Recent reviews by Doctor Sleep

**spoiler free**

Overall game play rating focused on main story beats/overarching plot, characters as individuals, mechanics, graphics: 8/10
Rating specifically on interpersonal relationships with party members: 6.5-7/10

For context, I've dumped hundreds of hours into each of the Dragon Age games (plus ME), as well as delved into every bit of lore I can get my hands on. I am a die hard fan, and I've been waiting ten years for this game--but I didn't heavily follow the coverage leading up to its release beyond a trailer here and there. I'll try to keep it concise and cover each bit on its own.

Main plot:
The end of this game was an absolute gut punch in the best way possible. I firmly feel this game hit the beats it needed in order to cover and reveal the things it did, and I couldn't have asked for better in that regard. It answered so many questions, and brought along new ones that have me itching for the next one. It strikes a great chord between lore depth, dark fantasy (which DA absolutely has), and the urgency of plot they were hoping to bring across (but I do still wish I could dump 10 hours into harvesting herbs and rocks, leave me be!).

Game mechanics:
Fight mechanics felt like their own thing, different from DA:I (which I've been replaying leading up to this), but not bad different, just different. I played on lower difficulty because I really do it for the narrative (there's 4 + custom options for this, which is pretty cool, I've played on the bottom two). I love the apply/detonate mechanic a lot more now that I understand it, because it's new I kept forgetting I had access to it but it made more sense later on. The sub-classes are *chef's kiss* but (and this is a personal thing) it made me think a little bit like handing an apple product to a windows user specifically in that it is more user friendly, but feels like you lose a bit of the ability to make your own way. This is a specific itch of mine, because I went through many iterations of using the tactics system in Origins, and 2, and Inquisition--might just be because I wasn't playing at a higher difficulty.

The weapons, armour, and abilities all feel straightforward, and the animations really lend strength to the different types of attacks. Having 2 companions doesn't feel like a problem in any regard because in terms of support/tanky abilities there's less of a gap between classes than previous games, and if anything it lends better to taking everyone out more often, I often did chunks of location quests with two and switched out others later just cause, or because I wanted to hear certain banter.

Graphics:
It's just...so pretty. The environments are vibrant, and clearly a lot of love went into the detail for the entire game. I have a small gripe with the mouth animation, which I kind of got over after a playthrough but it also seems like an early game thing, they look like they're wearing braces when they talk? I do not have the terminology to explain why this bothered me. The art style gives serious Arcane vibes but doesn't....quite hit that? I'll admit I really loved the skin detail we got in Inquisition, so in terms of that it feels like a step back, but in the same breath the amount of customization we got is outstanding.

Characters/Companions (no spoilers to actual quests or plot):

So on the pros side, we have an absolutely lovely unique band of misifits this time around, and I love each and every one of them for different reasons. They all have individual hobbies, personalities and backstories that make them interesting. I love love loved the codex entries (and you absolutely *have to read the codex entries* in this game), they helped bring another level of personality to these characters, seeing letters and notes from or to them, or conversations between them. They've all got their own stories to tell and it is worth spending the time getting to know them.

My biggest con in this department is genuinely how these characters relate to Rook, as the protagonist--and this is absolutely nothing to do with who the characters are and everything to do with the writing (imo). It feels, in a difficult to describe way, like there's gaps in the found family narrative, and it's unclear whether this is to do with the pacing/how you do the quests, or if there was cut content, or things that just didn't get done as far as the writing goes. I was itching/pleading/hoping for something like the game of Wicked Grace, like Cole's personal quest with Varric and Solas's personal investment, more personal banter about/with Rook like in Inquisition where you could answer or respond to your companions. Some banter you have to be looking for/set up for. If we'd gotten even just what meal times look like (especially because that is an ongoing conversation), it might have helped cement that narrative a bit better, like a beginning versus mid-game or Act 2. I can't pinpoint it much better what it is about these dynamics that feels missing but there's something that doesn't hit quite the same. That part personally sucked for me because the companions are one of the biggest selling points for me in Bioware games, and I would have 100% been fine with a hit to another area in favour of this. I think I actually grumbled to someone after hours in that I wasn't getting attached to any of the companions.

TLDR;
I loved the game overall, it was an excellent instalment to the series and delivers on plot, mechanics and graphics, feels lacking in the companion-protagonist dynamic writing but this could be contributed to by the layoffs and writer's strike. I recommend the game, and very much hope my feelings about this game don't become a trend going forward.

ADDENDUM:
I have so many mixed feelings about the decision to bring so few decisions forward into this game. On its own, I can understand *why* this was limited in scope in regard to the series as a whole (because flattening so many decisions down to fit squarely in this game is an insane amount of extra things to add in, and not all would be pertinent), but I am disappointed by the lack of decisions *just from Inquisition* that had little bearing on the game. I've heard some of that may be carried into the next game, but to make the keep really only pertinent for 2 (kinda) and Inquisition (far more) and shut it down seems...well, dumb.

My favourite go-to quiet and relaxing game :) Fun to re-arrange plants, and toss plants to start something new!