Couldn't play Dragon Age Inquisition to the end....

Champ · 28-03-2015 4:44pm #1

Did anyone else find the gameplay to be extremely tedious after a while? I made it decently far into the game but the nature of the gameplay just got too repetitive for me and I've stopped playing it.

The story is good, not surprising since it is a Bioware product but there seems to be a lot of low quality filler quests spammed (almost ludicrous amount) all over the maps.

Navigation also frustrated me at times.... e.g. according to the map you should be right on top of an objective or quest but discover you actually have to circle around for 5 minutes trying to find some hidden / camouflaged entrance at the bottom or top or middle of some hill / mountain (that jumping mechanic as well urgh...). At times I had ridiculously strong urges to want to strangle the map designers. No one can say that the scenery isn't gorgeous but at times it seems like they wanted to frustrate players trying to get around.

Combat as well just seems to be continuous button mashing in between spamming abilities as fast as they recharge. It's probably just me but trying to fine control the tactical camera view at times as well wasn't exactly a smooth process.

Other people online have commented it has strong elements of MMO style in it which possibly explains why I didn't take well to it as I generally don't enjoy MMO environments.

It's probably just personal tastes coming into play though am curious to see if others held similar views?

For the record I've played most Bioware titles and enjoyed them immensely e.g. the Baldur's Gate Saga, Jade Empire, KOTOR1, the Mass Effect series and the previous Dragon Age games (Origins been my favourite of them all).

Interested Observer · 28-03-2015 5:39pm

I totally agree with you. I skipped a couple of whole zones towards the end because I just felt playing them was pointless. I played it to the end but really was forcing myself for the last part.

Sephiroth_dude · 28-03-2015 5:53pm

Yup, those bloody bears and not being able to constantly run.

Skerries · 29-03-2015 1:59am

call me a sadist but I played every side mission I found

Zillah · 29-03-2015 3:53am

It definitely had a strong MMO influence and that was definitely the worst aspect of the game. Waaay too many side quests that were nothing more than repetitive busy work.

I enjoyed it but I would have much preferred a more tactical combat system than the consoley spamfest that we got.

Skerries · 29-03-2015 5:14am

so are we going to play Jaws of Hakkon?

Pixelbastardo · 29-03-2015 8:02am

Yep, i put 25 hours into it and couldn't take anymore. It was just after siding with the mages and the home place was getting attacked i had had enough.. such boring combat gameplay, the thought of booting the game up again made me trade it in.

Potential-Monke · 29-03-2015 8:28am

Yup, have it unfinished also. And don't think i will finish. Got bored of it, which is unexpected as i loved the first 2! This one just didn't "work" as well as the last 2. Shame. Bring on The Witcher 3!

Retr0gamer · 29-03-2015 10:33am

RopeDrink wrote: »

Anyone considered the concept of skipping side-quests and focusing on the story? I know it's a crazy suggestion, but...

A big problem is that the story is locked off until you do a certain amount of mandatory side quests.

johnny_ultimate · 29-03-2015 11:07am

RopeDrink wrote: »

I'd much rather a game with an obscene amount of filler, than one that you complete in 2hours and put on the shelf, never to be played again.

That's the polar opposite to me :pac:

I find the time consuming nature of many games, especially RPGs, these days a massive turn off. Simply don't have the time or energy to tackle them, bar exceptional cases (Persona series, for example). Which is why I'm delighted with the emergence of shorter games: tighter, much more efficient titles that explore everything they need to in a fraction of the time. If everything can be communicated in a couple of hours, and every idea explored in a satisfying way, result! I find that hugely rewarding and impressive.

To me, asking the player to repeat tasks or carry out meaningless side quests is asking them to waste their time - and while the epic game will always have its place, thankfully there's a new paradigm of games to counter them too. There's a lot of great games to play out there, and the more ones that don't overstay their welcome the more I get to play.

Zero-Cool · 29-03-2015 11:14am

I got a loan of it and turned it aftera few hours. Couldn't stand the combat to the point i was avoiding fights. Couldn't find a AAA non remake game that i could enjoy, thank God for Bloodborne.

Interested Observer · 29-03-2015 11:26am

RopeDrink wrote: »

Anyone considered the concept of skipping side-quests and focusing on the story? I know it's a crazy suggestion, but...

...On a serious note, some of the filler wasn't sign-posted enough. It took me a playthrough to realize that telling the Requisition Officer to get stuffed was better than wasting resources just to gain +Power - and that said quests could be repeated infinitely.

Outside of that, I loved all the fluff - was plenty to do even after I completed the game (twice) - and, like most Bioware games, you've the option to do things very differently each time. I'd much rather a game with an obscene amount of filler, than one that you complete in 2hours and put on the shelf, never to be played again.

You can't just skip it though because you need Power to continue with the main quest. Now I know you can get to a point where you can just buy power but of course that requires money which you need to get from somewhere.

Overall I liked it, just not 70 hours worth of liked it.

Champ · 29-03-2015 11:41am

Sephiroth_dude wrote:

Yup, those bloody bears and not being able to constantly run.

I half wondered whether the wild life just hated the inquisition.:) Like you I found that annoying while resisting the urge to tear the map up in frustration trying to find something (usually something obscurely placed) and constantly having a bear or pack or wolves etc turning up and interrupting you.

RopeDrink wrote:

Outside of that, I loved all the fluff - was plenty to do even after I completed the game (twice) - and, like most Bioware games, you've the option to do things very differently each time. I'd much rather a game with an obscene amount of filler, than one that you complete in 2hours and put on the shelf, never to be played again.

For me anyway I think this is the first Bioware title that shifted (overwhelmingly) to mass quantity from quality in regards to filler related content. Managed it fine and even enjoyed it somewhat in every other Bioware game I played (Okay resource scanning in ME2 was so boring but at least they got rid of it in ME3) but ultimately the shift to MMO style was a bit too much.

I also found the amount of out of focus chats / NPC interaction gave it an impersonal touch that reduced the typical immersive experience that I enjoyed in previous Bioware titles. Again this can be attributed to the MMO style which DAI seems heavily based on.

super_furry · 29-03-2015 4:35pm

About four hours in and haven't been able to bring myself back to play it. Just a dull, tedious game. Shame because the first one was great.

Varik · 29-03-2015 4:39pm

My time is limited for games, so I end up getting 60% through and I either get something else or just don't go back.

This was one of those games.

Akrasia · 30-03-2015 3:57pm

In my day a 'side quest' consisted of strafing along the walls of wolfenstein castle spamming the space bar looking for those secret rooms.

Or smashing every block in the underground levels of Super Mario Brothers looking for that one random coin block...

I did have too much time on my hands when i was a child

I hate games that make you do stuff you don't want to do just for filler. I want to get to the fun bits, not spend hours going out of my way collecting herbs to 'craft' a medicine or an upgrade.

And the worst thing is, it screws up the balance of the game. if you spend ages doing side quests and leveling up your character, then the epic battles will be too easy because your character is too powerful. But if you skip the side quests or upgrade the wrong weapons/abilities, then you are sometimes faced with unwinnable battles

A properly balanced game have a learning curve that is both rewarding and challenging from start to end

Stone Deaf 4evr · 30-03-2015 4:05pm

In an effort to clear my gaming backlog I'm ignoring 90% of optional side quests unless they are actually fun to do. Not if they only count towards a "completion percentage". lifes too short and I'm getting through a fair few games too.

Generic Dreadhead · 30-03-2015 4:08pm

Riddle me this, am I losing my mind in Far Cry 4 or does it make you pi$$ around doing side stuff before it unlocks the next Golden Path missions?

Kiith · 30-03-2015 4:23pm

I played it, and loved it all. Doesn't mean i did every side quest however. There was loads left by the end, but i already had 80+ hours on it, so i was happy finishing it off.

Stone Deaf 4evr · 30-03-2015 5:07pm

Cormac... wrote: »

Riddle me this, am I losing my mind in Far Cry 4 or does it make you pi$$ around doing side stuff before it unlocks the next Golden Path missions?

I think there is a point where you HAVE to do a mission for Longinus before it opens up the next story mission, but It was relatively early on. Far Cry is an exception though, in that the side missions for NPCs are actually pretty enjoyable for the most part, and the collectables (posters etc) dont need to be done 100% to unlock their relevant achievements.

psyconia · 31-03-2015 9:26am

I am about 70 hours in on my 1st playthrough which is on nightmare - and its quite difficult as you can imagine. I'm playing as a thief / assassin and it is fun - I cannot imagine playing as other character types to be honest I'd think they would be boring as the assassin requires a lot of control to get right...(very easy to die...)

The problem with nightmare mode is you have to do loads of quests etc so you are not underpowered. I have only one story quest to go now - but to be honest I just want it done - really really need a break from DAI !!!
I nearly feel guilty if I play another game before I have completed it !

Spunge · 03-04-2015 6:29pm

When i heard it wasnt like DA:O at all and saw the massive negative user reviews on metacritic, I think i dodged a bullet.

My favourite thing about DA:O was the baldur's gate like combat when you played on nightmare, so games like divinity: original sin and wasteland filled that gap pretty well recently.

Zillah · 03-04-2015 8:09pm

psyconia wrote: »

The problem with nightmare mode is you have to do loads of quests etc so you are not underpowered.

Just...just play on normal...

This isn't a job, no one is going to promote you at the end.

YouSavedMyLife · 03-04-2015 9:37pm

Zillah wrote: »

Just...just play on normal...

This isn't a job, no one is going to promote you at the end.

Some people get satisfaction from finishing hard games. I guess its the reason the Souls' series is so popular. Besides easy games can get boring quick. I'd rather struggle and see the game over screen a few times instead of blowing through content with ease

Kirby · 04-04-2015 1:33am

Nobody plays the souls game for the story. Which is why the story has to be explained to you in a youtube video. :P

People do however, play RPG's for the story. And therein lies the difference.

You might challenge yourself to perform a task like say doing 100 keepy uppies with a football. Just to see if you can do it and the satisfaction of when you do. But you don't challenge yourself to read a book. You just enjoy it. Playing the game on nightmare when you aren't already a pro at the game, is the equivalent of having to take a test after every chapter while reading a book. It ruins the experience.

They are two different types of games. Most play souls for the challenge while most play a Bioware for the story. You can stick Dragon age on nightmare but unless you are already good at the game, there is no point. It just becomes a grind. You can play on normal or hard and still have the combat be meaningful, without dying every encounter.

YouSavedMyLife · 04-04-2015 2:08am

But people play games, for the gameplay

I wouldn't play any game, RPG or not because it has a good story. A game could have a good story as a bonus but in my opinion the gameplay 100% of the time has to be the hook. Besides games are so far behind TV/Movies and books in the storytelling department its laughable.

Mickeroo · 04-04-2015 2:29am

YouSavedMyLife wrote: »

But people play games, for the gameplay I wouldn't play any game, RPG or not because it has a good story. A game could have a good story as a bonus but in my opinion the gameplay 100% of the time has to be the hook. Besides games are so far behind TV/Movies and books in the storytelling department its laughable.

Choosing what to say and whether your character is good or evil and how it effects events within the game are part of the gameplay in Bioware games though, I've always found the most boring parts of dragon Age and Mass Effect were the actual combat, I've generally played them all on easy so I can get through those parts quickly as possible and get back to the exploration and character interactions which I actually find enjoyable.

I've started this on nightmare, but I'm not sure how long I'll stick with it at that difficulty.

FutureGuy · 04-04-2015 8:00am

I made a conscious decision to stop the fetch side quests about halfway though the game. Enjoyed it much more after that.

Zillah · 06-04-2015 11:44pm

YouSavedMyLife wrote: »

Some people get satisfaction from finishing hard games. I guess its the reason the Souls' series is so popular. Besides easy games can get boring quick. I'd rather struggle and see the game over screen a few times instead of blowing through content with ease

Yeah I get that but he's talking about having to spend a lot of time doing side quests he doesn't enjoy so that he can level up so that he is strong enough to complete the main story... which is effectively lowering the game difficulty, except doing it through grinding instead of a slider.

I do get the idea of being able to tick the box to say you finished it on Nightmare of whatever, but it just seems like such a ludicrous way to spend your time and an entirely unsatisfying endeavour.

psyconia · 07-04-2015 9:53am

Well I completed Nightmare - easily at the end I have to say...I left a lot of quests open though - I probably did spend a while looking for tier 3 stuff so I could create my own gear....
For the most par it was fun knowing you could get killed easily - so I liked the fact I had to think about some encounters - and use stealth to avoid some others - especially in the more advanced regions.

Did it in about 65 hours. Gonna leave it a while now though - have had my fill for a while...!

I don't think it was tedious - but I did feel guilty playing another game because I was so invested with it...!
Ciao...

Couldn't play Dragon Age Inquisition to the end....

Comments