Mere months from now, BioWare will release Dragon Age: Vielguard, the latest entry in the saga and the first title in a decade. Since 2009’s Origins, the series attracted a moderately sized but devoted fanbase. Additionally, BioWare created a massive expanded universe of books and spinoffs to build up its legacy.
As the series comes from the Old Republic and Mass Effect creators, the story is packed with heavy social commentary, intricate characters, and a fleshed-out word with Thedas. Here are the three games ranked worst to best.
Dragon Age: Origins
Starting our list is the maiden voyage of the series, Origins. As the title suggested, players chose from various origin stories, such as a human mage or a dwarven noble, each one changing how various quests through the game played out. Within the story, the kingdom of Ferelden is overrun by the return of the Darkspawn, a race of mutated orcs living below the kingdom.
The series established itself as another “deconstruction” of the fantasy genre, examining tropes such as hidden elven kingdoms or mining-obsessed Dwarves. Origins is at the bottom of the list because the series was still trying to find its footing. With later games and expanded universe material, Dragon Age would cement itself as a series that played with even more fantasy genre tropes and original take on demons and fantasy races.
In an era where action RPGs were all the rage in Western gaming, this was the first taste of Dungeons and Dragons-style RPGs in a 3D environment. The art direction deserves credit for looking like a grim watercolor painting. As for its cast, they range from hilarious brutes (Ogren) to cynical mages (Morrigan).
Dragon Age 2
While the sequel is often considered the black sheep of the series, it deserves more recognition as a work of fantasy. While the first game was a reasonably by-the-books story about fighting the demon lord and his army of orcs, the sequel takes on much more grounded issues. The story follows the refugee Hawke family as they escape to the distant city of Kirkwall, where they find themselves amid several massive conflicts.
Firstly, there is the massive refugee crisis from the orc invasion, along with a restless group of Qunari (horned, dogmatic humanoids) marooned there. Even worse are the growing tensions between the mages and the religious order of Templars. The game uses its fantastical setting to construct brilliantly realized social issues bound to have fans debating.
At the game’s core is its equally loveable and entertaining cast, which includes the hilarious Varic and the brooding elf knight Fenris. The action is far more intense, flashy, and satisfying this time around, as well. Finally, the art direction features sharp modeling and a heavy art-deco aesthetic, creating a memorable experience for a fantasy game. While the game has its unique identity, critics are right to point out the extremely limited scope, which can be distracting to some. However, the next game would certainly remedy that…
Inquisition
Topping the list, to no one’s surprise, is Dragon Age: Inquisition. With the mage-templar conflict spreading across the continent, an attempted parley is interrupted when a breach into the Fade (source of all magic) is opened, threatening the realm. Now, a figure known as the Inquisitor must rise, traverse the realm, and build up the unexpected power of the Inquisition.
Here, players not only roam across maps the size of the previous games combined but must manage and build up their organization through alliances and upgrades. It gives players the feeling that they are deciding history in a massive conflict. As for its combat, it has all of the kinetic energy of 2 and strategy returning from the first game.
Perhaps the only “downgrade” would be the art direction, which is beautifully rendered yet lacks the same unique character of either previous title. Of course, it makes up for this, but it is still gorgeous and is joined by a bombastic soundtrack befitting of Dragon Age’s status as a mainstream fantasy epic.
Henceforth, the Dragon Age series is on a constant path of evolution and improvement from the first. With this, one can expect the upcoming Veilguard to build upon its predecessors again.
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