her tragedy had ran its course, and Corinne Kempa does an equally commendable job at giving her the softspoken yet cunning mannerism that fits the character like a glove. Really, I’m just bummed she’s segued into the Archer line for the main game, cause (cross)bow builds are severely outclassed in every regard when it comes to the Rogue and Warrior options, but it’s not like she didn’t pick up the slack I guess.
I assume her popularity amongst the crowd was large enough to earn her own add-on, cause what you do here is essentially play out that story. It’s not quite 1:1 in detail, since you’re in Denerim and not Orlais like where the betrayal happens for instance, but it doesn’t really matter much. Another thing to note is that Lukas Kristjanson was the main writer for this, which I could somewhat pick up since its vibe and appeal is much more in-line with the Orzammar arc which is where he was one of the penners; saboteurs, parasocial intrigue, various ways to handle a situation (a particularly hilarious one being implicating a knocked out guard for all the crimes you did), things of that nature. This is fun, and thankfully it doesn’t feel like a haphazard plot like Warden’s Keep or overly exhausting as Darkspawn Chronicles, but like… it still shares the same problem of being too short to really mean much. Plus, I don’t know, I think I’d rather have one centered on Zevran’s dilemma. I was very satisfied with what Leliana told that I wasn’t burning for more, meanwhile Zevran’s monologuing on his turning point is vague enough to really make something out of it.
Still though, it’s good enough. This time it actually does feel like a 1-2 hour side adventure for starters, not to mention it really lets you get a feel for how hilariously busted the dual-wielding rogue/dodge-tanking warrior/mage composition is in DAO alongside again, all the quirky funny bits you can partake in. This is already a game with hit-and-miss DLC content, so this standing out as something I can replay after each new session without it being out of obligation means something. Plus, going through this and doing a specific quest unlocks Battledress of the Provocateur, which of all the busted-ass armaments the DLCs inserted onto the base game (and Awakening) through one reason or another, this stands out for being, hands down, the single best armor you could give to a Rogue. I had to willingly stop myself short of equipping it onto my MC on top of every other item I wanted to get some semblance of balancing in a game already uneven in that regard.
I assume her popularity amongst the crowd was large enough to earn her own add-on, cause what you do here is essentially play out that story. It’s not quite 1:1 in detail, since you’re in Denerim and not Orlais like where the betrayal happens for instance, but it doesn’t really matter much. Another thing to note is that Lukas Kristjanson was the main writer for this, which I could somewhat pick up since its vibe and appeal is much more in-line with the Orzammar arc which is where he was one of the penners; saboteurs, parasocial intrigue, various ways to handle a situation (a particularly hilarious one being implicating a knocked out guard for all the crimes you did), things of that nature. This is fun, and thankfully it doesn’t feel like a haphazard plot like Warden’s Keep or overly exhausting as Darkspawn Chronicles, but like… it still shares the same problem of being too short to really mean much. Plus, I don’t know, I think I’d rather have one centered on Zevran’s dilemma. I was very satisfied with what Leliana told that I wasn’t burning for more, meanwhile Zevran’s monologuing on his turning point is vague enough to really make something out of it.
Still though, it’s good enough. This time it actually does feel like a 1-2 hour side adventure for starters, not to mention it really lets you get a feel for how hilariously busted the dual-wielding rogue/dodge-tanking warrior/mage composition is in DAO alongside again, all the quirky funny bits you can partake in. This is already a game with hit-and-miss DLC content, so this standing out as something I can replay after each new session without it being out of obligation means something. Plus, going through this and doing a specific quest unlocks Battledress of the Provocateur, which of all the busted-ass armaments the DLCs inserted onto the base game (and Awakening) through one reason or another, this stands out for being, hands down, the single best armor you could give to a Rogue. I had to willingly stop myself short of equipping it onto my MC on top of every other item I wanted to get some semblance of balancing in a game already uneven in that regard.
never met a realer one than Tug
This review contains spoilers
shulk pushing someone off a cliff is the best thing to come out of this asides from tug.