The new area could be more original but still Dragonborn itself is extremely rich and is a surprisingly dark add-on. [Jan 2013]

Despite a rather ho-hum main quest, Dragonborn is crammed with enough side quests and new stuff to be an exciting add-on.

With new environments, enemies, and weapons, Dragonborn really delivers an expansion pack worthy of the Skyrim legacy.

Feels like a focused Bethesda, no longer stretched too thin in its task of crafting a world the size of Skyrim. [Apr 2013, p.93]

Skyrim was such a wonderful game, and it was disappointing to see something as half-baked as Dawnguard serve as the only example of what Bethesda could offer for post-release support for this game. Dragonborn, however, is truly worthy of the Elder Scrolls name - even if it doesn't have characters casually pulling actual Elder Scrolls out of their back pockets and buying or selling them for a few thousand gold - as it adds the kind of large, epic feel you should be experiencing when playing an open-world RPG.

If you compare Dragonborn’s price on Steam to that of the original game, you’d think they’re offering you a third of Skyrim. Naturally, this isn’t the case – the island of Solstheim is not so action-packed. Yet a sandbox, even a small one, is way more enjoyable than a handful of new locations and random quests from Dawnguard.