Afterbouncing off Dragon Age: Inquisition four or five times, I finally powered through and finished the game this weekend. I’d almost committed to giving up and playingThe Veilguardwithout the narrative context of Inquisition’s final moments, but the game really picked up in the second half and I breezed through the later missions as if I’d never had a problem with the game’s systems.
But I was sure not to rush things. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. After reaching Skyhold and pushing through the next few missions, I started to gel with the story a bit more. I foundthe musical number particularly heartwarming, the new open-world areas more interesting, andthe murder mystery in the Winter Palacehelped me to finally start connecting with the characters I’d already spent dozens of hours with.
The game still had jarring systems. As soon as I felt like the story was gathering momentum and I prepared to face Corypheus, I was forced into busywork collecting 40 Power to progress. I dutifully returned to the Storm Coast and Hissing Wastes to polish off the last side quests and close any remaining Fade Rifts, but it pulled me out of the main story and ruined any tension the game had finally built.
I’m not here to rag on Dragon Age: Inquisition, though – Maker knows I’ve done enough of that over the years. I’m here to lament and praise the time pressures of a new game coming out at the end of the month and crunching to face your demons, both inner and on-screen.
My relationship with Inquisition is so complicated because of how much I love Origins. I also don’t mind its sequel, despite its respective shortcomings. I probably won’t replay Dragon Age 2 again (I’ve played through it twice already with very different decisions in each – Team Mages in my canon world state), but I appreciate it. I will replay Origins until my tongue recites monologues before my brain figures out what’s going on and my fingers bleed from choosing too many dialogue options.
Is there enough time for another Origins playthrough before The Veilguard…?
This love for the series means that I would have played The Veilguard no matter what I’d thought of Inquisition, no matter if I’d finished it or not. The game is nearly a decade old now and I’ve seen the trailers for the fourth installment, so I already knew that Solas is the Dreadwolf. If there was anything else Ineededto know, I could just ask my Inquisition-pilled colleagues.
It wouldn’t be the perfect way to experience The Veilguard, but it would be better than nothing. I’m certain some references would fly over my head, but I was willing to risk it in case The Veilguard is another Origins, rather than another Inquisition.
Those potential missed references played on my mind, though. Without The Veilguard’s imminent arrival, I wouldn’t have given Inquisition a second (or rather, fifth) chance. I want to go into the new game with the best understanding of the preceding events, especially as these two games seem more intrinsically linked than any before –despite leaving world states behind.
So I knuckled down. Intent on not only finishing Inquisition but also experiencing it in the best way, I pulled long nights and finished my gaming sessions in the wee hours of the morning. I got involved with the crafting systems, building my perfect armour sets and a particularly nasty critical hitting bow.
I refused to grind more collectibles and items, so my crafts were all built from shop-bought materials.
As well as tweaking my items and respeccing my stats, I dove into the story that Inquisition tells. The second half of the game is a whirlwind of character-defining decisions and epic dragon action. It’s Dragon Age through and through, and I couldn’t be more glad that The Veilguard’s imminent arrival gave me the impetus to finally push through with Inquisition. While I maintain that the first half is slow and dull, there are great moments in the latter half of the game that I wouldn’t have experienced. I’m not sure I’ll ever come to terms with leaving Hawke in the Fade, I want to play again to see what happens if Morrigan drinks from the Well of Sorrows, I want to shoot Corypheus in the face with an exploding arrow again.
My hand was forced, my fear of missing out on small moments in The Veilguard made me push through and finish Inquisition, and I’m so glad I did. It’s still my third favourite Dragon Age game, I’ve still got a lot of DLC to work through in the next ten days, but there are things to like about Dragon Age: Inquisition, things I want The Veilguard to build on, and things I’m happy to have experienced firsthand.
