

There's loads to like: uncovering the history of Ameridan reveals a figure who was not unlike yourself, and his relationship with his own companions is an opportunity to reflect on your own. Despite the name (and location at the southern tip of the Frostback Mountains), this isn't another icy plain: it's a verdant, autumnal valley with landscapes that vary from treacherous cliffside pathways to vine-tangled riverbanks and gloomy azure swampland. It's not the largest wilderness in the game-it's comparable to the Western Approach, I think-but it's notable for its extensive verticality. Jaws of Hakkon adds a new open-world region to Inquisition, the Frostback Basin. After eight happy hours with the DLC I'm glad to report that none of the paradigms above quite fit.


It bears the signs: released in relatively close proximity to launch, a plot that-ostensibly-could just be an excuse for a dungeon crawl, and a very prominent new hat on the splash art. I'm going to level with you: that is exactly what I expected Jaws of Hakkon to be. New healthbars to whittle and new gear to find with companions whose voices are notably absent, following plotlines that add little to the whole save 'here is where your guy got this hat'. How about Mass Effect's Pinnacle Station? BioWare has a history of putting out DLC that-if not entirely filler-is certainly missable. Remember Dragon Age: Origins' Golems of Amgarrak? For some reason, I do.
