First League of Legends (Arcane), then DOTA: Dragon’s Blood, now Dragon Age: Serial adaptations of gaming franchises are trending, and Netflix has been hitting it hard in recent years. Running with Dragon Age: Absolution from December 9, 2022 an animated series from the streaming giant dedicated to one of the most acclaimed RPG franchises out there.
Absolution doesn’t skimp on blood and violence and that’s why only released from the age of 16. But is the series also worthwhile for Dragon Age beginners who do not know BioWare video games? Depends on.
Elves, dragons and blood magic: That’s what Dragon Age Absolution is all about
Miriam (original voice: Kimberly Brooks) is a battle-hardened mercenary. Nevertheless, a new assignment throws the elf with the two blades off balance. Because her ex-girlfriend Hira (Sumalee Montano) and the charismatic villain Fairbanks (Matthew Mercer) want to hire her to stealing a powerful piece of jewelrythat brings the dead back to life.
Watch the long trailer for Dragon Age: Absolution here
Dragon Age Absolution – S01 Trailer (English) HD
The problem: The jewel is in the hands of one of the most powerful mages in the Tevinter Empire, Rezaren (Josh Keaton), in his family Miriam grew up as a slave. Together with her loyal companion Roland (Phil LaMarr), the grumpy dwarf Lacklon (Keston John) and the chaotic Qunari mage Qwydion (Ashly Burch), the elf develops a plan in which she may risk her life, but finally also with it could close her past. But an angry dragon is the smallest problem that stands in the way of the unlikely group.
Dragon Age: Absolution connects one here classic Heist story with questions about social justice and grief management. There’s also plenty of action and fun group dynamics reminiscent of The Legend of Vox Machina. So all in all a solid fantasy series that, with 6 episodes of around 30 minutes each, is easy to watch – right?
The Netflix series shows insights into a breathtaking fantasy world – but is not for Dragon Age newcomers
Netflix
From left to right: Fairbanks, Roland, Lacklon and Qwydion
For Dragon Age newcomers, the series is at best a first taster of a fascinating world whose laws are not yet fully understood. In the worst case, viewers lose out in the face of confusing terms or a lack of understanding which factions and places are moderately called here Easter Eggquickly the interest.
What does it mean that Qwydion is a Qunari? Who are the Inquisition and the “Herald Andrastes”? Why does the demon suddenly turn into a different kind of demon and what does all this have to do with blood magic? Anyone who knows the games knows that. The rest is mercilessly in a fix or need to take regular Google breaks.
In fact, Dragon Age: Absolution, with its tongue-in-cheek references to characters, locations, and events from the games, feels like a serial treat for fans who can’t wait for the next game in the series. That is called Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and, surprise, also takes place in Tevinter. With its focus on blood magic and slavery in the mage-controlled empire, the series could therefore give a first glimpse of topics that will be relevant in the fourth Dragon Age game.
That certainly makes Dragon Age: Absolution exciting for many. However, Netflix missed the opportunity hereto do more with this vast and incredibly complex fantasy world. It’s not only interesting for gaming enthusiasts.
More gaming adaptations in the podcast: Is The Last of Us already the best horror series of 2023?
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In a few weeks, The Last of Us, the long-awaited series adaptation of Naughty Dog’s video game series of the same name, will start on Sky and WOW. Awesome characters and one World that makes other zombie apocalypses look like an amusement park: The HBO series could become the horror highlight of 2023 and provide the perfect replacement for The Walking Dead. Or does The Last of Us fail when trying to build on the masterful template?
Moviepilot Editor-in-Chief Lisa Ludwig and Rae Grimm, Head of GamePro and Head of Publishing at Webedia Gaming, discuss spoiler-free why The Last of Us * is so important to them, what they learn from the Series adaptation starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey hope for – and what still worries them a bit.
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What do you think of Netflix’s Dragon Age series?