Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’s Promised Summer News Cannot Keep Beating the Same Dead Horse

Dragon Age: Inquisition changed the history and lore of Dragon Age forever, not only for the elves but for every group in Thedas. The revelations about Solas and his plans for the Veil upended the future of Dragon Age, and it’s no wonder that fans are impatient for news about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. After years of teaser trailers and spin-off content, BioWare finally announced on Dragon Age Day 2023 that real news would drop during Summer 2024, promising a full reveal.

While this is great news for fans, who have been waiting for real information about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf for nearly ten years now, the promised news drop has to live up to expectations. There has been a worrying trend in most of the Dragon Age: Dreadwolf teaser content in that the sole focus has been Solas, to the point that even some die-hard fans of the character may feel tired of seeing the character in the spotlight at the expense of all else.

The Problem with Featuring Solas in Every Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Teaser

The Role of Solas in Marketing

It’s understood by players that Solas will be a major character in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, considering his moniker is the title of the game, and so it’s natural that much of the marketing for the game will be centered on him. The issue is twofold, where the marketing is both centered on Solas, and there isn’t any new information. Solas is often just standing in place in trailers, with Varric or Solas’ narration giving players information they already know. This is fine the first time, but it’s become repetitive and it can’t happen again during the Summer 2024 news drop.

New Content for Fans

Dragon Age Day 2023’s teaser, Thedas Calls, showcased three new locations and four possible new characters via the narration: an Antivan, a Rivaini, a Grey Warden, and a possible villain that wasn’t Solas. Thedas Calls alone shows how much there is of Dragon Age and Thedas to showcase beyond Solas, even if he is the titular character of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. That Thedas Calls showed not just Tevinter, but three more nations of Thedas that players were previously unaware would be featured in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, is a positive sign of what’s to come in the summer.

What Would Be Ideal For Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’s Reveal in Summer 2024

New Ways to Depict Solas

When Solas is the focus of a trailer, players need to see him doing something new, or new information that changes the audience’s perception of him needs to be revealed in order to hold the interest of players. BioWare cannot afford to have Dragon Age fans regard the title character of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf with boredom thanks to years of teasers where he hasn’t done anything and, to shake that perception, any marketing material that features Solas is going to have to be fresh and innovative, perhaps showing the true extent of the power Solas now wields.

BioWare Has to Win Back Players

Beyond Solas, BioWare needs to convince players that the studio has learned lessons from Mass Effect 3, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Anthem, and even Dragon Age: Inquisition. These games all had serious issues with at least one important aspect of the final product, be it narrative, animation, gameplay, or game design. Dragon Age: Dreadwolf has been in production for a long time now, and its full reveal needs to cover all of these elements in full to win back many players. This is especially important after the recent layoffs at BioWare, which included veteran Dragon Age writer Mary Kirby, who wrote Varric and the lore for the Qunari.

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf

Franchise

Dragon Age

Publisher(s)

Electronic Arts