#4. DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS
With Dragon Age: Origins, BioWare wanted to go back to an experience that would play and feel like a modern day version of the games they had started out with, from Baldur’s Gate to Neverwinter Nights. Coming fresh off the heels of the first Mass Effect game, the pressure was on the studio to deliver that was equally excellent, if not more so, and boy did they deliver.
Dragon Age: Origins was a cRPG enthusiast’s dream come true. Tactical and engaging combat defined the experience every step of the way, while the things that the developer had come to be associated with – strong characters, excellent writing, weighty choices with actual consequences – could all be found in Dragon Age in abundance.
In typical BioWare fashion, Dragon Age: Origins had a strong and memorable cast of characters, personalities who stayed with you long after you were done with the game. Even on a macro level, the lore BioWare presented with the world of Thedas made for fascinating storytelling and narrative structuring, as it lent itself to creating a vivid and rich world.
