I finished the game on Friday, and just finished Act 1 on my Nightmare playthrough. Thought I'd stop by and share some bullet points on what I thought of the game. Before I get into it, just an fyi I skipped half the side content on my first playthrough, and my time was around 45 hours. So I didn't experience everything yet. With that in mind, here's what I thought:
The Good
I loved all the wide open areas I could explore, and how much variety there was in their environment.
Crafting system was very well done, and I love how it changed the look of your weapons/armor.
Story for the most part was good. Plenty of jawdropping and touching moments.
Characters were awesome. Cass, Varric, Iron Bull, Sera, and Dorian being my favorites.
The music is easily the best in the series. Trevor Morris did a brilliant job.
Managing the Inquisition yourself added so much depth to the game. Upgrading Skyhold, passing Judgements, and coordinating at the War Table fall under this category.
Combat was enjoyable and challenging at times. Granted I didn't play on the PC, which I hear the Tactical Camera is difficult to manage.
The Dragon Fights were epic as hell. Bioware really nailed the whole "Super Optional Bosses" thing with this game. Each Dragon felt different fighting, which is how it should be.
Great character customization.
There's no narrative landmine towards the end.
The Bad
There is an absurd amount of bugs, some of which pretty damn major, still in the game. As torturous as it was waiting for this game, it clearly wasn't ready for release yet.
There's no background ambient music when exploring different hubs. You'll get a 5-10 sec music sting every few minutes before it fades away and that's it. This is a big deal to me, as it helps me immerse myself into the world I'm spending hours exploring.
The final mission in the game is very underwhelming and short. The Battle of Denerim wipes it's ass with this game's finale.
Main story could've used more missions. I was very surprised when I found out I was nearly the end of the story.
The "No Healing" system just doesn't work. It's very frustrating on the harder difficulties as enemies chew through your guard like paper. I've found myself backtracking to camp to refill my potions one too many times.
Not a big negative, but the game really could've used an approval meter for the party members.
As of right now, I personally find this to be Bioware's best game since Mass Effect 2. It is NOT in my opinion better than Dragon Age: Origins, but it is leagues better than DA2. I personally do not think we'll ever get a new Bioware game on the same level of storytelling quality as the days of Kotor, ME1 and DA:O. Mostly because they're owned by a company who won't give them the luxury to take their time and really flesh out their vision. But if we can at least get future games with a quality as good as this, then I'm happy. It's currently my favorite game this year, and I can't wait for the DLC, and I'm hoping the game sells well enough to warrant the next entry.
....
The first time I beat the game it was on Hard, and with that difficulty the "No Healing" system was manageable. I only had a couple of times where I had to leave a dungeon to restock on potions. THere was one main mission I really struggled on (End of Act 1), but that was it. For the most part though I had to be very careful with my potion consumption. Right now on Nightmare it's an absolute ***** not being able to heal up. That said it does help that I know what I'm getting into with each mission so it does help me prepare. My advice if you're gonna play the harder difficulties next, is BEEEEES. Make lots and lots of Jars of Bees. It helps so damn much when you're getting overwhelmed by a mob.