"Another Time, Then"
For anyone that's about to read this review, you should know that this is my second attempt to give an RPG genuine shot, (Lets just say that my first try didn't go all to well, since in the end I didn't end up enjoying the game that much) So, take what I say with a bit of grain if salt, because It's entirely possible that I may not be able to understand this Genre all too well, at least not yet. With that out of the way, as someone who doesn't play that many RPGs, I have to say that Dragon Age Inquisition was definitely an interesting and cool experience.
First of all, lets talk about the customization. You get to pick four different races: Qunari, Elves, humans, and dwarves, all of whom you can mold to your liking. For the most pat everything is pretty great, though the facial hair animations are a bit...weird, to say the least. In fact, it's safe to say that they look pretty fake (Yeah, duh, i know it's a game, but just google it or something, you'll know what I mean. I honestly feels like the characters are wearing fake beards). Nevertheless, you are free to chose and mold these characters in any way you like, which is a nice change from something as bland as destiny. Once that's done, you get to pick 3 traditional classes: Warrior, Mage, Rogue, all of which have their own unique set of abilities, but it's honestly not as straightforward as that, obviously. Each class has different subclasses, and what abilities are chosen are completely up to the player. Point being, my warrior character may be completely different than yours, because I for one, focused on the offensive side of my abilities, whereas someone else chose a more strategic and defensive approach.
Moreover, One of the biggest obstacles for me was to get use to the gameplay. That's not to say that it's bad in any way, but considering the fact that I play a lot of platformer/Hack'n'Slash games, so I'm not all that use to the strategic , more methodical style of gameplay. Dragon Age Inquisition may be considered a bit slow from the beginning, because at first it's a bit difficult to get the hang of how to use all 4 characters in your party, but once it clicks with you, DA:I becomes one hell of an experience. What I noticed is that it's important to chose your party that fits your style of gameplay. You can, for one thing , chose characters who are of the same class for one specific battle, and while that may limit your exploration capabilities, it may completely fit with your style of gameplay. And that brings me to my next point, you come across many different characters with various gimmicks and abilities, so, if you are specifically preparing for a battle, you may be forced to chose characters that are fit for this particular fight.
And that's kind of what I loved about Dragone age Inquisition. The Universe is so large and diverse that sometimes you may come across something, which you are not fit to fight. This may be a controversial trait, since some many not enjoy restarting their missions, but to me, this type of uncertainty is what makes a specific universe more real and interactive. You know how people have been saying that the time-stopping strategy mode is just an added plus and it may not be used at all? Well, to some degree that is true. I mean, you CAN beat the game without using the feature, but at times like this, when you are pitted against an enemy that is far beyond your abilities, you are forced to plan out your movements carefully in order to win. Not only that, but such uncertainty forces you to conserve your potions and to tread carefully, otherwise you might encounter a giant or a dragon and be smashed to paste.
Speaking of the this amazing world, the graphics are absolutely amazing. Sure, there are some texture pop-ins and such problems, but for a large and colorful universe such as this, it's to be expected. The environments you visit are and feel different from one another. Each area has it' own interesting side quests, landmarks, people, monsters, hidden loot and so on. I've been playing the game for I don't know how long and I still feel as if i've only scratched the surface. Despite completing the story there is much to be done.
Also, I can't really recall the last time I enjoyed grinding for material so much. See, since the multiple areas are abundant with lore( there are seriously extremely long books filled with mysteries, myths, legends, stories, and basically everything that may give you insight of the world in which you reside) side quests, and beasts, it's actually fun to run around and explore the universe to collect different material. The interactive and vast world encourages you to go through every single damn catacomb you come across, because one of them might hold something very useful and rewarding. I can verify that there is nothing more fulfilling than crafting your own powerful weapons. In fact, half of the stuff I have in my inventory are things I crafted on my own. And if you couldn't find the schematics for these weapons, which I sincerely doubt, you can collect runes, artifacts or different material to boost and upgrade weapons and amour you already have.
See, your efforts here are rewarded at every turn, considering that the more you work and the more time you invest in this game, the more powerful you become. However, that's never taken to the extreme. What I mean is that you still have to be smart and careful, otherwise there is a good chance that you'll get your ass-handed to you.
On the other hand, Dragone Age's main story was kind of a disappointment. The plot is simple, and while this may not exactly be a bad thing, it doesn't get enough focus. Yes, it's true that you do a lot of things to make the inquisition stronger, but the main objective is pretty damn lame. The main villains is nothing more than a mustache twirling villain. Seriously, the guy only appears a few times throughout the games, boasts about how invincible and "god-like" he is, and then tells you to give up, because you know, you can't beat him.
If the main threat had been more interesting the simplistic story would have been much more enjoyable and interesting.
On the other hand, the journey of getting to your main objective is absolutely fantastic. Sure, story-wise nothing amazing happens, however there are very decisive and fascinating moments where you're forced to use your wit instead of your muscle-memory to actually "win" a battle. It's times like these where I said to myself "wow, this game is fantastic!"
Furthermore, the characters are the crown-jewel of the the entire campaign. Every single ally you come across is different and interesting,which helps the player decide with whom he wants to interact and spend time with. I personally found some characters to be funny and cool, while thinking that others were annoying and arrogant, and that's great! Because someone else me feel the opposite way about the very same cast of people. You can literally forget about the story for a while and spend a good long while building relationships with these characters, and these developments are reflected in the game itself, either during serious cutscenes or just simple quests.
The voice acting is top notch, and while the performance and dialogue may be extremely cheesy, it's still amazing and full of heart.
Although it's worth noting that during my time with the game I did encounter some bugs. Nothing that would hinder the overall experience, but I found a few texture pop-ins and moment where the game skipped a cutscene or two. Also, in the final level the game completely crashed for a moment. it wasn't a big deal since it didn't really hinder my progression(I started the game exactly where it had crashed), but regardless, it's something worth considering if you ever decided to pick this up.
In conclusion, Dragone Age Inquisition has some definite problems, such as a lame main villain, cliche story and some bugs, but despite all these hindrances, it was a very vast and fascinating experience, filled with beautiful environments, great characters, great gameplay, powerful monsters, and deep lore.
