Recent reviews by Doc

>WHY YES: It's a beautiful game, the story line is linear , it's an user friendly game that allows for inclusive settings for disabled people and lets you choose the best way to enjoy your experience whether it is casual or more competitive with yourself, I rather like the different take on the dynamic gameplay despite it being a completely new feature while compared to past games, the characters are all wonderfully written (personally i think some better than others) , the character creator is amazing and lets you truly be yourself unapologetically (it is good to have various forms of representation) , the graphics and art direction is immaculate, I love that we finally get to see Minrathous , I think that for someone who has not played previous Dragon Age games it can or could be a good start- however this last point is a double edged sword that I will elaborate on in the next section. By itself , this is a GREAT game, a title that I do recommend playing , because there is passion and hard work. Honestly it's just a balanced game with a balanced story, equal parts entertaining, sad, enraging, suspenseful, challenging and simply enjoyable to play.

AS A SOLO GAME: I'd give a 9/10. Play it , it will be enjoyable.
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>WHY "NO": As a die-hard Dragon Age fan who loves the lore and (admittedly a little maniacally) completes every side-quest possible to uncover more lore.. I cannot help but be disappointed. NOT because this game isn't great , but because I can't help but think about what it could have been if they put people on the team who actually worked on previous games, especially regarding the lore. There are HUGE and TROUBLING plot holes that are not and should not be excusable given the context of previous games (especially DA:I) left us with , that they should have worked on. The whole cure for being a Tranquil? hello? that's HUGE. And it's just an example. .I believe a new player thrown into what is a major saga unfolding (without the entire context of especially DA:I missing) is unable to fully understand or appreciate everything since it revolves around Solas, who is a character that CANNOT be reduced to 3 sentences when introduced.
We are also , in my opinion, severely lacking more interactions with our companions, in particular our chosen romance: anything small like a mini-convo or more mini side-quests would have done the trick- I don't feel like it is unfair to bring in another big fantasy title such as "Baldur's Gate 3" , since this game got a long time for development; in this regard it felt (for me personally) less like a more "lifelike" experience, maybe because I am a hopeless romantic that would hug or even kiss on the cheek my special someone after the traumatic events that we go through in the game, I also would have appreciated more rawness in romance scene instead of a simple fade to black screen: we always had pretty good romance and s*x scenes , I understand wanting it to be more PG , but compared to past DA games it REALLY feels lacking in this compartment , making the nudity filter basically almost useless.
Final but not less important, roleplay-wise (which is the whole point of this kind of game and the aspect that always made me name DA as my favourite game saga) , we are lacking roleplay option. Yes, I hate to say it , but it defeats the purpose of roleplay when there is no options of dialogue that are truly what they are presented like- as opposed to past games the "mean" option simply does not exist and whatever you choose it kind of circles back to the same thing. I say this truly regrettably, while I am not someone who enjoys being mean even in games, others should be able to do so if they want.
The post-credit scene at the end hints at a sequel but how can they make a sequel when this current title is lacking so much? Makes me worried about the future of this saga, which is a shame since this hints at things from previous games.

AS A SEQUEL GAME: I give it a 6-7/10.

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On one hand we have a great game that I LOVE to pieces , but I also mourn what this game could have been and what it could have achieved if maybe they got more people on it, if only it was directed a little bit differently. Maybe it is unfair to have so many expectations , I don't know, but 10 years of wait are a lot and I would have waited more if it meant just a few things more. Knowing what I know now, I still would h ave gotten the deluxe edition, I still would have pre-ordered, I still would have 100% supported the game and I will continue to do so.

All opinions are my own, I still think a Dragon Age fan should play this title, bearing in mind that it feels separate from the saga. I always advocate for people to be their own judges of things and not rely too much on what others say. This may not feel like a 100% DA game, but it still gives you a lot and I'm thankful I got to play it.

Thank you for reading this far , go be Rook and save the day.

This game is literally everything you could ever ask for and even what you didn't know you needed.
Whatever you have dreamt of at night during a fever dream, this is it.
The adventure, the drama, the angst, the romance, the hard decisions, the riddles, the silly moments, the moments of anxiety and suspense.
Every character is exceptionally well-built in every aspect, something I think a lot of games miss... the realistic aspect of the complexity of being a sentient being with a history, a present, experiences, hopes for the future and plans.
Other than visually stunning, this game is mentally stimulating to play even on the easiest game mode (which i prefer for all my games as I concentrate more on the lore and decision making).
I think this game is a beautiful, heart-felt and deep love letter from Larian studios to us players and , certainly, one I receive with open arms.
I'm only under 100 hours in and yet there is so much that I've done, discovered, fought for. And I know there is more to come, i am excited, anxious, there's an horrid pit in my stomach and a flutter in my heart , a knot in my throat that's wait to be undone a way or the other.
I don't know what the rest of the game is going to bring , but I know it will be worth every minute.
This is the kind of game that I know I will play over and over and over for years, it allows that much personality, those many choices and changes, the freedom to really be someone else... which is , i think, what most fantasy-loving people yearn for.
The team is responsive to feedback, they actually care about the player-base and have cared about improving performance since the release date.
Absolute masterpiece, a 1000 out of 10