This is a Marvel film of a game. Dull villain, misplaced levity, huge stakes without personal attachment, uninspired action, and empty grandiosity. It's adequate. Not too good, not too bad.
THE INQUISITION
Except for the titular inquisition. This should be the game's biggest strength. It should be. Yet the War Table is busywork to earn points that you need to go on missions. Your army is just narrative fluff to show up in a few cutscenes. You can judge people, which is interesting. But the only repercussions are a bit of approval here or some Inquisition points there.
The game needed the potential for failure! You should be able to squander your power, misstep in your alliances, and confront the final boss with the sum of your forces. Instead, the Inquisition is largely aesthetic.
CHARACTERS
Except for the characters. This is where I write nice things! I like the characters of Inquisition and I think they save the game. Not every character works. I talked with Sera once then ignored her for the rest of the game. But that's fine. I could focus on any of the other better characters. The hardest choices in the game were deciding who to cut from my party of Iron Bull, Dorian, Varric, and Solas (it was usually Varric. I played a rogue so he was redundant).
Playing Wicked Grace with the gang, spying on the rabble with Bull, getting Cassandra a new chapter, and forging a future for Cole are great moments and why I kept playing.
GAMEPLAY
Ok, what can I say about the gameplay? The emphasis on Guard and Barrier means that sword-and-shield is necessary to win encounters. Battles becomes a game of defense, but that's complicated by the poor AI. When I'd need a Barrier most, Solas would've used it on himself. That's almost in-character, but also infuriating when defense abilities are the only abilities that really matter and the AI is squandering it.
I don't understand how anyone could prefer Inquisition's gameplay over Origin's. Even on Hard, I could send one character with Guard to fight a group of enemies and just watch from the distance as the enemies very slowly died. There's neither the skill needed for twitch-based reactions or chaining combos, nor the strategy for squad-based positioning and precise ability usage.
STORY
The world is divided, there's a mysterious hole in the sky, and you're the only one to solve it. Good hook! The game spends a while pointing fingers and building intrigue for who caused this event. The story's at its strongest here, as you struggle against fractured conservative orders seeking to profit from this chaos. Then there's a shift.
-spoilers- After Corypheus attacks, you stumble into a convenient castle, become legitimized as a hero, and proceed to stop Corypheus from getting power three times before ganking him. What doesn't work is that Corypheus never feels like a potent threat. He makes connections off-screen with incredibly evil people, monologues about generic villainy, and is more often talked about as strong than shown. His lore has potential and your companions have some nice dialogue about it. That's all. -spoilers-
CONCLUSION
While Dragon Age 2 is fun to talk about for how it failed to live up to its potential, Inquisition is just baffling. This was supposed to be the return to form the series needed. Yet for all the potential that DA2 squandered, DAI neither redeems any of DA2's ideas nor offers anything novel itself.
Inquisition's biggest strengths are its characters and how its themes about religion and conservative values are explored by those characters. I liked playing someone who rejected their religious significance, but respected people's need to believe. Maybe this franchise has lost its potential, but I still hold on to the hope that it can change. I want to believe.
THE INQUISITION
Except for the titular inquisition. This should be the game's biggest strength. It should be. Yet the War Table is busywork to earn points that you need to go on missions. Your army is just narrative fluff to show up in a few cutscenes. You can judge people, which is interesting. But the only repercussions are a bit of approval here or some Inquisition points there.
The game needed the potential for failure! You should be able to squander your power, misstep in your alliances, and confront the final boss with the sum of your forces. Instead, the Inquisition is largely aesthetic.
CHARACTERS
Except for the characters. This is where I write nice things! I like the characters of Inquisition and I think they save the game. Not every character works. I talked with Sera once then ignored her for the rest of the game. But that's fine. I could focus on any of the other better characters. The hardest choices in the game were deciding who to cut from my party of Iron Bull, Dorian, Varric, and Solas (it was usually Varric. I played a rogue so he was redundant).
Playing Wicked Grace with the gang, spying on the rabble with Bull, getting Cassandra a new chapter, and forging a future for Cole are great moments and why I kept playing.
GAMEPLAY
Ok, what can I say about the gameplay? The emphasis on Guard and Barrier means that sword-and-shield is necessary to win encounters. Battles becomes a game of defense, but that's complicated by the poor AI. When I'd need a Barrier most, Solas would've used it on himself. That's almost in-character, but also infuriating when defense abilities are the only abilities that really matter and the AI is squandering it.
I don't understand how anyone could prefer Inquisition's gameplay over Origin's. Even on Hard, I could send one character with Guard to fight a group of enemies and just watch from the distance as the enemies very slowly died. There's neither the skill needed for twitch-based reactions or chaining combos, nor the strategy for squad-based positioning and precise ability usage.
STORY
The world is divided, there's a mysterious hole in the sky, and you're the only one to solve it. Good hook! The game spends a while pointing fingers and building intrigue for who caused this event. The story's at its strongest here, as you struggle against fractured conservative orders seeking to profit from this chaos. Then there's a shift.
-spoilers- After Corypheus attacks, you stumble into a convenient castle, become legitimized as a hero, and proceed to stop Corypheus from getting power three times before ganking him. What doesn't work is that Corypheus never feels like a potent threat. He makes connections off-screen with incredibly evil people, monologues about generic villainy, and is more often talked about as strong than shown. His lore has potential and your companions have some nice dialogue about it. That's all. -spoilers-
CONCLUSION
While Dragon Age 2 is fun to talk about for how it failed to live up to its potential, Inquisition is just baffling. This was supposed to be the return to form the series needed. Yet for all the potential that DA2 squandered, DAI neither redeems any of DA2's ideas nor offers anything novel itself.
Inquisition's biggest strengths are its characters and how its themes about religion and conservative values are explored by those characters. I liked playing someone who rejected their religious significance, but respected people's need to believe. Maybe this franchise has lost its potential, but I still hold on to the hope that it can change. I want to believe.