Anchored: A spoiler-free, post-game review of "Dragon Age: Inquisition!"
As the release date for Dragon Age: Inquisition approached, reviews from gaming press started to circulate, and I recall a brief, somewhat unfriendly exchange on twitter with a reviewer, Â where someone asked if the review being tweeted out was free of spoilers, and, reading the first paragraph, I confirmed that it was not, as the reviewer went into story discussion, vague, but still present, in his review. Â The reviewer then suggested to me that reviews are not for me if I am that sensitive to information. Â That's a fair point, I suppose, but the sensitivity wasn't mine, it was learned.
 My best friend is the biggest Dragon Age fan I know, and that's saying something, and her degree of "do not spoil" quarantine went as far as "don't tell me the companions, I haven't looked at any official press because I don't want to know" (and, to be frank, she would have known upon looking at almost any press, so it's wise she abstained), so I have been exposed to some high-end spoiler discomfort... and so I shall now write a review playing to that aspect.  This review will be an overview of the "game" aspects of Dragon Age: Inquisition, as I have just completed the most bare bones "finish the story so no one can spoil me" playthrough of the game, clocked at "a mere" 93 hours.  There is a bit of a learning curve here for RPG and Dragon Age fans alike in this game, and I'll briefly go over that in this entry.
Right out of the gate, this step in the series already slays its predecessors on character creation breadth of choices, both cosmetic and racial. Â Both genders of the four main races of the Dragon Age world are available to the player, though most if not all "origins" (the "what kind of person are you in society itself" details) are preset, which is a fair trade off for the addition of the 4th race! The traditional three classes of mage, rogue and warrior are available, and the archetypes available for character concepts amidst skill and specialization trees are broad and accommodating. I will say, however, that the dual wielding warrior concept died after the first game, and has not returned for this one.
Combat is a.... carefully attempted hybrid between Dragon Age 2's (DA2) more "console-y" active style and Dragon Age: Origins' (DAO) potential for tactical depth. Â Sadly the PC keyboard controls, as of this writing, leave much to be desired for tactical view, and for some melee gameplay. Â There is a patch in the works to address this common gripe, so they are aware that it's a little wonky in practice right now. Â I will say that, on normal difficulty, I rarely had to use tactical mode, as the "lead from the front" aspect of the action end of the game was sufficient for most fights.
The story is archetypical and satisfying as a fantasy game, like the rest of the Dragon Age series, but for those that are truly Dragon Age enthusiasts, there are a great many references to past games and accompanying literature that has been released over the years. Â This game, which has borrowed a LOT from Skyrim's lead in the genre, can easily, easily, occupy an enthusiastic "completionist" player for countless hours of exploration, adventure and a richly presented tour through one of the most fully imagined fantasy worlds in video games.
Speaking of that presentation, "Overt shininess" aside, the game is utterly breathtaking both visually and audibly, and the land of Thedas' varied and dynamic horizons and regions play out in stunning detail. Â For those like me that have been using MMORPGs as a "default open world game" for years, as any longtime Skyrim fan can tell you, there are new heights that developers can go to when they don't have to build the game around potentially processing fifty players on the screen at any given time. Â DAI's Thedas is the most beautiful world I have ever explored in all my years of playing large world RPGs, online or off, and I have only seen a taste of it in my first rush through the story!
Let's take a moment to talk about one of the most jarring conceptual choices of DAI's combat design, notably in a game that exists as part of a series that is a cornerstone to an established genre with expectations and archetypes that come with it:
There are no devoted healers in this game.
Your health will go down. Â And stay down. Â For awhile. Your mana will regenerate, but none of that can be used to restore your health, which also doesn't passively regenerate between fights. Â Your health will go down, and stay down, until you use limited quantity, party-shared healing resources, or a specific mage specialization's "oh crap" long cooldown ability to restore it. Â There is shielding (think discipline priests in WoW), there are barriers that any mage can cast to come between your health bar and its depletion, but they are AOE, ground-targeted, and limited, very limited duration in nature. Â I did indeed beat the game as a squishy mage on the "normal" setting (so, I did not need to dip to "casual" mode to complete the story content), but I will likely not be doing that again. Â I have proven to myself that I can do it, and will henceforth likely be dropping to casual because, while I did just fine and finished the core story, I was also always aware of my less-than-full health bars, a detail that will likely be less prevalent on casual. Â I must say that the one mod I feel this game absolutely needs for my comfort is, like friendly fire being an optional toggle seperate from difficulty (thank the Maker), there needs to be at least a "between fight health regeneration" mod. Â No fight that can't kill me by itself should affect my success in the next fight, as I see it, and I will mod that ideal into being if that mod ever exists. Â This is my only complaint with the game that I've mentioned to people that ask my opinion. It does not sink the game's quality, but it is a notable annoyance.
Don't even start me on the lore aspect that mages have always been able to heal in this world....
Moving on, I should talk about the unique and interesting way the story progresses in Inquisition. Â There is a hub of story and explorable area nodes that you can unlock as you progress through side quests and other tasks, using a resource called "power." Â Generally speaking, the pace of single-mindedly driving the plot forward, racking up power, and then spending it on the next step in the story, leveling up your character as you do so, only really felt daunting at one point late in the game where one reaches a point that felt like "go do some side quests, it'll be fun, go earn some power," and fun it was! Â Once I stopped looking at "I need HOW much power?" and just settled on enjoying the game, and exploring the world, the needed power to progress the story came easily. Â It is important, very very important to note, that you are almost immediately given waaaaay more quests and tasks to do than you will need to rack up the power to progress the story, and this will be a theme that persists throughout, as my quest log was still comically loaded as I reached the end credits. Â A common running gag among the DAI player community is asking if you've left the first explorable area yet, as you can, and should (if you want to meet all of your potential companions) long, long before you've barely dented the side quests there. Â The incomplete side quests never go away once you have the open world areas to complete them, and after the end of the story, the only quests you cannot still go out and complete are the companion story quests. Â Earlier on, the story rarely feels gated by power, but if you want to see the individual stories of your companions, you'll be racking it up anyway.
Speaking of your companions, I can tell you without spoilers that the old adage of "if you have no enemies, you have no character" is well represented amidst what I've found to be the most fun and engaging set of companions that this series has ever put forth, and that, indeed, is saying something! Â A playthrough can be done where everyone gets along with you, but if you, as a fan of the world of Thedas, bake any strong opinions about the cultures, politics and issues of the world into your character, be prepared to be both praised and opposed from different companions, who, by the way, will know and react to your choices whether they are present when you make them or not... you're an important person, word gets around. Â This is a hard bunch to get to work together, and it makes for a challenge for someone who wants to do so, as well as an immersive reality for those playing specifically strong-minded characters! Â Also, while I have not experienced this, I don't believe the DA2 "rivalry" system exists in this game. Â If you anger someone enough, prepare to have them potentially leave! Â Speaking romantically on companions, it's fair to note that the men and women around you have very specific tastes, just like real people, and are not "player-sexual," like DA2's "I'll love whatever the player is" companions. Â I tend to debate against this choice from a perspective of player enjoyment, but I can see both sides. Â Just be aware, that, unlike DA2, that dashing man you may wish to woo with your feminine wiles may not be interested in you that way, that's just not how he's wired. I'm sure, if anyone ever cracks the frostbite engine (apparently a daunting task), that there will be mods for that! A final word on companions, the idea of "gifts" has been replaced by specific "kill ten rats" or "fedex" style quests that give rather large amounts of approval rating for the companion asking for the favour, in case you really tick someone off with your choices and need to make up the difference to keep from potentially losing them, or just want to dig deeper into that companion's personal quest... or want to sleep with them. Â Nothing says love like roaming the countryside murdering someone's enemies!
Touching again on the mechanics of the story, the choices made here are utterly world-shaping and catastrophically important, which just adds to the overall feel of epicness! I encountered almost no cases of "gross unfairness" with the flow and mechanics of the storytelling, save for one rather politically charged plotline where the game combined three things that should never be combined: One-time access to an area, important loot that you may never see again, and a ticking timer. Remember to save often, remember the pause button, and remember to breathe! I can also say that the "perks" you unlock as you gain "influence" (the stat that essentially measures the "level" of your organization as a whole) are incredibly limited in a scant, rushed playthrough, and present some rather tough choices between essentials like inventory space, more of that precious shared healing resource, and the ability to unlock very stubborn doors in the world. Always, ALWAYS save before summoning your council of advisors, and read carefully all of the options for perks you can potentially unlock!
I'll take a moment to discuss and contextualize the robust, but still intuitive crafting in the game. I was able to make it through the story doing very little crafting, so it's not an essential feature for those not into it, however it does allow a refreshing degree of cosmetic customization as you apply the differently coloured metals and fabrics to make a weapon or suit of armour for yourself. It's not essential, but it's a fun option. Â Somewhat related, the economy has advanced quite a ways from DAO's "a gold piece is a big deal" reality, as the 300+ gold "respec" item you gain infinite purchase access to (I was ecstatic about this, one less mod to look for!) is generally a drop in the bucket by the time you'll use it.
One final point of note, that was jarring to most people I've talked to about the game, and often in a surprised, funny way, is that unlike the rest of the Dragon Age series, this game is very very not scaled to the level of your character, you must level to meet the various challenges, and there may be something vastly over your head around the next corner, so save often! The story nodes you unlock in the game thankfully tell you the required level range before you commit to undertaking them, and I never found myself with the power to unlock a story chapter, but without the levels to meet the challenges. I never had to level grind, the levels came as I completed power-gaining tasks, all relatively at the same time.
Overall, Dragon Age Inquisition is a well crafted game, and that's putting it lightly. The lack of healing magic is... jarring, but it's not a game designed around having healing either, not mechanically anyway. The story is doled out in a "when you get around to it" fashion, allowing for you to take your time to savour the world before advancing the plot and enjoying the next "episode," and all of the hallmarks of Dragon Age are well represented: a rich world, fun companions, and a storyline more epic than any I've played in awhile, indeed I sometimes found I couldn't get myself to sit down and play unless I had 2-3 hours to spend on it, but once I sat down, and took things one objective at a time, I found the game very easy to pick up and play for awhile... but man, those story episodes are riveting! The game takes cues both from Skyrim and ideas that MMORPGs have added to the over-arching RPG genre, but it does so in a way that nothing ever truly feels pointless, it all feeds into power and influence, which can and does work to drive the story of your adventures in Thedas forward.
I highly, highly recommend this game to any RPG enthusiast, and hope you enjoy the game as much as I did!
And now... to start another playthrough of Dragon Age... the entire series, from top to bottom!
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