Improving Dragon Age: Inquisition?

[Danbo Jambo]

Yeah, but that's the thing... DA:I sold well - there's no need for them to cater to core fans. It's kinda ironic how Inquisition ended up being so much like a dumb, streamlined, consequence-free, casual SP MMO when clearly Origins began as a specifically core SP only IP.

I'm not sure about BioWare's most loyal fans converting to Witcher, though. BioWare fans seem to be BioWare apologists, so they'll stick by them no matter what. And y'know, so will I, if they keep the dialogue and characters well written (DA:I needed more character scenes, but I thought it was still excellent in that regard. I do miss wackier, wittier, yet bittersweet/poignant characters like Shale and Oghren, though).

[ captcha: you're not listening - how apt... ]

Very true. It'll come back to bite them in the arse though - if you join the gang of the "style over substance for a quick buck" devs, you only make that money as long as your game is stylish. I think Bioware's approach will very much come back to haunt them in years to come.

And I just think The Witcher series offers more of what old Bioware fans were after, namely a genuine RPG-ing experience with a great core story.

We'll see how it all pans out mind.

 

[kasperbbs]

Theres plenty that i didn't like about it. I'm still struggling on my first playthrough, i picked a mage and the combat is boring as hell, tactical view is pretty much useless since they removed healing and after level 23 most of the time i don't even bother to cast a shield. I hate the open world, i absolutely hate it, mostly for the fact that it's just there for the sake of being there so that you would spend more time doing fetch quests while wasting even more time with randomly spawning enemies. The whole game seems like a massive waste of time, it takes around 30 minutes to talk to everybody who might have something important to say in skyhold, i would rather have my tiny camps from DA1 back. And then theres the war room where an average operation takes around 3 hours to complete.

 

[Elfgore]

Get rid of the open-world, or cut it down by a whole bunch. This game is too fucking big. It's not like Skyrim big either, where I can find a whole bunch of cool locations to enter and explore. It's just miles of nothing, looking at the same terreian over and over.

Those side-quest are MMO level of bad. Go find me seven goat's meat and come back here... now repeat that fifty times. These side-quest are abysmal. Uninteresting and way too many of them.

It's boring I'm sorry, Bioware. You made a boring game. I rather play 2 again, which I actually managed to play for longer than 2 hours at a time. How you made it boring, I don't know. But fix it.

The dialogue system, I don't even enter the conversation screen with over half of the conversations in game? I was mad enough in Mass Effect 3 when I couldn't talk to my crewmates whenever I wanted, but you somehow made it worse. It comes of as lazy and makes me completely uninterested in what these people are saying.

 

[laggyteabag]

Am I the only one that kinda misses the Deep Roads?

I must say, it is kinda weird. Many people who have played Origins will probably say that the Deep Roads sucked, myself included, but Inquisition felt kinda weird without them. In the Storm Coasts there are a few Dwarven caves that are super dark and filled with spiders, and that is how I feel the Deep Roads should be like. There is an opportunity for them to be done well, and I feel like they really do deserve to be done justice. Sure, we got Valammar in the Hinterlands, but that doesn't really count.

Also, I really miss the Darkspawn. Inquisition had 3 types of Darkspawn units: Hurlocks (w/ crossbows), Hurlock Alphas, and Ghouls. I get that the blight is over, and it will be a long time until the Darkspawn become a big threat again, but where are the Ogres? Where are the Genlocks? Where are the Broodmothers? Where are the Shrieks? I just missed the big fights with the Darkspawn, and even Dragon Age 2 had those to offer.

 

[Danbo Jambo]

Get rid of the open-world, or cut it down by a whole bunch. This game is too fucking big. It's not like Skyrim big either, where I can find a whole bunch of cool locations to enter and explore. It's just miles of nothing, looking at the same terreian over and over.

Those side-quest are MMO level of bad. Go find me seven goat's meat and come back here... now repeat that fifty times. These side-quest are abysmal. Uninteresting and way too many of them.

It's boring I'm sorry, Bioware. You made a boring game. I rather play 2 again, which I actually managed to play for longer than 2 hours at a time. How you made it boring, I don't know. But fix it.

The dialogue system, I don't even enter the conversation screen with over half of the conversations in game? I was mad enough in Mass Effect 3 when I couldn't talk to my crewmates whenever I wanted, but you somehow made it worse. It comes of as lazy and makes me completely uninterested in what these people are saying.

That's a great post.

I've still no idea how DA:I has the illusion of being a "great" game. Don't get me wrong, I can see why people like it, but how it's getting praise like this........

The masters over at Bioware have done it again. This epic journey into the world of Thedas will steal more than 100 hours of your time, hours so full of superb gaming that you'll never forget them.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is the best installment in the series and one of the best games in BioWare's history

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

It?s one of the most overwhelming experiences on the market, containing not only the best character development found in any RPG, but an open world that?s actually polished.

Best Dragon Age so far, hands down.

Excellent RPG beats both of its predecessors and offers the unspoiled entertainment for hundreds of hours.

........just makes me question if there is any ounce of credability among pro game reviews any more.

It's OK. I personally don't think it's good and not once have I been "compelled" to play it like I was DA:O or ME1, but I can see why some may think it's good. However it's not an across the board must own game, yet these drongos insist it it.

Am I the only one that kinda misses the Deep Roads?

I must say, it is kinda weird. Many people who have played Origins will probably say that the Deep Roads sucked, myself included, but Inquisition felt kinda weird without them. In the Storm Coasts there are a few Dwarven caves that are super dark and filled with spiders, and that is how I feel the Deep Roads should be like. There is an opportunity for them to be done well, and I feel like they really do deserve to be done justice. Sure, we got Valammar in the Hinterlands, but that doesn't really count.

Also, I really miss the Darkspawn. Inquisition had 3 types of Darkspawn units: Hurlocks (w/ crossbows), Hurlock Alphas, and Ghouls. I get that the blight is over, and it will be a long time until the Darkspawn become a big threat again, but where are the Ogres? Where are the Genlocks? Where are the Broodmothers? Where are the Shrieks? I just missed the big fights with the Darkspawn, and even Dragon Age 2 had those to offer.

I liked the Deep Roads. I actually wanted more of them and to stumble onto some Darkspawn source.

 

[small]

- add back healing spells, it makes no sense why mages lost the ability to heal people why the game still talks about mages healing people, they were obviously going for an action rpg route but it still feels weird

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

And I just think The Witcher series offers more of what old Bioware fans were after, namely a genuine RPG-ing experience with a great core story.

Eh, I don't think you could really get two more distinct design approaches, if we're talking Baldur's Gate era BioWare and anything CD Projekt have done (I wouldn't personally call it a "genuine" RPG experience, either, given that I cannot create a unique, role-play worthy character. it's always just Geralt's story).

For the record, I think The Witcher 2's a better game overall than BioWare will ever make, but if forced at gunpoint to pick an IP I'd want to keep replaying, it'd be something from BioWare, not CD Projekt - I simply enjoy the party dynamics and RP potential in BioWare's IP's.

The Witcher 1 - going off a full LP I've been watching over the past few months (near the end of chapter 3, I gather) - seems, well, rather shite... Or, if not that, a veritable mess, and almost ruined by the weird nature of the interactions you'd have with almost all the characters. The various ways 'sex' is brought into its dopey questlines is also painfully eye-roll worthy.

...but, I digress. Both Witcher 3 and Inquisition seem to be heading in roughly the same directions, in terms of popular/trendy design. Will CD Projekt make a better effort of an open or semi-open worldspace? Will they integrate questlines better, and contain less filer? We'll see when it comes out (I'd put money on TW3 absolutely trouncing DA:I as far as gameplay depth, and plot/story's concerned, though).

 

[Thanatos2]

They should fix the bug for Nvidia GPU's that crashes to desktop during Dialogue cut scenes. That would be a huge improvement for me right there, as it killed my interest after my first playthrough.

 

[small]

They should fix the bug for Nvidia GPU's that crashes to desktop during Dialogue cut scenes. That would be a huge improvement for me right there, as it killed my interest after my first playthrough.

i had to reduce graphics settings to fix that

another improvement would be to war table operations. i get the idea behind operations taking a certain amount of time but some players dont have the luxury of sitting around for a day or two waiting for one to finish. either give me the option to spend power points to instantly finish one or have a toggle in options to make them instant complete, having to tab out of the game to alter my computer clock was immersion breaking

 

[duwenbasden]

And I just think The Witcher series offers more of what old Bioware fans were after, namely a genuine RPG-ing experience with a great core story.

Nope, I will NEVER, EVER play as Gerald. "My Warden|Hawke|Inquisitor" is what got me into Thedas in the first place. I don't have the time nor energy to play every game anymore, and there is no reason why Gerald's character cannot be a custom character (no, don't throw the book at me: this is a game.)

-----

1. Tactical zoom -- it is way too close.
2. Ability to disable clickable UI. I can't recall how many times I accidentally switched character mid-fight because I double clicked on his portrait.
3. Auto lock-on needs to be redone, or add an option to always engage the enemy in front of the character.
4. Abilities should coast over debris. Try fighting in a rocky cave with a melee rogue. It is IMPOSSIBLE to use backstab.
5. Inventory screen needs an overhaul. See: SkyUI.
6. More armor variety. There are 3 designs in the 8 armors for rogues. Also, why can't I wear other faction's armors?

 

[Username Redacted]

For Cullen, at least, they were pretty blatantly trying to appeal to his fangirls that have been clamoring for a Cullen companion since Origins. If you'll notice, not only does his appearance radically change, it radically changes to very, very handsome. With the exception of maybe Dorian (Who's not into women) Cullen is easily the most conventionally attractive romance for lady Inquisitors. The other three are... less so. Four if you count Sera, but I'm pretty sure no one does - Dorian's even more popular with fangirls than she is, despite him being unavailable to them. So Cullen's "upgrade" was a pretty obvious attempt to appeal to them, which is kind of a shame. I feel like they ignored Cullen's actual character to make him pretty and romancable.

I feel like I ignored Cullen too as I had to look at the Dragon Age wiki to actually verify that he had in fact appeared in the previous Dragon Age games and that having played through those games that I had in fact actually encountered him. In short I don't find the character especially memorable and in general I would say that Dragon Age falls well short of Mass Effect in terms of having created memorable NPCs.

Terrain

I don't care if your maps are huge if it's a pain to traverse them. I hate that nearly every map is just a mountainous range that has no direct path anywhere, and the paths that do exist are so out of the way that I honestly think I coulda shaved 10 hours off my game time had I not been forced to walk around a mountain. And then when it comes to hills, once it hits a certain angle, the character just slides down and hurts themselves even though they look like they're barely going very fast.

After ~20 hours of the game so far this is my second biggest complaint about the game after its generally shit UI. If you're going to make a Skyrim analog then at least let me Bethesda Softworks my way around the terrain. What I mean by this is let me bunny hop my way up a mountain or slide down a nearly vertical cliff face (without nearly killing me every time I do it) with my characters legs clipping into the terrain or basically anything that will allow me to take a more linear path from where I am to where I want to get to. There's a mod for Skyrim that greatly enhances the road and path visibility on the map and DA:I is badly in need of a similar mod.

Also: BRING BACK BLOOD MAGIC, DAMNIT!!! Necromancy is a piss-poor substitute!

I'm just happy that they brought back an Arcane Warrior analog. Sure Knight Enchanter is clunkier than Arcane Warrior and not quit as OP but it's still pretty good. I will however agree with you as I am...underwhelmed by the other mage specializations which is probably going to drive me towards party composition that wouldn't have worked especially well in previous Dragon Age entries. My current party is Me (Knight Enchanter), Dorian, Cole and Iron Bull. Currently considering replacing Dorian with Vivienne for dual Knight Enchanter (though I am not confident I can get her AI to behave how I want it to) or a re-specced Sera for two dual-dagger specializing Rogues.

I will also add my minor complaint but this is one that this and a lot of RPGs do. If you're going to have objective markers AND if you're going to have quests with multiple objectives then please for the love of god let me pick which one I want to be show on my map/compass so that I can actually head in the general direction of my destination without constantly having to check my map.

 

[RJ 17]

Also: BRING BACK BLOOD MAGIC, DAMNIT!!! Necromancy is a piss-poor substitute!

I'm just happy that they brought back an Arcane Warrior analog. Sure Knight Enchanter is clunkier than Arcane Warrior and not quit as OP but it's still pretty good. I will however agree with you as I am...underwhelmed by the other mage specializations which is probably going to drive me towards party composition that wouldn't have worked especially well in previous Dragon Age entries. My current party is Me (Knight Enchanter), Dorian, Cole and Iron Bull. Currently considering replacing Dorian with Vivienne for dual Knight Enchanter (though I am not confident I can get her AI to behave how I want it to) or a re-specced Sera for two dual-dagger specializing Rogues.

To be fair, my first character was a Rift Mage spec and I've gotta say I really enjoyed it because of the absolute control over the battlefield it gives you. That and the spec's Ult is frickin' ridiculous...especially at Focus 3.

But yeah, I've heard the Knight Enchanter is pretty strong, but nothing will beat the Mage As A Living God that was Blood Magic/Arcane Warrior. Ahhh, those were the good ol' days.

For my first character I ran dual tanks with Cassandra and Blackwall, my character being the mage, and Sera being the ranged rogue. Worked out pretty well I've gotta say.

For my 2nd character, I'm playing a dual wielding rogue, going to use Solas as my mage, probaly pop Blackwell in again. Haven't firmly decided what I'll use for the last slot (note: after beating my first 100+ hour playthrough started on Launch Day, I've since taken a break from the game.)

 

[Danbo Jambo]

Eh, I don't think you could really get two more distinct design approaches, if we're talking Baldur's Gate era BioWare and anything CD Projekt have done (I wouldn't personally call it a "genuine" RPG experience, either, given that I cannot create a unique, role-play worthy character. it's always just Geralt's story).

For the record, I think The Witcher 2's a better game overall than BioWare will ever make, but if forced at gunpoint to pick an IP I'd want to keep replaying, it'd be something from BioWare, not CD Projekt - I simply enjoy the party dynamics and RP potential in BioWare's IP's.

The Witcher 1 - going off a full LP I've been watching over the past few months (near the end of chapter 3, I gather) - seems, well, rather shite... Or, if not that, a veritable mess, and almost ruined by the weird nature of the interactions you'd have with almost all the characters. The various ways 'sex' is brought into its dopey questlines is also painfully eye-roll worthy.

...but, I digress. Both Witcher 3 and Inquisition seem to be heading in roughly the same directions, in terms of popular/trendy design. Will CD Projekt make a better effort of an open or semi-open worldspace? Will they integrate questlines better, and contain less filer? We'll see when it comes out (I'd put money on TW3 absolutely trouncing DA:I as far as gameplay depth, and plot/story's concerned, though).

Yeah, the design approach is definitely different chap, but the basic essence of a great story told via a great game isn't.

Even with TW3 & DA:I meeting close together in terms of design, you can bet that TW3's number 1 focus will be the story, whereas DA:I's story felt very much like a side-peice and lower down the priority list.

From reports I've read it seems as if TW3's approach is "Let's make a great game, an open world environment could be used to enhance the experience", where as DA:I most definitely was "Open world games sell. Let's make on of those and tailor the game to fit that, and if we fit a decent story in there somehow then that's a bonus"

Proof will be in the pudding though!

Nope, I will NEVER, EVER play as Gerald. "My Warden|Hawke|Inquisitor" is what got me into Thedas in the first place. I don't have the time nor energy to play every game anymore, and there is no reason why Gerald's character cannot be a custom character (no, don't throw the book at me: this is a game.)

Ah, but.....IMO......Geralt is such a good character. Of course it's all down to taste and opinion, but personally I love how they've molded him, and think he's one of the finest examples of a character that adds to a game.

Usually i prefer character creation & a blank template from which to start, but Geralt just floats my boat.

Each to their own though.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

...you can bet that TW3's number 1 focus will be the story, whereas DA:I's story felt very much like a side-peice and lower down the priority list.

Given the vapid nature of DA:I's combat, if its story was low down on a list of priorities, feck knows what was high on that list... Music, I guess? Party [character] dynamics? Those are the only two things I think it did superbly (top notch voice acting's a given with BioWare games).

From reports I've read it seems as if TW3's approach is "Let's make a great game, an open world environment could be used to enhance the experience", where as DA:I most definitely was "Open world games sell. Let's make on of those and tailor the game to fit that, and if we fit a decent story in there somehow then that's a bonus"

I didn't want Witcher to go open-world, because - to cut BioWare some slack - it's very hard to craft a good story with an open-world design. What's encouraging is that CD Projekt seem to be demonstrably good learners, i.e. the transition from the original to TW2 was nothing short of remarkable. If they can continue that kind of self-improving design trajectory, then yeah, TW3 could really be something special.

Perhaps for the next DA, BioWare can look to The Witcher - rather than dumb MMO's and Skyrim - for some inspiration.

 

[MirenBainesUSMC]

I think what kind of messed the experience up with me was the numerous missed chances of telling great side tales which left you basically with 100 more questions than it did answer them. There are too many to account for in just about every area you can think of. In a generalized explanation, going to some ruin, an abandoned house, a cave, or finding some body with little to no evidence of whom it was --- and finding some generic item you'd later sell at a shop just to get rid of it without anything added to the plot.

I would agree with everyone else --- the short and sweet fetch it quests were tiresome after awhile. I believe they kind of wasted a lot of time having your quest move to a desolate dessert in the middle of no where with all that open space --- only to finish quests that weren't all that special and didn't really propel the story.

When the game did pick up, it didn't last all that long....and the last guy? Well if you are like me and graduated from the RPG school of Grinding, by the time you got to the later parts of the game you were already well leveled up beyond what the stated requisite was so... Mr " I was at the black city and sat on the maker's throne myself!!!" wasn't all that big and bad. The fight you had with him in DA2 was a lot more tougher. Which leads me to an even bigger gripe, DA:I really messed up some otherwise mysterious and powerfully introduced characters that had such a myth and lead up that the final act left you going " You are kidding me right?". I didn't like the push towards the " Oh the poor elves and what the rotten humans have done!", I got that enough with the snow elves in Skyrim. It almost turned into an ancient SJW episode.

The dragons were more tougher than the seemingly horrible bad guys you fought.

It was a strong game but it takes too damn long to play through it all. If I was going to play DA:I again, I'd have to find a trainer or mod of some kind to cut through the leveling and grinding just to zip through it because you'd just be collecting leaves and pieces of rock for X again.

My favorite parts was the Elf Forrest and the Warden story line...the rest was....hmmmm...

This game did well because a lot of people were rooting for BioWare to climb out of the ME3 sink hole and really, there wasn't much in terms of competition with RPG's like it so it enjoyed the up-tick in a name brand that sells and a long game where it made you feel that you got your money's worth.

 

[Danbo Jambo]

...you can bet that TW3's number 1 focus will be the story, whereas DA:I's story felt very much like a side-peice and lower down the priority list.

Given the vapid nature of DA:I's combat, if its story was low down on a list of priorities, feck knows what was high on that list... Music, I guess? Party [character] dynamics? Those are the only two things I think it did superbly (top notch voice acting's a given with BioWare games).

Aye, credit where credits due to the music!

From reports I've read it seems as if TW3's approach is "Let's make a great game, an open world environment could be used to enhance the experience", where as DA:I most definitely was "Open world games sell. Let's make on of those and tailor the game to fit that, and if we fit a decent story in there somehow then that's a bonus"

I didn't want Witcher to go open-world, because - to cut BioWare some slack - it's very hard to craft a good story with an open-world design. What's encouraging is that CD Projekt seem to be demonstrably good learners, i.e. the transition from the original to TW2 was nothing short of remarkable. If they can continue that kind of self-improving design trajectory, then yeah, TW3 could really be something special.

Perhaps for the next DA, BioWare can look to The Witcher - rather than dumb MMO's and Skyrim - for some inspiration.

Could not agree more and very well said. It's all about context for me and you've very much nailed it there. CD Projekt just seem to prioritize making a good game first, whereas Bioware have definitely fallen victim to the "prioritize what makes money first, and make the game fit" syndrome.

The trouble is they can't see how short term this is. People will soon tire of the Skyrim formula if it remains souless - there's only so many times they can knock out a shallow game for folk to dick about in before they get bored of the formula, and that will go for the Dragon Age series too. The tiresome MMO style errands have already been sussed, and another game with that set up won't be welcomed by anyone but the most hardened Bioware fanboy IMO.

 

[FavouriteDream]

I didn't like the amount of filler in there. There were ridiculous, MMORPG type quests. "Gather this herb" or "Deliver this letter".

I don't believe a single player game should need to have these quests. I understand that they wanted to make a game with a huge amount of side quests, but be more creative.

I would have enjoyed the game if the side quests were more like Bethesda games - creative and interesting. But instead the majority of the sidequests were just generic MMORPG quests. I hated that.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

CD Projekt just seem to prioritize making a good game first, whereas Bioware have definitely fallen victim to the "prioritize what makes money first, and make the game fit" syndrome.

In all fairness CD Projekt RED have a distinct advantage over Bioware in that not only are they not owned by their publisher but are in fact the senior division of the business group that includes their publisher (the CD Projekt Group includes CDP RED, CDP and GOG). Basically, CDP RED have way more freedom to do what they want without having to worry that their publisher is going to step on their dicks and force a shitpile of metrics-based design changes on them.

The trouble is they can't see how short term this is. People will soon tire of the Skyrim formula if it remains souless - there's only so many times they can knock out a shallow game for folk to dick about in before they get bored of the formula, and that will go for the Dragon Age series too.

In most cases, open world games either need significant (yet still relevent) sandbox content and/or a transportt system that's FUN. If getting around tthe gameworld is a massive pain then people aren't going to be arsed exploring the side content... or will do so only grudgingly.

 

[Danbo Jambo]

CD Projekt just seem to prioritize making a good game first, whereas Bioware have definitely fallen victim to the "prioritize what makes money first, and make the game fit" syndrome.

In all fairness CD Projekt RED have a distinct advantage over Bioware in that not only are they not owned by their publisher but are in fact the senior division of the business group that includes their publisher (the CD Projekt Group includes CDP RED, CDP and GOG). Basically, CDP RED have way more freedom to do what they want without having to worry that their publisher is going to step on their dicks and force a shitpile of metrics-based design changes on them.

True, but that's still a sad reflection on how other gaming companies & publishes are setup.

The trouble is they can't see how short term this is. People will soon tire of the Skyrim formula if it remains souless - there's only so many times they can knock out a shallow game for folk to dick about in before they get bored of the formula, and that will go for the Dragon Age series too.

In most cases, open world games either need significant (yet still relevent) sandbox content and/or a transportt system that's FUN. If getting around tthe gameworld is a massive pain then people aren't going to be arsed exploring the side content... or will do so only grudgingly.

Indeed. I loved Morrowind's approach to that becaue it felt as if I'd earned a form of faster traveling (the boots of blinding speed & potion mix really felt like I'd become a sort of demi-God through my own discoveries & experimentation), and that it fit in with the gaming world. It's sandbox elements were also, on the whole, very interesting and felt like they were part of the living world too, not just filler to occupy our time. The objectives & quests tended to reveal more about the world, not just have us sat atop a mountain of bear pelts or whatever.

Sorry to rant, but it's actually quite shocking how lazy some games are i ngeneral with this. "Hi I'm Dave, I need some pelts, get me some for X coin" is a dispairingly awful peice of content in any game. Even just expanding it a bit to:

"several years ago a group of creatures slain my family, and I won't rest until they are now slain" *adventurer slays creatures, only to find out the story was a lie, and that Dave was using you to make a quick profit - choice slay Dave or not, and in the process you find out how he murdered his own family for profit* etc. adds a bit more life & depth to proceedings. But instead we get bombarded with souless filler, with no thought or care having been put into it at all. That's my main gripe with DA:I. It actually feels as if Bioware are taking the piss out of me a bit for playing, like dangling a toy in front of a dog.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

I'll try to keep it brief:

- I despise the shift from active healing to potion chugging. DE-SPISE.
- If I'm not a submarine, whale, or bat, sonar is fucking stupid.
- Re: primary antagonist, flawed humans are more interesting than monsters.
- Non-MMOs do not benefit from MMO-style "gameplay" (aka timesinks).
- Focus on crafting always means more tedium and disappointing loot.
- Sanitized themes, characters, language, and imagery equals vanilla game.
- Tactical camera sucks, and combat is a cool-down spamming bore.
- Controls are inexplicably sluggish + needless harvesting/looting "delay".
- Some hair and ALL beards look shit. "Skyrim had better 3 years ago" bad.
- Game world structure is just wonky. Feels disjointed as hell.

Good stuff:

- It's a AAA, party-based RPG. This is often enough for me to buy a game.
- The graphics are mostly impressive and frequently amazing.
- Good music, sound, voice acting, etc. - audio is on point.
- It's legitimately huge. Massive improvement over DA2's bullshit.

Overall: I wish they'd stop trying to reinvent a perfectly good wheel with horrible "outside the box" ideas and just remake, essentially, DA:O with better graphics and a new story. If they want to throw DA:O stuff on the scrapheap, they should start with all the parts of rpgs that actually suck (harvesting basic resources like a peasant, fetch and delivery quests with no meaningful context or purpose, cliched villains, heroes, and story arcs, terrible AI) and maybe leave intact the bits a lot of people actually enjoy. Don't "shake things up" when your new ideas are shittier than your old ones.