Dragon Age: Inquisition-Trespasser Thoughts & Review

Initial Thoughts:

So far in the Dragon Age Inquisition Universe, the DLC and expansions have not been very strong. Jaws of Hakkon was interesting with a decent stand-alone storyline and a vast new area to explore. Finding out about the previous Inquisitor and his accomplishments gave interesting quests in the new Frostback Basin area, and a very challenging boss battle with the Dragon God, Hakkon. However, the DLC failed to seem important in the larger picture. The Descent, takes the team into a very detailed expedition to the Deep Roads. Normally, I've hated dealing with the Deep Roads in previous games, but the new enemies and colorful, intricate maps made it slightly more interesting than the usual swarms of Darkspawn and rocks. Even though the story with the Titan seems important in the long run, I left the Deep Roads even more confused than when I started. 

Trespasser makes up for the flaws of the previous expansions. It's not perfect, but the balance of story, intense combat, and the impact this DLC has on the entire future of the Dragon Age series, makes this one of the best expansions of the franchise to date. Some spoilers and minor discussions of events and storylines are below, so tread lightly! 

Story:

Cullen adopts a new friend at the Winter Palace!

The team from the Inquisition is completely reunited for the first time in two years. The first hour or so of the expansion is spent doing some much-needed catching up with the Inquisition at the Winter Palace in Orlais. It's nice to see everyone again, especially your love interest, with whom very special things can happen if you agree to certain question ;) But once again, the choice is yours! It's truly a pleasure to see your team up to their old shenanigans again, like Varric pranking Cassandra, and Iron Bull and his band of men celebrating his birthday. Many characters have varying outcomes and some, like Dorian, are even deeply involved in the politics of the game.

The decisions made during the main installment become apparent through the interactions between the characters, especially depending on who you chose for the seat of the Divine. The political intrigue adds tension to the upbeat reunions. The fate of the Inquisition is still unknown, and it's clear that the decisions here will cause many lasting consequences. One of the best parts of this initial section is dealing with other other nations' leaders. It's been two years since the Inquisition defeated Corypheus, are they really needed anymore? You can spend your time defending the Inquisition, but prepare to be berated by other leaders about your importance. The way that you structure your arguments could fuel or hinder the opposition against you.

A sect of Qunari then crash the talks and reunions, and begin the main plot of the expansion. You discover an Eluvian that leads to the crossroads. Then, the other Eluvians open to lyrium tunnels that reveal the Qunari's plot to blow up the Winter Palace, along with all of the world leaders inside. The Inquisitor, principally. Throughout the DLC they call you agents of Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf. The game has given many hints as to who this is, but it is interesting to see the confusion of your Inquisitor and characters. 

It's always fun to see some Qunari involved in the story of Dragon Age, but what dissapointed me is that throughout Trespasser I could tell that all of this was a red-hering for the real threat. Your character fights through troves of elven spirits along with the Qunari, with subtle touches of elven lore. It's obvious that the game was leading up to a revelation about who Fen'Harel was, but the focus stayed primarily on the Qunari. Still, the portions with the Qunari and their plans do tie in decently when the world leaders figure out the event. It doesn't look good for the Inqusitor after that, and many question if having the Inqusition is really worth exposing the world to the rest of these dangers. 

Combat and Gameplay:

Don't be fooled by the views, tough enemies linger just around the corner.

Challenging and laborious are the main words to describe the combat. The Qunari are not only tough, but the maps inhibit a lot of the normal movement that could be done in the rest of the game. You will often find yourself in narrow corridors or tunnels, so you will have to be even more strategic in the use of the environment. The Qunari always appear in large waves, and it's easy to be overwhelmed by their sheer power, especially if they have an op mage among them. Be careful, they sometimes produce attacks that could wipe out your entire party at once. Utilizing the explosive barrels everywhere in the game helped significantly, and made the battles difficult, but not overhwleming...at least until the very end.

The game also gives your rift some pretty useful new abilities, like an area blast that damages surrounding enemies, lights up a room, and makes your party temporarily invincible. Eventually the game forces you to use this ability, at the risk of hurting your Inquisitor and damaging your party even further. These additions make the combat one of the key features of the game, and it adds the urge to rush to finish line for your character's sake. No matter how much you level up it doesn't get any easier, especially with the final boss battle of the game, a powerful Qunari mage who becomes unhinged by his previous commander. You will learn for later portions of the game enemies, that timing is key. 

Other than the combat, there are a few notable features that were realeased around the same time as Trespasser, even if you didn't purchase the DLC. Updates included some wardrobe options from the boring beige outfit the Inquisitor has been stuck in, and a way to save gear for your next playtrhoughs. Extremely handy. 

Impacts on the Future of Dragon Age:

More pretty views, see who else is there with you?

This is the first time where I really felt the affect of my decisions throughout the game and throughout the series. I could tell that the choices made during Trespasser would forever have an impact on my characters in the future. I loved the outcome animations in the end, for better or for worse. 

Despite the endings for specific characters, there are a few clear things. First, Solas is a new, powerful force that will be on the minds of all your future characters, or at least the ones who know about his intentions. The entire point of this DLC was to figure out his role in the Inquisitor's life and his motives from the main game of Inquisition. There wouldn't be all of this set up for him if he wasn't one of the most important characters, or villains, the game had to deal with.

Second, the next game is going to take place in Tevinter. It seems like the major forces in this series are finally starting to show themselves. Hopefully, the future installments will start tying events together even more, like they did throughout Inquisition. I'm ecstatic that the game is being taken out of Ferelden and Orlais. Tevinter has been this shadow in the Dragon Age world, always talked about and maybe seen briefly, but nothing that is too heavily focused on. To see the nation that has shaped the history of Thedas would be the perfect balance to the series so far. The new war that Tevinter ends up in with the Qunari will also set a great premise for the next game.

Final Thoughts:

With Dragon Age, there is always the need to experience more. Players of this series get so invested in the characters and the story. They care about the development of this game to extreme, sometimes obsessive, amounts. It's nice to see that the creators and writers know this and cater to their fans to give them the content they want. This is clear throughout the DLC. Even though I felt like the majority of this expansion was spent on setting up the Qunari and the revelation of Solas in the end, Trespasser did not disappoint. I cannot wait for the next game, and all of the adventures for my characters that will come. 

At least we know they care about their players

What did you think of this expansion? And how do you think it will affect the Dragon Age World? Comment below or reach out to us on any of our social media channels! 

Written by: Rae Swain

Check out my Twitter @Kraeraenyeh 

Also check out my Tumblr at www.tumblr.com/blog/kraeraenyeh

I do not own the pictures above. They are screenshots from my own personal playthrough of Dragon Age: Inquisition- Trespasser, all rights belong to Bioware and EA.

 

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