Dragon Age: Origins

I think DA:O actually beats Baldur's Gate 2 in some regards. Specifically: fewer sections with forced linearity (Act 1/Mage Tower/Deep Roads are the worst offenders here), more incentives to make "evil" decisions, more opportunities to make the wrong decision. The concept of the Origins is great, though they should have been explored more deeply. It was even more enjoyable on a replay, because I knew to immedately kick Alistair out of my party and speak to him as little as possible.

Would have been much better if the inventory was better handled and didn't required so many back and forth (like it's impossible to compare a weapon you just got to one of your companion back at camp has, you have to carry that "dead weight" until you can change your group).

/completed

While it is beloved for its huge story, developed characters and complexity, I have a hard time going back and playing it. It feels a little clunky. Still a great achievement.

I can acknowledge how great this game is but it's not really my type of RPG. I just couldn't get into it.

While the plot of the grey wardens and saving the world from the blight is not too original, it's really the complex characters, the writing that surrounds them, and the way you build or shred relationships that makes Dragon Age stand out. Excellent voice work, solid combat. One of Bioware's best.

The main plot is memorable but unremarkable. It's as Tolkienesque as you can get, no matter how much "darkness" it threw at you. I found the lore of the world to be extremely trite and a lot of your companions were outright insufferable. On the other hand, the origins system was really well crafted and I liked the approach the game had for mages plotwise. The gameplay is pretty dull, especially since mages dominate the entire meta.

probably my 2nd fav story. probably my fav romance, liara is kinda unfair comp though. the combat was outdated when it came out and now it's way too outdated lol or i'd probably replay this game again. the maps/lil regions are pretty bad too. but god damn it if it got remastered bruh. thats why imma still be nice wit the 90

This was one of the first true RPG games that I ever got into and enjoyed. I'm still not one to stress about hitpoints and armor ratings, but I loved that playing on the PC actually demanded pausing the game in order to issue battle orders and strategies. The world of DA:O was rich and immersive and the characters memorable and even quotable (Enchantments?). I spent nearly 200 hrs on DA:O and it's expansions, and for me this is the clear highpoint of the entire franchise.

Mediocre gameplay and poor character choices upon leveling still aren't enough to bring down a fantastic story and great worldbuilding. It has poor replay value from where I stand, but I loved this game the first time I played through it. It's too bad the series went downhill and couldn't live up to the initial entry.

Loved this game, cool world and great characters. Nice story.

The best of the trilogy, even if not "by far". A fresh air to the genre when was released, he catched "Song of ice and fire" dark-fantasy influence before Game of Thrones was even started. Classic RPG mecchanics with a great graphic for the time, cinematic scenes, great characters. It has the production value of a blockbuster, but every side quest it's designed with heart, making for a great world building. Just entering in Orzamar, it's amazing. Played it 3 times.

Whatever you do, don't play as a Rogue Dwarf or you won't be able to beat the first boss.

It was rich, it was epic, and it was captivating. Also very well standing against the test of time. One of the best true RPG classics.

I have always been a huge fan of BioWare but this is by far my least favorite of their output. The combat is janky as all hell and somehow less polished than KotOR which came out 6 years prior. It also badly relies on tired RPG tropes and storytelling in place of actually writing a solid narrative. The character work is as solid as BioWare can be but this one positive is not nearly enough for me to care.

Didn't like the mechanics of the game, and the graphics were bad.