Though The Descent has the foundation of a strong side campaign, the characters aren't memorable enough and the story finishes too loosely to leave a lasting impression. Perhaps if it came coupled with a fully reimagined Orzammar or characters who have some permanence, it would have been an adventure that wasn't as closed off and didn't have an awkward aftertaste.
Dragon Age: Inquisition - The Descent
BioWare · Aug 11, 2015
About
Go underground to reveal the source of mysterious earthquakes threatening Thedas. Enter the Deep Roads to battle monstrous darkspawn, bloodthirsty creatures that dwell beneath the surface of Thedas. Explore ancient dwarven ruins and cavernous dungeons infested with deadly enemies to find the cause of dangerous, worsening earthquakes. Descend deeper underground to discover a hidden world and face a powerful entity. In this new adventure, playable within the Dragon Age: Inquisition campaign, you will fight new adversaries, gain epic weapons and armor, and solve one of Thedas’ greatest mysteries.
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- 6.0The Descent isn't terrible, but it's eminently missable. BioWare have always done this—put out quicker, cheaper-feeling DLC between the good ones—but it's become a habit I rather hope they break away from. Too brief and inconsequential to live up to expectations. One for Dragon Age lore obsessives and ardent completionists.
- 6.0Saying that The Descent meets expectations may be damning this DLC with faint praise, but that’s also a fair summation of what it offers during its seven-to-10 hours of action. This is a pure sideline quest to the events of Dragon Age: Inquisition that plays out in a completely linear fashion and has no impact on the greater world. There isn’t anything particularly wrong with such a hack-and-slash dungeon crawl, especially one that features the fascinating background and backstory of the Deep Roads.
- The Descent is a decent addition for players who are dying to get back into the game for a bit or prolong their experience, but ultimately casual players will want to skip it, or wait for holiday sales. The silver lining here is that executive producer Mark Darrah recently stated on Twitter that they “aren’t done yet” with releasing story based DLC; hopefully we have plenty more to look forward to and Bioware can prove they really do listen to fans and what they really want out of the story.
- 6.3Even with its nasty hard combat, it still took me less than ten hours to complete The Descent and its side missions. Though the loot I snagged has kept me from completely regretting the time I invested in The Descent, I don’t feel like it’s the best Dragon Age has to offer. Hopefully the next DLC will have more exciting environments and better answers to Dragon Age’s more pressing story questions.
- 5.0Even though there are a few beacons of light in the darkness, such as some meaty combat scenarios and stints of exciting exploration, The Descent is damaged by a disappointingly bad ending and too many underwhelming side quests. It's another expensive piece of DLC that doesn't quite justify its price tag unless you're a feverish fan of BioWare's latest.
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