Joshua B

I'm only giving this a 2 because there is some good here. It's not like 100% of the game is a failure. That said the thing that Bioware has always been known for is good writing, and this game probably has the worst writing of any AAA game in the last 5-10 years. I don't think anything is more jarring than having the word "trans" and "non-binary" said in all seriousness by fantasy characters who have never had any concerns around these topics before in the previous 4 DA games that came out. Entire characters are now completely different from what they have been in the past. I think the scene where Isabella is telling a story that gets derailed to have her do push ups due to misgendering someone is the epitome of how much the people working on this game have damaged it. Having an option to define your protagonist as trans that then affects the game's dialogue options is jarring beyond belief. We get 0 agency from our decisions and choices from previous games but they made sure to get the trans question in. Sadly the game is a failure due to these forced decisions and changes in a place where fantasy should be king. If I want to transition in a fantasy game I use magic. There shouldn't be top surgery scars as an option on their own. Put it in the list of scars, that way they are available and other players could even use the scar to tell a different story. A sword slash to the chest, a monster attack, or top surgery. It leaves the agency in the player's hands instead of telling them what to think and feel and telling them they are bad if they don't agree. The people who work at Bioware now are not those that worked there when DA Origins was made and it's glaringly apparent.