Rate all 4 games

DAO DAI DA2 DAV

Always fun to consider do I participate in this thread even if i haven't finished the game yet, or do I do a before or after?

As of chapter 9 of Veilguard:

Inquisition.
Veilguard
2
Origins

1. Origins
2. Inquisition
...

DAVe is currently battling with 2 for 3rd place. I get the feeling it will depend on whether or not the ending (which is supposedly great) lands for me, or not. Either way...4th best Dragon Age game is better than 80% of other games I've played.

Very easy to remember, it's in the order of release

1.DAO - best experience overall, the origins system is still one of the greatest systems in crpg history.
2. DA2 - its cast and themes might be even better than DAO, but it has so many things that make it a lesser game, at least technically. Still it's so original in its concepts and systems that even if it didn't reach its full potential, it's still a wonderful rpg.
3. DAI - I learned to appreciate some of the story and characters, but I do think it was the weakest game in the series when it comes to things I like the most about Bioware games, story choices and characters. Still, I think this is the last Bioware great game, and as such, it's still better than most other RPGs I played in the aspects that count.
4. DATV - the less said about this one the better.

Keeping in mind that I've only finished Veilguard one and two thirds times and have played the others a dozen each so my opinion may shift over time ...


1. Dragon Age: Inquisition - My favourite game in the series and one of my top three video games of all time . It may not have the excellent free-flowing combat and good looks of Veilguard, the personal focused story of DA2 or the expansive sense of choice of Origins but it's got the best set of companions in any RPG as far as I'm concerned. And in hindsight it's even more impressive how well it managed to carry story decisions from DAO and DA2 forward and make them feel impactful, something I really miss in DAV. Oh, and it's got the best music in the series. After a decade, I still get goosebumps when I hear the Dread Wolf theme start up in Trespasser.

2. Dragon Age: Origins - A solid classic fifteen years after it was released even if some aspects have not aged well and some were not great to begin with. Thank goodness we have left the decade where video games were brown behind us! And the combat was always tedious compared with the rest of the series, sorry not sorry. Still the best game in the series as far as interesting divergent choices go. (Inevitably this got wound back when the game got sequels and voiced protagonists, because game development is full of trade-offs.)

3. Dragon Age: The Veilguard - The best looking game in the series (and it's not just the modern graphics, it's the design as well), consistently great area design, and a satisfying end to the overarching story that started in Origins. If you told me a month ago that the action combat where you have a party of three and don't control companions directly would be my favourite in the series I would have had trouble believing you but it's true anyway. Sword-and-board in DAV is the most fun I've had with any Warrior in a DA game, and I haven't even tried Rogue at all yet! On the down side: no proper world state import hurts the sense of immersion for me (I wince every time I come across something that contradicts what happened in my version of Thedas). And not all the faction stories work equally well. On the other hand: Act Three is my favourite endgame of any BioWare game ever.

4. Dragon Age 2 - In many ways it's the best story in the series, and a terrific group of companions who really do feel like a found family. But while it's impressive that BioWare managed to produce such a good game in eighteen months of crunch, the lack of time really hurt the end result, not to mention that by this point the game engine was being held together with string and chewing gum. It's not just the repeated areas, the waves of enemies falling out of the sky and the fixed human protagonist, it's that whether you pick Templars or Mages significant chunks of the story only seem to make sense if you picked the other faction. Why can't a pro-Templar Hawke rat Anders or Merrill out to Meredith? Why do Grace and Orsino both turn on a Hawke who's done nothing but help them? It's that kind of thing that really hurts the game in the end, not that all the mansions in Kirkwall have the same layout.

My feeling is that each game has it's own strengths and weaknesses.

But judging them by the overall experience:

1. Origins.

- The first DA game I played, and still my favorite. It had a great cast and I loved the Origin stories (and they were all good too). Yeah, the combat's dated, but it had some cool elements too - spell combos (Storm of the Century!), cinematic finishers, and so many abilities to choose from.


2. Inquisition.

- It was such a step up from DA2 in so many ways - from environments, to crafting, a customizable base, combat... I still remember being enraptured by the first leaked gameplay video. The lead-up to Inquisition's launch was, I think, the happiest time being a DA fan for me.

- While it didn't have my favorite cast, the overall experience led to many, many PTs.


3. TORN - DA2 or DAV.

- The overall production value between these games is night and day, but the overall experience?

- DA2 has my 2nd favorite cast of the series along with my favorite protag. DAV has a couple of characters I like, but overall I think this game has my least favorite cast and protag. That hurts it... a lot.

- The locations, the environments, the CC, the hair(!) for DAV are the best BW's ever made, while DA2 - not so much.

- But in the end, I've had many PTs with DA2, but I find I'm just not invested enough in DAV to finish a 2nd.

(a bit tired from the day to do a deep dive, so that'll come after. That and I haven't played Veilguard yet so I won't comment on that one)

1) Origins
1) DA 2
3) Inquisition

Yes, Origins and 2 are tied for best game for me. It's not even a contest that involves Inquisition.

For me I would as yVeilguard and Inquisitoin ae rtied a thte top wih DA2 in 3rd Origins at the bottom.

I will say Rogue had the same issue. Probably wasn't until level 25 that I felt I was generating enough momentum. Going to be curious to see how warrior handles.

DAO=DAI>DA2>>>>>>>>>DAV

1. DA2 - sarcastic female Hawke is my favourite protagonist and I love the story. Plus the game gave me Varric ( best companion), Isabela ( best romance) and Aveline ( just overall great character). I generally love flawed jewels ( another favourite of mine is Vampire Bloodlines).

2. DAO - it's still a really good game with a great atmosphere and the origin stories are very nice.

3. DAI - the story is not bad, the characters interesting, but the open world and the boring filler fetch quests puts it down. I honestly don't care much for the romances. The most tolerable for me are Bull and Sera.

4. DAV - it's just here, because op asked for all four games rated. I don't like it.