Quote Originally Posted by factotum View Post
I do wonder a bit if you maybe spent too long in the Hinterlands? Because that place was, indeed, empty and soulless. The other locations you got to later were a lot more interesting, I found.
Certainly the Hinterlands were the worst, but I found the other zones equally full of fluff. Outside of the the really major story missions I don't even really remember the side quests, which I largely do for both Dragon Age 2 and Origins. My lasting impression is of the "close X void rifts" and the repetitive generic quests for each companion, the star sign puzzles everywhere and pointing telescopes hither and yon.

When I really root through my brain I can remember some fun areas - I seem to recall having fun with that deserty area where you storm that fortress with Hawke. I think I remember doing a set of quests for an elvish camp that were interesting.

However, that kind of outlines my point - there's a good game buried under all the mindless fat. It's the same problem Mass Effect Andromeda had - I'm sure there was a decent plot and characters down there somewhere. It's just that it's got a huge amount of busywork piled on top of it. Bioware needs to stop making single-player MMOs and get back in the business of making fun RPGs. For Inquisition, I was prepared to saw through the burnt-on crust to get to the juicy center. For Andromeda, I bent my knife on the crust. For [next Bioware game], I think I'll wait out the hail of broken cutlery before deciding if I want the steak.