In Skyrim, most folks treat you like some sort of saint, but don’t let it go to your head. The very first Dragonborn also saved the world, only to become one of history’s greatest scumbags before he finally bit the dust. Now that his twisted soul plots a return to the mortal world, guess whose job it is to hitch a boat ride to the enigmatic isle of Solstheim and keep that creep out of Tamriel’s hair?
Apart from a dusting of volcanic ash here or a cluster of fungus houses there, you could mistake Solstheim’s rolling white fields and jagged mountain peaks for an unexplored backwater of Skyrim itself. But as you fend off creepy masked cultists and dig deeper into buried history, you’ll find mystery and madness in equal measure.
Many of the new environments lack grandeur, and the main quest requires you to spend too much time mucking about with control cubes and water levels in Dwemer ruins. Luckily, just when you think your adventure’s never going to get interesting, one of a series of dangerous mystical tomes whisks you away to the unearthly realm of Apocrypha. Here stealthy tentacle-faced Seekers seem able to exist in two places at once, lanky Lurkers belch thick strands of dark filth, and shifting architecture stretches and undulates unpredictably. Your rewards for braving such lunacy? Forbidden knowledge that might add a simple damage bonus, summon a wyrm from an enemy corpse, and more.
Cultist wizards will burn you to a crisp if you aren’t careful.Though you’ll find plenty of side quests and new dungeons to explore, that uneven main quest (about a seven-hour jaunt) is the high point of the whole affair. Dragonborn’s supposed crown jewel — the ability to temporarily tame and ride dragons — turns out to be its most bitter disappointment. The first time you climb onto a dragon’s neck is a thrill, but best of luck getting your new slave to do anything terribly useful. Even if you can tolerate its awkward combat targeting and glitchy flight patterns, its laughably lackadaisical attack speed means you’re better off staying on your own two feet than trying to get a dragon to burn or bite your foes.
Of course, you’ll also find new spells and shouts to learn, equipment to craft, and houses to earn. But it would take more than some moaning Ash Spawn zombies and goblin-like Rieklings to properly differentiate this joint from the mainland. Dragonborn gives players plenty more of what they loved about Skyrim, and is worth buying for that fact alone, but it could’ve and should’ve been so much more.
Solstheim's Black Books are actually gateways to Apocrypha.PUBLISHER: Bethesda Softworks • DEVELOPER: Bethesda Game Studios • ESRB: Mature • MULTIPLAYER: None • ACHIEVEMENTS: Straightforward • COST: 1,600 Microsoft Points ($20) • RELEASE DATE: December 4, 2012
+ Imaginative and unsettling journeys through the Daedric realm of Forbidden Knowledge.
+ Lots of new dungeons to plunder, powers to learn, and goodies to collect.
– Deeply disappointing dragon-riding; tedious trudge through flooded Dwemer ruins; most scenery is too familiar.
? How does one grow a mushroom house, anyway?
Mudcrabmerchant
December 09, 2012 at 1:54am
It is clear that you haven't played Morrowind, so you wouldn't fully appreciate this DLC. Taking points off the overall grade of the DLC due to dragon riding mechanics is silly for the type of game it is. The difficult puzzles within the Dwemer Ruins was very refreshing and the DLC as a whole was a welcomed challenge.. This is a very worthwile add-on akin to an official expansion pack.
xenophi13
December 07, 2012 at 6:00pm
I'm just going to say it. This DLC is amazing through and through. Obviously everyone has their own opinion and a 7.5 is a solid score. I'm not going to be one of those guys who complains that a score is too low. It is a good score, but for me personally it would be higher. DLC I imagine are finicky for reviews, but this is the best DLC I have played in terms of shear content and great locales and quests in a long time. It is the whole package and even at 20 dollars I don't feel screwed at all. I think you get your money's worth where in a lot of DLC's you don't. There is a reason they call this an add-on or expansion at Bethesda rather than DLC. I will say I am slightly biased because I adore Morrowind and I got goose pimples seeing Morrowind-y stuff and hearing the familiar tunes from that amazing game play in the background. That said I didn't even touch the main campaign until nine hours or so in. Nine hours! I could have kept going. When I did start the main quest it was because I wanted to. Not because I had run out of other stuff to do. There are actually quite a few side and misc. quests. I know the dragon riding was probably a let down, but in most of our hearts we probably knew it wouldn't be very good. They can't get horses to work very well. Not an excuse though. They could have put more effort in. I'm sure they worked hard on it though. They may have even felt pressure because fans wanted it so bad. Don't know. With the new landmas to explore, the new weapons, armors, spells, shouts etc. to find, new creatures and more; this return to Solstheim or for some first adventure to the new land is worth every Microsoft Point! There are of course occasional bugs, though I have been unaffected so far. Also, on a side note in response to the mentioning of Dwemer ruins, for me they have always been some of my favorite dungeouns and still are. I personally felt that dungeon with cubes and water levels was a nice change of pace from the normal game and perfectly fit in with the story. I also enjoyed hanging out with the occasionally (mostly) pompous Telvanni wizard on that quest. For those that know Telvanni they will understand that that felt like something a Telvanni archwizard would do in their spare time. Good times, but I shall stop rambling now.
Francesca OXM
December 10, 2012 at 12:39pm
Thanks for the well-reasoned feedback on the DLC, Xenophi. Appreciate your take on Dragonborn and happy to hear you're really enjoying it!
