Leliana's Song DLC Review

Leliana’s Song is a 2 to 3 hour Dragon Age DLC that focuses on Leliana’s relationship with her former mentor/lover/employer, Marjolaine, and their falling out. It does a fantastic job of detailing the fact that Leliana has one of the most interesting background stories of the Origins party members.

Marjolaine’s latest exploits are carried out in Denerim, where she has a few surprises for a certain few people–a part of the Orlesian “Game”. You help her wield the big shit-disturbing stick along with a couple of new party members.

You begin the game at level 10. You aren’t given too many talents, but you have some pretty slick new items and weapons available to you. The pacing in the game is also very quick, as you level up fairly often as events change, and are allowed to purchase goods at a few points in the game. There is also a new pretty kickass armour piece for you if you complete one of the sidequests, and if you do so, it will become available for you in Dragon Age: Origins. In order to get the special  armor from Leliana’s song into Origins, you must find all 6 pieces hidden in the DLC. The pieces may be easy to miss, so make sure to keep an eye out for them.

Challenge level is pretty high, although I did crank it right up to Nightmare Mode on my first playthrough. There are four particularly difficult battles that had me restarting several times as well as cursing at the TV, but this was to be expected, par for the course as they say. I was overall pleased with the DLC’s difficulty level. It was much easier, might I add, on my second rip through the game which took about 90 minutes, as I knew which talents and such to get and which ones to avoid.

I would be remissed if I didn’t mention a few other things here. First is the voices, and Leliana’s overall attitude. This is not the same gentle, kind, soft-spoken Leliana you get in Origins. This is a badass Leliana, super awesome, and totally fun. Background voices randomly come up as you’re exploring Denerim, a laugh, or a little comment to herself – you hear what is going on in Leliana’s head. It’s clear that she thoroughly enjoys being a little troublemaker, and assassinating people. The music is also something of note. This wicked guitar riff plays throughout the game, and I just loved it.

A couple of complaints, though. The manner in which characters are introduced might put some people off. I thought it was cool, but you can’t be expecting too much from this DLC. It isn’t some drawn out, complicated thing with a huge world to explore. Players with good memories might recall Leliana’s explanation of her events with Marjolaine from Origins. You might also find some differences between this DLC’s order of events and her story she crafts for you while in camp in Origins.

Overall, Leliana’s Song DLC for Dragon Age is good if you like Leliana, and would like to learn more about her past… just don’t go in expecting anything revolutionary or different.