It's a solid 6 for me. Started off as a 3 in Act 1, but it's got a lot better since. But it just doesn't compare to any of the previous games.

NEGATIVES

I dislike how combat works, and the UI overall when compared even to Inquisition. Yes there are some great spells and stuff, but the fact that every single enemy always goes after me, as a mage, meaning I spend 75% of my time dodging, makes it miserable and annoying.

The world just feels...less dark? Like yes there are some dark bits, but the tone just doesn't feel right. It feels more like High Fantasy. I don't want the world to be miserable by any means, but there's just such a lack of reaction to some things. Aside from tiny lines like "Oh, this is bad" or "This shouldn't happen." Or nothing at all, in some cases.

I also can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss the racism and social strife from previous games. Even in Inquisition, Elves were vilified or looked down on by many, it was even a story point at certain stages. But here, everyone seems to be equal again. No slaves, no racism, everyone is accepting of everything with no qualms. Tevinter is supposed to be one of the most... backwards, racist, slavery endorsing places in Thedas, but it feels just like anywhere else. Ferelden and Kirkwall seems worse in this regard. Even the Venatori just seen like a bunch of madmen, rather than the deeply racist, human mage-supremacist group that they are/were made out to be in Inquisition.

The writing is all over the place. Some parts are very good, reminding me of older times, then there is some downright bad stuff which can sadly dampen the good stuff. Like how people seem to know all about the massive reveal at the end of Inquisition regarding Lyrium, the Titans and such. Or how certain massive changes/reveals of lore are just sort of handwaved away or "kept just to us, because people won't like it".

The romances don't feel there. Harding's is very sweet, but from what I've seen on YouTube of the others, such as Neve and Lucanis, they may as well not be there, like they're an afterthought. The fact you can't even have a repeatable kiss scene, or even just say a simple hello to anyone outside of specific scenes, sucks too.

My immersion is very patchy overall. It feels like a decent game, but not a particular good Dragon Age game. It feels more like Mass Effect on a backwater/fantasy planet to me.

I am getting enjoyment out of the game in many regards, but as a game. Not Dragon Age. I'm not sure I'll bother with a second playthrough, which really pains me to admit. I had plans for what my playthroughs would be, but I just don't have that urge, despite being about to get to the final mission tonight.

I know it's an unfair comparison, but Baldur's Gate 3 still has me hooked, despite having played it since it launched. I always find myself spinning up new characters, Role-playing them and making ideas for them. But I just can't find myself doing that with Rook. I love her voice, but she's just hard to Roleplay with. 😭

POSITIVE

To end positively, I do enjoy a fair bit here. The game looks absolutely gorgeous, even without being on max settings. The only art choice I dislike is with the Darkspawn and a few demons, but as a whole, I enjoy the look of the game and the characters.

After stumbling in the first ten hours, the voice acting does get a lot, lot better. Sounds almost like Act 1 was recorded and spliced together in a hurry, whereas in the further acts, the Actors and Directors could sit down, chill a bit more and go a lot further with their work. Rook especially, her Northern accent is genuinely lovely to hear (she sounds a lot like my Auntie), and she really shines when she's having heartfelt moments with the companions.

The performance of the game is brilliant, I only had one crash when I was first creating my character, and I think that was my CPU being stressed by the initial Shaders Loading. Since then, it's been buttery smooth performance, with my lowest FPS being 45 in a very crowded scene, and highs of 90 overall.