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Dragon Age: Origins – Return to Ostagar DLC Review

[Spoilers for those who haven’t played beyond the first two hours of DA: O]

You’ll visit Ostagar near the beginning of the main Dragon Age storyline, and this is where the story will twist like crazy, and send you off on your quest. For such an important place, you won’t be revisiting Ostagar unless you download the “Return to Ostagar” DLC. Return to Ostagar was released earlier this year, and immediately removed from Xbox Live due to technical issues. The biggest of these problems saw players’ unlocked specialisations disappearing once they switched off their consoles if they didn’t use them straight away: a pretty major issue for an RPG.

Technical issues (now largely resolved) aside, Return to Ostagar, not surprisingly, sees players return to the site of the Battle for Ostagar seen at the beginning of Dragon Age. You get directed to a new location on your map, where you’ll meet a man who was entrusted with the key to King Cailan’s personal chest. He tells you where he hid the key at Ostagar and sends you on your way. The remainder of the quest pretty much just sees you killing your way through darkspawn to find what you’re looking for.

For 400 MS points, Return to Ostagar is the cheapest Dragon Age DLC to date. Personally, I found it no shorter than either of the previous two, and rather good value for money if you don’t mind the limited gameplay. A more story driven quest would have been much more preferable, with more things to do than just hack away. King Cailan’s armour is a worthy loot, though, and looks great as well as providing solid protection. You’ll also find another familiar face from Ostagar, although it’s a little anti-climactic.

Overall, Return to Ostagar is better value for money than previous Dragon Age content. Although the gameplay is pretty much limited to repetitive combat, and there isn’t much in the way of story, it’s certainly fun for an hour or so, and a good excuse to load up an old save and play again. There’s even a moment of exceptional pathos when you find King Cailan’s body. Recommended.