Summary
The biggest draw toDragon Agefor its fans, arguably even more so thanMass Effect, is its companions.Dragon Age’s companions across all three of its games have been incredibly important, shaping the events of Thedas' history and the lives of the player characters in fundamental ways, both good and bad. Whether the player character’s companions are well-received or not, most of them are certainly memorable and, no matter the quality of the other features ofDragon Age: Dreadwolf, will be the feature players will be paying the most attention to in the lead-up to the game.
While previousDragon Agegames have had an emphasis on its companions, withDragon Age 2being a largely character-focused campaign andDragon Age: Inquisitionhaving high-ranking members of elite organizations join the Inquisitor, BioWare has gone out of its way to identify the people who will be brought together tofight Solas inDragon Age: Dreadwolfas “people he doesn’t know” being the key to his defeat. This places an emphasis on the companions that even previous games didn’t have and creates an expectation before any of them have been revealed.
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Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Will Require Finding People Solas Doesn’t Know
The companions will likely not be members of the Inquisition due to the repeated emphasis that Solas cannot know them, and so they’re likely to comefrom countries like Rivain, Tevinter, and the Anderfels; places that are far afield and had little to do with the Breach. UnlikeDragon Age: Inquisition, the companions are unlikely to be famous as this would run the risk of being known by Solas, and thus having their actions predicted by him.
This narrows down the kind of people the companions can be, and they’re more likely to be like the companions fromDragon Age: OriginsandDragon Age 2than the important, high-ranking individuals fromDragon Age: Inquisition. At the same time, they’re going to have to be incredibly skilled at what they do if they’re going to be in a group that’s been assigned to take down Solas.
The New Mass Effect 2
Dragon Age: Dreadwolfmay end up structured likeMass Effect 2, where building a team became the core of the story. Assigning a leader to gather a team of experts and specialists to capture Solas sounds more feasible than facing him outright in a war, especially if he has no idea who he’s facing. It’s highly possible the nextDragon Agegame could be focused on building the perfect team, including honing their skills and building relationships with them and navigating team dynamics, something BioWare has experimented with in the past.
These characters could develop different kinds of relationships with each other with varying levels of success depending on player input, while characters like Dorian and Varric remain as advisors. With thecompanions being so important in the effort to neutralize Solas, hopefully there will be new mechanics and gameplay for them, such as new interactions, better animations, and a better approval system than in previous games.
While the approval system was fine for previous games, something more in-depth and responsive would be more appropriate, even something more aligned to the approval/rivalry system that was in place forDragon Age 2, where companions would grudgingly respect the player character even if they disagreed with them. ConsideringMass Effect 2’s emphasis on character made it one of BioWare’s most beloved gamesand considered one of the greatest games ever made, approachingDreadwolf’s companions as the most important part of the game could be a winning strategy. If BioWare delivers the compelling characters it’s known for,Dreadwolfcould become one of its greatest hits.
