Dragon Age: Absolution, review of the addictive sequel to Inquisition

Dragon Age

Dragon Age: Absolution is the new animated series distributed by Netflix and created by Red Dog Culture House ( The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf ) inspired by the Dragon Age role-playing video game franchise. Since mention is made of the Inquisition in this new story with unpublished protagonists, we can already understand that the events of Absolution are chronologically set after the third and last video game of the series, Inquisition .

Being an animated series that aims to re-propose a videogame "campaign", structurally reminiscent of a similar experiment, The Legend of Vox Machina (you can find our review of the first season of the series here), which, instead, re-proposes a Dungeons and Dragons campaign in an animated key. In this regard, among the English-speaking voice actors, in addition to Kimberly Brooks ( Mass Effect ) and Ashly Burch ( Horizon: Zero Dawn ), also Matthew Mercer ( Cyberpunk 2077 ), voice actor and Master of the Vox Machina campaign.

Shop Dragon Age themed here on Amazon! So, what can we expect from Dragon Age: Absolution? Let's find out together in the next few lines!

Dragon Age: Absolution, review of the engaging sequel to Inquisition

From a narrative point of view, Dragon Age: Absolution offers a completely new plot animated by a new company of unlikely heroes, among which include members of races well known to Dragon Age players, such as Qwydion, a Qunari in the unusual guise of a sorceress (the Qunari are very powerful, and for this reason they are excellent tanks), and Miriam, an Elf mercenary who escaped slavery (the world of Dragon Age is absolutely merciless to Elves).



trailer of Dragon Age: Absolution Without going into too much detail to avoid unpleasant spoilers, our party will have to succeed, in six episodes, in taking possession of the Circulum Infinitum, a very powerful magical object, before it is used in any way improperly, putting countless lives at risk.

Dragon Age: Absolution – the link to video games

The introduction of the Circulum Infinitum as a new magical object with immeasurable powers offers a whole series of new narrative cues, a function also fulfilled by the choice to make some of the old acquaintances of the saga appear only marginally. Precisely for this reason, having preferred new characters allows completely new narrative developments, as well as being functional to the very structure of video games: in fact, some player choices can also sanction death or a different destiny for some characters. In this sense, the very presence of the Inquisition depends on the choices made at the end of the game, so the effort to create a story that was consistent with the Inquisition video game is highly appreciable, regardless of the players' choices.

Another perfectly preserved feature concerns the different races, which reflect very well what we already know about them from video games, which is why it would be preferable, for the purpose of understanding some background situations, to know them before watching the series, even if it is not strictly necessary.

Finally, those who know the saga know perfectly well that it is possible to try to have a love story, whether heterosexual or homosexual, even with several characters at the same time. In addition to this option, it is still possible to forge ever closer ties with the members of your party by performing certain actions (which, in some cases, also unlock new side missions). This game system linked to user choices cannot be represented in a series that does not involve any type of interaction, but the love and friendship relationships that exist between the protagonists still play an important role in the narrative.

The story is then enlivened by a humorous spirit that pervades the scenes, especially those featuring the funniest members of the party. From a narrative point of view, therefore, Dragon Age: Absolution offers a story in line with video games, even if necessarily much smaller (remember that the entire narrative arc of this first season takes place in six total episodes).

The fresh and dynamic visual

If the series is satisfactory, narratively speaking, we can also say the same with regard to the general visual rendering. The shadows are very well defined, even if one could have hoped for a better rendering of the chiaroscuro. The color scale used favors a warm color palette, even if, in some scenes, such as night scenes, the colors become colder.



The animations are always fluid, and even the more dynamic scenes, such as the combat ones, are always perfectly understandable and never too confusing. In short, although the graphic style itself may or may not like it based on one's personal tastes, the general rendering is still of a good standard. Even the most romantic scenes are sweet and engaging, reflecting, as we have already said previously, the importance of interpersonal relationships in the videogame saga.

Conclusions

Dragon Age: Absolution is an interesting , a new iteration set in the same world as the popular and beloved video game franchise from BioWare and EA. Proposing itself as a direct sequel to the third and final video game of the main series, Inquisition, it allows us to see what the world is like after the conclusion of those events. The open ending, then, gives hope that the story will be able to evolve further in a second season.

The amalgam with the events of the videogame saga is excellent, creating a sense of continuity which, hopefully, will also open to the rebirth of the franchise also in the videogame field, given that Inquisition dates back to the now distant 2014 . You can find all six episodes that make up this first season of Dragon Age: Absolution exclusively on Netflix.