The Dragon Age series has done an admirable job of securing its position as one of the best fantasy franchises around without an existing canon of literary or visual work to fall back on.
Bioware’s approach to monsters and magic might not do anything spectacularly revolutionary with the genre. That said, the developer has done an excellent job consistently building up Thedas and its denizens into a cohesive and believable living world.
The addition of a story that changes based on player choice is another massive part of this. Those who played through Origins will see their decisions affect the sequel directly, adding a sense of consequence to everything we do as players.
The release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard makes this as good a time as any to revisit all that came before in this remarkably consistent franchise. So, with plenty to jump into, here’s our ranking of every Dragon Age game to date.
6. Heroes of Dragon Age
Forays onto mobile platforms rarely manifest into anything particularly memorable, and Heroes of Dragon Age is yet another example of that trend. The general principle here was to accumulate party members who feature in the main series before taking them into battle against AI opponents. There are very limited additions to the lore via the 16 quests that explore the history of Thedas, and it does serve as an appealing way for fans of the series to pass the time.
Sadly, repetitive gameplay loops, a lack of overall challenge, and a significant lack of depth all prevent it from competing with the other games on this list. However, this is unsurprising given its overall intention and comparative lack of developmental resources.
5. Dragon Age 2
Though the myriad successes of Origins may have set the bar to an unreachable level, the sequel was utterly underwhelming in almost every respect. Combat was improved subtly, becoming faster and more intense than Origins was able to muster. Dragon Age 2 also looked great for the time, thanks to improvements in the game engine. From there, things go downhill pretty quickly. While the central conflict between mages and Templars is a compelling one, the setting and linearity made the game feel unnecessarily restrictive.
Unfortunately, issues with controlling characters and the camera during combat made for an uncomfortable experience at times, though the blend of tactical and action fight sequences still holds up today. If anything, the developers stripped back player control too far in these scenarios, leaving the whole game feeling rudimentary and uninspired. Player decisions were also significantly less impactful, and the story played out in much the same way, regardless of what the player did.
It’s important to note that the development team was subjected to unprecedented levels of crunch and the whole release took just 14 months to produce, but we can only deal with what we got. And what we got wasn’t much at all.
4. Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening
It might technically be a DLC for Origins, but Awakening has more than enough to justify its spot on this list. Starting six months after the conclusion of the first game, players control a Grey Warden or a Warden from Orlais. This choice makes a huge difference to the interactions in-game, thanks to the long and complicated history between Orlais and Ferelden. With that setup, Bioware offered an accomplished and narratively tight follow-up to the game that had enthralled so many.
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It didn’t change too much of Origins, but why would it? Fan and critical reception had been universally positive, so the development team chose to add to the existing product instead. New armor tiers, an increased level cap, and quality-of-life additions all made for a genuinely compelling offering that added to the world and enriched it ahead of the release of the full sequel a year later.
3. Dragon Age TTRPG
The Dragon Age TTRPG is a complete game system that applies the principles of Dungeons and Dragons to the world of Thedas. With entirely original ways to create characters within a bespoke class system and races with unique traits and abilities, it’s a cohesive and intelligent translation across to an entirely new medium. Buying the game grants access to a complete premade campaign that is immediately reminiscent of the video games, and inserting the player’s chosen character and personality works just as well in the branching narrative.
The only major criticism is a lack of a wider product that more established TTRPGs offer in spades, but this is purely down to a far shorter incubation period. It’s also just as easy to homebrew campaigns and one-shots within the setting the game lays out, and there’s no reason that more experienced players couldn’t build it into a game that rivals the very best on the market.
2. Dragon Age: Inquisition
The most significant technological jump that players had seen up to that point, Inquisition was an impressive return to form after the second game left the series feeling listless. The story follows the player as they attempt to close “the breach,” a tear in the sky through which Demons and Darkspawn are pouring in incredible numbers. The game’s semi-open world is the perfect mixture of freeing and full of life, striking the ideal balance that big, empty, open worlds so often fail to capture.
The combat is fast and frantic, as myriad enemies leap, run, and crawl their way around claustrophobic arenas. The class system is also simple in its variety here, but the depth of the build options are unlike anything the series had put out to this point. The lack of combat scaling is also a masterstroke in a game where the progression from rudimentary fighter or magic user to master their chosen art is such an essential part of the overall narrative. Solas remains a compelling central figure, and it’s easy to see why the developer chose him to serve in an even more prominent role in the upcoming release of Veilguard. A few minor issues with the camera and bugs aside, Inquisition is one of the most spectacular fantasy games in the genre’s history.
1. Dragon Age: Origins
The game that started it all is also the very best. Introducing every one of the core concepts that make the series memorable, the impressive branching narrative and surprisingly brutal worldbuilding do more than enough to secure Origins’ spot as one of the most immersive RPGs in history. Objectively, it does all of that while offering a relatively stripped-back role-playing experience. The game features just three classes and races to choose from and little in the way of stat-based customization. By today’s standards, it’s a massively Spartan offering, but the game is all the better for it.
Starting with a relatively hollow shell allows the player to become who they want to be through their decisions during the game rather than having everything about them dictated at the start. This extremely recent tendency often leads to a feeling of cold calculation, where decisions are made based on combat efficacy or charisma from the outset, leaving little room for rewarding growth for the character.
Outside of delivering a grounded RPG in almost every respect, Origins is a highly polished and thrilling experience. The combat and exploration feel just as good today as they did on the original release. Throw in some of the emotionally scarring moments that forever carved this game’s name into legend (we all remember the possessed child), and the elements combine to create one of the best genre entries of all time.
That’s the complete list! With Veilguard now out in the wild, the series is bigger and more spectacular than players have ever seen before. If you’re currently playing the game, make sure to check out our guide for each of the game’s classes – Warrior, Rogue and Mage.
