13. Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age: Origins let’s play.

On the surface it is another fantastic cRPG offering. You are immediately immersed in a high-fantasy world that is on the brink of annihilation, and it is up to you as one of the last of an order of legendary guardians to assemble/order/and romance your companions (it’s a Bioware game!), as you sculpt your character and the outcome of the world. It really is a blast.

Technically, some features are a bit simplified when compared to Pillars of Eternity: classes offer less variation, there is less control in the choices you make, and the game is overall a bit more linear. But when you’re playing Dragon Age: Origins, when you’re knee-deep in a compelling quest and you’re confronted with a major moral choice, the fantastic story is all you’re thinking about, and not the slight technical differences.

The battles/boss fights are challenging and rewarding, and are built into the storyline in a satisfying way. You can’t change the set endgame objective but you can completely control the journey to get there (which is very Lord of the Rings-esque): Will you explore the elven forest to enlist their leaders, or the complicated depths of the dwarven deep roads in search of an ancient machine to aid your cause.

The cRPG purist might gripe a little bit, or call it another Bioware dating sim because of the romances that can feel a bit scripted at times, but in the moment you’ll be head-over-heels for the story.

You decide his fate.

Dragon Age: Origins is ready to mod too! There are tons available!