Dragon Age Disaster

Almost ten years after the very safe Dragon Age: Inquisition reached gamers (landing just before Witcher 3 months later), we got a look at the once cancelled (live service plan to 2017), much delayed sequel. There had been reports that Bioware, internally, were very happy with the new effort, but after seeing the trailer I can't believe external testing has matched that enthusiasm. The dark fantasy franchise has embraced the League of Legends/Overwatch's aesthetic and tone in what looks like a disaster to match their other recent efforts: Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017) and Anthem (2019).

The above are a couple of random Overwatch 2 characters and the artstyle is remarkably similar to what DA4 has gone for (the aesthetic comparison makes more sense than League of Legends, but see below). Whatever the intent, the cartoonish approach immediately removes the Dark Fantasy label that has been the hallmark of the IP. What tension can you really feel with these goofy characters running around? The only depictions that echo the past are those that are borrowed (Varric in particular), who like the rest of the fanbase looks like he just wants to die (ala Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones 5). If BioWare had wanted this tonal change, that should have been part of the marketing. Instead, we've been told that we were getting a return to form--I suppose it's just like Netflix's The Witcher saying they were going back to the source material each season while never doing so.

It's interesting to note that with a massively diverse cast, the trailer focuses on the only white characters--draw your own conclusions, but I found that very funny (if diversity is a key part of your mandate, why minimize it in the trailer?).

The awful trailer music failed to match the tone of the bar scene, but did match the goofy companion introductions. The only thing it was missing was a dance number. There seems to have been a big disconnect internally at BioWare over what the game is meant to be, since the environments still look excellent, but the characters are ridiculous. How can I take anything seriously with cartoon characters constantly in my face?

I have seen many comments who wonder if BioWare are attempting to mimic Arcane (2021), the League of Legends show from Fortiche that came out on Netflix. If that's the case, the music missed the mark and the characters aren't up to par. LoL characters are aesthetically appealing, which doesn't match what we were given here.

It was too much, I suppose, to hope that BioWare could match the success of Baldur's Gate 3, which is ironic since BG3 is so similar to Dragon Age: Origins. My unfinished review of BG3 goes through a lot of the parallels between classic Dragon Age and Baldur's Gate, but while Larian looked for inspiration from BioWare, those left at the withering studio clearly don't believe in their own IP. As a former comicbook fan, it's all too familiar with what's happened to classic characters at Marvel and DC.

Both DA4 and BG3 suffer under the tyranny of DEI/ESG, but while BioWare has wilted under the restrictions (just like the film industry), Larian managed to make it work. None of the companions from DA4 look interesting and I wouldn't romance any of them (something also true of Andromeda and, at least as a male, Inquisition). As much as I love the freckles and hair colour on body positivity Harding, that's not enough. BG3 only has one dud companion, Wyll (whose writing suggests internal disagreement over him), but I can live with one miss. I wouldn't want any of the goofy cast from DA4 in my party, just Varric, and his redhaired friend.

The cast of the horrific Acolyte could pass for the companions in DA4. Why follow a failed Disney model? Putting aside the racial element, this clueless approach to companions has deep roots at BioWare, most notable in Andromeda where the cartoonish slant was already present (although the tone of the writing hadn't fully slipped, even if the stories were uninteresting).

I don't believe this game will have a good story, because BioWare hasn't told a good story since 2011 (and Dragon Age 2 had its own flaws). The very safe Inquisition is apparently the last gasp before the End Times, before the studio completely lost its way. What this trailer does is confirm that it's over. The game will flop, such that making a lazy remaster like Mass Effect for Dragon Age will be harder to sell, and there's no way forward unless EA wants to dump more money into a dead studio. Unlike The Last of Us, there's no easy TV or film transition to save interest in the IP. It's a sad ending for a franchise I was very passionate about (as you can see if you scroll through my DAI articles). With Larian departing Baldur's Gate after just one entry, it looks like fantasy fans will have to wait for a new studio or IP (with faint hope that CDPR isn't going down the BioWare road with Witcher, which is faint because they've accepted the same funding that's killed virtually everything else).

[Post-script: the gameplay trailer did not change my opinion--gameplay cannot overcome mediocre/bad writing or the lack of interesting companions. It is amusing seeing so many videos covering that reveal with the same headlines, saying 'okay, the reveal was bad, but look at this gameplay!' Absurd, just like the goofy reaction videos to any corporate product these days.]

[Post-post-script: in a surprising development, the game director has removed the trans flag from her Twitter bio as well as a BLM flag--I have to think this is at Bioware's behest, but to what end? She undoubtedly still supports both causes and that support is well-known, so why?]

Written by Peter Levi