If my mistake wasn’t bad enough, the game’s glitches didn’t help return the smile to my face any faster. Right in the beginning, Serana refused to follow me and then suddenly disappeared from all of Skyrim, leaving me unable to proceed with the main quest. This forced me to reload an old save and start the mission over. Serana was easily one of the most unpredictable followers I have ever dealt with. She would disappear into the brush, nowhere to be seen, and then reappear as I finished battling a group of enemies several minutes later. Serana wasn’t a companion coming along to help me dispatch my foes quicker; she was a child that demanded my constant attention, lest she walk off to explore a shiny rock. Couple that with the various severe drops in frame rate that the PS3 version of Skyrim is so well-known for, and you have an adventure that is constantly hindering the enjoyable moments.
As I stated earlier, some of my issues with Dawnguard may have stemmed from the simple fact that it came after Dragonborn, a massive expansion I couldn’t get enough of. Traveling to the vast but barren land that is the Soul Cairn in the Dawnguard DLC pales in comparison to the varied, open island of Solstheim. Had Dawnguard been my first Skyrim DLC experience, this may not have been the case.
It wasn’t all bad, though. The new Dragonbone weapons and Uriel’s Bow were fun to add to my arsenal. The latter is a bow that can basically block out the sun or cause the sun to rain down deadly rays, depending on the special arrow type used. It was a blast using the new weaponry against some of the added enemy types, such as the gargoyles. Watching a Gargoyle Sentinel charge you head on in a dark, small castle room as you try to line up a shot is always a thrilling experience. Even battling the Dawnguard’s armored trolls was exciting. Plus, the new werewolf and vampire skill trees add more for players to do. Better yet, these new skills trees don’t require skills points to fill up. So even those who have found themselves at the level cap can enjoy the new perks. Overall, Dawnguard is a decent offering that gives you a reason to dive back into Skyrim and kill a dozen hours (and vampires). Given that I’ve heard of some people not encountering the AI issues and glitches that I mentioned above, I can see the level of enjoyment varying greatly from player to player. If you’ve exhausted every option on Solstheim and are just dying to squeeze in more hours with this game, then Dawnguard will do the trick.