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RPS GOTY Revisited: 2009’s Dragon Age: Origins may not have been the best that year, but what a worldIt has a surprisingly low number of dragons
It has a surprisingly low number of dragons
RPS GOTY Revisitedis all about revisiting our previous games of the year to see how they hold up today. Did the RPS Hivemind get it right back then? Or has time told a different story?
Today, we’re looking at our2009 Advent Calendar winner,Dragon Age: Origins.
Replaying it now is a different experience. It’s still a really cool RPG, notable for very good world-building and a cast of interesting characters (that you can have sex with in a cold tent), and it continues to hold a dear place in my heart. On the other hand, there’s a whole section that’s such a mind-numbing slog to get through that everyone hates it and there’s a mod specifically to remove it from the entire game. Origins is a game I very much like, yet sometimes struggle to explain why it is good. But I’m not alone in thinking so, ‘cos in 2009 this was RPS’s Game Of The Year. Can’t blame me for that. I didn’t even work here then.
Dragon Age Origins: “Warden’s Calling” TrailerWatch on YouTube
Dragon Age Origins: “Warden’s Calling” Trailer
But DAO does have a lot going for it around all that. For one, the combat still holds up really well. Whenever you’re adventuring around you take three characters with you, so you can build a balanced team of four. Broadly speaking, everyone (including yourself) is either a warrior, rogue or mage, with further subdivisons. Do you want a sword and board, or two-handed great axe? Ranged archer or up-close assassin? Healer or creepy swamp witch who can turn into a spider? Dog or not a dog?
Image credit:EA
Other images in this piece are official PR ones, but most of the time you’ll play the game in third person with this big ol’ fantasy HUD. I took these in the dwarf noble origin. Dwarves get way less screen time than they deserve.This is the same room as the left image but from the ‘tactical’ view, more useful for combat. I actually play most of the game like this ‘cos it’s easier to see what’s going on around you - but you do miss some of the nice interiors.
Other images in this piece are official PR ones, but most of the time you’ll play the game in third person with this big ol’ fantasy HUD. I took these in the dwarf noble origin. Dwarves get way less screen time than they deserve.
This is the same room as the left image but from the ‘tactical’ view, more useful for combat. I actually play most of the game like this ‘cos it’s easier to see what’s going on around you - but you do miss some of the nice interiors.
But there’s also a nice weaving in of the RPG-ness of the game. If you take the time to properly explore and find different options before committing to something, you can make life easier. For example, in an early fight in a town called Redcliffe you can convince a few NPCs to fight alongside you, as well as get the villagers to set up some better defences. It’s a parallel with how your accumulated choices can affect what characters think of you and where the story goes. It is, after all, an RPG.
The RPG elements were and are another big sell. The first, and arguably biggest, choice that you have to make is your character’s origin (with six to choose from, depending on your race and character class), and this changes the whole opening segment of the game - asCyberpunk 2077would go on to do, to a degree, almost a decade later. You do end up on the same ol’ save the world railroad whatever you pick, but it has little knock-on effects, making it feel like it’s properly handed you the reins. The other choice is who you choose to be friends with in your gang, with an approval system that gains or loses you points with every companion depending on how many puppies you kick in front of them.
Image credit:BioWare
I’m not usually a fan of world-building in fantasy and sci-fi stuff because it seems like the writers are having way more fun with it that I am, but to BioWare’s credit they’re really good at just making this world and then putting you in it. If you want to ask a dictionary disguised as an NPC about their life or what they think of this, that and the other, then you can, but otherwise you can just collect snippets of knowledge from context. It’s so impressively alive, so almostrealin how it’s written and constructed.
The Next Dragon Age Official Teaser Trailer - 2020 Game AwardsThe fourth DA game, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, got a tease at The Game Awards a couple of years ago, but only had its subtitle confirmed recentlyWatch on YouTube
The Next Dragon Age Official Teaser Trailer - 2020 Game Awards
Now. Does that mean it was the best game of 2009? Looking back now, with my hand on heart and a Dragon Age tattoo covering my entire right shoulder, probably not. It was the new hotness - the new shit, as the trailers would have you believe - but was it actually better thanLeft 4 Dead 2, or making a shift as impressive asAssassin’s Creed II? Probably not. Arkham Asylum came out that year, for Pete’s sake! A good year for games. I’ll always be glad it exists. It means so much to so many. But honestly, unless youreallycare about the lore, you should probably just start any Dragon Age journey these days with Inquisiton.
