Dragon Age: Inquisition Prequel Now Playable

If you're bored waiting for Dragon Age: Inquisition, BioWare just gave you something new to do. They've partnered with Failbetter Games to release a short game called Dragon Age: The Last Court.

Dragon Age: The Last Court is a text-driven browser game set right before Inquisition. The player is the ruler of Serault, a fiefdom at the edge of Orlais. It falls to you to guide the realm through a troubled period.

"This is a game of lordship," BioWare says. "You’ll manage the affairs of your court. You’ll choose a counsellor, a bodyguard, an accomplice and a lover. You’ll balance the concerns of your subjects. Will Serault be renowned for its dignity or its freedom? What is the greatest threat: outlaws, revolutionaries, or the the nameless ancient things that slither in its deep woods? There are stories to explore and secrets to unravel. What lies in the Sealed Chantry? Who is the Horned Knight? Who is behind Serault’s recent troubles?"

"You’ll meet a host of new characters, like the Purveyor of Teas and the Acerbic Dowager. And maybe you’ll run into a few familiar faces from other Dragon Age titles…"

The branching storyline ensures that you won't see everything in The Last Court in a single play-through. Beating the game takes about a week, though you can apparently speed up time by purchasing in-game currency Dawn. Dawn also apparently unlocks extra actions. However, BioWare stresses that you don't need to pay anything to experience the full game.

In order to play Dragon Age: the Last Court, you'll need to log into online platform Dragon Age Keep. Keep is also the tool that allows you to bring your choices from Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 into Inquisition. There's no way to directly import your saves from those games so Keep is the only way to ensure that Inquisition's storyline matches up with your decisions from the first two games in the series.

"The Keep will record the choices and decisions you make in The Last Court, but don’t worry: it won’t have an impact on your story in Dragon Age: Inquisition and is entirely optional. (That being said, we totally suggest you play it because it’s incredibly fun.)"

Dragon Age: Inquisition will debut on November 18th in North America for PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The first reviews of the game will be published this week.