The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn DLC Review
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Now, I'm not sure exactly what teeny-tiny parts from Bloodmoon survived through to be seen here in Dragonborn as I haven't played that original expansion since it first came out more than a decade ago, but I can say two of the main pockets of civilization on the island, the Skaal clan of Nords and the Raven Rock mine (and now a town that's sprung up around it) are back. Your whole point to come to Solstheim is laid out very early, before you even arrive on the island, so I feel comfortable "spoiling" it: the spirit of an old Dragonborn has returned, and he is amassing power, searching out for supposed pretenders like you, and trying to eliminate them early. Your job is to stop him. Beyond that, I won't say much, but I do feel like the story delivered here is a little more respectful of the developers' own past games, and while I'm no true Elder Scrolls lore expert, the new books and spoken history tell an interesting tale that catches up with what's happened in the region since the Nerevarine killed Dagoth Ur in Morrowind.
But there's lots of new stuff, too! Bethesda delivered us a new, fairly sizable island to explore complete with properly-working world map (rather than trying to tack on new areas to the existing Skyrim like Dawnguard did, and failing to let players see this part of the world on the big map). There are several new enemies to fight, many dungeons and ruins to fight in, along with plenty of additional armor and weapon types - including one entirely new kind of mineral that will make use of your crafting skills for a full range of armor and weapons. There are some really cool Words of Power to learn, more spells, and some really interesting perks that players will gain by completing the main storyline and finding the more potent sources of power on the island.
Speaking of the main storyline, you can probably get through it in rather long evening if you're not trying to speedrun it, but there's at least that much content on top of that in mysteries on the island, side quests, and miscellaneous objectives. All of this adds up to the kind of add-on that actually feels like it's worth the princely sum of $20 to charge, if only barely. Seriously, though, it was only a few years ago when RPG developers like Obsidian Entertainment (with Fallout New Vegas) were setting the standard for DLC value by giving you 6 to 10 hours of gameplay for ten bucks. But then I guess stuff like $15 Call of Duty map packs came along and some of these publishers decided it was time to start doubling the fee. If the price is an issue for you, the best I can suggest at this point is to wait for these DLCs to go on sale - if you enjoyed Skyrim, then I think Dragonborn will certainly be worth your time, but you have to decide whether it's worth what the publisher is charging.
