Dragon Age Inquisition Playthrough: A Whole Lot Not About Nothing

Yes, I know that is a contradiction, and it feels like the game is a whole lot "not about nothing" in our view. It would feel better if the game were a lot about what you were supposed to be doing, which is, at this point, something we are uncertain about. There is something going on, it just doesn't feel like any of it is relevant to the main story. It is "not about nothing" and it is also "something about something" all the same.

Yes, we are stuck in the middle of MMO questing, clearing zones, solving the world's problems, and helping out the ineffectual locals to correct every little problem with their lives. It is the one thing that bothers me about the MMO design model, the world must be inhabited by incompetents all the way from villagers who can't solve their wolf problem to the king who can't solve his dragon problem. Enter the hero and their band of miscreants to save the day every time.

It feels like a lazy world design model. In reality, the king's dragon hunters would be already fighting the creature (and likely ineffective), and you would be hearing news about the dragon when you started your career back in the village fighting wolves. I love a world where you are thrust into the middle of everything, where groups are trying to solve the world's problems (and either succeeding or failing), and the entire world is this fluid and ever-changing mess that you (as a hero) must be wading through and constantly judging the best path forward based on your personal goals - whatever those may be.

I hate wading into a "zone" with static "quests" waiting for me. I want games that let me set my own goals and chase them however I see fit. I want games that let me side with a faction of my choosing, or build my own, and support my slow rise to power (if that is what I want to do). I don't want the traditional "sandbox" experience as it has been defined in recent years by games such as Watchdogs or Grand Theft Auto V, where the world is a fun sandbox, but there are still static missions and activities waiting for me - I want a more dynamic world that lets me choose sides.

To be fair, there is a sense of achievement in Dragon Age: Inquisition when you clear a zone. It is a tedious task, filled with a whole lot of worthless treasure, endless harvest after harvest, and long XP grinding, but it does feel good. The grind in this game is brutal, and often the maps are empty and devoid of enemies, so there is a lot of boring running around in empty maps as you head towards the next objective. It reminds me of an un-modded Skyrim where you have the game set on too easy and you cleared the area, and you are criss-crossing an empty area and praying for the spawns to re-pop.

Give me a hacked-up Skyrim with the respawns turned up any day. I love fighting for my life across a dangerous landscape. I love judging if that next group of travelers has my best interests at heart, are they merchants or bandits? Are they neutral or a faction who doesn't like me? I love dangerous worlds filled with danger. Or at least, give me a way to turn up the monster spawns in Dragon Age to give me some constant and ever-present challenge.

Dragon Age: The Novel: The Videogame

Another point, we dislike the ever-present "notes as narrative devices" used in Dragon Age: Inquisition. We constantly come across these notes and journals that make no sense, and feel like they are written towards the next player character who happens by:

Dear diary, I harvested potatoes in the field today. I dug up a strange amulet and wondered what it was. All of a sudden, a giant spider attacked me and AIEEE!

Who writes this stuff? We have a joke that the mayor of the next town we find will be a book. It feels like there are way too many notes and books in this game that just send you to the next note or book so the quest can advance.

It would also help if the books you found weren't written in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS like some sort of Internet rant. Seriously, next time, a little larger text, a much larger text box, decent smooth scrolling, and use a readable typeface next time so these long homework assignments will be a little easier on the eyes. Even some of the 'war room' reports are written on such stained parchment that you struggle to read them at times.

Problem is, I love the lore and I am interested in the story. The game fights the reader and goes out of its way to present the information in the worst ways possible, and even the loading screens time out on you as you are in the middle of reading some long piece of interesting historical-

Yeah, maybe I will catch that next time. Seriously, let me have the option to press X to continue.

Tough Going, but DLC is Keeping Us Going

To be honest, we are still playing so we can hit level 18 and go buy those sweet level purple weapons in that 'black market' DLC shop up north. Having DLC gear has hurt the game I feel, we had some good stuff to start with, had no desire to craft better, and mid-game, we are waiting for the really cool stuff at the late to end-of-game. There are some cool schematics in the shop, but most of our endless harvests are going towards requisitions, so crafting would mean more collecting (and we are at our limit for scavenging tolerance right now). We are finding just enough stuff to get by, so we don't feel a need to spend time crafting and farming up materials.

I would love a Diablo-style drop and item modification system in this game, where you can break items down for materials, and find cool gear with interesting mods and stats. But yeah, we are putting a lot of hope in the DLC gear at end-game, and can't wait to get a hold of a couple of those later.

Of course, it is DLC gear, and probably not the best in the game, so we may be setting ourselves up for a bad experience. Still, I would have loved a system where you could crunch old gear for materials, salvage items, and build up your stocks of stuff to craft new gear (or enhance what you have). It could be the game has this type of crafting system, but it is presented so obscurely and hidden off in a room or system somewhere we are missing it entirely. Don't laugh, it happens.

More on our playthrough soon, and it is always interesting to share thoughts on this game from a game-design perspective.