Dragon Age Inquisition is a very unique Bioware game because it’s not really a one game but two. Narratively, it holds in itself Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 combined. That’s why all of the 9 companions + other important characters in the story feel so close to you by the end of the game. Or at least I think they do. I’ve never got to it myself, so I can’t say for sure.
And the reason for that is exactly when the game decides to do the transition: Skyhold.
Just when you get to the point it feels like the game yells at you: You survived your encounter with the bad! You’re important now! Make decisions! Too much for you? Well, this is the game now. Get used to it.
The thing is: I didn’t. Twice.
First time was when my save file from the previous games did not register, and I’ve only found out about it when I got to the Skyhold. After that it was too hard to get back into it.
Second time was, unfortunately, today.
You see, I can’t play as a character in position of power. I can’t make big decisions, even when it’s in a video game. And this game want you to make The Decisions, and I’m not about that life.
Personal choice? Fine with that. Deciding for people who put all of their trust onto me? Can’t do that, even in a virtual setting. It makes me feel anxious, I already have real life for that.
Maybe I would have been fine with this if the importance wasn’t so sudden, so overwhelming. Maybe if, for example, you started as nobody, and became somebody through the years of working and being recognized for your actions slowly, where you get to the high point and actually understand what your action mean because you saw them from the very bottom. Maybe… maybe I should replay Dragon Age 2 instead of playing Dragon Age Inquisition.
…I don’t want to give up on the game just yet. But I sure feel like doing it again.
