Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critics What's this?

User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 202 Ratings

  • Summary: Designed and written by the same team that brought you Dragon Age: Origins, the Awakening expansion pack offers a brand new area of the world to explore known as Amaranthine, featuring an epic story that will allow players to unravel the secrets of the darkspawn - and their true motivations! Players face a range of horrific and terrifying creatures including an evolved, intelligent breed of darkspawn and other menacing creatures such as the Inferno Golem and Spectral Dragon. Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening provides exciting new ways for players to customize their heroes and party, including the ability to re-spec their character attributes, allowing even greater customization and replayability. Featuring an increased level cap, new spells, abilities, specializations and items, plus five all-new party members, players can continue their adventures from Dragon Age: Origins, or begin with a brand new character. [BioWare] Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 38
  2. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. It admirably accomplishes what an expansion is supposed to do, and doesn't in any way diminish what made the great one of the best RPGs ever made.
  2. The first add-on to Dragon Age: Origins continues the story and adds new areas, monsters, quests and skills. It may be a bit short, but it’s a great adventure.
  3. More of the same, but it's a good same, and it's an essential purchase if you're a fan of the first game at all. [June 2010, p.96]
  4. A competent but relatively unambitious expansion that adds plenty of new content but no new ideas.

See all 38 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 35
  2. Negative: 4 out of 35
  1. 10
    it more like a direct sequel than DLC. the skills and specializations have increased in amount and there is so much to do that one could get sucked in all over again. definitely worth the money and then some. Expand
  2. Its definately not bad. It just lacks some of what made Dragon Age Origins great. Its characters are pretty good (especially Justice, Nathaniel, and Anders). However, the lack of romances and the okay plot hold it back a bit. Now that you can get it for like 12 dollars at gamestop, you might as well go buy it. Expand
  3. Cindy
    7
    More of the same as in Dragon Age. Better area design but much worse in terms of storyline/party banter. The new context triggered banter isn't an improvement in my opinion. The new skills are pretty nice, unfortunately they didn't include an additional shortcut bar so if you're a mage you won't be able to put all of your spells on it. I'm not impressed with the decision of not having your dragon age decisions carry over into the expansion, it makes for horrible plot holes and definitely hurts the replay value of this expansion. Expand
  4. 3
    Unimpressive and underwhelming - does not 'expand' on anything. BioWare should let the design department design the game, not a committee of producers, writers, and marketing executives. This franchise is well on its way to ignominy. The quests are unbelievably mundane - now a BioWare tradition it would seem. Converations overly verbose. Unnecessarily long and pointless cutscenes. The new items are game-breakingly overpowered. Expand

See all 35 User Reviews