DoctorEars
Bio
Hello! I work in television and also play a LOT of games.
Hello! I work in television and also play a LOT of games.
Badges
Replay '14
Participated in the 2014 Replay Event
Gone Gold
Received 5+ likes on a review while featured on the front page
GOTY '23
Participated in the 2023 Game of the Year Event
GOTY '22
Participated in the 2022 Game of the Year Event
Noticed
Gained 3+ followers
3 Years of Service
Being part of the Backloggd community for 3 years
N00b
Played 100+ games
GOTY '21
Participated in the 2021 Game of the Year Event
Liked
Gained 10+ total review likes
Favorite Games
186
Total Games Played
018
Played in 2024
013
Games Backloggd
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A short but evocative visual novel. The stark black+white+spot colour aesthetic is absolute perfection, and the narrative branches were really enjoyable to explore. It's a really nice example of what a narrative game can do when it focuses in on a specific block of time and how your choices can effect little things throughout it. Well worth it!
Finally played Trespasser, the ending DLC for Inquisition that leads pretty much directly into Veilguard (barring a 7 year time jump).
I found it to be a very impressive send off of the characters and story of the Inquisition. Upon finishing it though I couldn’t help but feel some heartache for the team working on Dragon Age. This DLC came out in 2015. They’ve had a hard 9 years trying to make varying versions of Inquisitions follow-up for all sorts of reasons after very specifically delineating what the follow-up would be about in this DLC. So I’m glad that they’re finally getting there with Veilguard later this year.
I found it to be a very impressive send off of the characters and story of the Inquisition. Upon finishing it though I couldn’t help but feel some heartache for the team working on Dragon Age. This DLC came out in 2015. They’ve had a hard 9 years trying to make varying versions of Inquisitions follow-up for all sorts of reasons after very specifically delineating what the follow-up would be about in this DLC. So I’m glad that they’re finally getting there with Veilguard later this year.
Completed a replay of this game ten years after my original playthrough - mentally preparing myself for Veilguard later in the year.
It's interesting how with distance this game is maybe worse than my original estimation on first play. On first play I loved it, found it incredible compelling from start to finish. Was enamoured with the War Table, enjoyed exploring all of the areas of the world. Loved questing.
This time around though - I can see it for what it is. A lot of loose world areas filled to the brim with uh.... pretty boring Checklist content. The combat itself is slow - tactical mode isn't particularly engaging, and the active combat itself just hovers around "hold this button" and occasionally "click that button". Whenever you go up against enemies of your level they're just sponges for damage which sucks the enjoyment out of the game entirely.
The actual critical path narrative centered around Corypheus is fun and engaging, but Corypheus as a villain is pretty milquetoast and has either uninteresting or badly-portrayed motivations.. The War Table (while still fun) ends up getting pretty frustrating in terms of time investment and needing to wait real-life-hours for tasks to complete.
As usual, the characters and companions themselves are where the series shines and is absolutely where this game shines as well. I ended up completing all of the companion story quests and the critical path, and basically ignored everything else. Maybe the big difference in this playthrough vs. last is I'm in my 30s now, and time is more of a limited resource. Every moment of a game needs to be fun and engaging for me now, otherwise it's just wasted time. 80% of Inquisition, realistically, is time-wasting.
It's interesting how with distance this game is maybe worse than my original estimation on first play. On first play I loved it, found it incredible compelling from start to finish. Was enamoured with the War Table, enjoyed exploring all of the areas of the world. Loved questing.
This time around though - I can see it for what it is. A lot of loose world areas filled to the brim with uh.... pretty boring Checklist content. The combat itself is slow - tactical mode isn't particularly engaging, and the active combat itself just hovers around "hold this button" and occasionally "click that button". Whenever you go up against enemies of your level they're just sponges for damage which sucks the enjoyment out of the game entirely.
The actual critical path narrative centered around Corypheus is fun and engaging, but Corypheus as a villain is pretty milquetoast and has either uninteresting or badly-portrayed motivations.. The War Table (while still fun) ends up getting pretty frustrating in terms of time investment and needing to wait real-life-hours for tasks to complete.
As usual, the characters and companions themselves are where the series shines and is absolutely where this game shines as well. I ended up completing all of the companion story quests and the critical path, and basically ignored everything else. Maybe the big difference in this playthrough vs. last is I'm in my 30s now, and time is more of a limited resource. Every moment of a game needs to be fun and engaging for me now, otherwise it's just wasted time. 80% of Inquisition, realistically, is time-wasting.