BioWare was in a weird spot back in 2014. Coming off the polarizing ending of Mass Effect 3 and the recycled assets of Dragon Age II, they needed a win. Badly. What we got was Dragon Age Inquisition PS4, a massive, sprawling epic that somehow managed to bridge the gap between seventh and eighth-generation consoles without falling apart. It’s huge. It’s messy. It’s arguably the last time we saw the "old" BioWare magic fully firing on all cylinders before things got complicated with Anthem.
Most people remember the Hinterlands. Oh, the Hinterlands. You arrive there, get overwhelmed by side quests, and stay for twenty hours until you realize you're bored to tears. That’s the first mistake. If you’re playing on a PlayStation 4 today, you’ve gotta understand that this game wasn't designed for completionists to stay in one spot. It’s about momentum. It’s about becoming the Inquisitor, not a fantasy grocery shopper.
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The Technical Reality of Dragon Age Inquisition PS4
Playing this on a base PS4 versus a PS4 Pro or a PS5 via backwards compatibility is a different beast entirely. Let’s be real: the original hardware chugs sometimes. You'll see frame rate dips during heavy combat when the mages start dropping Firestorms and the Rift starts vomiting demons. But honestly? The Frostbite engine looks stunning even now. The way the light hits the Exalted Plains or the shimmering sands of the Hissing Wastes—it has a painterly quality that modern "hyper-realistic" games sometimes lose.
One thing nobody warns you about is the load times. On a standard PS4 hard drive, you could basically go make a sandwich while waiting for Skyhold to load. If you've swapped in an SSD, it's a game-changer. The tactical camera, which was a huge selling point for returning PC fans, feels a bit clunky on a DualShock 4. It’s functional, sure, but the game clearly wants you to play it as an action-RPG. You're mapping abilities to your buttons, dodging, and weaving. It feels visceral.
Why the Story Still Holds Up (And Where It Fails)
The stakes in Dragon Age Inquisition PS4 are high, but the game is really a character study. You aren't just a hero; you're a political figurehead. You have to manage the tensions between the Mages and Templars, decide the fate of the Orlesian Empire, and keep a ragtag group of weirdos from killing each other at the dinner table.
- Solas: If you haven't played it, I won't spoil the "Trespasser" DLC, but man, the writing here is top-tier.
- The Iron Bull: Voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr., he’s easily one of the most complex depictions of a Qunari we’ve ever seen.
- Cassandra: She’s the heart of the Inquisition, and her evolution from a hardline zealot to a nuanced leader is the gold standard for RPG writing.
However, the villain, Corypheus, is kinda... lame? He starts off terrifying during the attack on Haven. You feel genuinely outgunned. But then he just spends the rest of the game losing. Every time you meet him, you win. It drains the tension. The real "villain" of the game is the bureaucracy and the ancient lore you're digging up. That’s where the meat is.
Misconceptions About the Combat
I hear people say the combat is "just holding R2." That’s only true if you’re playing on Casual. Try playing on Nightmare with "Trials" enabled. You have to manage positioning, elemental resistances, and combo triggers. If you freeze an enemy and then hit them with a "Shatter" move using a two-handed warrior, the damage is astronomical. It’s about synergy.
The crafting system is also secretly the most broken part of the game. You can find "Fade-Touched" materials that give you a chance to cast Hidden Blades on hit. If you put that on a Dual Dagger Rogue, you basically become a god. The PS4 version handles these high-speed calculations surprisingly well, though you might see some UI lag when the screen gets too busy with damage numbers.
The Multiplayer Nobody Asks About
Yeah, there’s a multiplayer mode. It’s a 4-player co-op dungeon crawl. Is it Mass Effect 3 multiplayer? No. But it’s surprisingly fun for a few hours. It uses a different progression system, and you can unlock different classes like the Reaver or the Elementalist. Just don't expect a huge active player base in 2026. Most people still playing are veterans who will carry you through the hardest maps before you even know what’s happening.
What About the DLC?
If you're buying Dragon Age Inquisition PS4 today, do not—I repeat, do not—buy the base version. Get the Game of the Year Edition. The base game ending is okay, but "Trespasser" is the actual ending. It sets up the entire plot of The Veilguard. "The Descent" takes you into the Deep Roads and offers some of the hardest combat in the game, while "Jaws of Hakkon" is basically a giant apology for the Hinterlands, featuring a much better-designed open-ended zone.
Making the Most of Your Playthrough
If you're jumping in now, here's how to actually enjoy it without burning out:
- Leave the Hinterlands early. Once you get to level 4 or 5 and meet Mother Giselle, just go back to Haven. You can come back later. Seriously.
- Talk to everyone after every main quest. The dialogue shifts constantly. BioWare put thousands of lines of "conditional" dialogue in here that most people miss because they just rush to the next map marker.
- Use the Dragon Age Keep. Since you're on PS4, you can't import your PS3 or Xbox 360 saves directly. You have to go to the website, recreate your choices from Origins and DA2, and then "export" them to your PS4. If you don't do this, the game uses a "default" world state where a lot of cool characters are dead or missing.
- Experiment with your party. Don't just stick to the same three people. Bring Cole and Solas together for some creepy cryptic dialogue, or bring Sera and Vivienne if you want to hear two people who absolutely loathe each other trade insults.
Closing Thoughts for the Modern Inquisitor
Dragon Age Inquisition PS4 remains a high-water mark for the genre, even with its flaws. It’s a game about choice, consequence, and the heavy burden of leadership. While the "open world" bloat can be annoying, the core loop of exploring, upgrading Skyhold, and judging prisoners in your throne room is incredibly satisfying. It's a 100-hour investment that actually pays off if you're willing to engage with its systems rather than fight them.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check your firmware: Ensure your PS4 is updated to the latest version to avoid "C-34878-0" errors, which used to plague the game during heavy save-file bloating.
- Clear your cache: If you notice textures popping in slowly (especially in Skyhold), a full console power cycle usually fixes the Frostbite engine's memory management issues.
- Go to DragonAgeKeep.com: Before starting a new game, spend 30 minutes setting up your world state. Seeing your specific choices from 15 years ago reflected in the dialogue is the entire point of the series.