First impression

So, is this game basically a single-player MMO with a lot of dialogue? I read that after Hinterlands it gets better. I've been spoiled by The Witcher 3, I guess. I can't stomach these dialogues without camera angles anymore, so boring. And I'm not sure if I've ever seen such lazy fetch quests and even real-time operations in an offline AAA+++ RPG. I'll hang in there, because plenty of people are still saying that it's a great game and it will pick up (and to just ignore the lame content).

DAI "lazy" fetch quests have been done by BioWare since DAO.

The interesting quests are tied to companions, the main quests and zone storylines, the problem with the Hinterlands is that the zone story is freeing the crossroad which is like the first thing you do when you get there.

Originally Posted by azarhal
DAI "lazy" fetch quests have been done by BioWare since DAO.

The interesting quests are tied to companions, the main quests and zone storylines, the problem with the Hinterlands is that the zone story is freeing the crossroad which is like the first thing you do when you get there.

I pretty much agree with this. I played it once through and had a very good time doing so. I had expected this game to at least grab me like earlier games or other favorites. But I never made it through my second play through and only purchased one DLC (the last one) which I left unfinished (just read a walk through on WIKI).

Course I had specific reasons why I disliked the DLC somewhat unrelated to the main game but some of that is spoilerish and the other is trivial to most people - how dialogue with companions was handled in the last DLC. It was that dialogue that made me finally push my mouse away in disgust and exit the game … and never went back.

That being said the main game itself I really adored in the same fashion I liked Mass Effect for a one time play through (all 3). A bit like an interactive movie with the companions and the stories of them and the main quest. Really enjoyed all that. Problem, for me, with a movie is once seen I seldom want to slog through all the other parts again (as a real movie doesn't have that). I just never seemed to get bitten by the combat and leveling bug that often drives a games enjoyment to level, fight, and improve skills, stats, weapons, etc.

If the Hinterlands is getting you down (it did me eventually) move on to some main content. It gets much better (IMO of course) once you get more into the quests and stories.

Hope you enjoy it a bit more once you do Thaurin.

I guess I'm enjoying the game well enough now. Many sources advise not to overstay your welcome in The Hinterlands and just go have fun somewhere else if you start to burn out on it. I still don't know what to think about the real-time Inquisition missions, though… and with the load times I'm getting, going back and forth from the field to home base is a big pain in the ass.

I couldn't' finish it, but enjoyed several hours. I just didn't care for any of the companions. I actually enjoyed the fighting and looting and hated coming back into camp and listening to all the whining and blah-blah. Horrible writing. That's why I prefer single-character games. If I play a party-based game I prefer mute companions.

I tried three times to play it and never could get past the introduction really. I can't stand the movement of the game, makes me feel sick.

I like the way the game moves and how it feels to run around. I've played some more now, and it's enjoyable enough, but I find myself going back to The Witcher and enjoying that a lot more. The quality of the world is just much more enjoyable to me.

I abandoned it a few hours in (shortly after arriving at the Hinterlands) mostly because the story was so lame. So I have to close those rifts to stop the demon invasion? Yawn. Nope. Let me rephrase that. Yawn to the power of infinity.
I'm so sick and tired of RPGs that have you shut down the gates/portals/rifts to the evil dimension. It's got to be the most overdone theme next to rat cellars and vermin infested sewers.

I'll probably pick it back up some time later this year after upgrading to Windows 10 but it has a rather low priority. What a boring game. The whole series isn't exactly winning originality awards (DAO and its darkspawn invasion was about as cliche as it gets) but couldn't they come up with something at least slightly more original? Just a tad tiny bit more interesting? Come on, BioWare. Maybe next time?

I started playing this a couple of weeks ago and have to concur largely with what Moriendor wrote. The combat is truly god awful and I'm constantly fighting with the camera which is stupidly awkward beyond belief. Having come from Dark Souls 2, the flaws for the controls and combat in DA:I are quite glaring and it has been a real struggle to find much to really enjoy about it. Origins simply felt more satisfying to play.

Still, I'll persist over time and see if I can get the tactical view to work for me.

Originally Posted by Moriendor
I'll probably pick it back up some time later this year after upgrading to Windows 10 but it has a rather low priority. What a boring game. The whole series isn't exactly winning originality awards (DAO and its darkspawn invasion was about as cliche as it gets) but couldn't they come up with something at least slightly more original? Just a tad tiny bit more interesting? Come on, BioWare. Maybe next time?

The only time they tried to move away from "save the world plot" for a more personal and original story was in DA2. That didn't end well and people complained about it so they went overboard with DAI with the Messiah plot…and then they had to cut half of the game planned story/content (confirmed by Gaider last year) and the old consoles were not able to handle all the features forcing removal of content/gameplay already demoed live a year earlier (the Crestwood demo which looked awesome).

Saying that, DAI has some interesting quests and places through the rest of the mostly optional slug.

P.S. you don't have to close those Rifts except for one or two that block your progression.

Originally Posted by azarhal
The only time they tried to move away from "save the world plot" for a more personal and original story was in DA2. That didn't end well and people complained about it so they went overboard with DAI with the Messiah plot….

I have read lots of complaints about DA2 but the plot wasn't the main one.

Originally Posted by azarhal
…and then they had to cut half of the game planned story/content (confirmed by Gaider last year) and the old consoles were not able to handle all the features forcing removal of content/gameplay already demoed live a year earlier (the Crestwood demo which looked awesome).
.

Cut content isn't why DAI was bad. I think DAI had too much content as it stands. What killed DAI for me was the stupid side quests.

Originally Posted by azarhal
The only time they tried to move away from "save the world plot" for a more personal and original story was in DA2. That didn't end well and people complained about it so they went overboard with DAI with the Messiah plot…and then they had to cut half of the game planned story/content (confirmed by Gaider last year) and the old consoles were not able to handle all the features forcing removal of content/gameplay already demoed live a year earlier (the Crestwood demo which looked awesome).

Saying that, DAI has some interesting quests and places through the rest of the mostly optional slug.

P.S. you don't have to close those Rifts except for one or two that block your progression.

I don't really remember people complainings about DA2 story. I mean the general idea. As far as I remember most people enjoy the more local conflict, andall this stuff about mages and templars. What they didn't like it how it was handled in the end(Thanks, Anders!!).

I agree. The overall concept was actually very interesting: Local struggles, where you get to see the result over years. The execution left a lot to be desired though. And the ending is even worse than ME3 to me.