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Dragon Age: Inquisition to lob demons from the sky beginning October 7

Can you make out any familiar Dragon Age party members here? I cannot, alas.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is aptly named. It feels like the result of an internal investigation at BioWare: into how Dragon Age II’s streamlining squad managed to cut quite so close to the bone; into why the team abandoned the cleverly-scripted encounter design that had served them so well since Baldur’s Gate; into where their mojo went.

The appearance of a firm, final release date suggests they’ve found satisfactory answers to all of those questions – as does this all-too-short trailer.

Here, BioWare pair obligatory player character amnesia with something much more interesting – survivor’s guilt.

Why are you the only survivor of a cataclysmic event that killed thousands? Did you have something to do with it? Probably – like a stat-rolled Poirot, player character has been at the centre of every disaster in every RPG since Ultima. Who trusts that guy?

Anyway, yup: it’s lovely to have something solid to post about this here sequel – the delivery of a hopeful promise our Steve liked the sound of in his Dragon Age: Inquisition preview.

So what are we hoping for here? A reintroduction of the tactical combat that deepened Origins, and a new sort of semi-open world that widens Dragon Age like never before?