Fans of the Dragon Age series have been dying to go back to the Deep Roads. After such a prominent part of Dragon Age: Origins took place in the Dark spawn filled Thaig that wouldn’t end. And Dragon Age: 2 with all its faults still started with a Deep Roads Expedition gone wrong. It’s a huge part of this series to see how the other half lives essentially. The Elves have their forests, The Humans have their sites, and the Qunari (who we have yet to see in their natural habitat.) have Par Vollen. But the Dwarves have some of the most fascinating history and lore buried in their walls underground. Sure every race has its skeletons neatly placed in its respective closets but the Deep Roads are a whole other matter unto itself.
As every story involving the inquisition starts, something bad is happening, and you have to tend to it. Earthquakes that grow stronger by the day are wreaking havoc on the Deep Roads, a connective roadway for the long forgotten Thaig’s and cities that have since fallen to Darkspawn. So it’s your job to figure out what the heck is going on. One of the things I love about Bioware is the sense that the party around you actually matters to a certain situation. And not just for combat purposes, nothing major. Just an occasional input or gesture. That’s what builds these fantastic characters the series stands on. ‘The Descent’ has a bit of that but nothing all that fun or witty. You can go extended periods of walking around a dungeon with silence which is strange since I can’t take a few steps in other original maps and hear some biting dialog between my comrades.
Renn and Valta are two Dwarves you’re helping to rid the Deep Roads of whatever is ailing it. At this point, I doubt anyone at Bioware can make any character uninteresting. Renn is Funny and full of stories while Valta is a great Ying to his Yang. Mostly serious and very focused on her job. And her job as a shaperate is to document Dwarf history. And since whatever is causing these earthquakes could affect all of Dwarven history you parade through the gigantic maps that are the Deep Roads. Looking at one map by itself certainly doesn’t do this expansion justice. I was amazed every time I went down to a lower level, just remarking on what I could explore. And plenty of things that I couldn’t explore until I had some Inquisition Soldiers take care of the matter at the new mini war table.
Spending power on these smaller tasks to clear roadways or build a bridge can lead to all new accessories and influence. And possibly more map to explore. Compared to ‘The Jaws of Hakkon, Dragon Age’s last DLC this seems certainly larger and grander on a few scales. The ending will have massive effects on the future of the series. And the enemy’s are much tougher than any before. Not necessarily do they hit harder they just take longer to bring down. The further into the map you go, the more difficult the enemy gets. That came be a bit of a slog the further into the map you go. It will take you a good long while to bring down your first encounter. And the final one is one of the more prolonged battles I’ve had in this series. Like I said it’s not like I was dying left and right. It just took a long time for me to finish off mere grunts. Which can get annoying the further into the Roads you go. I’m the inquisitor (level 28) you’d think I could at least mow down a few people.
The Descent is Dragon Age’s best DLC so far. Journeying deep into the earth to discover something unheard of and making sure that the Dwarven Economy doesn’t crumble is certainly the biggest stakes for any DLC so far. The lack of Party banter, and sometimes slog of battles. Doesn’t get in the way of so many things that shine through. The maps, the lore, the new gear, hidden rooms, mini war table. And plenty of other things I won’t spoil.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcv-DhIdk0M&list=PLv0w3bX6OJWM9dODEmhPIooVC6jBk8LL0&index=1
(First 15 minutes of my playthrough.)
