Dragon Age: Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon Review (PC)

very good
key review info
  • Game: Dragon Age: Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon
  • Platform: PC
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  • Gamepad support: Yes  
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Dragon Age: Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon opens up new areas

Dragon Age: Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon is a story about the past and its effects on the present, about the way memories and organizations can reshape the world by using influence as much as weapons.

It's also about reading messages, finding landmarks, exploring a new region and finally finding a way to defeat one of the most powerful enemies that have been created for the game by BioWare, all while uncovering more about the past of the Inquisition and about the pressure that its leaders face.

The quality of the writing in Jaws of Hakkon is solid and the quests and exploration are interesting, but the content is clearly designed for those who have already explored the world of Inquisition thoroughly, and there are moments when I had to consult the wiki to be sure of some details about the narrative.

The story of an Inquisitor who died 800 years ago and of what he might mean for the present can also feel too removed from the more pressing task the gamer and his powerful organization should attend to.

Dragon Age: Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon variety
Dragon Age: Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon variety

The good news is that all followers have new dialogue to use and that fan favorite Scout Harding has a bigger role to play (although, sadly, there's still no option to romance the lovable character).

Dragon Age: Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon is opened via an operation at the War Table for anyone who is interested in it, but gamers should be aware that they need to have characters that are at least around level 18 or 19 in order to face the battles contained in the new Frostback Basin location.

I had a party of characters around level 22 and still found some of them challenging, but the development team has not increased the difficulty by introducing better tactics for the various enemies or by creating surprising new combinations for the groups.

Instead, BioWare has simply significantly increased the level of hitpoints on them all (a powerful Ogre has as much health as one of the first dragons in the core game), and at times that means many engagements turn into simple slugfests, with the player party and the enemies trading blows with limited tactical input until one of them losses all health.

The Avvar are an interesting part of the Dragon Age universe and it's nice to see them explored more in the DLC, with details about their past and their gods.

On the other hand, the poisoned spiders that live along the river are incredibly annoying, not powerful enough to pose a threat to a good party but constantly infecting other animals and generating battles that feel entirely unnecessary.

The DLC also introduces some more items for gamers to use, although nothing here is impressive, and there are also a few new missions to undertake at the War Table, for some minor rewards.

Dragon Age: Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon does not make any sort of tweaks to the Frostbite 3 engine on which the game was originally built, but the company has put a lot of effort into making sure that the new location looks impressive.

The mix of lush vegetation and verticality creates one of the most visually interesting zones in the world of Thedas, but the same layering also means that there are some moments when the experience slows down significantly.

On a powerful computer, Dragon Age: Inquisition continues to be beautiful to experience, but I would like BioWare to try and tweak the user interface in the coming patches and downloadable content  in order to make it easier to both look at the game and control the action in the busiest of battles.

The standards of the company continue to be high in terms of audio design, with unique dialogue recorded by a talented voice cast and a soundtrack that carefully enhances the emotions the players are experiencing.


The Good

  • Interesting location to explore
  • Engaging characters and new banter

The Bad

  • Enemies rely too much on hit points
  • Narrative has limited connection to main story

Conclusion

Dragon Age: Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon is a good sign for the long-term evolution of the most recent role-playing game from BioWare and Electronic Arts, and it will be interesting to see whether the same pace and level of quality can be maintained in the future.

The zone and the main narrative are equal to anything in the core title and the various combat challenges that the studio has created are interesting, even if a little more innovation would have been nice to see.

For some gamers, Jaws of Hakkon will feel like more of the same, but for the vast majority of fans, its release will be great news.

BioWare has a history of creating solid DLC for the Mass Effect series and we can only hope that the coming chapters of the Dragon Age: Inquisition saga will include more content linked to the end of the game and the revelations contained therein.

story 8
gameplay 8
concept 9
graphics 9
audio 9
multiplayer 7
final rating 8.5
Editor's review
very good
 
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