Grade: A
“Dragon Age: Inquisition” is a glorious return to form from BioWare and ensures this franchise is here to stay.
You play as the Inquisitor, a human/elf/dwarf/Qunari who is the lone survivor of a cataclysmic event known as the Breach — a tear in the boundary between Thedas and the spirit world.
It is up to the Inquisitor and the people standing behind him to solve who did it and why.
Playing the previous two games is not necessary but knowing the backstory is.
Make sure to set up your world state through Dragon Age Keep to customize decisions from the past two games without having to purchase them.
“Dragon Age: Inquisition” is not like “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.”
Despite the stylistic similarities, the games have much more different focuses. “Skyrim” is all about the importance of self and giving a vast open world to explore. “Inquisition” focuses much more on the characters and overarching plot.
Unlike the traditional BioWare party-based game, the motley band of followers is now its own faction that must step into the power vacuum that resulted from the Breach, as it happened over a conclave of some of the most powerful and influential people in Thedas.
Several large and open areas serve as much of the game’s side-questing areas, though major campaign events happen in self-contained areas as well.
Advancement is tied to power, earned from doing side-quests as well as main story missions.
Once you earn it by completing sidequests, you have to spend it judiciously.
Power can be used to unlock new areas to explore in.
A mind-bogglingly comprehensive crafting system for weapons, armor and your own personal castle in addition to the wide variety of materials make this the most customizable "Dragon Age" game to date.
Every companion in the game is uniquely fleshed out, and they encompass a wide variety of viewpoints and backgrounds, from the no-nonsense Cassandra contrasting the brash and free-willed Sera.
Gameplay is a nice blend of the styles of “Dragon Age: Origins” and “Dragon Age II.” The reintroduction of the tactical camera is a plus, as well.
Graphics and visuals are beautiful here, with the Frostbite 3 engine being used to great effect. A bevy of small audio glitches and framerate hikes are noticeable, but for a game this size, it is to be expected.
PlayStation 4 players need to update their console’s firmware to version 2.02 in order to avoid game-breaking crashes.
“Dragon Age: Inquisition” stands out for all of the reasons a BioWare game is worth playing: well-structured narrative, fully fleshed out characters and an immersive universe to get lost in. It’s my pick for Game of the Year 2014.
Buy this game.
