To this point, the exact details of the man or woman leading the titular ‘Inquisition’ have been kept to the background, instead focusing on the wealth of customization players can look forward to, and the variety of environments next-gen makes possible. But the trailer made it clear that the Inquisitor would be facing a monumental threat - and one seemingly unconnected to either of the games that came before. That’s likely to change, but for now, the devastating ‘Breach’ threatening to swallow the whole of Thedas makes prior threats seem miniscule.

Speaking with both Gamespot and PC Gamer, executive producer Mark Darrah explains that while the events of Inquisition are sure to have an overwhelming effect on the future of the Dragon Age series, the role through which players will experience (and attempt to stop) it is something genuinely new to the formula:

Those familiar with BioWare’s most recent RPGs will likely get a nagging sense of familiarity, as the general plot hinted at for Inquisition - gaining reputation and allies to your side to take on a large threat - is essentially the exact one seen in both Mass Effect 2 and 3.

According to Darrah, there seems to be a bit more subtlety and nuance to the progression, not to mention letting players bargain from a position of power as opposed to “begging” as they had in the past:

Obviously fans will wait to pass judgement on how well the finished game executes on these ideas, but it’s a safe bet that Dragon Age players are ready to be given serious authority in the game’s universe. The need to listen to insufferable and closed-minded leaders bicker about their minor issues as the world sits on the precipice can only be tolerable for so long, so the chance to actually flex some muscles as The Inquisitor will be a welcome change.

As more story details arrive in the coming months, a better sense of how much players will be kept to the path, or allowed to wander will be possible. For now, what do you think of this promise of ’next-level’ authority? Is it a long overdue feature, or do you have your doubts that Inquisition will differ from BioWare’s other RPGs? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Dragon Age: Inquisition releases October 7, 2014 for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Follow Andrew on Twitter @andrew_dyce.

Source: PC Gamer, Gamespot