Story in Dragon Age: Inquisition will matter, like other entries in the series, and according to Bioware, the player will need to lead the Inquisition to restore order to the world. Plus, you will be pleased to know, this won't be the end of the series.
In Inquisiton, according to creative director Mike Laidlaw, the game’s main character is given the responsibility of leading the Inquisition as he or she is through from the Fade to dispatch the demons coming through the Rift.
“There’s an interesting undertone here of people in the world believing that you have been sent as a leader by the maker of the universe,” Laidlaw told Polygon. “As a player, I have the option of saying, ‘Oh yeah, I’m the chosen one’ or asking what the hell they are talking about. It’s up to the player.
“After the big explosion, the heads of the factions in the civil war are killed and so the Inquisition moves in to fill the gap. Once you come out of the Fade, you show yourself to be a leader. Someone has to take control and the power of the Inquisition gives you the freedom to take action.”
The character’s leadership role was also discussed by executive producer Mark Darrah.
“The burden of leadership is one of the themes of the game,” Darrah told Gamespot. “This is the first time we’ve really put you in a leadership position. We’ve put you in, kind of, command positions in the past, but not really in a place where you’re actually in control of an organization that has to go out and do things.
When fighting said demons, third-person fighting will be mixed with strategic party-based actions similar to traditional RPGs. However, the main character will still be the main character punishing demons with his or her sword.
“You’re still the tip of the spear,” he said. “You’re the one doing the dangerous things. It’s more about using the power of the Inquisition to do things that are beyond the capability of a single person.
“So, for example, you might find a place where a bridge is broken and then you can actually use the Inquisition to do an operation to repair that bridge. Or, for the critical path, you need to have a meeting with the Templars. They don’t want to talk to you, so you’re gonna use your agents to gather up the support of local nobility to essentially increase the weight of your presence, because now it’s not just you, a ragtag party of guys.
“It’s you and powerful nobles. It becomes much more difficult to ignore you. So that’s really what you use your Inquisition for more. It’s about that next level of ability. You’re still the one going and doing most of the fighting. You’re using them more as the force that comes in behind you to hold the territory, to clean up, and give you that extra bit of oomph when you need it.”
Darrah also told Gamespot Inquisition is not the end of the series, just another entry.
“Dragon Age was never intended to be a trilogy,” he said. “We’ve always really looked at Dragon Age as the story of a world as opposed to the story of a character. That’s one of the reasons why we change characters between games. This isn’t the wrap-up of a trilogy.
“We have an overarching story arc. We are going somewhere with the storytelling. But this game isn’t a conclusion.”
Dragon Age: Inquisition will be released on October 7 for PC, PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One in North America and on October 10 in Europe.