Warning: spoilers included.
As the first piece of downloadable content (DLC) to take place outside of the main game’s story frame, “Dragon Age: Inquisition — Trespasser” is set two years after the fall of Corypheus and chronicles the fate of the eponymous Inquisition. Among the greater context of the “Dragon Age” story, “Trespasser” is an important piece of content, one that has significance to both the general plot of the series and the lore of the universe. However, while it ties up the story of the main game and sets the stage for the next installment, “Trespasser” oftentimes feels limited in both the breadth of its scope and the quantity of its content.
The basic premise of “Trespasser” sees the calling of what is labeled the Exalted Council — a meeting of the major powers of southern Thedas, Ferelden and Orlais, to discuss the future of the Inquisition — which is perceived as a threat because of its high status of power, now that the threats of Corypheus and the tear in the Veil have ended. Simultaneously, a Qunari plot against the council is discovered, an “agent of the Dread Wolf” — the player — begins to cause havoc, and the Inquisitor’s Anchor mark starts to erupt with deadly energy, threatening to kill him or her. The game does not lack intrigue, but the fact that it crams so many significant workings into a relatively short package causes many of them to feel compressed and underdeveloped. In this sense, the expansion possesses a degree of cognitive dissonance; it tells a story crucial to the progression of events in the series, but cultivates it in a time-pressed and overly linear environment which lacks the soul of the main game.
“Trespasser” serves as a reunion of sorts, meaning that almost every major character in the main game shows up in some capacity. While much of the exposition regarding the lives of most figures during the interval of two years is disappointingly presented in the form of text-based journal entries, “Trespasser” offers a fair share of enjoyable moments of lively and humorous character interaction, be they conversations at the hub zone or squad banter during missions.
Visually, the DLC is a wonder. While the DLC doesn’t offer a wealth of environmental exploration as did the main game, it features utterly stunning locales, from magnificent and floating spires of rock, to pristine and colorful elven forests. The pack also flaunts a new and impressive musical score that is augmented with the one already existing in the main game. In terms of gameplay, there aren’t any radical changes to the implemented formula, though it offers the ability to violently discharge the energy sourced in the Inquisitor’s Anchor mark, which is a very satisfying tactic to employ in the heat of battle.
While “Trespasser” is ultimately caught between its ambitions and its limitations, it is nonetheless a quality piece of content that features many desirable features, such as enjoyable character dialogue and physical locales at which to marvel. In the end, it does provide a conclusion for the story of the main game while heavily suggesting a genesis for the next installment, even if it ultimately does so in a somewhat sloppy manner.
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