Avilan: Fair enough, but then the complaint is rather that they failed to communicate that this time they meant it, rather than that they didn't say so. But then, DA's marketing haven't exactly been stellar. Remember Origin's? It wasn't exactly representative of that game either.

I so wish they (rpg makers in general) could actually discuss what they were thinking, what they sought to explore, what you will face (narratively) with their games rather than show off a few flashy bits. I imagine it'd give us customers a fairer idea on what to expect. You know, treat their games seriously rather than flashy. But then again... that's just a layman speaking.

Also, as a side note.
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You do realise the game can be a bit brighter than you experienced? Depending on your approach to certain matters the outcomes, short of two (All that Remains and Last Straw), can actually be quite favourable and more on the sweet side in bittersweet (still sligthly bitter though).

I'm not saying this to convince you to like the game. I just wanted to check you actually knew that you probably ended up in the least positive way the plot could turn out.
If that changes nothing then fair does.


Warty Goblin:
Indeed, fatalism is a subject best used with care. Many of the greek plays make excellent use of it to tell the story of people. But using it in a story is fraught with traps. Wether DA2 managed to avoid them? Not all certainly, but it could certainly have done much worse (like your examples. Outright hitting the player over the head with it, would have been terrible. At least it's subtle in the game).