Dragon Age: Inquisition First Details Emerge, Playable Races Make a Return

Given Dragon Age: Inquisition is the cover story for the latest issue of GameInformer, we can expect some more details to pop up sooner rather than later, but even what little we’ve got right now is better than nothing.

First, this quote from GameInformer’s article reveals that playable races are making a return:

As the game begins, the Inquisition has plenty to investigate. War, scheming, and political strife have left the major power groups in the Dragon Age universe unable to operate effectively, which is a problem when a hole opens in the sky and demons begin pouring out. Players must fight back against the demonic threat while exploring a vast world and consolidating power for the growing Inquisition. Large and varied environments, customizable armor, and the return of multiple player races are just a few of the ways BioWare is addressing feedback from previous titles in order to shape a new future for the franchise.

Here’s a few quotes plucked from the BioWare Social Network concerning the returning feature:

Are you saying we can play an elf or a dwarf in DAI for single player?

Yes.

…

Will the PC be voiced?

We still plan to have the PC voiced.

…

This makes me wonder whether there’ve been any changes to the the origins also – will they be playable now, will there be more to allow variety for different races?

The race/class selection replaces the plans for different backgrounds we’d mentioned earlier. There’s slightly more nuance to it, but it’s not quite the same thing.

I’m not sure I’m reading this right. It sounds like the race selection is replacing background selection, but it also sounds like background selection is being replaced by something more nuanced. Are selectable backgrounds out entirely?

Yes, selectable backgrounds are out entirely. Seeing as we never went into detail as to what that entailed, it shouldn’t be a hardship– what exists now is race/class choice, and reactivity to that, with some added nuance I mentioned but won’t get into (but which also provides reactivity).

Finally, it’s also worth noting that the video trailer of GameInformer’s coverage shows that the game includes mounts, a feature later confirmed by various devs on Twitter and the official forums.