Dragon Age Inquisition is a breath of fresh air

Lets face it, 2014 hasn’t been a great year for AAA games. Watch Dogs was a bit of a let down (though I still enjoyed it), Destiny was a big disappointment in the story department and gameplay variation, Assassin’s Creed Unity has been plagued with bugs, and The Master Chief Collection is a complete mess. Seriously, I share no common ground with 343i sympathisers. The MCC should have never released in the state it is in, both the single player and multiplayer are broken and the studio has a lot to answer for.

However, there have been a few gems this year, including BioWare’s Dragon Age Inquisition. Dragon Age 2, for me, was one of the most disappointing games I’ve played. To find out that Inquisition is so awesome has been great. The story and characters are really engaging, the world is immersive and there’s a huge amount of things to do.

They made a lot of clever design choices that are great (for example, save game management, fast travel and loot system are all well designed). I also love the art style (DA2 was muddy and nasty). The art is a perfect upgrade to Origins with some great additions (rifts and Orlais) as well as familiar designs (from armour to furniture).

There have also been some great moments (the scene before finding Skyhold) that make you wonder “wow, they really made this game”. In a culture of rushed cash-grabs and shallow storytelling, this game is a shining example of how current-gen consoles can have epic RPGs with character. I haven’t finished the game yet, so I’ll have to see whether it follows through on everything it set up.

Okay, it’s not as good as Origins but it stands on it’s own as an excellent game. So a toast to BioWare!