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Dragon Age: Inquisition, the third instalment in Bioware’s fantasy universe is upon us, it is welcoming to new and old players alike. You don’t have to have played Origins or Dragon Age 2 to understand the story or what is going on, you literally just jump into this new game and start off questing to unite the world and band together towards a common enemy.
The plot itself sees you waking at the start of the game; you have lost your memory and you get captured within the first few minutes of play. After being taken to a keep it is decided that you may not have caused the demonic rift to tear open the sky and spewing demons into the world. They decide to let you live for the moment as you bear a green mark on your hand that could be put to some good use in closing a nearby rift.
During this opening scene just after you wake you are taken to the character creation screen, here you can choose from Human, Elf, Dwarf or Qunari (both male and female variations are available) and select the usual RPG character classes such as Mage, Rogue or Warrior. The warrior does have different sub classes like 2-handed weapons specialist, sword and shield and a tree that is setup so you are at the forefront taking damage protecting your party. Mages have different disciplines based on elements and the spirit world and Rogues can typically be combat stealth as well as thieves etc. Customisation of your character is very extensive, much in the same way as the last 2 Elder Scrolls games where you can change cheek bone, eye, forehead, ears, hairstyle & colour and way too many more to list.
So after the decision is made to let you live you head out with Cassandra and meet up with Varric and Solas on the way, giving you a party of 4. This opening section will teach you the basics of the game and serves as a tutorial area, how to close rifts, battle pause and general combat. This section of the game is direct in approach with not much available in the way of exploration or collectibles.
Once you have closed the first rift and secured the area it is time to head back to Haven which is essentially your base of operations, here you can chat with companions, complete requisition quests, make new potions and craft/upgrade weapons and armour. This section though plays host to your war room and is integral to your success. The main story is literally about the huge rift that is above you at all times that needs closing. However, there is also a civil war going on between the Templars and Mages. You have to venture out and play the political game. To close this rift you need to somehow stop the civil war to get everyone to band together with a common united front. The main story itself feels a bit washed out in comparison to the civil war; thankfully the smaller story arcs which feel at times like fetch quests keep you engrossed, not forgetting with this being a Bioware game you do get specific character quests once characters get to know and trust you after questing with them and through conversation.
Once you have completed the opening area, I mentioned the war room. Here you can send agents out to different areas to complete specific duties and quests. As an example after completing a quest for setting out locations for watchtowers in the Hinterlands, I was then able to send one of my advisors out to build them. These activities are usually timed, depending on who you select depends how long it actually takes them to complete it so you need to pick the correct person for the job at hand. It would be quite pointless to send an ex-templar on a diplomatic mission to see the mages etc.
Go to page 2 for more thoughts on the game.
Retro at heart and lover of all things ’80s, especially the computers, the music and the awesome movies and TV shows! Crazy huge retro gaming collection spanning the ’80s and ’90s with hundreds of tapes, discs and carts for various machines on top of a 600+ strong Steam library that is ever-growing. No I am not a serial hoarder, just a dedicated retro gamer!