1. Dragon Age Inquisition Origin Account
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Dragon Age: Inquisition is an action role-playing video game developed by BioWare Edmonton and published by Electronic Arts.The third major game in the Dragon Age franchise, Dragon Age: Inquisition is the sequel to Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II.The game was released worldwide in November 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

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Dragon Age: Inquisition is an action role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. The third major game in the Dragon Age franchise, Dragon Age: Inquisition is the sequel to Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II. The game was released worldwide in November 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

The story of Dragon Age: Inquisition follows a player character known as the Inquisitor on a journey to settle the civil unrest in the continent of Thedas and close a mysterious tear in the sky called the 'Breach', which is unleashing dangerous demons upon the world. The Inquisitor is viewed by some as the 'chosen one', as they have a 'Mark' on their hand capable of closing the Breach. The Inquisitor assembles the titular Inquisition in an attempt to stop Corypheus, an ancient darkspawn, who opened the breach in an attempt to conquer Thedas.

Gameplay of Dragon Age: Inquisition is similar to its predecessors and mostly consists of elements found in a typical action role-playing game; players control their customized Inquisitor, and the companions they meet. They can defeat enemies with swords and magic, complete side quests, interact with non-playable characters, and progress through the main story. Players mainly control their protagonists in a third-person view, though a traditional role-playing game top down camera angle is also available.

After the release of Dragon Age II, the Dragon Age series was seen by some as a series with an 'identity crisis'. As a result, Bioware sought to create a third Dragon Age game that combined the elements of the first two. Having begun development in 2011, the game was officially announced at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo. The game's soundtrack was primarily composed by Trevor Morris, who replaced Inon Zur, the composer of the Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II soundtracks. Several downloadable content expansion packs were also released.

Dragon Age: Inquisition received critical acclaim upon release, with critics praising its story, voice acting, soundtrack, detailed environments, and engaging combat. The game did receive some criticism for the presence of technical issues. It was awarded over 150 year-end accolades and nominated for more, including Game of the Year and Best Role-playing awards from several gaming publications.

• 2Synopsis
  • 2.3Plot
• 6Reception

Gameplay[edit]

Dragon Age: Inquisition is an action role-playing game similar to its predecessors. At the beginning of the game, the player chooses a race for their player character: human, dwarf, elf, are playable races, with Qunari playable for the first time.^[5] Players customize the Inquisitor's physical appearance, and gender, among other things.^[6] Players choose from three classes, warrior, mage, and rogue, and can specialize their character, which grant them specific abilities.^[7] The character would later evolve to become the Inquisitor of Thedas, who is considered 'holy' by the citizens there. As the Inquisitor, players had to make choices and decisions that affect and change the game's world state. In addition, they can 'judge' certain people on their behaviors and decide their fate.^[8][9] Thedas is the game's world, which includes Ferelden, where Dragon Age: Origins was set, as well as three new unexplored regions, which include Orlais, Nevarra and the Free Marches.^[10] The game is not an open world video game, as the world is broken up into several sections, which can be freely explored by players.^[11] Despite that, BioWare claimed that one of the levels featured in Inquisition is larger than the entire game of Dragon Age II.^[12] In addition, each region features different environments like deserts, swamps, and mountains.^[13] In order to allow players to navigate the game's world faster, mounts, which are creatures that can be ridden by players, are introduced.^[14]

The romance aspect of the game has been overhauled. As opposed to the previous gift and dialogue based system, romance arcs occur in reaction to story events and variables specific to each character and include sex scenes.^[15][16] Additionally, not all romance arcs require sex. Josephine, for example does not have an explicit sex scene with the inquisitor during the main plot.^[17] Among the nine companions, who assist players in battle, and three advisers, eight of them can be romanced. Some of these party members would decide whether to fall in love with the Inquisitor based on their gender and race.^[8][18]

Customization was significantly overhauled,^[19] specifically by allowing equipment and other items to modify their appearance based on who it is equipped to. Depending upon which party member has received it, a piece of armour would automatically adjust its shape and aesthetics in order to fit that particular character while still maintaining their identity. Players can craft and customize armour or weapons using the materials they have collected; rarer materials give the particular weapon or armour piece better attributes.^[20] Players can customize their keeps, such as rebuilding a garden as a Chantry church or a herb garden. These upgrades have minor effects on the Inquisitions espionage, commerce or military capabilities.^[21][22]

Players do not have the ability to import their save files from the first two games into Dragon Age: Inquisition 'to shore up world consistency'.^[23] Instead, Bioware released a cloud-based online interactive story creator called Dragon Age Keep, which is narrated by Varric. Players can detail the major plots of the previous two Dragon Age games to provide this level of customization without requiring replay of the initial games.^[24]

Players gain influence in areas of the world by capturing keeps or forts. This is achieved by defeating the occupants of the keep or fort or establishing camps, which are used to provide fast travel and resupply points. Operations can be discovered to repair various structures and pathways, such as bridges or collapsed caves. These operations will allow exploration of previously unreachable locations and side quests.^[25]

Combat focuses on the player's ability to prepare, position, and form a cohesive team with their party members.^[26]Inquisition features two forms of combat systems.^[27] The first is reminiscent of that which is found in most action role-playing games, including Dragon Age II. During combat, players can switch to control other party members, while artificial intelligence will take control of the Inquisitor and other members in the party.^[28] This system is action-oriented and follows the player in a typical over-the-shoulder third person style. The second is closer to that of classic role-playing games, including Dragon Age: Origins.^[29] This combat system allows players to pause the game, assign locations and orders to the party members and then resume the game to see it played out.^[30] During the use of this second more strategic combat system, the camera will be closer to that of a top down view, instead of the usual over-the-shoulder third person style of the action based combat system. This combat system is named Tactical View and allows for the placing of traps while the game is paused.^[31] The Inquisitor also has the ability to close and manipulate the rift, which can stun all the enemies nearby.^[32]

As the Inquisitor, players influence how to deploy agents and troops of the Inquisition through their primary advisers, which influences the rewards and time requirements of the effort undertaken.^[33] The various regions that make up the game world do not scale in level. They have a fixed level, which means players can be either too weak or strong for the enemies found in that region.^[34]

Dragon Age: Inquisition also introduces multiplayer, which is described as a 'dungeon crawling experience' by BioWare. The game features a co-operative multiplayer mode which tasks players to play as an Agent of the Inquisition.^[35] Players had to play through levels, and to fight against increasingly difficult AI.^[36] The mode can be played with three other players, or be completed solo.^[35][37] At launch, the game features three multiplayer campaign and nine playable characters.^[38] The mode is completely separated from the main campaign. As a result, the progress made by the player in the multiplayer mode would not carry to the campaign. Players can upgrade and craft items, and unlock new characters in the multiplayer mode. Since time is needed to unlock new characters, micro-transactions are featured. Players can purchase an in-game currency called Platinum to speed up the process of unlocking new characters.^[39]

Synopsis[edit]

Setting[edit]

Dragon Age: Inquisition is set in the continent of Thedas, the fantasy world in which the two previous games are set. The game covers more geographic territory than its predecessors, with one map being described as four to five times the size of Ferelden, the setting of the first game in the series. The setting overhaul allows the players to go back and forth between Ferelden and Orlais.^[26] Following the events described in the supplementary novels Dragon Age: Asunder and The Masked Empire, a civil war between the loyalists of the ruling Empress and a powerful noble faction led by her cousin, Grand Duke Gaspard, broke out in Orlais. Simultaneously, the Circle of Magi has gone rogue, in part due to the events of Dragon Age II, and the Templar Order seceded from the Chantry to wage their own civil war on the mages.

The area traversable in Inquisition is much larger than both Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II, and is said to cover two countries and the land between. The countries are: Ferelden (setting of Dragon Age: Origins) and Orlais, with a land known as the Dales located within.^[25]

Characters[edit]

Returning characters from the previous games include Cullen, Leliana, Cassandra Pentaghast and Varric Tethras, the latter two serving as player companions, the former two serving as the Inquisition's military commander and spymaster, respectively. New companions introduced include Solas, an elven apostate mage well-versed in the Fade and spirits; Blackwall, an Orlesian Grey Warden recruiter; Sera, an elven thief and member of a clandestine society called the Friends of Red Jenny; Iron Bull, a Qunari warrior leading a mercenary company called the Bull's Chargers, and agent of the Ben-Hassrath spies; Vivienne, a loyalist Circle Mage from Orlais; Dorian, a mage from the Tevinter Imperium; and Cole, a spirit of compassion, who has taken the form of a deceased human mage as an assassin. Josephine Montilyet, an Antivan noblewoman and diplomat, serves as the Inquisition's ambassador.

Plot[edit]

In 9:41, the mage-templar war is temporarily halted at the Conclave, where Divine Justinia has orchestrated a peace conference. An explosion suddenly destroys the Conclave, killing the Divine and many senior Chantry clerics along with many mages and templars, and creating a massive hole in the Veil—the magical boundary between the physical world and the Fade, the world of spirits—, referred to as the 'Breach'. The only survivor of the blast is the player character, who emerges with a mark on their hand capable of closing the rifts that have sprung up in the Breach's wake, but retains no memory of what happened.

After closing several rifts, the player begins to be referred to as the 'Herald of Andraste'. With the Chantry leaderless, Cassandra and Leliana re-establish its predecessor, the Inquisition, to carry out one of the Divine's last orders. They resolve to establish authority, close the Breach, and defeat its creator. After gaining the assistance of either mages or templars, the Herald succeeds in closing the Breach. During a victory celebration, Haven is attacked by a corrupted version of the faction the Herald did not side with. The attackers are led by Corypheus, an ancient Tevinter magister turned darkspawn who was responsible for opening the Breach. Aided by a dragon appearing to be an Archdemon, Corypheus overcomes Haven's defences and forces the Inquisition to flee.

Corypheus confronts the Herald and refers to the mark as 'the Anchor', the means by which he aims to physically enter the Fade and claim the Maker's throne in the Black City to attain apotheosis for himself. He attempts to remove the Anchor with a magical elven orb, only to find it permanently attached to the Herald, who sets off an avalanche that buries Haven and decimates Corypheus's army. The Herald regroups with the other survivors and the Inquisition sets its base in the abandoned fortress of Skyhold, located high in the mountains. The Herald becomes the Inquisitor, leader of the Inquisition.

With the assistance of Hawke, who fled Kirkwall after Dragon Age II, the Inquisitor investigates the disappearance of the Grey Wardens and discovers that they were manipulated by Corypheus into raising a demon army. Hawke and the Inquisitor are assisted by an exiled Warden; either Alistair, Loghain, or Stroud (depending on choices made in Dragon Age: Origins). The Inquisitor reenters the Fade and regains memories of the Conclave, discovering that they obtained the Anchor upon stumbling on a ritual carried out by enthralled Grey Wardens and coming into contact with the orb. Either the Grey Warden or Hawke gives their life to help the others escape the Fade, after which the Inquisitor must either exile or recruit the remaining Wardens.

The Inquisitor also attends a ball at the Winter Palace and resolves the ongoing civil war in Orlais. Afterwards, the Empress' advisor, Morrigan, joins the Inquisition as an Imperial liaison. She directs the Inquisitor to the Temple of Mythal to stop Corypheus from obtaining an Eluvian, a powerful artifact which would enable him to physically enter the Fade. The Inquisitor witnesses Corypheus be seemingly destroyed by the temple's defenses, only for him to be reborn in the body of a nearby Grey Warden. Taking refuge inside the temple, either the Inquisitor or Morrigan gains the powers of the Well of Sorrows, the magical 'key' to the resident Eluvian. This provides the recipient wisdom of previous servants of Mythal, but also binds them to her will. Mythal is revealed to be Morrigan's mother, Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds.

In either case, voices from the Well reveal that Corypheus' dragon is the key to stopping him; it is a facsimile of an Archdemon which, if killed, would disrupt Corypheus' ability to leap into other bodies and leave him vulnerable. The Inquisitor then confronts Corypheus as he reopens the Breach and defeats him and his dragon, resealing the Breach permanently and hurling the darkspawn magister to the Fade, which destroys his physical body. After finding Corypheus's orb destroyed, a dismayed Solas departs the Inquisition.

An epilogue narrated by Morrigan details the outcomes of the Inquisitor's decisions, including the Mage-Templar war, the Grey Wardens, and the leadership of Orlais. The Inquisitor's choices also cause either Cassandra, Leliana, or Vivienne to succeed Justinia as 'Divine Victoria'. A post-epilogue scene shows Flemeth meeting with Solas, who is revealed to be Fen'Harel, the elven god of betrayal. Their conversation reveals that the orb belonged to Solas, who was too weak to unlock the orb's true power after his slumber and gave it to Corypheus. Though remorseful for his actions, Solas deems that the elves need him. He petrifies Flemeth and seemingly absorbs Mythal into himself.

Trespasser[edit]

Two years after the defeat of Corypheus, the Inquisition goes to the Winter Palace to engage in talks regarding its future; Ferelden wishes the organisation disbanded, while Orlais wants to incorporate it into its armed forces. A dead Qunari appears during the negotiations, leading the Inquisitor to discover a Qunari plot to invade Thedas referred to as 'Dragon's Breath'. Qunari agents within the Inquisition have smuggled barrels of gaatlock into seats of power across southern Thedas, allowing the Qunari to wipe out its leadership and facilitate an invasion. They also learn that agents supposedly working for Fen'Harel have been disrupting the Qunari plans. Concurrently, the Inquisitor is losing control of the Anchor, threatening their life.

While investigating the Qunari plot, the Inquisitor learns that the Evanuris were in fact extremely powerful mages rather than ancient gods. After they became corrupt and arrogant in their power, a rebellion was led by Fen'Harel, who created the Veil and in doing so caused the civilization of the ancient elves to collapse due to its dependency on magic. The Inquisitor can also optionally learn that Fen'Harel is Solas. The Inquisitor eventually encounters the Viddasala, the Qunari in charge of Dragon's Breath, who claims that the Qunari instigated it to prevent incidents like the Breach from being repeated. After the Inquisitor foils the plot, they work alongside the Viddasala and follow her into the Eluvian network to confront Solas, despite the Anchor growing increasingly out of control.

After petrifying the Viddasala, Solas calms the Anchor to explain himself to the Inquisitor. He confesses to being Fen'Harel and creating the Veil to seal away the Evanuris after they assassinated Mythal. Regretful for his role in the downfall of the elves, Solas plans to tear down the Veil and restore the ancient elven world, even if doing so will destroy the present world. He initially arranged for Corypheus to obtain his orb, hoping he would unlock it and die in the subsequent explosion. Solas would then retrieve the orb and use the Anchor to achieve his goal. After Corypheus instead survived, Solas joined the Inquisition to help defeat him. Solas also reveals that he allowed Dragon's Breath to be discovered before ultimately amputating the Inquisitor's arm to prevent the Anchor from killing them and leaving. The Inquisitor resolves to either stop Solas by any means necessary or convince him to abandon his plan.

Upon returning to the Winter Palace, the Inquisitor must either disband the Inquisition or repurpose it to serve Divine Victoria, risking either weaker efforts against Solas or corruption in the ranks. An epilogue reveals that the Qunari resumed their war with Tevinter following their failed plot and that elves across Thedas have disappeared to join Solas, in addition to detailing the fates of the Inquisitor's allies. Regardless, the Inquisitor resolves to follow through with their vow to Solas, noting his familiarity with the workings of the Inquisition and planning to recruit new allies from Tevinter.

Development[edit]

Developer BioWare was planning on fusing elements of both earlier games in the series, Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II, into the creation of Dragon Age: Inquisition.^[27] The game features larger environments with more opportunity for exploration.^[40]Dragon Age: Inquisition was first informally announced on Twitter,^[41] on May 19, 2011, by BioWare's creative lead Alistair McNally.^[41] The core idea for Dragon Age: Inquisition, namely that there would be an inquisition and the player character would be its leader, was originally intended to be the follow-up to Dragon Age: Origins.^[42]

On March 19, 2012, nearly two weeks after BioWare released Mass Effect 3, creative director Mike Laidlaw tweeted that BioWare was finished working on content for Dragon Age II. Executive producer Mark Darrah mentioned that BioWare originally had plans for an expansion pack, entitled 'Exalted March', to mark the first anniversary of Dragon Age II but canceled it in favor of developing other opportunities for the series. Although Dragon Age: Inquisition had not been officially announced, Darrah asked fans to give feedback on what they would like to see in future Dragon Age installments.^[43]

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter speculated that Dragon Age: Inquisition would be released some time in 2014. The title was believed to be scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2013, but Pachter suggested it had been delayed so BioWare and video game publisherElectronic Arts could fix problems and create new content for Star Wars: The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3.^[44][45] However, many BioWare developers, such as Mary Kirby, claimed this was inaccurate, stating that 'Dragon Age III's development will not be delayed by BioWare's other games.'^[46]

The game's development faced several challenges. Criticism of Dragon Age II added pressure to make the next game a success. The decision was made to switch from the Eclipse engine used in the first two series installments to Frostbite. Frostbite had been used to make Battlefied and other first-person shooters and did not have any of the required tools for an RPG, like save functions or inventory management systems. Consequently, the Dragon Age: Inquistion team had to build these features at the same time as they were creating the new game. Art director Matt Goldman said of development, 'Basically we had to do new consoles, a new engine, new gameplay, build the hugest game that we've ever made, and build it to a higher standard than we ever did, with tools that don't exist.'^[42]

In September 2012, Mark Darrah, Dragon Age's executive producer, revealed in an open letter that Dragon Age III, titled Dragon Age III: Inquisition, was officially under development and had been since about eighteen months previous to the announcement.^[47]

At E3 2013, it was announced along with the trailer that the game would debut 'Fall 2014' and that the title would be Dragon Age: Inquisition, dropping the 'III'. Later in 2013, it was confirmed that the PC was the lead development platform.^[48]

On March 6, 2014, BioWare released a trailer for Dragon Age: Inquisition entitled Discover the Dragon Age, showcasing some of the landscapes that can be explored while playing the game. On April 22, 2014, BioWare released a trailer for Dragon Age: Inquisition featuring gameplay from the game and confirming an October 7, 2014 release date. On June 9, 2014, at E3 2014, BioWare released a third trailer for Dragon Age: Inquisition, entitled Lead Them or Fall, revealing more elements of the game's storyline. On July 22, 2014, BioWare pushed back the game's release date to November 18, 2014. BioWare confirmed on October 31, 2014 that Inquisition had declared gold, indicating it was being prepared for duplication and release.^[49][50]

Ray Muzyka, BioWare's former CEO, said in an interview with Wired.com that Dragon Age: Inquisition would be influenced by more open world games, such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which BioWare is 'checking out aggressively'.^[51] The developers stated that they would no longer reuse environments, which was considered a main issue in Dragon Age II.^[52]

On August 27, 2014, BioWare announced that Dragon Age: Inquisition would have a four-player co-op mode that is separate from the single-player mode.^[53]

On November 13, 2014, Electronic Arts announced that Xbox One owners can play the six-hour trial version of the game starting from the same day via EA Access.^[54] On November 18, 2014, Electronic Arts announced that there would not be an Indian version of the game in order to 'avoid a breach of local content laws'.^[55]Dragon Age: Inquisition was then added to the vault of EA Access for the Xbox One on August 4, 2015.^[56] In July 2015, Electronic Arts released a trial for the game, which allows players to play the game's single-player for free for six hours and gain 'unlimited access' to the multiplayer portion of the game via Origin.^[57]

Dragon Age Inquisition Origin Account

A competition, called 'Untold Relics of Thedas Contest' was launched by BioWare in July 2015. The competition tasks participants to design a new item, whose name, backstory and attributes can be changed. A Dragon Age prize packs will be given to the winner of the contest, and the item designed by the winner will be added to the game via a future content pack.^[58]

The game's Game of the Year Edition was announced on September 22, 2015. The Edition features the base game bundled with all the previously released story-based downloadable content. (The Descent, Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser) The edition also includes items from the Spoils of the Avvar, Spoils of the Qunari add-ons, and content from the Deluxe Edition. It is released on October 6, 2015 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.^[59]

Downloadable content[edit]

Three packs of downloadable content (DLC) were released. On July 6, 2015, it was announced by Electronic Arts that future DLCs will not be released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.^[60] As a result, a new feature that allows PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 players to import and transfer their saves to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One was released on the same day.^[61]

Jaws of Hakkon

On March 23, 2015, the first DLC, titled Jaws of Hakkon, was announced by BioWare and Electronic Arts. It includes new types of armor, weapons and enemies, as well as a new region called Frostback Basin. It was released on March 24, 2015 for the Xbox One and Microsoft Windows.^[62][63] The PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the DLC were released on May 26, 2015.^[64]

Dragonslayer

On May 1, 2015, a free multiplayer downloadable content titled Dragonslayer was announced. It adds a new multiplayer map called Ferelden Castle and three new playable characters, namely Amund the Sky Watcher, Zither the Virtuoso and Isabela.^[65] The Dragonslayer DLC was released alongside The Black Emporium DLC, which introduces the shop and 'Mirror of Transformation', which allow players to change their appearance, on May 5, 2015.^[66]

Spoils of the Avvar

Spoils of the Avvar is a bundle pack that features new types of mount, armor and customization. The pack was released worldwide on June 9, 2015 for Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.^[67]

The Descent

Dragon Age Inquisition Origin Crash On Startup

The Descent is the second single-player downloadable content for the game. Players play as the Inquisitor, and have to venture to the Deep Roads to investigate an earthquake that threatened the lives of all citizens in Thedas. New characters are introduced in this DLC. Announced on August 5, 2015, The Descent was released on August 11, 2015 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.^[68]

Trespasser

Trespasser is the third and the last single-player downloadable content for the game. Players continue to assume the role of the Inquisitor, and have to face against a Qunari invasion and reestablish the authority of the Inquisition. The Trespasser DLC is set two years after the original game's ending. New wardrobe options and a Golden Nug statue, which allows players to keep all their acquired schematics and recipes, are also introduced in this downloadable content.^[69] It was announced during PAX Prime on August 29, 2015, and was released on September 8, 2015 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.^[70] According to BioWare, the team took inspirations from Indiana Jones and Captain America to create the game's story.^[71]

Music[edit]

Trevor Morris replaced Inon Zur, the composer of Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II to compose the soundtracks for Dragon Age: Inquisition. The change was due to the desire in presenting players a 'new experience' yet keeping familiar themes for those who enjoyed the music in previous versions. The development of the music started earlier than the other aspects of the game.^[72] The album was released digitally on November 17, 2014, a day before the game's official release.

In addition to the original soundtrack, the game also features 10 tavern songs, which were composed by Raney Shockne and performed by Elizaveta and Nick Stoubis. One of the soundtrack, 'I Am The One' was composed by Inon Zur.^[74] The tavern songs, along with the song sheets were made free to download from January 26, 2015 to February 9, 2015 by BioWare due to massive fan demand.^[75] The songs will also be sold through various digital platform in the future.^[76]

Reception[edit]

Pre-release[edit]

Pre-release comments of Dragon Age: Inquisition were positive. Kotaku writer Jason Schrier had very good first impressions, noting the game's apparent ambition and BioWare's ability to listen to fans.^[94]GamesRadar listed the game as their second best shown at PAX 2013, commenting on its openness and combat.^[95] John Walker of Rock, Paper, Shotgun was pleased to hear of the top-view camera coming back, though remained cautious; after playing the demo, he said he was 'left optimistic, but uninformed'.^[96]Game Informer's Kimberley Wallace listed it as one of the most anticipated RPGs to be released in 2014, saying 'Dragon Age: Inquisition has a lot to prove after BioWare received plenty of feedback from disappointed fans about Dragon Age II. However, if our cover trip was any indication, BioWare is up for the challenge.'^[97]

Gamecritics writer Brad Gallaway gave a hands on preview and was less impressed stating 'for me personally, this was not the kind of content I was hoping to see' and mentioning graphical issues, lack of interest in the characters and the amount of random quests given within a few short minutes.^[98]

Post-release[edit]

Dragon Age: Inquisition received 'Generally favorable' reviews, according to review aggregatorMetacritic.^[77][78][79]

Alexander Sliwinski from Joystiq gave the game a perfect score. He described the game as 'an immense fantasy epic, a sprawling adventure across the many landscapes of Thedas, unapologetically mature in its exploration of politics and brazen in its combat, It's everything that a sequel to Dragon Age: Origins should have been.' He also described the game as 'the redemption song of the developer BioWare'.^[89] Adam Beck from Hardcore Gamer also awarded Inquisition a perfect score, saying that while 'the artistic and visual fidelity help with immersion, it's the branching, player driven storyline and exquisitely layered combat system' that make the game special.^[92] Philip Kollar from Polygon gave the game a 9.5/10. He praised the well-written characters, engrossing plot cliffhangers, tightly-connected story, as well as the combat system, as he described it as 'a smart blend of the combat systems from Origins and Dragon Age 2 which makes those long stretches exploring the wilderness fun.'^[91] Joe Juba from Game Informer also gave the game a 9.5/10. He praised the detailed environments, character models and spell effects, excellent voice acting and soundtracks, responsive combat and high replay value, but criticizing the disappointing center story arc, lack of a storage chest and multiple weapons sets, as well as some minor crashes and audio bugs. However, he still stated that 'With the mixture of open-world exploration, entertaining combat, and top-tier characters, the team at BioWare has found a winning formula that isn't shackled to either Dragon Age: Origins or Dragon Age II. Inquisition is not defined by the traditions it returns to, but by the new directions it forges for this magnificent fantasy universe.'^[84]

Phil Savage from PC Gamer praised the rich content, fulfilling, dramatic and memorable plot, as well as the tough yet world-shifting decisions made throughout the game. However, he criticized the slow animation for the rogue career, as well as the tactical view, which could be confusing when encountering multiple enemies. He stated that such small yet noticeable flaws made Inquisition imperfect.^[90] Kevin VanOrd from GameSpot gave the game a 9/10. He praised the wonderful cast of interesting and relatable characters, overarching narrative, diverse environments, as well as the fantastic balance between exploration, combat, story, and customization. Yet, he criticized the combat system, which required relatively less strategy.^[85] Vince Ingenito from IGN gave the game an 8.8/10. He praised the substantial replay value from the multiplayer, as well as surprisingly huge, dense and detailed world. However, he criticized the weak and less compelling story, as well as numerous technical issues encountered. He described the game as 'not only one of the most expansive RPGs I've ever played, but one of the few that successfully fills its gorgeous, massive world with meaningful things to do and see. A frustratingly vague plot and typical BioWare bugginess drag it down a bit, but both in combat and out, Inquisition marks a welcome return to the RPG depth that made Bioware's previous products Dragon Age: Origins and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic so magnetic.'^[88]

Both Bajo and Hex from Good Game gave the game 10/10, the only such score they handed out in 2014. Both hosts praised the game's writing, voice acting, graphics, and gameplay, with Hex saying that 'the writing and voice acting is just excellent' and that 'Those sword and board hits though Bajo! So rewarding! It's classic dungeon crawling combat isn't it?'. Bajo praised the game's challenge, stating that 'where the combat truly shines is when you're in trouble' as well as offering a minor criticism that 'The crafting system is a little hard to get your head around'.^[99] They also awarded it 'Game of the Year' in their annual Christmas special.^[100]

Following the launch of the game, BioWare announced that it was working on patches to address fanbase concerns regarding the PC version including driver support, graphics, and interface.^[101]

Sales[edit]

Dragon Age: Inquisition debuted at No. 5 in UK in its first launch week. According to retail monitor Chart-Track, it had sold almost the exact amount of launch week copies as 2011's Dragon Age II.^[102] This does not take into account direct digital download sales however,^[103] which have been noted to be a 'significant percentage of sales' by BioWare^[104] and thus the true number of sales is higher. According to Electronic Arts' fiscal 2015 third quarter earnings report, Dragon Age: Inquisition is the most successful launch in BioWare history based on units sold.^[105]

Accolades[edit]

Dragon Age: Inquisition has received numerous awards and nominations from gaming publications. The game has received the Game of the Year awards from Game Informer,^[106]IGN,^[107]Electronic Gaming Monthly,^[108]Hardcore Gamer,^[109]Gamereactor,^[110]SXSW Gaming Awards,^[111]Good Game,^[100]Game Revolution,^[112]Ars Technica,^[113]Associated Press,^[114]The Escapist,^[115]Polygon,^[116]Shacknews,^[117]The Game Awards,^[118] and the DICE Awards.^[119] and was nominated Game of the Year by Destructoid^[120] and IGN Australia.^[121] It was also placed on various lists of the best games of 2014, GamesRadar placed it at 2nd,^[122]Joystiq at 2nd,^[123] Cheat Code Central at 2nd,^[124]USA Today at 2nd,^[125]Empire at 9th,^[126]GameFront at 3rd,^[127]Wired at 8th,^[128]Slant Magazine at 17th^[129] and The Guardian at 14th^[130] and was considered one of the ten best games released in 2014 by Mirror.co.uk.^[131] The game also won Role-Playing Game of the Year from GamesRadar,^[122] Cheat Code Central,^[132]Game Revolution,^[133] Hardcore Gamer,^[134]Game Informer,^[135]IGN,^[136]USGamer,^[137]The Escapist,^[138]The Game Awards^[118] and the DICE Awards^[119] as well as Best Singleplayer from PC Gamer.^[139] Developer BioWare was nominated Best Developer by Game Revolution^[140] and won the Developer of the Year Award from Hardcore Gamer.^[141]

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External links[edit]

Yesterday, I finished Dragon Age: Inquisition. By 'finished,' I mean that I played the final story mission and watched the credits roll. Getting to that point took me 85 hours, but I still don't really feel done with the game.

First things first: If you're reading this, you're probably wondering if Dragon Age: Inquisition is any good. Well, is it? Yes, it is good. Fantastic, even. Is it better than Dragon Age 2? Yes, and in fact it feels like a borderline-hilarious overcorrection for every single one of that game's faults. Is it better than Dragon Age: Origins? That's probably more up for debate, but I'd say I prefer it. Short version: This game is pretty awesome. People are gonna love it.

That said, I'm not ready to review Inquisition just yet. [11/17 update: Actually, I've now reviewed it! You can read my full review here. Okay past-Kirk, continue with your impressions article.] I have a lot to say about it, but there's still more that I want to investigate. There's my second playthrough on PC, which stars a different character making different choices. There's the game's fun-looking multiplayer. There's the combat system, which I enjoyed well enough on normal difficulty but which I haven't really had a chance to stress-test. There are all of the decisions I could've made differently, and my lingering questions about how much those different decisions really would've changed my overall experience. And there's the fact that the retail PS4 version I played had a lot of bugs, some of which should be fixed in time for the game's launch next week, others of which I suspect will linger. (Note: Jason encountered a good number of bugs on PS4 as well, though Stephen is playing it on Xbox One and has had a smooth go of it in his first several hours of play time.)

​Dragon Age: Inquisition: The Kotaku Review

Dragon Age: Inquisition is a fantasy game. That word—fantasy—is a sort of shorthand, with a bunch…

I'll have some other articles related to the game up on the site over the coming week, and will post a full review before the game launches next week. For now, it's time for a list of things! A list of things about Dragon Age: Inquisition.

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1. It Sure Is A Fantasy RPG

Dragon Age: Inquisition is a fantasy role-playing game. Which means: You get to make a character, pick his/her race and class, and role-play your way through a whole bunch of cool fantasy adventures involving magic and elves and dwarves and dragons. You'll make friends with a bunch of neat followers along the way, get to know and care about them, and make some tricky decisions at crucial junctures in the story.

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Developer BioWare has been doing this for a long time now, and Inquisition is not an attempt to re-invent their particular wheel—rather, it feels like a concerted effort to expand and fine-tune it. The PR materials accompanying the review copies we were sent informed us that 'this is the Dragon Age game that we have always wanted to make at BioWare.' That feels about right: Inquisition feels like a new checkpoint not just for the Dragon Age series, but of the whole 'Combat, Companions, and Conversation' thing BioWare's been tinkering with for more than a decade now.

2. It's Absolutely Huge

It's difficult to talk about the scale of Dragon Age: Inquisition without A) getting hyperbolic and B) invoking Skyrim. This game is massive. It's broken into separate regions which are unlocked as you go and can be visited from the game's world map. The first area you unlock, The Hinterlands, is so large that I spent the first four or five hours thinking it'd be the main area of the game.

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Nope. Turns out, there are seven (!!) other comparable regions in the game (plus several other smaller ones), and each one is different from the others. There's a sprawling desert, a lush Elven forest, a rain-battered coastline, war-torn plains, a haunted swamp, a mysterious oasis, and more. You're free to explore as you wish in between the more constrained, scripted story missions.

Each of these areas takes many hours to fully explore and 'clear,' and I have no doubt that there are plenty of secrets I've missed. There's also a labyrinthine home-base that's so large and full of stuff to do that I still get lost while exploring. Fifty hours into the game, I discovered a lovely courtyard that I hadn't even realized I owned, complete with a few characters to chat with and a garden for planting herbs. Fifty hours in!

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I'm sure that over the next few days, you will see many comparisons between Dragon Age and Bethesda's sprawling open-world RPG Skyrim, which is gaming's current standard-bearer for 'a really big role-playing game.' Those comparisons aren't misguided. While I can't say for certain that Inquisition actually contains more square mileage than Skyrim, it certainly feels like it does, thanks largely to how varied the different areas are. BioWare's game also feels bigger because each section you visit is still only a small sliver of the rest of the world, even though that 'small' sliver is huge.

So, Inquisition's segmented zones actually make the whole of the game feel grander than it would've had it been a straight open-world game. You'll spend an hour in the desert of western Orlais, then an hour in the swamps of southern Ferelden. In Skyrim, your wanderings are constrained to one giant landmass, which paradoxically leaves the game feeling smaller in comparison.

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Inquisition's size goes beyond acreage, too: There's an overwhelming amount of things to do in this game. I've seen plenty of people concerned that there are too many busywork 'go here and get 10 of these' quests in Inquisition. While those sorts of quests do exist (and seem pretty optional), they're easily overshadowed by the game's wide array of more-interesting diversions. Explore this time-frozen battleground, and see if you can find out what happened there. Visit your Inquisition's war-table to dispatch your forces and unlock new regions, or solve problems for minor characters. Use hand-drawn maps to scour the desert for a hidden Dwarven ruin full of powerful relics. Solve constellation puzzles in each area to triangulate and unlock a treasure room. Go giant-hunting, or challenge and defeat a trio of extremely dangerous dragons. Open a dam and venture into the caves beneath a lake to close an underwater demon rift. Survive the guardians of a hidden Elven ruin and re-forge a legendary sword. And on, and on, and on.

I spent a great deal of my first playthrough gawking at the sheer amount of cool stuff in this game, so much of it off the beaten path and technically inessential to the main story. Most of it is unique—or 'bespoke,' to use the current design buzzword—full of distinct artwork and lovely design, like a hidden bonus tucked away for anyone curious enough to wander. This game constantly rewards exploration; it's so generous that each new discovery eventually becomes a sort of joyful punchline: Oh, well of COURSE there's a bunch of puzzles and a neat side-story in this haunted house I discovered in the woods. Why wouldn't there be?

3. It's Currently Got Some Technical Issues

Less happily, the version of Inquisition that I played had a whole bunch of bugs, from small visual tics to game-halting glitches and crashes. A lot of those will likely be addressed in a couple of coming pre-release patches, but they're still worth mentioning here.

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The PS4 version that I played had some sort of incompatibility with Sony's PS4 v2.00 software that caused the game to regularly hard-lock my entire console, forcing me (terrifyingly) to repeatedly unplug my PS4 in order to get it working. Worse, sometimes those resets would cause my saved games to become corrupted, forcing me to constantly maintain multiple saves in fear of losing progress. Don't worry, though: that particular issue should be addressed before the game is actually out—Sony says that they're issuing a small system update this week that should make the freezing issue go away entirely. Over the weekend, I tried a loaner PS4 with the updated system software and the freezing issue didn't repeat. So, everyone reading this should be fine. All the same, it was unnerving to encounter a bug that severe in a retail build of a game.

I've encountered a fair number of smaller bugs on both PS4 and on PC, as well. As beautiful-looking as Inquisition often is, there are lots of weird shudders and tics at the margins—non-player-characters that'll zoom into a scene as if by magic, textures that'll pop in in odd ways, menu options that'll go missing, and the occasional crash that'll kick you back to the OS and force you to reboot the game. Often, I would load a new area and find that sound effects were entirely missing—I'd have to wait for several long moments before my character's attacks or footfalls made any sound at all. Several times the game would glitch out during conversation and leave me with no dialogue options, watching as characters expectantly waited for my character to say… something. I'd begin hitting the 'skip' button to force my way through the conversation, the whole time worried that I was making some narrative-altering decision without even being aware of it.

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All the bugs and other technical issues feel patchable, and Dragon Age publisher EA's PR team tells me that there is indeed a day-one patch coming that will address a lot of the bugs I noted. All the same, I doubt the game will ever run completely smoothly—it feels like it's being held together a little loosely, or like it could've used a few more months of QA testing. That's not surprising, given how ambitious it all is, and aside from the freezing bug, none of the rough patches are dealbreakers. But the bugs were enough of an issue while I played that I'd be remiss not to mention them.

4. You Can't Rush Through It

It would be a colossal mistake to rush through Dragon Age: Inquisition. I suppose it would be possible, though the game does gate your progress by making you earn 'power' points by doing various side missions before you can open up new regions on the map or new story missions to undertake. But while it may be technically possible to barrel through the back half of the story, skipping a number of the game's open-world zones in the process, it would be a mistake to do so.

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That's one of the reasons I'm not hurrying to review the game—one does not simply wolf down an 85-hour game in a week, fart out an opinion, and call it a day. Or at least, I'd rather not do it that way. While in those 85 hours I do feel as though I saw the majority of the most interesting sidequests and follower missions, I'm also sure that there are a whole bunch of hidden things that I missed.

Inquisition's greatest pleasures lie off the beaten path: Indulging in meandering, philosophical conversations with minor characters; learning some random vendor's backstory; reading lengthy and enjoyable codex entries; listening to lovely songs performed by the tavern bard; wandering off in one direction and just seeing what you find. There is simply no way to do most of that in a hurry; this game all but demands that you relax and take your time. (Which makes it all the more important that BioWare really does fix the technical bugs—nothing makes it harder to relax and enjoy a game like this than being regularly distracted by audio glitches and crashes.)

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5. It's Not Really Newcomer-Friendly

I get the sense that a lot of people will be coming to Inquisition without having played the first two Dragon Age games. Those people are going to have to do some background reading, because for better or for worse, Inquisition is hugely reliant on the lore, characters, world-building, and backstory laid down by the first two games. If you don't know a Tevinter Magister from an Orlesian noble, you're going to be a bit lost here.

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Dragon Age: Inquisition also places a surprising (welcome!) focus on politics, specifically the civil war raging in Orlais, the nation next door to Origins' nation of Ferelden. If you're a big Dragon Age nerd like me, you're probably super psyched to hear that, but it does mean that newbies will have to spend a lot of time actually reading the game's (enjoyable and well-written) codex or tracking down some entries on the Dragon Age wiki just to keep their head above water.

Furthermore, several of the plot's twists and turns rely on knowledge of some pretty specific events from past games. Even seasoned players will want to brush up on Elven mysticism, the Tevinter Imperium, the legend of the prophet Andraste, the hierarchy and schisms in the Chantry, and even the events of Dragon Age 2 DLC just to understand why a given plot development has everyone worked up.

6. I Can't Quite Tell How Much My Decisions Mattered

Dragon Age: Inquisition follows the established BioWare formula: Start with a few party members, meet a few more, go on some initial story quests, start to explore, get more party members, keep exploring. And, also true to the BioWare tradition, you'll have to make a lot of moral choices, each of which affects the story in a small or large way.

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The choices are often tricky, and the best ones are less of the kill/spare variety and more of a trust/don't trust kinda thing. However, I'm still not sure just how much any of them really mattered over the course of the game. I played 'right,' in that I kept all of my party members from leaving and did pretty much every major follower sidequest. But when it comes right down to it, I'm not sure how many real branches there were in my narrative tree.

I don't personally mind this—the main storyline was decent if a bit rote, and I was really in it for the smaller personal stories that this game provides in such abundance—but some players expecting a narrative that twists and turns based on your decisions might be disappointed. Over the coming week, I'm planning to check out some of the alternate paths so that I can have a better idea of just how different your playthrough might be from my first one.

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7. Freddie Prinze Jr. Wins

Here's something I wasn't expecting: Freddie Prinze Jr., star of such 90s high school dramas as She's All That and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, damn near walks off with Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Prinze voices The Iron Bull, an eight-foot Qunari warrior who joins your cause early in the game. Bull is not what you'd expect, especially if you suffered through the Qunari-infused second act of Dragon Age 2. He's a thoughtful, wry killer whose joie de vivre and reckless enthusiasm for danger make him an all-but-essential party member for adventures out in the field, particularly because of all the great banter he has with other characters. (The field banter in this game is great, in general.)

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Prinze did good work as soldier James Vega in Mass Effect 3, but it turns out the actor was kind of wasted in that role—here, he finally gets to be 'the cool one,' and he knocks it out of the park. There are a lot of great characters in Inquisition—in fact, the good-to-dull character ratio may be better here than any past BioWare game—but thanks to the combination of the script and Prinze's lusty performance, The Iron Bull steals the show.

8. Multiplayer Looks Fun, But I Haven't Tried It

Inquisition also includes a full co-op multiplayer suite, which seems almost ridiculous given how much stuff there is to do in singleplayer. I haven't tested it out—there have been a few scheduled pre-release multiplayer sessions for reviewers to try, but nothing I've been able to coordinate with people I regularly play games with. I'm looking forward to trying it out, and will reserve judgement until I've had a chance to really play it like I'd normally play a multiplayer game. If you want to see it in action, you can always go watch the archive of the stream BioWare did last week.

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9. It Is Gorgeous

Dragon Age: Inquisition is an exceptionally good-looking game. BioWare has transitioned to using EA's Frostbite Engine—the same engine that powers the near-photorealistic Battlefield games—and while I sense that the engine is responsible for a lot of the previously mentioned technical weirdness, it compensates by offering some spectacular vistas. Every new area offers views that stretch off into the distance, with fog-shrouded castles and mountain-sized sculptures looming against the horizon. It looks much better in motion than it does in still shots, with the mist rolling through and the grasses and trees swaying in the breeze.

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I've played extensively on PS4 and some on PC, and both versions look nice. (The screenshots and gifs in this post are all from the PS4 version.) The PC version is definitely the way to go if you have the option—it's crisper and the gameplay sections run at 60fps (cutscenes and most dialogue sequences ran at 30 for me, which is probably a good thing). The PC's mouse and keyboard controls are about what you'd expect—they work well, with a big bar of hotkeys and controls similar to those in Origins—and it even includes controller support, should you want to kick back and play on your TV. Also, the console versions do this strange thing where spells and other actions get blurry at a distance, to the point where everything looks weirdly pixellated and it can get difficult to tell what's going on. It's not a huge deal, but spells and other special effects are much sharper on the PC, so it's easier to tell what's happening in the midst of a lively fracas.

Despite how lovely it looks in general, there is still one area where the game looks dated: Cutscene animations. Characters still stand stiffly when talking, and while the lip-synching technology BioWare is using is unnervingly good—how did they sync up such an ungodly amount of dialogue? Is it procedural? I don't even—the rest of the animations are weird.

When your character smiles, it's the same bizarre horror-mask that Commander Shepard so often wore in Mass Effect. When characters cross their arms, their hands clip through their chests. My lady protagonist had male animations in cutscenes, so she'd swagger into each scene carrying invisible suitcases, legs splayed like she was riding an imaginary horse. It's all pretty awkward. The strong writing and voice acting make up for that stiffness, and after a while I stopped noticing. But given how incredible video game character-animation has gotten over the last several years, Inquisition's awkwardness sticks out.

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10. Combat Is Streamlined In Interesting Ways

Combat in Inquisition hits an interesting balance between the arguably oversimplified combat of Dragon Age 2 and the sometimes too-fiddly combat of Origins. Basic attacks are tied to the right trigger, making melee combat in particular feel almost like an action-RPG at times. Players who are downed in combat don't become 'injured' like they did in Origins, removing the need to carry around injury kits and making death less of a big deal.

However, there's no healing spell in the game, which is a bold move and in my experience so far, a successful one. The only way to heal mid-combat is by using potions, and you're initially limited to eight among your entire party. That means that buffs, barriers, and guards become extremely important, and you'll no longer have to dedicate one of your four party members to act as healer to the other three. The game encourages a satisfying blend of caution and aggression, and it really works.

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There's now a top-down tactical view in all versions of the game, which makes it much easier to pause combat, zoom out, and carefully issue orders to your team. The tactical view is well-done—you can hold down a button to advance time, then release it to pause the game again and issue more orders. That removes the constant frantic pausing and unpausing present in Origins and makes a cautiously played Inquisition battle feel almost like a turn-based tactical affair, should you want it to.

For the most part, I found that I was able to let my melee characters go off on their own, and I stayed in control of my mage for 90% of combat encounters. I'm planning to explore the game more on hard difficulty, however, which I sense will force me to play much more tactically. Generally, I really like combat in Inquisition: It's my favorite combat system of all three main games, and I've never felt bored by a fight, even when I hopelessly outclass my low-level adversaries. And, good news for people who think that the 'Dragon' in the series' title should mean something: There are quite a few (mostly optional) dragon battles in Inquisition, and they're suitably challenging and exciting.

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11. My Main Character Is The Best

I'm not sure this qualifies as something you need to know about Dragon Age: Inquisition, but my heroine, Sabetha Trevalyan, is a total babe.

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She kicks ass, too. After spending dozens upon dozens of hours guiding her leadership of the Thedas Inquisition, I've gotten pretty attached to her. (Actor Alix Wilton Regan's outstanding voice work certainly helps.) Point being: The game's protagonist is well-written and becomes a relatable, interesting character over the course of the story. More so than in past Dragon Age games, particularly Origins, my protagonist felt like a proper cast member, not just a foil for a group of more-interesting supporting characters. That's a big step in the right direction for this series.

85 hours is a lot of time to spend playing a game over the course of a year, let alone over a single week. Obviously, I really liked Dragon Age: Inquisition. Have I interrogated the game enough to have a complete opinion of it? Not quite yet. I'll have a review up soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the game, ask them below and I'll do my best to answer.

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To contact the author of this post, write to kirk@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @kirkhamilton.