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cosmiciaria · 5 years

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Dragon Age Origins review! (spoiler free - long post)

Dragon Age 2 review

Dragon Age Inquisition review

So at last I closed this cycle and finished Dragon Age: Origins. I'm still playing Awakening and will probably comment on it but it won't be a proper review.

I left Origins for last because I had a few mishaps in the way here. My first Dragon Age ever was Inquisition, so I'm so so sorry for having started this story by the third installment. However, you may be very happy because thanks to that awesome game I plunged myself into the world of Thedas and now I'm stuck in that dark pit of hell forever.

After I was done with Inquisition (for like… eight times), I said to myself, hey, I should play Origins. I don't own a ps3 so it kinda discouraged me quite a bit, because I am a trophy hunter after all, but the PC version had to be enough for me (the same with DA2). I booted the game, created a female mage warden, played through her origin story, met Alistair, fell for him, recruited Leliana, Morrigan and Sten and… arrived at the Broken Circle main quest. Boy was I put off by it! I had a ragequit when I reached the Fade mission and left the game for dead.

But lately I've been hearing things about a possible DA4… and fangirled about Inquisition with a friend and… Well I wanted to play Inquisition again, but the thing is I know that game by heart now and I wanted something new. My friend insisted that I should fall for Fenris, Fenris this, Fenris that, and so I obeyed her and played DA2 only to fall for Anders (sorry my fren!). And once I was done with this? Alright, I went back to Origins. But I discovered my save files had been eradicated from earth! I almost quit but gathered courage and said to myself that I hadn't lost much gameplay hours. I restarted the whole thing, a new mage again.

And this time, I used mods!

And this time, I finished the game!

It was SUCH an experience. I'm really put off by the graphics of this game. Let's face it: it doesn't push the ps3 hardware to the limit, not at all, on the contrary I might add, and sometimes it may very well be a ps2 quality game. Textures are all dull, brown, grey. The color palette isn't very broad, character creation is quite limited (thank god for the mods) and animations are rigid and repetitive. So much so that I noticed (and I think everyone noticed it too) that animations are the same across the three games. DA2 added a few more, specially for mages, but they reuse the same five or six animations all over again. Faces all look the same, except for some important characters; gameplay is slow, ordinary fights take up too much time and playing as a mage in this first installment is a nightmare (whereas in the other two games it was greatly improved and accelerated).

I can understand if the game had low budget. Great things can be achieved with low budget. Just look at The Witcher! Just beware: if you really care about graphics, you're going to suffer through this game, because some scenes look cringy and terribly animated.

Some quests and dungeons drag on forever. You know of what I'm talking about. The Fade side mission inside the Broken Circle main quest (which is recommended to be done early in the game) it's such a huge warning for players, because it's even longer than main one. It can greatly discourage people to keep playing, as it is long, it doesn't add much to the actual plot that we care about, and it feels like a filler for the sake of adding more hours to the story. The other "oh god please end me right now" main quest that lasts forever, is the I STILL DON'T KNOW WHY mandatory Deep Roads level. I just, I just really hate the Deep Roads, guys. For those of you who don't know, the Deep Roads are the underground labyrinth built by dwarves. After playing The Descent expansion pack of Inquisition, I began to feel dread whenever I entered a dwarven architecture, I felt claustrophobic. The experience was such of running around with no goal whatsoever in these endless halls that I can't bring myself to enjoy it. So when there's a Deep Roads quest, I always have a bad time.

But… does all this make it a bad game? Not at all.

So you play as the Warden, a main character you create. You can be a human, an elf or a dwarf. Depending on the class you choose (warrior, mage or rogue) you are going to have a different origin story. For instance, a rogue or warrior elf can be both a city elf or a dalish elf (you choose), but if you make them a mage, then you're forced to play the magi origin. Also, not all classes are available for everyone, as dwarves cannot be mages. So on and so on.

The interesting thing about these origins (it happens the same in Inquistion) is that all the possibilities that you can have at the beginning, actually happen. It's just that it's the character you create the one who is chosen to be a Warden. I mean: if you choose a human mage, all the other characters you didn't choose (human noble, city elf, dalish elf, dwarf commoner, dwarf noble, mage elf) they all happen and go through their origin stories as well, it's just that they aren't lucky (or unlucky?) enough to become a Warden. Proof of this is that Hawke (our main oc in DA2) is linked through their mother to the Amell human mage, whether this one was the Hero of Ferelden or just another ordinary mage with no heroic career in the Circle. You encounter the secondary characters of each origin story across the story of the main quests, just as it happens with Jowan, a mage you meet in your magi origin, but if you're not a mage, he still appears in the Redcliffe main quest. This is confirmed by the wikia, and it's pretty interesting! You, as the player, have the power to manipulate these threads that intertwine: you are the one who decides whose fate will be heroic.

Depending on your origin, your initial story varies. But at one point or another, you're going to come across Duncan, a Grey Warden who is recruiting lads and lasses to the Joining. Duncan offers you to accompany him to Ostagar, and you must accept.

And what the nugs are Grey Wardens? Grey Wardens are an "elite" army who fight the darkspawn, and they are the only ones who can fight them. Darkspawn are their own version of zombies let's say: they live underground, in the Deep Roads. They're not intelligent but crave for surviving, so they're dangerous and a plague. Every now and then, a Blight occurs: a creature called Old God – a dragon – transforms itself into an Archdemon and commands these armies of darkspawn, giving orders and destroying everything in their stride. Wardens exist to fight the Blight, as it is the moment the world is in more peril.

And why so much secrecy? Why not an ordinary army? Grey Wardens are different from an ordinary soldier since, to become one, you must drink darkspawn blood. From now on, you'll sense the darkspawn, you'll hear their whispers in your head, and your lifespan is heavily reduced. This is the price Grey Wardens pay: many see it as an honor, others as a punishment.

You've joined the Grey Wardens: alongside the other junior Warden, Alistair, you're going to take part in the next battle in Ostagar. People are still arguing if this is a Blight or not, because there had been no signs of an Archdemon, but everything changes when the armies strike, and a huge, blood-red dragon pierces the sky with its shrieking howl.

King Cailan has come to your aid and he fights valiantly with Duncan on the field. Meanwhile, you and Alistair must head to the tower to light the beacon for the reinforcements led by Ser Loghain Mac Tir know they must come to the rescue. You are overrun by darkspawn, your Wardens can't take it anymore, you manage to reach the top of the tower, you light the beacon – you can make it, you can…!

…Only to watch Loghain command the order to his armies to retreat.

And they do.

And everything turns black when an arrow pierces your chest.

You wake up fresh and recovered in an old hut, where Morrigan and her mother Flemeth live. Flemeth has saved your life with her obscure powers – she remains a calm force, albeit a mysterious one. Alistair is safe and sound as well and as the only two Wardens left alive in Ferelden, you must regroup with those in Orlais and recruit as many possible allies as you can. The world opens up for you: you have the power to reach each corner of the map to make use of your title. Morrigan joins your team, forced by her mother, with a somehow vague motive, and soon you're sent to your main quests to gain allies.

And from here on out, the game will take the route you, the player, desire. In each of the main quests you'll end up having to make a huge decision that will undoubtedly change the future of the plot. Then again, you feel like the god of this game, choosing what to do, who to save, who to side with. It's all up to you! And since this is really dependent on the player and spoilers, I won't delve into it. Just know that there are multiple endings, and that there are characters you can save (or not). My piece of advice: trust in your team members!

And since we're on that topic, let's talk about companions! As it is a staple of these games, you can recruit not only allies for the war but also companions for your team. Your first party member will be Alistair, that I have mentioned a few times before. He's a junior Warden as well and the golden boy with a golden heart. His past is soon presented to you: he's the bastard son of late King Maric, and half-brother to King Cailan, now dead as well. This changes your whole view on him, now that the throne is being disputed for. He was training to become a templar when Ser Duncan recruited him. He highly respects Duncan, who took him in, and the Arl Eamon, the man who raised him. He's awkward, has some funny interactions with Morrigan and is easily teased because he's just too good. And I don't know what are you doing with your life if you don't romance him.

Morrigan is the mysterious daughter of Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds. She'd lived secluded in a hut in the Korkari Wilds with her mother, learning black magic and how to shapeshift. She's witty, and her greatest weapon is her tongue, for she can be cruel and deceitful with just a few words. But if you open up to her and she starts to trust in you, behind that veil of "I don't care" you'll find a great friend who speaks her mind. Personally, towards the epilogue, I felt so much joy in having befriended her, because she truly shows her caring side.

Leliana is a sister of the chantry who happens to know how to fight (convenient! Or suspicious!). She joins your team because she had "a vision" that told her to do it, and so following the light she reaches you. She used to be a bard in Orlais, but now she has renounced her freedom to the Maker, their god. But if you dig deeper in her life… you'll find some interesting things and a very protective and supportive friend. She seems naïve, always wishing for a peaceful approach, although when she readies her arrows she's as deadly as Morrigan with her words.

Zevran is an assassin elf who was hired by Loghain to kill you, but he soon realizes he's outmatched by you. You can spare his life or not, but if you, you'll gain a very handsome and funny ally. He comes from the Antivan Crows, a guild of mercenaries who kill for the best bidder. He wants to leave that life behind, but he also wants to be free from a past who is (literally) hunting him. It's up to you to help this poor precious man or not!

Sten is a qunari whom you can free quite early on. Qunari are a race of big guys with horns that come from across the seas to conquer these lands, so they're mostly seen as criminals and scum. Sten is actually not a name but a title: he won't tell his real name though. He's very hard to talk to at the beginning, since qunari take everything a little bit too literal, and his culture differs greatly from what we're used to. But once he starts talking about his past and you learn about his principles, he becomes an easy man to deal with.

Wynne is a potential companion if you decided not to slaughter all the mages in the Broken Circle main quest and I advise you to do so, because she'll be your best healer, for at least the early part of the game. Wynne is an old woman who's seen her fair share of things in life, from tortured mage apprentices to demons taking over bodies. She holds a secret she kinda is ashamed of, and despite her full life, still has a few regrets here and there. She's kind and wise, but she may sound a bit nosy when she wants to interrogate you about your personal life. Still, she does everything with the outmost love and devotion, so she deserveS the WORLD ALRIGHT DON'T HURT MY MOTHER!!! AND SIDE WITH THE MAGES DAMMITTT

I should mention Shale, although I was too stupid not to recruit her. I thought I didn't have the dlc needed for her, as she isn't one of the vanilla party members. Shale is a golem brought to life with dwarven magic. I can't say much about her but people seem to love her a lot, as she brings a new fresh perspective into this too much humanly story. Many of the main quests may change her fate, so be careful when you act in her presence!

And last but not least, how could I forget about best boi in town, Dog. Yes, you have a dog as a party member. Yes, it's almost as good as Persona 3 where you have a dog who can summon other bigger and badasser dog to fight, almost as good. Dog plays out as any other warrior in the game, you can play as him as you can play as Alistair, and he's got his own ability tree and his own set of armor. And you can also interact with him as well! He loves you so much that you start the game at 100 love with him and that number will never diminish. He's always present at party camps, and sometimes you can trigger cutscenes of him with the other companions for the comic relief section of the game.

With these guys you up against the world, yay!

Decisions play a huge role in this game. Each playthrough can differ immensely from another one from the very beginning. Since it's a lot to cover, I'll leave all the discoveries to you. But don't be afraid to choose! Although, like I said before, trust in your comrades. The rest comes and goes.

So, is this a good game? It definitely is. The amount of possibilities, the countless sidequests, the ability to shape the story as it unfolds – it has the perfect recipe for a good plot. Do I think it's the best out of the three? Well, that's personal. I do think this game lacks in a lot of aspects that DA2 and Inquisition have mended and even improved upon, but that's because this one was the first attempt at something like this. You can't blame it for trying! In the story department, it is a good story, don't get me wrong, but maybe a bit too Young Adultish – in the sense of that you're the chosen one, you become the hero, you're a special snowflake and you can romance Alistair who's taken straight out of a love story for teenagers (I'm not complaining though!). It's a bit like all the other stories we've been seeing, watching, reading, playing for a while. If you're an avid reader of fantasy books (like me) then this game won't bring any new concepts to the table, except perhaps for the Grey Wardens and the fact that you can choose your adventure your story. Gameplay was sluggish and many a time I felt like I was playing World of Warcraft, specially when my mage had to cast a huge spell. Luckily, mods exist and they make everything easier, smoother and faster.

I would've loved to have played this game in a console, but alas, I'm stuck with my non-trophy-hunter pc version. I encourage everyone who's new to the series, to give this one a try. And if you don't dig the graphics or the long ass quests that never end, don't stop here, try the others! You might be like me, who played them in complete disorder, and still managed to love them all.

I'm in love with Thedas, with its lore, its characters and its endless possibilities for future titles. I just hope that someday, somehow, Dragon Age 4 can see the light.

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