The Dragon Age series is a beloved set of fantasy games that has earned legions of fans the world over. It prides itself on being a choice-based series where your decisions really affect the world around you. And, while several spinoffs have released, it’s the core quartet of titles that keep fans coming back for more.
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But which Dragon Age game is the best? Today, we’re ranking all four mainline entries into the Dragon Age franchise and marking out the clearly superior game among the rest.
4
Dragon Age 2
Rushed But Somewhat Rad
Dragon Age 2 is not a bad game, but as a sequel to Dragon Age: Origins, it comes up short in more ways than not. The idea behind a smaller-scale story set predominantly in a single city isn’t terrible on paper, but an unfortunately short production cycle held this back big-time.
What we’re left with is a world that’s small in both scope and structure, filled with repeating dungeons, and combat that’s significantly shallower than Origins produced. It doesn’t help that the story is uneven and ends with a bit of a whimper.
Granted, that’s kind of an issue with all of Origins’ sequels, but some fare better than others.
What works in Dragon Age 2? The companions are mostly excellent, with a realistic feel to their reactions that can easily go sideways if you don’t make the right decisions. But the “right” decisions get to be excellently subjective: you can be best friends or best rivals, and either course works well.
There are sparks of greatness in the more personal storyline, especially the conclusion of the second of the game’s three acts. One of the two core DLCs, Legacy, is superb in its own right – and it introduces Corypheus, the main villain of Dragon Age: Inquisition.
3
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
A Decade In The Staking
The newest mainline entry in Dragon Age – arriving a whopping decade after Inquisition – Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a bit of a mixed bag, but the good largely outweighs the not-so-much.
A colorful cast of companions whose depth increases as the hours roll by, and a story that starts weakly but concludes in spectacular fashion, makes Veilguard progressively better the further in you get.
The decision to nix Dragon Age: Inquisition’s massive array of filler content is for the best; Veilguard presents a more focused experience, with fewer – but better – side quests.
Excellent visuals are occasionally marred by character designs that don’t always hit the mark. The action-RPG combat, although deeper than Dragon Age 2’s, is also… well, more action-y than ever, which means fans of more strategic role-playing games may be left cold.
Veilguard’s biggest blunder is in some of its moment-to-moment writing. The script has some strong moments, most notably those involving Solas, but on the other hand, there are parts that are quite mediocre. Toss in some odd choices with the existing lore of Thedas, and you have a recipe that’s at times half-baked. But when the pieces of the pie come together well, they’re delicious.
- Released
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October 31, 2024
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2
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Fade To Black
Dragon Age: Inquisition brings a tremendous scope to much of Thedas that brings the world of Dragon Age to life. With over a dozen sprawling zones to explore, it’s a completionist’s dream.
That said, the gameplay content you’ll discover within these zones varies widely in quality. Some things, like the puzzles and certain side quests, work out great. Yet there is a sense of bloatedness to Inquisition that can be offputting.
If you can get past that – and a main story that can dawdle overmuch – you’re in for a treat. Dragon Age: Inquisition’s companions are terrific, and the narrative twists involving the elven mage, Solas, are sublime.
All the more so thanks to Trespasser, the final DLC for Dragon Age: Inquisition, which serves as an epilogue mission and a bridge to The Veilguard. While the vanilla game’s finale is somewhat underwhelming, Trespasser offers a photo finish.
Inquisition’s regions are gorgeous, especially places such as the Emerald Graves. Its clever usage of several major characters from previous games helps to give Thedas a sense of continuity not just as a continent, but as a place populated with fascinating people.
What’s more, while Dragon Age: Inquisition’s combat doesn’t deliver the strategy heights of Origins’, battles strike a balance between the fast-paced action of DA2 and The Veilguard and the thoughtfulness of the original title.
- Released
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November 18, 2014
1
Dragon Age: Origins
A Near-Perfect Fan Favorite
Ironically, Dragon Age: Origins received a degree of criticism from BioWare fans when it stormed onto the scene in 2009. That’s not to say there weren’t many, many fans – there were! – but the move from Baldur’s Gate’s turn-based fighting to something slightly less so wasn’t beloved by all.
Fast-forward a few years, and Dragon Age: Origins built a reputation as one of the finest Western role-playing games ever made. Its dark fantasy influences can be felt in every aspect of its tantalizing lore, from the heroic Grey Wardens to the fall of kingdoms and world-ending darkspawn threat.
Dragon Age: Origins illustrates mid-era BioWare at its finest. Dialogue options are myriad, and choices with enormous repercussions are made at the end of every sub-arc (and more). An exciting opening and epic final mission that’s second in grandeur only to The Veilguard’s combine for a heck of a game.
Many fans still consider Origins’ titular origin story prologues to be the gold standard in how to introduce a BioWare protagonist. The battle system is immaculate; party composition and positioning are vital to your success. Indeed, Origins is the hardest game in the series, and all the more rewarding for it.
Dragon Age: Origins
- Released
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November 3, 2009
