ragon Age: Origins is just timeless. That Orzammar Quest and Deep Roads is
still the best in the entire franchise. There’s just something so intimate about
the politics of the claustrophobic dwarven city, that often leads to violent dramatic reproach. Combine this with the venture into the deep roads as you wade through darkspawn is a true test of
your grit as a Grey Warden.
After watching The Witcher Season 2 I wanted to see what the
Elven Alienage origin was like. And well, after a dozen mods and my fourth
playthrough I can confidently say the game sucked me in one more time. My
Warden, Fenullr was a cunning and logical rogue, that attacked from afar while
using her wit to order others into a tactically superior position. I’ve never
played a dwarven or elven playthrough and it surprised me just how much dialogue
there is specific to your race, it’s awesome. The game reminds me of how just
complete a package it is. Venturing in any order you wish, you delve into
unique factions and their issues, helping them so they can help you. Ostagar is
an epic battle of consequence, reminiscent of LOTR. The battle almost wipes out
the Grey Wardens including the father figure Duncan who just recruited you and
sets you on your quest to save the world. It's sets you on a path as a fugitive against a Game of Thrones to gather an army by solving the worlds (or at least the people in its) problems. Out of any BioWare game I’ve played
(which is most of them) this has the most depth in it’s characters. With their
own multi-dimensional personality, beliefs, motives, tastes and hates. Loghain
is a perfect example of this. The Grey Warden were exiled for taking arms
against the throne, and Loghain sees their return and the blight as false
pretence to weaken the crown for an invasion by Orlais – who had occupied the
country for centuries before Loghain and King Maric freed the country. So he
betrays you and his King at Ostagar, to save the country. Every villain thinks
they’re the hero. To his credit, he was correct in some ways. After the Blight
Orlais did invade Fereldan.
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| Wynne the Arcane Warrior is just badass... |
 |
| The dark world Dragon Age captured is like no other (even compared to sequels). |
The characters are just so good. Morrigan and the way she
talks in particulars, her mannerisms, all evoked from a book rather than
learning from social circles growing up. Her wit and guile. Her self-serving
manner, that you either condone or turn a blind eye to her because you need her
power. The agenda she works towards, and actively utilises her relationship
with you to save herself as a future vessel for Flemmeth. It’s clear that her
mother; A. wanted the soul of an old god and B. would have taken control of a
more powerful and pregnant Morrigan once this was achieved. But she foils her
before she has the chance. She is one of the most unique character in any game
ever.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
When I first played Inquisition, I was so excited. The
reviews were far better then Origin, it promised a Skyrim meets Witcher meets
Dragon Age tier game. It even won game of the year! But it was anything but, it failed on so many counts with
resources divided too far a clear depth of its predecessor.
I returned to wrap up some side content and play the DLC.
The first thing I remembered is just how God damn much there is. I had 4-5
zones left to complete and that took me 30+ hours. Keep in mind I had already
played 90 hours. The banter is just not as good as Origins. It feels forced and the
connections or what they relate to don’t make sense. Vivienne chastising the
Iron Bull for not cleaning his blade… slightly comical but who cares? Where’s the actual
exploration of the characters history, as a child, as a young mercenary, or
Vivienne in the circle? I remember finding out through discussions of Wynne and
Alistair that she had a child… but it had to be taken by the Templars.
Holy shit that’s good character building right there... so where is it in Inquisition? Why do I know fucking nothing about those characters beyond a surface level that I'm destined to forget?
Other than serious MMO tier fetch quests bloating the game,
the lack of characters is where this game fails. Even more so as a hallmark of
BioWare, the reason I play their games. There is more memorable character writing in a D-tier throwaway
side-villain in Dragon Age: Origins or Mass Effect then there is in any of the
villains in this. Even the big bad is largely forgettable and uninteresting,
Flemmeth, Solas and Morrigan providing much more interesting side-plots. In the
Hinterlands you find a Carta smuggling Red Lyrium, with notes commentating on
the underbelly of Orzammar and its corruption, relying on the casteless surface
dwarves for their black trade. Where the hell is the conversation with their
leader; why can’t I pit them against their Mercenary Group leader in the
fortress. Or the snowy landscape of Emprise du Lion, where you can clear the
entire map, which has some great environmental storytelling around the mage and
templar conflict, but beyond that you have two conversations. One to speak to a
knight to hunt down a demon, and two to talk to demon with one dialogue tree and
choose, power, or kill. Where’s the desperation and marks left from the war? Why
does this game feel so damn empty….
The characters are not memorable, but the experience is. The
best character is the war table, your councils, how the pitch camps and your
agents spread out, build bridges in the deep roads, attain resources and allies
through politicking and of course who could forget the venture into Skyhold,
the bastion of The Inquisition. Expanding the grasp of the inquisition and
rebuilding its power and influence (literally a form of experience in the game)
while venturing throughout the stunning Thedas is a great experience. Or it would if you were actually an Inquisition and not just a Conqueror.
However the lack of BioWare signature story, characters, and
dialogue undermines even this. In a game all about demons, it has the least to
do with them. Demons hide, manipulate humans to do their bidding, they’re never
in plain sight. They would require careful inquiry and investigation by agents.
So it’s too bad there’s none. Instead they’re turned into the new Darkspawn
threat so you can grind them and hunt them down in droves. I understand the
need for cannon fodder, this is a game that needs to satisfy moment to moment
combat. But it could have been done with more wit. It was always described
that there was a demon hierarchy, and the further you go up those rankings the
more they use powerful magic and manipulation to get there means. Instead
they’re all turned into mini-bosses out in the open. Perhaps rage demons and
pride demons (which combine all three disciplines, combat, magic, manipulation)
could have been the cannon fodder, expanding their range beyond the basic
elemental looking rage demon model we've seen for 3 games. Then pleasure, desire, sloth demons etc could
have been much rarer and hidden in social hubs (if there were any) and you had to oust them.
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| Cool design bro, just wish your chat game was a good... |
Like many sequels, on its own Dragon Age Inquisition is a
fine game. A fantastic game in some ways. But compared to Dragon Age Origins
it’s a lacklustre sequel for what made that series great. It fails on the
hallmark of BioWare game, memorable characters and story. But it also fails on
what made the series unique in the first place, how grounded and dark
it was. What do I mean by that? Well the Origin system from the very get go
ground you in that world. It castes you into one of many factions, of whom you
will return to at a later date to help and recruit to your cause. It gives you
a sense of belonging, and not only that your decisions are influenced by it. Every origin also has some form of tragedy that thrusts you into the ranks of the Grey Wardens. My
original human noble was exactly that, a noble warrior. My Elven Mage turned
Arcane Warrior was a mixed bag, calculating, noble, merciful but most of all
wise due to having such a varied background. My Elven Rogue from the Alienage
was cunning and witty. Always considering the best tact to achieve her goals,
though not always noble, she had a heart of gold when it come to the oppressed
and downtrodden, always making time for them when possible. Every character is
different and memorable in its own way. And even now I still want to do a
Dwarven playthrough, a Dalish playthrough and much more. No game I have ever
played has had more memorable choices than that. Inquisition by comparison
is completely forgettable. Yes, you have the experience, but that’s vague. It’s
hazy and indistinct. Like a nice dream and visit to the Fade, you can’t
remember it quite well. Dragon Age Origins was also Dark. And not just in the
grand plotlines but every little choice. Sparing or killing innocents, robbing
for your own gain. Mages are prisoners, cursed by the constant threat of
demons. Often turned to tranquil emotionless husks when they show any sign of
weakness. Dwarves fight for survival and there is always infighting in the
intimate Deep Roads. Elves are servants at best, tragic victims at worst. Their
culture lost to them. There are dark religious overtones, zealous orders, and
the taint of man’s corruption always threatening everyone’s existence. Compared
to Inquisition I never felt that dire, that looming destruction or desperation
in a villager. I can only describe it as feeling very Disney by comparison. Yes
the judgements were cool and interesting, adding to that overall Fade like
tapestry of The Inquisitor – but the decisions didn’t stick. They felt white
washed. Perhaps it was because the characters didn’t feel memorable, so any
consequence was not either by association. Dorian and Blackwall were the most
interesting and well-catered imo. I wanted to like Sera, Cole, Vivienne, Iron
Bull, etc. But they were just potential unfulfilled. Other then Solas of
course, the Dreamwalker, the Dreadwolf, the only character that feels fully
fleshed out, written well and executed perfectly.
Reading through the wiki I realise two things. The story is actually good, a classic heroes journey, and
many aspects are handled well such as expanding religion as the Herald of
Andraste and how the player can embrace or deny it. Or the time travel being done
well in a limited fashion and not breaking the entire world. The journey to
prove yourself, closing the breach, defending Haven and thwarting a god in its
defence before journeying to Skyhold to re-establish the Inquisition. It’s a
great story on paper, but that’s it, it wasn’t executed well with copious
amounts of filler content and uninteresting characters getting in the way. And even what’s their fails to
have the same impact as prior games, perhaps stretched to thin focusing on
other areas of the game. Resolving the splinter groups from the mage-templar
conflict, or the Grey Wardens being manipulated into summoning demons through
blood magic and waging one final assault on the old gods before they succumb to
the calling (which was planted by Corypheus). Preventing an assassination plot
and coup, as you attempt to navigate the courts and smiling assassins of
Orlais. Morrigan, Mythal, Solas, the Well of Sorrows and the Dread Wolf in the
final act. These are great stories to rival Dragon Age Origins or any BioWare
story but they fall so short simply because of filler and a lack of clear
vision.
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| Is it ironic that the expansive deserts (that are optional) are the worst filler parts of this game? |
The characters, especially outside the party, are bland and
forgettable on every level. Reading about characters again I realise just how
little an impression they left on me. I did not remember one. I couldn’t
believe that. It’s hard to remember why because I don’t remember. But the fact
that they all look so generic likely has something to do with it. Dragon Age
Origins had the issue of reusing assets, but the main characters absolutely had
their unique look. Even Loghain’s cutthroat lackey Howe is more memorable then
Corypheus lieutenants. Inquisition falls somewhere in between with each
character looking different, but very samey with similar facial structures. The
other bad X factor is I don’t have a single memorable interaction with these
characters at all, and that’s likely due to how hollow the dialogue is. Your
character A. has no memorable choices to make in most conversations and B.
never says anything particularly note-worthy. Hawke was written and performed
far better. I think the main character and writing suffered because of quantity
over quality. They wanted to deliver the same amount of backgrounds as origins,
but were severely limited in creating unique characters as they’re all voice
acted. Loghain and Urthemiel the Archdemon had clear intentions from the start.
Corypheus is too…. Destroy the world? What kind of motivation is that. Make the
Tevinter Imperium great again by bringing in demons to destroy the world? Is
this an empire of demons? How is this villain relatable in any way? Sure the
Archdemon wasn’t but I would argue Loghain, his betrayal, civil war and
resolution was far more memorable then the Blight. And without it that
story would have felt less Game of Thrones and more run of the mill Lord of the
Rings, been there done that.
The most redeeming quality about the game beyond the
stunning surface level backdrops you explore is the reinvigorated gameplay. The
builds have a lot of depth, the gameplay feels punchy and a step above Dragon
Age: Origins which felt too floaty CRPG for a game that was attempting to be
more action orientated with its 3rd person view and on console
(which in hindsight, makes it seem like 3rd person and console ports
were an afterthought post EA and Mass Effect success). The guard mechanic (overshield)
from taunts, barrier from mages and various abilities make for a fun gameplay
loop. Various abilities can make these feed off each other, such as diminished
barriers providing boosts in magic to the mage. Shield wall is no longer a
passive but an active ability where the user holds up their shield to gain
guard. When well-timed you can block enemy attacks, gain a guard overshield,
and then continue fighting. A feeling you’d expect to find more in a Dark Souls
experience then Dragon Age. But after a while you feel the lack of depth in
combat. Take my character for example. A sly rogue with a heart of gold and
chance for redemption, using dual daggers he augments himself with potions and
alchemy to give him an edge. Pop a lightning flask and lock on to enemy, to see
him cut to ribbons? Epic! But instead, half the time you see the character
jitter on the spot, as if the AI is having an aneurism. Attempts to make the game tactical again were
made, but the tactical camera, character positioning and interaction is far too
clunky whereas DAO was buttery smooth in that regard (literally point and
click). Unfortunately, it falls into the category of clunky action game where
you fight the controls as much as your foes. The difference in game engines,
one made for RPGs, the other for first person shooters is quite apparent here.
The biggest misnomer is without a doubt the restriction to 8 abilities. I felt
myself wanting to take 2 mages just to make up for the lack of abilities.
Despite having one mage one warrior and one rogue one extra warrior/rogue DPS
in every DAO playthrough. Early on its fine, as you focus on honing a few
abilities, but later into the 20s you can be invested into 3-4 skill trees, but
you can only ever equip one. WTF is that? Why? Apologists say it’s to
streamline gameplay and make you carefully consider what to take. Okay sure,
but that’s not tactical, it’s a lazy convenient excuse. The more tools you have
at your disposal for more situations, the more tactical it is. Yes, all those
spells weren’t necessary in DAO, but that wasn’t an issue with the awesome
spells it was with the enemy design. That enemy design has even made
efforts to improve here with far more elemental resistances, but I never felt like
my Mage should (or could) be equipped with a little from each just in case.
Instead of ramping up enemy design, it reduces ability design. The loot isn’t
much better. For a game that’s clearly a testbed for live service games, it
lacks the game changing loot from something like Destiny or Diablo. I’ve never
picked up an item that has an effect that makes me want to create an entire build
around it. Where’s the ‘Guardian of the Veil’, a shield that after killing an
enemy you have 20% to cast Spirit Mark and revive them as an ally. Looking back,
I’m not surprised DA4 was meant to be a live service game; I wouldn’t be
surprised if DA3 was meant to be. Combine the multiplayer mode of DAI and loot
system, with the MMO grind and vast world of the story and you basically have
one. Even the lore reminds me of Destiny; DAO was bad enough with its codex but
with dialogue lacking here motivations and history feel restricted to notes you
find, and no one will read. I’m glad Anthem died, because Dragon Age 4 would
have never stood a chance if it didn’t.
The overall feeling about Inquisition can be summarised up
as that MMO feel. I have never played an RPG quite like Dragon Age Inquisition
where you go out, grind and do fetch quests for hours before returning to a hub
to hand in a bunch of quests. It’s bland, uninteresting and it doesn’t take
long before the beautiful scenery becomes shallow eye candy. What little
interesting story there is (as previously demonstrated, it does exist) falls
victim to severe bloat dragging it out and getting in the way.
The Descent
The Deep roads was my favourite quest in all of dragon age
and I was happy to delve into its depths one more time. Seeing it in its full
glory, the towering dwaren statues, underground cities from a worms eye view was awe inspiring. They did the ruins of an ancient
Dwarven civilisation true justice. The endless caverns and stone
structures. The legion is always so damn cool. Though I wish they had a last
stand moment like in Dragon Age: Origins, or perhaps you had to help them
defend a camp together. Instead, the Legion is pretty much just Renn (until
he’s dead. RIP) and Valta. The two characters and their relationship is quite
enjoyable, taking me back to Dragon Age days. Renn the classic indestructible
stoic come at me dwarf, and Valta the also strong wise cracking Shaper. They
seem like a married couple. It made me realise there’s never been a Dragon Age
game with two of the same race. A caste/surface city born dwarf to argue with a
noble exile dwarf, or a proud Dalish to argue with an alienage elf. Here’s hoping they do that in the next title.
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| Visually the best part of Dragon Age Inquisition. |
The final boss, the Guardian sucked. I just couldn’t. I was
low, no supply crate to fight back, he’s in a small area and can hit everyone
from 360-degree angle. No way to avoid it as you fight this giant rock blob.
It’s garbage tier and I dropped that difficult right down to easy and powered
through it. The Sha-Brytol are ancient guardian dwarves that consume the lyrium
blood of Titans, craft weapons from its blood, and act as it’s guardian. The
titans are giant carvens and so the Sha-Brytol are basically white blood cells,
removing the foreign bodies from its system (you). The build up to this is
quite well done, with characters questioning why there are no darkspawn
(foreign bodies) down here. But beyond that it’s underwhelming. Like the rest
of Inquisition, there’s a severe lack of dialogue. Nothing to build adversary
between you and your enemy. Instead, they’re just cannon fodder. The plot twist
for the lore was interesting, exploring the origins of the Dwarves. After
finishing the DLC, I realise how much more it explored the lore then the main
lines games – and with better characters. Trespasser with Elves and
their gods, Evanuris; Jaws of Hakkon with the Avvar and Deep Roads with dwarves
and their progenitors the Titans; the source of all lyrium as their blood, who
once warred with the Evanuris. It’s clear why they’re considered better because
they follow BioWare’s strengths.
Jaws of Hakkon
The Avaar are interesting with their own culture focused on spiritualism
and nature worship. Each hold has a spirit animal as a member of their society,
a bear that can roam free for example. The fact that each mage or Augur binds
itself to a spirit to learn magic is a novel and interesting take on Shamanism in a world where magic can be explosively deadly and evil.
The gods themselves are essentially powerful spirits, Hakkon rivalling even an
Old God in strength. The “gods” die as they say and are reborn. In other words
the spirit they worship disappears or dies, and is replaced as they draw another in with
offerings. They call to spirits in battle, who protect and watch over them,
something a kin to Vikings and Valkyrie. But ultimately it has the same issues
as DAI. At least The Descent has hid its lack of story behind a mostly linear journey
into the deep roads and the nostalgic life it breathed into the Deep Roads. But
Jaws is more collecting, more grinding. And my god that difficulty spike… the
stacks of ice damage and enemies who 2 hit you. Dragon Age Inquisition already
had balancing issues with its level gated areas. Negating any changes you have
against enemies completely (at least The Witcher 3 you could potentially
outfight enemies through patience, wit and/or OP builds) or turning an already
boring area into pure tedium with under-levelled enemies that have zero threat
even on Nightmare difficulty.
Credit where credit is due. The area is well paced, I never
wanted to uninstall the game in the process of doing the fetch quests and the
environments are stunning. Treetops and dense jungles jot the area with an
alluring attraction that always feels reminiscent of stories about lost
treasurer hunters. It’s beautiful. But why can’t I choose whether to side with
the bear tribe or the Jaws of Hakkon? Both could have helped me in my plight.
So where’s the choice? Beyond the occasional inconsequential dialogue option
there is none. I side with the white knights with the moral high ground. The Inquisition
are the good guys (for the first time in history or fiction ever) and fight the
bad guys. The death of morally grey choices in this game is an insult to the DNA of what Dragon Age is. The dark setting attracted so many to
experience such a unique story with varied decisions on a wide grey scale moral compass.
Ameridian is cooler than my own Inquisitor… outside of a few
interesting speeches he had more to say and was more well developed then my own
character which I evolved (as much as I could) throughout Inquisition. He (the
Inquisitor) never has anything interesting or memorable to say like Ameridian. The character
is at this weird middle ground between established voiced character like Geralt
or Shepard or original unvoiced like Skyrim or DAO. There's a reason they have
no voice, it's meant to be yours. Instead, it just sounds generic with no real
identity so it can appease everyone. Fallout 4 was the same
Trespasser
Finished Trespasser. It's better than all of Inquisition
combined in my opinion. Funny that, when you focus your creative intent on a singular experience and focused story instead of a generic open world with filler content. The crossroads was awesome, a world beyond worlds and the home of the Elves that was starved of all life and left to die when Solas put up the fade. It had an MC Escher style to it and an enjoyable puzzle experience. Beating the Qunari to the punch made for a interesting string to pull you through this world. In addition to the anchor going ballistic and slowly killing the Inquisitor (requiring you to find Solas to save you again as did at the very beginning). Not much is added in terms of gameplay, but the story is enough for you to enjoy, it felt like a true single mission from Dragon Age: Origins. The remnants of
the Elven world being destroyed by the dread wolf Solas, and the Evanuris (Elven Gods) being tyrant mages is fascinating and sets up an interesting juxtaposition with
the Tevinter/humans repeating their mistakes. The quest does a great job foreshadowing this, with intricate murals. Such as the Dread Wolf freeing the people from the Evanuris and removing their face tattoos (turns out those prized Dalish tattoos are actually "slave markings"). Or the elves riding with the wolf into battle on Valla, presumably against the Evanuris. The highlights were great. It was amazing to finally fight a Saarebas unleashed by the Arvaarad master (meaning holds back evil).
I love the Qunari and their culture. A collectivist nation where you're born into your purpose. I'll always remember Sten's sword, his birth right and soul, that sent him into a berserker rage and a family into an early grave before you found him imprisoned in a cage for his deeds. It's one of the most unique pieces of lore in Dragon Age. The Iron Bull betrays you (of course, never liked him anyway). Solas turns the Qunari leader into stone and removes your Anchor, not before answering many of your questions. He's the dreadwolf, creating the veil to free his people was a mistake. It destroyed their world and enslaved them again in this one. And humans and dwarves are not worth saving, so he intends to bring it down to return his people to their former glory. You have many choices and I choose to pursue the good in my friend, foreshadowing the next game. You awake to find the anchor aka your arm is removed. The Inquisition will not be disbanded, it has a renewed goal as peacekeepers for the The Divine (Victoria). Dorian heads back to Tevinter, Cassandra remains at your side in the Inquisition (aww). Don't care too much about them. Varrick hangs around but has duties as the Lord of Kirkwall (badass and fitting). The rest I could give zero fucks about - the characters were dreadful compare to prior games. They can't even be killed. Where's the consequence for investing my interest in these characters? Apologists and their excuses "oh they can't be reused in new games". But they die in Trespasser anyway. Everybody. Literally everyone can die in Dragon Age Origins. Now THAT is an RPG. Still Trespasser was a great romp and hopefully foreshadows what's to come in the troubled Dragon Age 4.
P.S. The Elven Gods, powerful beings of magical proportions like Solas, or Corypheus (hint hint) are totally the corrupted Old Gods worshipped by Tevinter. Calling it now.
