Now, I do realise that this is somewhat overdue, seeing as Dragon Age: Origins was originally released way back in 2009, but I never got around to writing about all of the various DLC that Bioware made in the years following the main game. I am currently in the process of replaying the entire Dragon Age series from beginning to end, so what better time to share my thoughts will you all about the optional extra content? This article will be focusing on the DLC that is quest related, rather than those that just add some extra weapons or armour. There will be a short summary on each pack followed by a score out of 10. I won't be including Awakening here because that is full on expansion pack which already has its own, separate review.
1. Warden's Keep - £4.69 from Xbox store, free with Digital Deluxe, Collector's and Ultimate Editions
This is a fairly brief, but useful bit of extra content that gives you a quest that will take roughly 45 minutes to complete at the most. When you're done, your warden will have a new base of operations, although that doesn't really mean very much. It mostly just gives you access to a party storage chest where you can dump your loot in between quests, and a vendor to sell the junk to. The quest itself is quite good fun with some interesting lore to listen to or read in the codex, and there are some moral choices to be made at the end. It's not worth the rather steep price of almost a fiver, either wait for a DLC sale or buy the Ultimate Edition instead.
Overall: 6 out of 10
This is quite easily my favourite of all of the extra content released for Dragon Age: Origins, and I can't really imagine playing through the game without it. The Stone Prisoner adds an extra recruitable party member to the main game, in the form of Shale, a golem. There's an introductory quest that needs to be completed in order to add her to your party, which takes about half an hour. After that you can bring Shale along on any quest that you see fit, and chat with her in camp. She is a very well written and interesting character who has some very amusing dialogue and a bit of a problem with mages and birds. By increasing your standing with her through dialogue options or gifts, you can eventually unlock a loyalty mission which will give you some insight on her backstory, which is well worth taking a bit of extra time to do. Shale ends up being one of best party members in the game, and because there's no cost involved you may as well install her!
Overall: 9 out of 10
This one adds about 45 minutes of extra content again, and allows you to return to the battlefield of Ostagar, which is where the Grey Wardens were betrayed by Tehyrn Loghain at the start of the game and King Cailan lost his life. Your task here is to recover all of Cailan's armour from the darkspawn that are still lurking about, ending with a final confrontation with a nasty Genlock Necromancer. After that, you should return to Cailan's mutilated body and give him the burial he deserves. This DLC reminded me very much of the Normandy Crash Site DLC for Mass Effect 2. It is similar in tone and purpose. Not too bad, but nothing all that spectacular really.
Overall: 6 out of 10
This DLC lets you play out a "what if" scenario, where the darskpawn end up winning during the invasion of Denerim at the end of the main game. You take control of a Hurlock who hear's the whispers of the archdemon and can enthrall other darkspawn units such as genlocks, shrieks and even an ogre. This one takes roughly an hour and a half to finish, and it's a bit of mindless fun really. Laying waste to the hero's from the main campaign does give you a bit of a sick thrill.
Overall: 6 out of 10
This takes the form of a prologue to the main campaign and gives you some insight into the backstory of Leliana, the rogue who became a member of the chantry for a time, before eventually joining up with the Wardens. You will be carrying out a variety of crimes in and around Denerim alongside your partner, and lover, Marjolaine. Those who have spoken to Leliana extensively in camp will know that Marjolaine ended up betraying her and leaving her for dead - now you can get the full, sad story. This is probably the best DLC so far after The Stone Prisoner, as it actually focuses on a character that I already care about.
Overall: 7 out of 10
This is probably my least favourite of all the DLC that was released for Dragon Age. The main reason for this is that it doesn't feature any of the party members that you have formed a bond with over the many hours that you spent from them, and instead introduces a couple of dwarves that are looking for assistance in recovering the lost secrets of golem creation from the ancient fortress of Amgarrak. It's another very brief tale at around a single hour - not enough time to get to know these new characters or care about them. It's also punishingly difficult, and it's highly recommended that you don't attempt it until you've completed the Awakening expansion. I did quite like the design of the new creature that is introduced, called the Harvester, though it did remind me of the polymorph from Red Dwarf a little bit. This DLC isn't worth seeking out individually, but you may as well play it if you obtained it as part of the Ultimate Edition.
Overall: 5 out of 10
Witch Hunt is another incredibly brief, and somewhat underwhelming piece of extra content. Like many of the others, it weighs in at roughly an hour. This one actually had a lot of potential because it sees the return of Morrigan, a very popular character from the main game excellently voiced by Claudia Black. After the final battle with the Archdemon, she took her leave from the party and requested that you never go looking for her. Well, here you are, looking for her. The final conversation with Morrigan is incredibly brief and after its over the end credits roll and that's it. I would have liked the chance to have a quick chat with Finn and Ariane, your new companions that you barely have any opportunity to get to know. It's a shame you don't, because their dialogue is well written and humorous and I would have welcomed more of it. Instead of going out on a bang with its last adventure, Dragon Age: Origins fizzles out instead, which is incredibly frustrating.
Overall: 6 out of 10
Overall I would say that the DLC for Dragon Age: Origins is worth playing through at least once if you are a fan of the original game. Most of these packs are pretty brief however and are definitely not worth paying the full amount for in 2019. However there is a solution - the Ultimate Edition of the game includes everything listed here as well as the Awakening expansion, and because everything is included on a second physical disk you can buy a second hand copy safe in the knowledge that you will still be able to access everything (as long as the DLC disk isn't missing, of course). This is definitely the cheapest way to get ahold of everything - copies go for a bout £15 on Amazon and eBay. While most of these only add an hour or two of game play at the most, it all adds up to an extremely solid package that I think is still worth a punt, despite the rather dated visuals.
One last thing - I wasn't sure if the the Ultimate Edition would work properly on the Xbox One, because you install the DLC from a second disk, put apparently it does work after you jump through a few hoops. Apparently you should install the DLC disk first, then the main play disk, then put the DLC disk back in before launching the game. Then you should be able to access anything. I haven't confirmed this myself because I don't own a copy of the Ultimate Edition, but if you do this you should be OK.
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