DA:I throws you into a much bigger world than the previous games, which is good and bad. It's got the standard bunch of open world laundry list quests, but you can focus on the main story and still do fine if you don't feel like wandering. The hinterlands can be a little rough, as you do spend a lot of time there in the beginning of the game, but for most of that time, you're still in the prologue. Once you've gone through some important story missions, the game will open up a lot more. The downside for me is that I was never a fan of the Orleasian stuff and the main plot spends a lot of time in Orlais. It really is a bit like Mass Effect in a fantasy setting, though they did put a much bigger emphasis on tactics I think. The one mechanic that threw me at first was the uh... "Armor" buff you apply to warrior type characters when you enter a fight. As there is no healing magic, you will need to focus any tank builds for damage mitigation rather than relying on a large HP pool. I played the game as a rogue. I played the first game as a dual wield warrior, but they took that option away in the latter games, so a rogue it was for me. Mages are quite powerful and the heavy armor melee archetypes hold up quite well too. If you plan on playing it completely in real time and don't want to micromanage your party members, I'd suggest lowering the difficultly a little. If you are a lore junky, there is a lot to read and some of the zones you go to are completely unrelated to the main story but do have massive significance to the world's overall plot. Don't be afraid to explore, as you can always run away. As I did when my level 14 self came nose-to-nose with a level 23 dragon. There was much "nope" to be had. I honestly haven't played in a while, but I have the official guide if you have any specific questions. Edit: I haven't played any of the DLC yet and the guide doesn't cover that. Edit 2: there's a website (official) called Dragon Age Keep, it gives you a rehash of the story so far and let's you pick what choices you made in the original games. It's not necessary, but it's is kinda cool. I don't remember if you can apply it to a game in progress or not.