Prior to DAI (Dragon Age Inquisition) the world was pretty much settled on the fact that DA Origins was the far better game, much worth playing and that DA2 was a letdown, never to be revisited again. Right from the main menu, we get the sense that DA2 was much more important than we think, especially if you have played it fully and made the "right" (canon) choices. The game gets going. There is no gradual start, and immediately after creating your character, you are thrust into the chaos that is the grounds of the Temple of Sacred Ashes. A new enemy has arrived and has destroyed the conclave between templars and mages, which was being presided over by Divine Justinia who was killed in an explosion along with hundreds of others. Your character was found in the site wielding a strange mark on his hand capable of interacting with the breach which has appeared in the sky. Right from this point starts the 2 major points about DAI's narration: a brilliantly political and religious take on a fantasy setting with wonderful characters and deep lore important to the setting but way too detailed and unaided to get into easily. It helps if you have played the 2 previous games sooner than not because otherwise getting into the setting of the story is long and arduous. It is absolutely essential to know the story of the previous game at the very least, if not both and it is a bit surprisingly sad that DAI, from that point onwards, takes itself to be a stand-alone game, on the shoulders of its predecessors but otherwise independent of the other choices you had made previously. But that got me thinking, and after a nights sleep over these 3 games I realised Dragon Age games arent that open-ended anyway, except probably the first one which is there to set up the settings of the next 2 games. Bioware has made 3 games with a definite goal in mind, a point in the story that must arrive in order to go forward. And no matter what you do, you will get to that point by the end of DAI which brilliantly sets up the next games in the franchise. A classic RPG open-endedness would open up new paths which might be exciting to explore but might not lead to the final moments of this game. It is for this particular reason, this particular ending games 2 and 3 (Inquisition) are less nuanced than Origin. While Origins asks you to make multiple choices that set up the world, 2 and 3 carry the story forward in that setting with minor changes along the way (as per the choices you make while playing) but eventually all roads lead to the same destination. Call it making shallow RPGs, I call it the polishing of a new breed of RPG games Bioware is being known for: action RPGs. Games where major plot points are predetermined but the roads to that point are varied and the focus is on characters, the world, the lore and the gameplay. The benefit is that it sets up the next games brilliantly if the ultimate struggle, the ultimate clash is already established and the entirety of the game is discovering only the manner in which you fight that battle. We saw it with the Mass Effect trilogy and Dragon Age Inquisition perfects that genre.
But what if casual RPG fans? What of those who would like to pick this game up to get introduced to the setting and then perhaps revisit the older games? That is where this game loses ground. It is almost impossible to get into the story if you aren't at least versed in the lore because it hits the ground running. There is no "previously on" there are no guides or cutscenes which let you catch up with the story. All recaps are through conversations and codex entries which you have to read to understand what is going on. And even for fans of the series, like me, who have played the games and even gone to the lengths of picking up books about the world, it gets tiring to read all the codex entries to see which contains plot lines, which add depths to characters you are being introduced to in the game and which merely further the lore by adding intricate details like poems, fantasy tales, history and even conversations about a God or important character. It is for these 2 developmental choices - pre-established continuity of the storyline, and intensely demanding background check- have I given an 8 to an otherwise excellent game, more of which I write below.
The biggest achievement of DAI is that by the end of the game your created character is as real, fully fleshed out as the other characters, with his/her own beliefs, ideologies, personality and life choices. By the end of my 150-hour playthrough, I realised he was as real to me as was Commander Shepard (also probably because DAI itself is longer than the entire Mass Effect trilogy). The engine is partly responsible for this, Frostbite does an outstanding job making this quite possibly the best action RPG in the market. Conversations look realistic, the voice acting is on point and smaller expressions come through nicely which keep adding to the immersion of being in a fantasy world with real problems and real people. Depending on your background, as you progress the story and earn influence for your inquisition you have the ability to unlock newer dialogue options which are much more important than you think and each conversation then comes to life as your character gets more information about the history and setting of events and people concerned. This is perhaps the best character creation I have experienced in terms of growth over the course of the game, perhaps rivalled by Divinity OS 2, but even there the conversations did not have the depth and organic feel to it as the Inquisitor has here. It was intensely rewarding to see my dalish elf, thin and unimposing grow into his role as the inquisitor with intellect, personality, decision making, relationships and new powers and by the end, I felt he was a character well set into the stone of this establishment, one who can never be replaced or rehashed in any shape or form. It is the biggest plus of a game very late into the genre of games known for making nameless, voiceless protagonists serving a higher cause only to be remembered as "my character" when looked back upon in a few years time.
But the Inquisitor can only be as good as the rest of the team, and the rest of the team is simply brilliant. Cassandra, a Seeker (lore, remember?) arrests and rescues you from the Temple of Sacred Ashes and remains with you till the end with her strong demeanour and iron will to set things right the way all Seekers are meant to police over the proceedings between Templars and Mages. Varric, the returning merchant from DA2, with his trusty Bianca is as entertaining as you might expect from a swindler who writes fiction running from authorities. Newer faces like Sera, the Robin Hood of elves, Iron Bull, the best Qunari mercenary you can imagine, Dorian Pavus from Tevinter, son of a Magister who refuses to acknowledge Dorian's sexuality, Vivienne from Orlais, advisor to Queen Celene herself, Warden Blackwall who might just have more to his story than he lets out, Cole, who might just have the best character quest in all RPGs (trust me, you will question humanity after his story) and Solas. Oh, what can I say about Solas. The recluse apostate, who knows more about the fade than any other living being, and who saves you from the anchor that is known as the mark from killing you, and sometimes loses you in a conversation about spirits, magic, the fade, what it is to be an elf and other things no one else will talk to you about.
And the final character is the world itself. Religion and politics play a bigger role here than in any other fantasy setting and each nation, community, individuals have their own reasons for believing in what they believe in. The title of "Herald of Andraste" is probably more closely associated with our own world than we know and if you view the proceedings of the game from a holistic perspective, you will find how faith shapes our lives. Worldbuilding is excellently executed here as truths about past beliefs, facts about establishments, secrets about the order of things come to light which shakes the very foundations of races, nations and their people.
Gameplay too has improved, especially if you found DA2 to be too straight forward and action-oriented (which it was) with the returning tactical camera, which though isn't perfect, still does the job pretty well. The graphics, as I have said earlier about the Frostbite engine, is awesome and spells, explosions, blood and weather effects look stunning. It also helps that the game is spread over multiple maps each with its own charm. From barren deserts to tropical greens, from rain-drenched coasts to underground caverns, every area is uniquely detailed and there are more to see in each area than you will discover at first glance. The ability trees are pretty comprehensive and you can respec as many times as you want until you find the perfect party combination for the trials ahead. Weapons and armours are customisable if you have found the schematics, the same armour can be crafted in multiple ways to give different buffs and the same goes for weapons. Staffs, swords, greatswords, axes mauls, shields, daggers and bows all have their unique stats and you will find newer and better bows in the latter parts of the game, especially in the DLCs.
Lastly, the DLCs are a must-play as the first 2 explore further the mythos of the land and reveals exiting details about the secrets of dwarves and the first Inquisition (The Decent and Jaws of Hakkon respectively) while Trespasser might just be the best 7-8 hours of gameplay DAI can offer, both in terms of combat and storytelling.
Dragon Age Inquisition is the best of a new type of RPGs Bioware are known to be good at making and it deserves every bit of applause it has received thus far. Minor glitches aside the gameplay is smooth and heavily action-oriented while retaining the tactical elements of Origins. The story, while not as nuanced as the first, is compelling and fast with wonderful characters with their stories, unexplored lands with secrets to reveal and a world with more politics and religion bothering it than our own. Or is it.