In some ways, this is a dramatic improvement over the main game. Indeed, the Frostback Basin is a decent mock-up for what the zones in the base game should have looked like. There's a coherent narrative and some consistent theming that's completely missing in, say, the Emerald Graves, or the Hissing Wastes, or any of the other utterly fungible areas from the main game.
That being said, roughly one third of the content here is still meaningless fluff - the lack of editorial wisdom remains dire. "I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil" - that's Capote, and he's right on. I just wish someone at BioWare had listened while they were making this game (though, the same could be said of the equally turgid Mass Effect: Andromeda, so one wouldn't be wrong to assume that the misguided devotion to bloat is now a studio hallmark).
That being said, roughly one third of the content here is still meaningless fluff - the lack of editorial wisdom remains dire. "I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil" - that's Capote, and he's right on. I just wish someone at BioWare had listened while they were making this game (though, the same could be said of the equally turgid Mass Effect: Andromeda, so one wouldn't be wrong to assume that the misguided devotion to bloat is now a studio hallmark).
sure do be inquisitioning
Fun dlc.
new zone, new items, new enemies, new story.
Same negatives as base game
new zone, new items, new enemies, new story.
Same negatives as base game
I get why someone would love this but I think it just adds more of the open world grinding that I did not like about the original game. Interesting story I guess.
This was alright. Frostback Basin is a great area, and some of the lore introduced here was nice. Disappointing final boss, though.
This adds the most interesting area to explore of the whole game. You walk over giant tree branches, and meet a cool tribe, and fight a cool dragon, good stuff.
Most likely the best map in the game featuring visually stunning diversity and a clear storyline but little additional depth mechanically.
+ beautiful environments that aren't individually extraordinary but definitely make for a well-crafted exploration adventure
+ decent self-contained narrative that may fit anywhere in the main campaign
- same-old collectibles and hardly memorable side quests strewn about
+ beautiful environments that aren't individually extraordinary but definitely make for a well-crafted exploration adventure
+ decent self-contained narrative that may fit anywhere in the main campaign
- same-old collectibles and hardly memorable side quests strewn about
Finished the main game + Descent + Trespasser in early 2020, but recently I've been coming back to the game to finish open world stuff I had left, so I decided to also start the DLC and it was a great choice! Hakkon brings a totally new region, with its own lore, main story and conflict. In a lot of ways, it's like any other region of the main game but better. It uses many of the open world systems and type of quests you can find in other zones but they feel more natural and necessary, and the narrative keeps things varied and interesting.
Yeah, it's another part of the map...