Footage of earlyDragon Age: Dreadwolfgameplay leaked online not too long ago, with some fans expressing their concerns about some rather significant changes, but that “change” is not exactly new. It’s very clear that thisleakedDragon Age: Dreadwolfgameplay is inspired byGod of War, assuming it is legitimate of course. Neither BioWare nor EA have issued any statements on it, but it’s hard to imagine this being fake.
In it,Dragon Agefans can see the new protagonist fighting through Darkspawn in Weisshaupt, the headquarters of the Grey Wardens. They are accompanied bytwoDragon Age: Dreadwolfcompanions, Davrin and Rook, but the change is that the camera is over-the-shoulder. The combat shows the protagonist attacking a nearby Darkspawn, drop-kicking them, and using some special melee ability—that may or may not be connected to the Templars, given the blue hue of the ability image. The move towardGod of War-like hack-and-slash gameplay has some fans concerned, and while they have every right to be,Dragon Age: Dreadwolfis not going to be defined by its combat.
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Dragon Age’s Identity Crisis in Combat
Dragon Age: Origins,many will argue, is a masterpiece. The story, the characters, the RPG elements, the classes, the races, and all of it make for an experience still worth playing today. Its combat certainly attributes to that, as it had a defined tactical element to it. It’s hard to see how its combat has influenced anything despite being so successful though, and that’s because it has inspired entire games with its approach. For many,Dragon Age: Originsis BioWare’s peak in storytelling, in character development, and more. And as the franchise grew from there, it’s not the combat that has kept fans invested.
Dragon Age 2is a black sheep within the franchise, but for well-known reasons. Originally conceived asDragon Age: Exodus, DA2would see a rushed development cycle that saw it forego character race selection, re-use plenty of maps, have a more limited story, and other things. But even as a black sheep,Dragon Age 2has always had its diehard supporters. There are fans who are deeply invested in Varric, who deeply care about Hawke and their dialogue, and fans who fell head over heels for Fenris. Anders' actions consumed a fanbase in the best, most divisive ways, and many fans looked forward to seeing the pay-off of theMage-Templar War beforeDragon Age: Inquisitioncame around. Simply put, for all ofDragon Age 2’s faults, the combat left no real impression. Yes, it’s worse than the first game and it has its detractors, yetDragon Age 2is not a game remembered for its bad combat but its fantastic BioWare cast and development-end shortcomings.
Dragon Age: Inquisitioncombat brought back more tactical elements and, as a whole, was more solid thanDA2. The worst of it, perhaps, contributed to some early complaints thatDragon Age: Inquisitionfelt like a single-player MMO, but it also stands to reason that many fans may have expectedDragon Age: Dreadwolfcombat to be very similar. Yet, again, it’s not the combat that has retained fans or really earned it its Game of the Year award at TGA 2014. The story, the twists, thefollow-ups onDragon Age: Origins, the characters, and all of that are always what has defined the franchise. Combat plays a role just like in any game, but expecting it not to change a decade or so after the prior release isn’t consistent with the franchise’s combat approach.
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’s Combat Comes From a Good Place, Reserves Its Best Parts
Dragon Age: Dreadwolfcombat was always going to change, but it hasn’t received its fair shake yet. It’s hard to base much of anything on one single clip that no one was meant to see. That said, what it does show in conjunction with what it implies sounds like a good thing for the franchise.Dragon Age: Dreadwolftaking inspiration fromGod of Warcombat is a good thing. Not only is it fun, but it’s a system rife for experimentation. Sure, it’s perhaps not as tactical asDragon Age: OriginsorDragon Age: Inquisition, but it seems the term “hack and slash” may scare some fans because ofDragon Age 2.This is, very clearly, a very different type of hack and slash.
InDragon Age 2, it was just button-mashing combined with abilities. God of War’s action-focused hack-and-slash combat is more purposeful and done with intent, which would be hopefully whatDragon Age: Dreadwolftakes from it. The ability use and dropkick would certainly imply as much, but it’s another area where fans need to wait for a proper showcase before drawing conclusions. Meanwhile, it’s very clear that the best parts of Dragon Age are present.
The player is joined by two companions, perhaps suggesting it is early in the game or suggesting that it is being cut back, but the companions are present. Rook is a big mystery, butDavrin has long been implied to be a Grey Warden. It’s unlikely he’s a fake Grey Warden like Blackwall was, but the characters are there. DespiteDragon Age: Dreadwolftaking place in Tevinter, this combat happens at a lore-heavy location fans have been dying to visit. There is some story explanation for that, no doubt, but it could suggest other lore and locations are explored to. And all of this, of course, in combination with whatever’s happening with the Darkspawn, the Elves, the new character, and so on—thisDragon Age: Dreadwolfleak hardly scratches the surface that could go as deep as every Dragon Age game before it.
