Dragon Age: Dreadwolftakes the players to the lands of the Tevinter Imperium, demystifying one of the most intriguing corners of Thedas, while also having the perfect opportunity to present something special with Minrathous. As the Imperial Capital, Minrathous was often mentioned in theDragon Agegames, and players could learn a bit more about it through Dorian Pavus, thewayward magister fromDragon Age: Inquisitionand the Inquisitor’s window into the Tevinter life.
Though it had long been assumed that the nextDragon Agegame would be set in Tevinter based on the epilogue in Trespasser, whenBioWare formally announcedDragon Age: Dreadwolfit gave rise to a lot of excitement about finally getting to see the northern Thedas up-close. The excitement only ramped up once players realized that a good chunk ofDragon Age: Dreadwolfwould take place in Minrathous proper. The reasons for this are plenty.
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A Tale of Two Cities: Kirkwall and Val Royeaux
Dragon Age: Originssaw the introduction of Orzammar, the dwarven city, and Denerim, the capital of Ferelden. Though they were perfectly serviceable quest hubs in their own right, it wasn’t until the sequel that BioWare started flexing its role-playing game legacy with the creation of Kirkwall. Had thesecondDragon Agebeen given the development timeit needed, Kirkwall may have well ended up as the next Athkatla, but given the circumstances, BioWare still managed to pull off an iconic city nonetheless.
Kirkwall wasn’t just the main hub in the sequel. It was a character in its own right, as Kirkwall radiated personality and was dripping with history, casting a long shadow across the people who resided in it. It shaped their lives over the course of a decade, and the city changed along with them.Hawke inDragon Age 2wasn’t just a champion of a rags-to-riches story – but the champion of Kirkwall, with their fate intrinsically bound to the fate of the city, and their fame a byproduct of its struggles.
When people learned thatBioWare was switching to Frostbite forDragon Age: Inquisition, it promised that the next game set in Thedas would be a visual spectacle, and there was one thing the players were especially excited about: seeing the Orlesian capital of Val Royeaux in all its grand splendor. Unfortunately, the depiction of Val Royeaux inDragon Age: Inquisitionleft many fans disappointed. It was grand, but it was also just a small slice of the city and nothing more.
For having such vast deserts and open plains, the heart of the Orlesian Empire felt remarkably off. The market square was vibrant and exciting, but that was all Val Royeaux had to offer inInquisition. It felt less like a bustling city, and more like a story node that served to connect plots together. By comparison,Novigrad inThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntand even Windhelm inSkyrimmade Val Royeaux feel amateurish by comparison. It wasn’t a proper location for players to be immersed in; it was just there.
While a lot of Val Royeaux’s shortcomings can be attributed to thetumultuous development ofDragon Age: Inquisition, it ultimately produced an expectation for the audience that BioWare had to redeem itself withDragon Age: Dreadwolfby making a proper metropolis in Thedas for players to sink their teeth into. No doubt the developers were listening, as there may be no better candidate left in Thedas than the capital of the Tevinter Imperium itself: Minrathous.
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The Neon Fantasy Streets of Minrathous
Though no extensive footage of Minrathous has yet been showcased to the public, a fair bit of concept art and trailer shots forDragon Age: Dreadwolfcenter around this ancient city of magisters. It is simultaneously the largest settlement in Thedas, as well as one of the oldest cities in theDragon Agesetting. Minrathous is the perfect opportunity for BioWare developers to build their own Athkatla, and the artwork shown thus far gives it a unique visual identity.
As the city of magic,BioWare’s depiction of Minrathousseems to take this statement and run wild with it. Magical inscriptions glow across the streets at night, producing an interesting take on light pollution in a fantasy medieval world. Towering buildings, both old and new, are spread out across the cityscape in a chaotic, vertical fashion – evoking a feeling that the Tevinter Imperium, now pridefully decadent, has seen better days.
The Circle of Magi in Minrathous floats above the city, casting a shadow on the streets below, and establishing the hierarchy of power in Tevinter with an overpowering message. As opposed to the Circle towers of southern Thedas, the seat of magical knowledge in Minrathous is a literal circle levitated by magic and shaped like the crest of the Circle of Magi. The developers at BioWare make one thing perfectly clear: not evenDragon Ageveterans have experienced anything quite like Minrathous yet.
If apopularDragon Agetheoryis to be believed, Minrathous was built on the ruins of the ancient elven city of Arlathan, with the other half of Arlathan that got split into the Fade becoming the Black City. The mention of catacombs that run deep underneath Minrathous gives credence to the possibility of players exploring the ruins at some point inDreadwolf.
Ultimately, though Kirkwall had a remarkable art direction and a truly commendable effort in its execution,Minrathouspoints towards having the one factor Kirkwall was missing: time. BioWare was given several years to makeDragon Age: Dreadwolfthe best sequel toInquisitionthat it could possibly be, and the project underwent several canceled iterations before it got to the one that was announced earlier this year.
The negative reception andcollective disappointment ofAnthemhave no doubt humbled BioWare as a whole, but the team working onDreadwolfis still the same one that builtInquisition. Though it is too early to tell, the depiction of Minrathous points that BioWare has something truly magical up its sleeves, and that the future of theDragon Agefranchise is in good hands.
Dragon Age: Dreadwolfis in development.
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