I pressed "Yes" to the question "Would you recommend this game to other players", because yes, I would. But then this "Review" the game popped up and I feel like Steam missed a step, like putting a button/question for whether or not I/we want to actually review the game.

After being pleasantly surprised by Dragon Age II, I decided to give its sequel another, a more thorough shot. Surely if DA2 could surprise me, DA:I could do too, I thought. And with more money, time and resources, Bioware could deliver at least a serviceable experience, right?

Well, no. Because Dragon Age:Inquisition is bad. I just can't put it nicely.

On narrative level, it's a dull, generic cliche mess, about "saving the world" from invading demons, with a blank slate main protagonist, who's also voiced, mind you, so you get the worst of both types (voiced and defined main character vs unvoiced blank slate with more options). It goes without saying that the general plotline strikes an eerie resemblance to Bethesda's Oblivion (2006) – and that game, released 8 years ago before Inquisition – was often criticized even back then for its rather uninspired main story. The fact that Bioware essentially re-did it here shows absolute creative bankruptcy from people who once released such gems, like Jade Empire and Mass Effect.

On tactical combat level, it's absolutely horrendous, MMO-style weightless trash, with appalling camera controls, flashy seizure-inducing special effects and inexplicable, bizarre design choices (why do I have to hold the mouse button to attack the enemy?! Why reinvent the wheel that worked fine ages ago?!). Inquisition managed to lose both signature slow tactics of Origins and even DAII's more hack-and-slash inspired asymmetrical battles. Instead it feels like a sped-up MMO-version of Origins with less options, weight and gravity.

On game design level, it's gigantic bloated checklist "open map" with insane amount of pointless, time-wasting busywork, again - just like some cheap MMO. These can be grating even in titles with excellent story and gameplay, but to have them here pretty much guarantees hours and hours wasted on collecting items or planting banners in story and characters you are not interested in the slightest, No, thanks.

On RPG level, it's dumbed down yet again with reduced skill trees and even less options than II. Some dialogue choices came back, but that's a doubtful compensation with writing this generic. Why should I care about my choices when I don't care about the overall narrative?

And finally, on basic characters' level – everything is monotone, safe and trite. Even returning characters lack spark and feel like AI-controlled versions of their previous selves. They even somehow made Varric uninteresting, a character who's, at this point, basically the face of the whole franchise and appeals even to those who hated DAII. Cassandra went from a harsh, inquisitive, but still professional and honest warrior to a constantly irritated cynical manipulator. She honestly seems like a completely different character and even looks completely different.

The only thing that is not subpar is graphics. Thanks to Frostibite, that infamously brought so many problems to development of both Inquisition and Anthem, the game is "certifiably gorgeous" even after ten years, but when everything else is this mediocre, I couldn't care less even if this was the best looking game in history.

Overall - avoid, even if it's on sale, unless, for some unknown reason, you want a stale, mediocre MMO Dragon Age Universe. I myself would rather opt for a spin-off Varric game.

It is one of my fave games of all time!!!