A new Dragon Age: Dreadwolf cinematic reintroduces the game’s villain

BioWare has released a new cinematic that recaps the story of the antagonist in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.

The work-in-progress animation was shared as part of Dragon Age Day on Sunday, and is narrated by the series’ dwarf character Varric Tethras.

In it, he tells the story of Solas, an elven mage from Dragon Age Inquisitor who will be the main villain and the titular Dreadwolf in the fourth game.

The cinematic can be viewed below:

BioWare officially confirmed Dragon Age: Dreadwolf in June, saying more information would come in due time.

During the announcement, it offered the following summary: “Solas, the Dread Wolf. Some say he might be an ancient elven god, but some say not. Others say a betrayer of his people, or a savior who now seeks to rescue them at the cost of your world.

“His motives are inscrutable and his methods sometimes questionable, earning him a reputation as something of a trickster deity—a player of dark and dangerous games.”

It added: “Whether you’re new to Dragon Age stories or you’ve experienced them all, using Solas’s namesake no doubt suggests a spectrum of endless possibilities on where things may go. But at the core of this, like every past game, is you.

“If you’re new to Dragon Age, you have no need to worry about not having met our antagonist just yet. He’ll properly introduce himself when the time is right, but we did hint at his return when we announced #TheDreadWolfRises back in 2018.

Further reading

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“We suspect you have questions and they’ll be answered in time. While the game won’t be releasing this year, we’re growing closer to that next adventure. Rest assured, Solas is placing his pieces on the board as we speak.”

In October, BioWare general manager Gary McKay stated that the game had reached alpha status and was playable “from the opening scenes of the first mission to the very end”.

McKay went on to explain that the team is now focusing on the game’s pacing, the various relationships that players will have with other characters, as well as “narrative cohesion.”