Dragon Age: Inquisition The Descent DLC is available on Xbox one, PS4, and PC for 14.99$.
The Decent is a story focused DLC in which the Inquisitor travels through the Deep Roads unraveling secrets and mysteries.
Is The Descent it worth the price? Is it fun to play? Answers to these questions and more can be found here!
LINKS:
Great review. 
"If you haven't played the previous games...you might want to get on that."
Ha.
Personally I enjoyed it very very much. I think I would honestly give it a 9.8/10. With my only two complaints was combat was a bit on the difficult side for me. But thats more of a problem 'for me' then for the game itself. I am not always the most tacticaally minded and I realize I did do a bunch of dumb things in it. And the fact that I really wish companions could have gotten their own sort of mini quest during it. Or at least some companions *coughVarriccough*.
Otherwise despite my problems with the combat the story was more then worth it. The environemnts. And even though the combat was frustrating and reminded me a LOT of what I found wrong with the previous two games combat systems...it was still Inquisition's combat system which made it a lot better and a lot more enjoyabe. In a couple of the fights even though I was being frustrated I was still having fun with it.
The revelation at the end of the DLC was FUN though. And really I thought it answered a lot of question.
Oh final note for me this DLC felt like something that was lacking in the main game. The Inquisition got to be an Inquisition. The Inquisitor got to INquisite something. There was a mystery that was a mystery and you had to put the pieces together, just was not handed to you on a silver pladder like the two big mysteries in DA I.
Over all, very highly rated and this might just end up being the best DA DLC ever. I want to play through it again before I make that determination. Because I either overblow something OMG this is AWESOME or really diss something at first depending on the mood but my second time through it I can give it a more critical eye.
Great review.
Ha.
Personally I enjoyed it very very much. I think I would honestly give it a 9.8/10. With my only two complaints was combat was a bit on the difficult side for me. But thats more of a problem 'for me' then for the game itself. I am not always the most tacticaally minded and I realize I did do a bunch of dumb things in it. And the fact that I really wish companions could have gotten their own sort of mini quest during it. Or at least some companions *coughVarriccough*.
Otherwise despite my problems with the combat the story was more then worth it. The environemnts. And even though the combat was frustrating and reminded me a LOT of what I found wrong with the previous two games combat systems...it was still Inquisition's combat system which made it a lot better and a lot more enjoyabe. In a couple of the fights even though I was being frustrated I was still having fun with it.
The revelation at the end of the DLC was FUN though. And really I thought it answered a lot of question.
Oh final note for me this DLC felt like something that was lacking in the main game. The Inquisition got to be an Inquisition. The Inquisitor got to INquisite something. There was a mystery that was a mystery and you had to put the pieces together, just was not handed to you on a silver pladder like the two big mysteries in DA I.
Over all, very highly rated and this might just end up being the best DA DLC ever. I want to play through it again before I make that determination. Because I either overblow something OMG this is AWESOME or really diss something at first depending on the mood but my second time through it I can give it a more critical eye.
They really should get on it lol, you'd be surprised how many people have played inquisition, loved it, are in love with it, and haven't played the previous games.
I would've rated higher had there been a few tweaks. Though I had to keep the pro/con section balanced, I defo had a harder time coming up with as many cons.
I personally enjoyed the challenge in terms of numbers, but some enemies it as like "ok... die already..."
*arrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrow*
It's a good review but....I feel like companions interaction was very very poor.
The two dwarves did all the talking , and companions were mostly standing there .
It's a step down from DA2 dlc were you had a bunch of new companions banters , mini quests etc...
Jaws of Hakkon was already bare minimum , the descent had even less .
I suppose the Descent is shorter , and all the voice acting is probably expensive but erf.
They really should get on it lol, you'd be surprised how many people have played inquisition, loved it, are in love with it, and haven't played the previous games.
I would've rated higher had there been a few tweaks. Though I had to keep the pro/con section balanced, I defo had a harder time coming up with as many cons.
I personally enjoyed the challenge in terms of numbers, but some enemies it as like "ok... die already..."
*arrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrowarrow*
They are three different games in a lot of way. I really did not like Origins combat system, or bad guys. I did not like 2s environemtal fidelity I suppose. Inquisition was good...smooth...some people going back might want to throw their controller through their sceens.
Meh that was always my problem with both DA O and DA 2 in terms of combat. Massive ammounts of enemies in very confined spaces where there should not be anywehre near those numbers. Mind you Inquisition's combat system is a lot better to begin with. Especially with Rogues. The maps are a lot larger so there is room to manuver so you are not swarmed too badly. And they did design the maps in such a way as it did make sense where you could get massive numbers of enemies. They did not do the infamous DA 2 combat drop, but crawled in from the sides or came from you off screen.
It's a good review but....I feel like companions interaction was very very poor.
The two dwarves did all the talking , and companions were mostly standing there .
It's a step down from DA2 dlc were you had a bunch of new companions banters , mini quests etc...
Jaws of Hakkon was already bare minimum , the descent had even less .
I suppose the Descent is shorter , and all the voice acting is probably expensive but erf.
I did appreciate also how the 'interactive dialog wheel' made more of a presence here though.
It's a good review but....I feel like companions interaction was very very poor.
The two dwarves did all the talking , and companions were mostly standing there .
It's a step down from DA2 dlc were you had a bunch of new companions banters , mini quests etc...
Jaws of Hakkon was already bare minimum , the descent had even less .
I suppose the Descent is shorter , and all the voice acting is probably expensive but erf.
It did feel undewhelming on some of the companions, though Varric had a bit to say. There was also some new banter, Iron Bull's was especially funny.
This may refer to the next DLC:
Honestly this is the third time in a row where BioWare has exceeded my hype. Though Jaws was pretty low and Inquisition's hype was pretty large but there was a huge BUT to it. With Descent I was so happy to see something like this my hype was through the roof and they still blew me away. I have never cussed so much at an ending (in a good way) as I did during this one.
THIS is the way you do 'lots of speculation for everyone' THIS is how you set up future plot lines for future stories.
It did feel undewhelming on some of the companions, though Varric had a bit to say. There was also some new banter, Iron Bull's was especially funny.
This may refer to the next DLC:
I loved Dorian's"Even the Darkspawn prefer mood lighting"
I'll keep on whining about companions involvement , just as an example :
This is Mark of the Assassin party banter : 1 hour 13 minutes.
Legacy paty banter : 1 hour 24 minutes.
And the Descent : 8 minutes with the two dwarves talking and companions comment during cinematic...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnupfTUVHgs
I'll keep on whining about companions involvement , just as an example :
This is Mark of the Assassin party banter : 1 hour 13 minutes.
Legacy paty banter : 1 hour 24 minutes.
And the Descent : 8 minutes with the two dwarves talking and companions comment during cinematic...
Yeah I get it, that was my main complaint to. But well, some stories aren't designed for that sort of thing.
I'll keep on whining about companions involvement , just as an example :
This is Mark of the Assassin party banter : 1 hour 13 minutes.
Legacy paty banter : 1 hour 24 minutes.
And the Descent : 8 minutes with the two dwarves talking and companions comment during cinematic...
Fair point...
Well, hopefully this next DLC, possibly announced at PAX, will give us a more party-centered feel.
Always great to see a review from you 
Anyways, I JUST finished the DLC. And let me say... WOW. (I am very easy to impress) I pretty much agree with you on the big points. Some thoughts:
The good:
- absolutely adore dwarves and anything to do with their lore, so I could not have been happier with a dwarf-centric DLC
- you are right that the environments are stupid pretty. As in, they are so pretty they made me stupid - about half a dozen times I nearly made the Quiz-Quiz walk off a ledge because I was too distracted gawking at all the pretty they brought this time around. But this I could apply to all of DAI. At least on my console, it is so gorgeous its heartbreaking.
- darkspawn look and feel great. I remember reading a post by the lead concept artist saying "we wanted to make them feel like something you would get after a contagion, with recognizable features, like those were people before they got infected, but the disease ate away at them so much they look wrong." Paraphrased. They are so successful in that regard. Gods they look creepy. And the ogres - where is your nose WHAT IS WITH YOUR FACE. Awesome.
- The lore - it has been a while since a game made me go "WTF WAS THAT". The Descent did that. Every story beat they introduced only made me more curious (wait, did you just say TITANS? what are these weird dwarves? Oh gods they brought automatic weapons? Does that mean those are a thing now? YOU KNOW WHAT NEVER MIND RUNRUNRUNRUN)
- That ending - makes me wonder, with all the curveballs they have thrown with the DAI DLC, from Hakkon (mage-spirit bonds of the Avvar and breaking thereof) to this (DWARF. MAGE. WHAT.), any future games would have to be nothing but story if this is to be addressed in any way in the future, let alone resolved. This is not a bad thing, but handling a dense and layered story can be a handful as those tend to get out of hand fast.
- did anyone else get a Jules Verne "Journey to the Center of the Earth" vibes from this towards the end, or is my old showing again?
- I actually figured we were inside a titan as soon as we walked into that last lit area and the first things we noticed were (i) there is a distinct rhythmic noise that sounds very much like a hearbeat, and (ii) that blue thing down there looks very much like a heart. OMG ARE WE INSIDE THIS THING.
- The final conversation with Valta, when she started raving about how great she feels, that seemed like a giant big red flag right there. Nobody who is a well person says things like "I never felt better in my life" after being hit with a mysterious force literally nobody knows what it is and displaying powers their kind have been physically unable to harness in all of recorded memory. Next time I meet her, my hand is not coming off my greatsword, is what Im saying.
The not so good:
- I liked the combat well enough, I liked that it kept me on my toes, but at times it just seemed spiteful. Fighting off waves after waves after yet more waves of darkspawn was just awful and annoying even at points. The Emissary Alpha fight has been mentioned a few times, and for a damned good reason. Although I suppose it makes sense story-wise, I cannot have that much of an issue with it, but still - in parts, it was not fun because of that.
- The final boss - this DLC did not need a final boss. I will give the waves of darkspawn a pass because again, lore and story-wise it makes sense and I am fully willing to admit I am not von Clausewitz when it comes to battlefield management. But there is no story reason for a boss battle to even be there, nor for the Quiz-Quiz to charge at it head first without even trying to communicate with it in some way (two words: INSIDE and TITAN - if a semi-sentient creature shows up, wouldnt you, I dont know, have some questions?). The fight itself is broken. It is. It is so badly designed and poorly executed it actually made me angry. I SOLO-ED this damned thing. All my party got slaughtered like idiots the first round of lyrium spikes shooting from the floor because they have zero situational awareness, apparently. All I had to do was run circles around this thing (because its rock tentacle-eye coordination is so poor it cannot hit you unless stand in one place for five hours implying all sorts of unsavory things about its mother and her extended family), waiting for my Earthshaking Strike to recharge, then drop that and watch its health go down like I just dropped it in a vat of acid. After I figured this out, the damned thing didnt touch me ONCE. A boss battle should not be cheated as easily as "have ranged ability, run around and use that with no pressure until enemy status = dead". Or silenced. Considering it is a boss battle, the culmination of this entire DLC, it soured the experience somewhat.
But your 8.5/10 sounds about right overall
Always great to see a review from you
Anyways, I JUST finished the DLC. And let me say... WOW. (I am very easy to impress) I pretty much agree with you on the big points. Some thoughts:
The good:
- absolutely adore dwarves and anything to do with their lore, so I could not have been happier with a dwarf-centric DLC
- you are right that the environments are stupid pretty. As in, they are so pretty they made me stupid - about half a dozen times I nearly made the Quiz-Quiz walk off a ledge because I was too distracted gawking at all the pretty they brought this time around. But this I could apply to all of DAI. At least on my console, it is so gorgeous its heartbreaking.
- darkspawn look and feel great. I remember reading a post by the lead concept artist saying "we wanted to make them feel like something you would get after a contagion, with recognizable features, like those were people before they got infected, but the disease ate away at them so much they look wrong." Paraphrased. They are so successful in that regard. Gods they look creepy. And the ogres - where is your nose WHAT IS WITH YOUR FACE. Awesome.
- The lore - it has been a while since a game made me go "WTF WAS THAT". The Descent did that. Every story beat they introduced only made me more curious (wait, did you just say TITANS? what are these weird dwarves? Oh gods they brought automatic weapons? Does that mean those are a thing now? YOU KNOW WHAT NEVER MIND RUNRUNRUNRUN)
- That ending - makes me wonder, with all the curveballs they have thrown with the DAI DLC, from Hakkon (mage-spirit bonds of the Avvar and breaking thereof) to this (DWARF. MAGE. WHAT.), any future games would have to be nothing but story if this is to be addressed in any way in the future, let alone resolved. This is not a bad thing, but handling a dense and layered story can be a handful as those tend to get out of hand fast.
- did anyone else get a Jules Verne "Journey to the Center of the Earth" vibes from this towards the end, or is my old showing again?
- I actually figured we were inside a titan as soon as we walked into that last lit area and the first things we noticed were (i) there is a distinct rhythmic noise that sounds very much like a hearbeat, and (ii) that blue thing down there looks very much like a heart. OMG ARE WE INSIDE THIS THING.
- The final conversation with Valta, when she started raving about how great she feels, that seemed like a giant big red flag right there. Nobody who is a well person says things like "I never felt better in my life" after being hit with a mysterious force literally nobody knows what it is and displaying powers their kind have been physically unable to harness in all of recorded memory. Next time I meet her, my hand is not coming off my greatsword, is what Im saying.
The not so good:
- I liked the combat well enough, I liked that it kept me on my toes, but at times it just seemed spiteful. Fighting off waves after waves after yet more waves of darkspawn was just awful and annoying even at points. The Emissary Alpha fight has been mentioned a few times, and for a damned good reason. Although I suppose it makes sense story-wise, I cannot have that much of an issue with it, but still - in parts, it was not fun because of that.
- The final boss - this DLC did not need a final boss. I will give the waves of darkspawn a pass because again, lore and story-wise it makes sense and I am fully willing to admit I am not von Clausewitz when it comes to battlefield management. But there is no story reason for a boss battle to even be there, nor for the Quiz-Quiz to charge at it head first without even trying to communicate with it in some way (two words: INSIDE and TITAN - if a semi-sentient creature shows up, wouldnt you, I dont know, have some questions?). The fight itself is broken. It is. It is so badly designed and poorly executed it actually made me angry. I SOLO-ED this damned thing. All my party got slaughtered like idiots the first round of lyrium spikes shooting from the floor because they have zero situational awareness, apparently. All I had to do was run circles around this thing (because its rock tentacle-eye coordination is so poor it cannot hit you unless stand in one place for five hours implying all sorts of unsavory things about its mother and her extended family), waiting for my Earthshaking Strike to recharge, then drop that and watch its health go down like I just dropped it in a vat of acid. After I figured this out, the damned thing didnt touch me ONCE. A boss battle should not be cheated as easily as "have ranged ability, run around and use that with no pressure until enemy status = dead". Or silenced. Considering it is a boss battle, the culmination of this entire DLC, it soured the experience somewhat.
But your 8.5/10 sounds about right overall
They certainly did make the ogres SUUUUPER creepy this time around. The boss was.... not very satisfying to fight I agree. Mostly because I think that by this point the companion AI can't keep up with the difficulty of the combat in this DLC. I hope they go back to the previous model where we got to customize the AI.
They certainly did make the ogres SUUUUPER creepy this time around. The boss was.... not very satisfying to fight I agree. Mostly because I think that by this point the companion AI can't keep up with the difficulty of the combat in this DLC. I hope they go back to the previous model where we got to customize the AI.
They do look creepy! I honestly have a hard time pinpointing just what it is that makes me cringe every time I seem them - the eyes, the nose-hole (ewk), the pale skin you just know is coated in this slimy, sticky mess that oozes out of desiccated bodies, the half rotten-off mouth, or all of the above.
Also, a side note - is it weird that every time I watch a review of yours, all I can this of is your "Spoils of the Qunari" vid and "Nekkid Qunari butts"?
Its probably weird.
But it makes me laugh every time
They do look creepy! I honestly have a hard time pinpointing just what it is that makes me cringe every time I seem them - the eyes, the nose-hole (ewk), the pale skin you just know is coated in this slimy, sticky mess that oozes out of desiccated bodies, the half rotten-off mouth, or all of the above.
Also, a side note - is it weird that every time I watch a review of yours, all I can this of is your "Spoils of the Qunari" vid and "Nekkid Qunari butts"?
Its probably weird.
But it makes me laugh every time
YOU'RE. WELCOME.
And for me it's the eyes, those creepy creepy eyes!
Mark of the Assassin party banter : 1 hour 13 minutes.
Legacy paty banter : 1 hour 24 minutes.
The Descent : 8 minutes with the two dwarves talking and companions comment during cinematic...
An excellent comparison for what unfortunately is the most egregious sin from this otherwise exceptional DLC!
But one thing that I didn't like one bit is the fact the enemies got rifles and bullets or projectiles. that really lowered the grade for me quite a lot.
Aegis of the rift my friend. Aegis of the rift.
But I do agree, it was a bit much to deal with.
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