Although a shadow of their former selves, Bioware are still out to prove that they have still have the chops that birthed their epic Dragon Age series. A franchise of ups and downs, its ravenous fanbase has stuck with the series through thick and thin. This is largely a result of the compelling world that the writers at Bioware conceived and have been fleshing out with books, comics and, of course, games up until 2014 with Dragon Age Inquisition. With Dragon Age conquering the headlines recently, there is a lot to catch up on with the eagerly awaited next instalment. Here are 7 things to expect from Dragon Age 4.
No “I” in Team
Starting with the recent fallout over the departure of Casey Hudson (Bioware General Manager) and Mark Darrah (Executive Producer of Dragon Age). A lot of the more reactionary fans were spelling doom for the series. Hudson began his career at Bioware before cementing the role of Project Director for both Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect Trilogy; high credentials indeed. Darrah is a CRPG veteran, known for programming the combat systems for Baldur’s Gate before working as executive producer on all three mainline Dragon Age games.
Stepping into Mark’s executive producer role is Christian Dailey who was studio director on Anthem. The rest of the team are cited to have “decades of experience” on Dragon Age, with both Hudson and Darrah leaving glowing statements about the team and the future of Bioware without them. After the promising signs from the now-six-year-old Dragon Age Inquisition, there really is no reason to not be positive about its chances.
Not Actual Gameplay
Probably the first thing eager fans spotted at the 2020 Game Awards teaser trailer was “Not Actual Gameplay” plastered along the bottom of the screen. It was a hot topic whether we would see some gameplay with it being two years on since the first reveal trailer.
We can assume that the game will be developed in EA’s Frostbite engine and hopefully the developers at Bioware have a better understanding of the troublesome software than when they developed Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Return of the Wolf
If you don’t want any spoilers for Dragon Age: Inquisition, then look away now. Otherwise, you will know that our new antagonist is of course the Dread Wolf – Fen’Harel, also known as your party member and intriguing elvish mage, Solas.
With Solas being such an impactful character, even before the dramatic twist, we can expect some fantastic cinematic moments with him taking the mantle as big baddy for Dragon Age 4. In Dragon Age: Inquisition even his smaller dialogue moments left a lasting impression down to his interesting characteristics and a dynamite performance from Gareth David-Lloyd.
The Spoony Bard
Narrating the whole trailer is of course our very own knife-tongued Rogue, Varric, who all but confirms his return to the line-up for Dragon Age 4.
Always delivering some excellent moments as a party member, whether that is from his cheeky quips with other members of the party or his powerful abilities with his beloved Bianca; fans can be excited to see this dwarf return for more action.
A New Hero
Where Dragon Age differs from Bioware’s other epic RPG series Mass Effect, is in its handling of protagonists. Commander Shepard of Mass Effect is like an anchor to experience the entirety of its incredible lore, characters, and stories through one evolving perspective. Dragon Age however has a different protagonist for each of the three games, arguably down to initial pessimism around the success of Dragon Age Origins.
This has its own pros and cons of course and seems to be the continuing trend for Dragon Age 4. Thanks to the Trespasser DLC, we know that the Inquisitor is going to need somebody unknown to stop the Dread Wolf’s plan. This and other videos released of Bioware team members discussing plans for the next instalment, all but confirmed it too. That was until the Game Awards 2020 reveal trailer where we can now confirm what we already knew. We will be playing as an all-new protagonist and possibly one of an darker background.
A New Background
Dragon Age: Inquisition treated fans of the series with an extensive map of the neighbouring regions, Ferelden and Orlais. Now thanks to the recent reveal trailer we can get a better look at the famed region of Tevinter.
Recent canonical comic book series and the short story collection, Tevinter Nights, have all been focused on the Imperium. This points towards a more involved look at a place rich with lore and history, only mentioned in collectible pages or conversations in the other games. This could mean a bigger focus on the darkspawn, being set in the region where the very first blight came to be…
A New Experience
Although the Dragon Age series is a far superior experience on PC, the arrival of next gen hardware and their focus on snappy loading times makes the prospect of a console version exciting. Loading times on Dragon Age: Inquisition are poor, even on an SSD and the other two games are showing their age.
This new focus could put off some fans if the console versions get special treatment, as there is a growing wish for the next instalment to return to its CRPG roots. Either way, the accessibility of next-gen makes the prospect of a new Dragon Age all the more exciting.
Return of a Giant
Whether you are excited for Dragon Age 4, can’t stand it, or just indifferent; no one can deny that we are anticipating the return of a fantasy giant.
