Darkspawn Chronicles boldly asks the question of what if the Hero of Ferelden had died during the Joining? What if Alistair had journeyed throughout Ferelden gathering allies by himself? What if you, the player, were in control not a Grey Warden, but a darkspawn commander, taking the field in the name of the Archdemon in the final fight for control of Denerim? And what if Dragon Age: Origins was actually a terrible videogame?
You take on the role of a Hurlock Vanguard, who leads the darkspawn armies into Denerim in what would be the final section of the main game's campaign. The Vanguard can enthrall others of its race to assemble a party of four, however, resurrecting allies is not possible, with the death of any thralls resulting in their permanent removal from the party and need for a subsequent replacement. Combined with a reputation system that strengthens creatures that are enthralled for longer, it's imperative that the most valuable unit types are kept alive. Boy, oh boy, does Darkspawn Chronicles make this a pain.
The usual DA:O DLC issues with reused locations and abridged quests is here, and the romp through the streets of Denerim is confusing and filled with the most random of occurrences. This time, however, there's an evident lack of planning and playtesting throughout the campaign, which along with an unhealthy dose of glitches, makes the DLC fall apart minutes after it boots up. Battles are complete chaos; quests occur haphazardly and, on the few occasions where there is a clear intended design for a scenario, it's possible and likely that the player will ignore it entirely due to their contrived design not accounting for many possibilities.
Many prominent characters from the campaign are in Denerim in the form of highly overpowered elite enemies, and they'll jump the Vanguard and its platoon at the most random of times. Far worse than the Oghren and Sten jumpscares, however, is how buggy fights usually are: multiple groups of enemies respawn infinitely, and others can even spawn from thin air, right on top of the party. In the last few sections, some groups do both. Needless to say, Nightmare runs are close to impossible without abusing just about every trick in the book, and even then, it takes some heavy turtling to get to the end of the DLC.
And then it's the final battle, and what a final battle it is. It's impossible to beat without the correct party composition since it requires more than just a beefy party. The fight is on a timer in the form of the Archdemon's health, which is being chipped away at by some very tanky units. Preserving the dragon's life requires a perfect party composition combined with a solid understanding of the game's mechanics. Even lower difficulty players often drop Darkspawn Chronicles at this point due to its perceived impossibility.
Should the player succeed, however, the intense fight gives way to a gut-wrenching ending that wraps up the DLC. It's the one shining moment in all of the DLC, but even then, the amount of hoops that must be jumped through to get to it is unacceptable. Darkspawn Chronicles, much like some of the other DA:O DLC packs, is a fascinating idea that's so underdeveloped and janky that it's easily skippable for anyone who's not among the hardest of DA:O fans.
You take on the role of a Hurlock Vanguard, who leads the darkspawn armies into Denerim in what would be the final section of the main game's campaign. The Vanguard can enthrall others of its race to assemble a party of four, however, resurrecting allies is not possible, with the death of any thralls resulting in their permanent removal from the party and need for a subsequent replacement. Combined with a reputation system that strengthens creatures that are enthralled for longer, it's imperative that the most valuable unit types are kept alive. Boy, oh boy, does Darkspawn Chronicles make this a pain.
The usual DA:O DLC issues with reused locations and abridged quests is here, and the romp through the streets of Denerim is confusing and filled with the most random of occurrences. This time, however, there's an evident lack of planning and playtesting throughout the campaign, which along with an unhealthy dose of glitches, makes the DLC fall apart minutes after it boots up. Battles are complete chaos; quests occur haphazardly and, on the few occasions where there is a clear intended design for a scenario, it's possible and likely that the player will ignore it entirely due to their contrived design not accounting for many possibilities.
Many prominent characters from the campaign are in Denerim in the form of highly overpowered elite enemies, and they'll jump the Vanguard and its platoon at the most random of times. Far worse than the Oghren and Sten jumpscares, however, is how buggy fights usually are: multiple groups of enemies respawn infinitely, and others can even spawn from thin air, right on top of the party. In the last few sections, some groups do both. Needless to say, Nightmare runs are close to impossible without abusing just about every trick in the book, and even then, it takes some heavy turtling to get to the end of the DLC.
And then it's the final battle, and what a final battle it is. It's impossible to beat without the correct party composition since it requires more than just a beefy party. The fight is on a timer in the form of the Archdemon's health, which is being chipped away at by some very tanky units. Preserving the dragon's life requires a perfect party composition combined with a solid understanding of the game's mechanics. Even lower difficulty players often drop Darkspawn Chronicles at this point due to its perceived impossibility.
Should the player succeed, however, the intense fight gives way to a gut-wrenching ending that wraps up the DLC. It's the one shining moment in all of the DLC, but even then, the amount of hoops that must be jumped through to get to it is unacceptable. Darkspawn Chronicles, much like some of the other DA:O DLC packs, is a fascinating idea that's so underdeveloped and janky that it's easily skippable for anyone who's not among the hardest of DA:O fans.