It’s fine. Tallis is kind of fun and it’s clear Bioware wanted this to be “the fun one” where the characters let loose a little bit, but ultimately it’s not a necessary storyline and feels like a bit of a chore (who thought that stealth section was going to be fun?)
It exists. Though I sometimes wish it didn't. Mainly while playing it. Kinda worth it for the scenes with your party members though.
Also just not a fan of Felicia Day in this (she's wonderful in Adventure Time though)
Also just not a fan of Felicia Day in this (she's wonderful in Adventure Time though)
If Legacy was the good, and Exiled Prince was the bad, this is right in the middle.
In an attempt to do more cross-media outings, the people at Bioware got together with Felicia Day to create the Dragon Age Redemption live series, as well as this add-on, both of which released on the same day and all centering on an Elf character she conceived known as Tallis. I never watched Redemption and don't care to, and my experience with things Felicia Day was in is small, so how does this celebrity-driven new character fair under my circumstances? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh she's alright. While I think her quip-style nature (in fact this also goes for certain other comedic elements in this campaign's story) can be rather bad, and there's a weird fixation on getting to be Nice™ to her with some unnecessarily amount of romance options, I can't quite say she's super egregious and intrusive regardless. The crux of her dilemma centering on the Qun's Ben-Hassrath philosophy helps flesh both her and the faction out just a bit, she's an adequate enough Rogue to pull some muscle in combat, and I'll admit there were a handful of times she got me to chuckle. I was weary about this, but I think anyone trying to posit this as a Writer's Pet scenario are rather exaggerating the ordeal.
As for the actual content within, it's.... well it's just standard Bioware fair. Walk around a slice of Orlais thanks to the backdrop of Chateau Haine for a bit, participate in numerous events organized by Duke Prosper de Montford alongside offbeaten sidequesting, do more walking around and infiltrating to hit your main goal, go all in on the dungeon combat once caught, I can't exactly say much since all I experienced here isn't all that different than their prior outings. Well, there is an optional stealth section you can partake in, and it sure is a stealth section added onto a game that isn't known for stealth! Don't take all of this as a bad thing though, since this is once again released well after the base game's launch all the tweaks and considerations applied onto Legacy were still done here as well, so again, no stupidly elongated combat sequences and everything goes down as quickly as they should be. This was marked as a 2-4 hour endeavor on HowLongToBeat, and it's sure as hell felt like I spent 2-4 hours doing all of it. The optional Sky Horror encounter and the final bout against the Duke didn't feel all that gruesome, but they're still very much things that can trip you up if you aren't keeping on your toes and doing some level of thinking, which again, felt nice considering what the base game was like.
Usually when Bioware does their final add-on for a game, there's a sense of finality to it, but this is the rare time where the ending is just... that. It closes off suddenly, and not much else reinforces the type of mini-theme that this was about, or even the main theme. Mike Laidlaw did talk about how the work being done on Frostbite, and ostensibly the work for Inquisition, caused them to pull the plug on a big expansion they were tinkering away on, and rework some of its transitory essence into full-on plot points for that title, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was to be the final farewell to this entry. Whatever the case, I suppose it's fitting that this - and hell, this trio of add-ons as a whole - have perfectly encapsulated the rocky, rocky foundation of Dragon Age 2 succinctly and effectively.
In an attempt to do more cross-media outings, the people at Bioware got together with Felicia Day to create the Dragon Age Redemption live series, as well as this add-on, both of which released on the same day and all centering on an Elf character she conceived known as Tallis. I never watched Redemption and don't care to, and my experience with things Felicia Day was in is small, so how does this celebrity-driven new character fair under my circumstances? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh she's alright. While I think her quip-style nature (in fact this also goes for certain other comedic elements in this campaign's story) can be rather bad, and there's a weird fixation on getting to be Nice™ to her with some unnecessarily amount of romance options, I can't quite say she's super egregious and intrusive regardless. The crux of her dilemma centering on the Qun's Ben-Hassrath philosophy helps flesh both her and the faction out just a bit, she's an adequate enough Rogue to pull some muscle in combat, and I'll admit there were a handful of times she got me to chuckle. I was weary about this, but I think anyone trying to posit this as a Writer's Pet scenario are rather exaggerating the ordeal.
As for the actual content within, it's.... well it's just standard Bioware fair. Walk around a slice of Orlais thanks to the backdrop of Chateau Haine for a bit, participate in numerous events organized by Duke Prosper de Montford alongside offbeaten sidequesting, do more walking around and infiltrating to hit your main goal, go all in on the dungeon combat once caught, I can't exactly say much since all I experienced here isn't all that different than their prior outings. Well, there is an optional stealth section you can partake in, and it sure is a stealth section added onto a game that isn't known for stealth! Don't take all of this as a bad thing though, since this is once again released well after the base game's launch all the tweaks and considerations applied onto Legacy were still done here as well, so again, no stupidly elongated combat sequences and everything goes down as quickly as they should be. This was marked as a 2-4 hour endeavor on HowLongToBeat, and it's sure as hell felt like I spent 2-4 hours doing all of it. The optional Sky Horror encounter and the final bout against the Duke didn't feel all that gruesome, but they're still very much things that can trip you up if you aren't keeping on your toes and doing some level of thinking, which again, felt nice considering what the base game was like.
Usually when Bioware does their final add-on for a game, there's a sense of finality to it, but this is the rare time where the ending is just... that. It closes off suddenly, and not much else reinforces the type of mini-theme that this was about, or even the main theme. Mike Laidlaw did talk about how the work being done on Frostbite, and ostensibly the work for Inquisition, caused them to pull the plug on a big expansion they were tinkering away on, and rework some of its transitory essence into full-on plot points for that title, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was to be the final farewell to this entry. Whatever the case, I suppose it's fitting that this - and hell, this trio of add-ons as a whole - have perfectly encapsulated the rocky, rocky foundation of Dragon Age 2 succinctly and effectively.
Deciding a party loadout based on the banter is a habit Bioware implanted in me goblin brain, and this DLC did not help
This review contains spoilers
more like Felicia Gay lmao
Her character's design is notably bad, and so is the stealth. You still get to hang out with the Dragon Age 2 cast, so there's only so bad it can be.
Her character's design is notably bad, and so is the stealth. You still get to hang out with the Dragon Age 2 cast, so there's only so bad it can be.
This review contains spoilers
bring fenris so he says the word poopoo also a very cool final boss fight.
don't care about tallis at all.
don't care about tallis at all.
IF I DIE, MAKE SURE THE WORLD KNOWS I DIED AT CHATEAU HAINE
For me, this is the lesser of the two story expansions for Dragon Age II (I’m not counting The Exiled Prince DLC). A big part of how much one enjoys this is going to come down to how they feel about Felicia Day’s performance as Tallis. Tallis is a bit too cloying and aloof for my liking - she’s full of smarmy wisecracks and showy acrobatics, but lacks the elements that would make her feel like a multidimensional character rather than a collection of haughty poses. The game also rather transparently expects your character to pursue a fling with her, so if you don’t, there are a few moments of jokey flirtation that end up feeling weirdly dissonant.
I will give the developers credit for using the DLC as an opportunity to experiment with unconventional gameplay mechanics. I never thought I’d see stealth sequences in a Dragon Age game. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t really work, but I appreciate the effort to think outside the box. More successful is the party sequence, which feels a bit like a miniaturized dry run for the verbal tête-à-têtes of the ‘Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts’ mission from Dragon Age: Inquisition (easily the best part of that game).
Everything else here - from the dungeon crawling to the bosses - is simply more Dragon Age II, with all the positives and negatives that go along with it. If that’s what you’re looking for, then this expansion delivers the goods.
I will give the developers credit for using the DLC as an opportunity to experiment with unconventional gameplay mechanics. I never thought I’d see stealth sequences in a Dragon Age game. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t really work, but I appreciate the effort to think outside the box. More successful is the party sequence, which feels a bit like a miniaturized dry run for the verbal tête-à-têtes of the ‘Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts’ mission from Dragon Age: Inquisition (easily the best part of that game).
Everything else here - from the dungeon crawling to the bosses - is simply more Dragon Age II, with all the positives and negatives that go along with it. If that’s what you’re looking for, then this expansion delivers the goods.
This is the one DLC that I have bothered to review because it is the biggest piece of dogshit I have ever played.
Laden with marvel humor, shitty stealth, a boring ass story, lore contradictions, an e-celeb self insert, and even some transphobia. If you are playing Dragon Age II, avoid this part of it at all possible costs.
Laden with marvel humor, shitty stealth, a boring ass story, lore contradictions, an e-celeb self insert, and even some transphobia. If you are playing Dragon Age II, avoid this part of it at all possible costs.
I liked this DLC for the fanservice but that's about it
This is the one that ends with a guy riding a dinosaur which he orders to kill things by pointing at them like in the Jurassic World Trilogy? Good stuff. I think there's a fancy party too, and you have to hunt for some animals in the forest. I actually remember something about Dragon Age 2? Shocking. This might be at least decent then.
Honestly? I had more fun playing this short DLC than playing the entire base game.
Decent self-contained adventure that has you explore new locations and do some activities not present in the main game.
+ interesting storyline involving the primary faction of the second act
+ more colorful (if just as linear) environments
+ enjoyable boss fight at the end
+ not perfect but bearable try at a stealth section that can be skipped
- awkwardly comedic dialogue whenever romance is involved
- questionable new main character who sports a suicidal combat AI and is nowhere near as cool as the developers might have wanted her to be
+ interesting storyline involving the primary faction of the second act
+ more colorful (if just as linear) environments
+ enjoyable boss fight at the end
+ not perfect but bearable try at a stealth section that can be skipped
- awkwardly comedic dialogue whenever romance is involved
- questionable new main character who sports a suicidal combat AI and is nowhere near as cool as the developers might have wanted her to be
love trying to fit in with the rich folk and failing miserably
First time you get to see Orlais.
Decent dlc.
Decent dlc.
I really didn't like Tallis and how much the game hypes her up, but apart from that it's a really fun ride.