While I overall enjoy the game and do recommend it, there are annoying choices and/or oversights in development that irk me to some degree. I'll do my best to give the game it's due while making these points.

First, the positives. In 2024 BioWare/EA released a well polished and relatively bug free game without DRM or external launchers. It looks fantastic, it runs incredibly well at 4k max settings, and at the time of review I've personally never experienced a crash. Our bar for releases is such anymore that this in itself is a recognizable accomplishment, but I still want to give it a shoutout.

The characters have their ups and downs, each of them. While I don't expect any of these characters to land in the BioWare companion hall of fame, aspects of their personalities have been largely overblown. Yes, a character is non-binary. Total time in my current 60 hours of playthrough where this is mentioned, five minutes. Proportional to actual story time and gameplay, if you can't stomach that then find some empathy and compassion about people who differ from your lived experience. Shared dialogue, scenes and romances take a while to get moving, then all of a sudden seem to happen all at once. While I did say these characters won't be making the BioWare hall of fame (excluding Varric because I'm pretty sure he's already there) - they are still BioWare characters. They have their stories, their motivations, and they feel more "alive" than your average RPG fare.

Gameplay is overall pretty solid. I've seen complaints about how puzzles are tedious, insulting, and boring. As opposed to what? Mass Effect 2? Famous for it's difficult puzzles? Yeah, they're time sinks that give meaningful rewards almost immediately and take less than a minute to do. Do them if you want. Movement feels a bit weird on mouse and keyboard, the game seems to have some degree of auto aiming put into place and so my directions or movements conflict with this throwing me off. Or Rook will see something and turn towards it, against where I'm directing the character to move. Combat is frenetic, there is a streamlined bit of depth beneath the hood, but you don't really need to pay attention. Your companions (in combat) really don't do anything. Every enemy knows that you are the player and they are coming for you, and you alone. The amount of times I'll be off fighting something and an enemy that my companions have piled on will swoop in from off screen to stab me in the back, I've lost count. Still, big numbers make the endorphins flow and it is gratifying to watch your build and gear come together.

Now for some negatives. There's a choice made in the very early part of the game that locks you out of the vendor for one of the two major cities. Frustratingly in my case (Antivan Crow Duelist who wanted to romance Neve), choosing to save her city seems to have cost me the best armor for my build. In a recent patch it looks like they've added the vendor back in at the Crossroads, however you can't level this vendor, so the armor remains out of reach. I do have other options, but still, aggravating.

Pacing is just...weird in this game. I don't know how else to put it. I'm a sidequester. I do not progress the main story until my sidequests are done. To that end I beat a level 40 demon/dragon at level 30, and then 45 minutes later I beat the level 50 revenant dragon at level 31. Then, 25 hours later (after a big fight involving two other dragons) - my character is talking to our Dragon Hunter and they're warning me that "this is my first real dragon fight". A line that feels incredibly out of place after fighting these two, much harder dragons. Another example of this. I was fighting enemies with barriers for some 15-20 hours before I received the tutorial on how best to defeat these mechanics, complete with a line from my companion explaining it. Another, another example. I explored the main hub area and found teleporters to get me to other areas of the hub to get loot, or lore, or whatever. And again, some 15 or so hours later, I'm introduced to the mechanic complete with companion feedback. Just, weird pacing.

Finally, edges. Or environmental height differentials. The amount of wasted attacks or damage I've lost out on because the enemy got knocked down a waist high ledge while my character is using an ability, and my character keeps attacking or using this ability while just going up to the ledge and not stepping down, is frustrating. Your characters inability to negotiate the terrain in combat is just, frustrating. Also, my line earlier about how enemies are only coming for you? Frustrating. Some passive threat generation from my tank companion would be nice, instead of an ability I have to direct them to use.

That being said, I've gotten my money out of it. I see real passion from the people who built the game in here and I hope that this experience makes them better at what they do. Still a BioWare fan for life.