We love the Dragon Age franchise, and cannot wait for the next iteration in the series. But which are the absolute best Dragon Age games? Time to find out.
In Dragon Age, BioWare really gave us an amazing fantasy RPG series and built worlds that we would be happy to explore and uncover as much of as we possibly could.
I personally prefer real-time combat in my RPGs, so this is much more up my alley in that aspect.
The unique feature of switching from third-person to isometric view is a nice touch, as well.
By intentionally designing a gaming experience that was both new and familiar gave players exactly what they needed.
I have said it previously in my Best Games Like Diablo article: Sometimes more of the same is exactly what we want.
We crave familiar elements in games, so we can jump right in and know what is going on, with just enough new stuff to make it worth it.
And BioWare’s masterful crafting of the Dragon Age universe has seen all thumbs up from the gaming community.
Let’s take a look at the best Dragon Age Games of 2023.
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Heroes Of Dragon Age (2013)
Publisher Electronic Arts has made a few spin-off offerings for the Dragon Age franchise, but it was Heroes Of Dragon Age that got players attention.
As a free-to-play mobile game, Heroes Of Dragon Age explores alternative outcomes within various Dragon Age plotlines we already know.
Game play is a strategy based auto-battle system where players must carefully select their squad, before battle, and let the battle play out through AI.
It is almost like rather than being the soldier, you play as the commander. You choose your fighters and send them into battle and hope for the best!
It is a very different approach to the familiar game play of the Dragon Age series…
And really… it is something kind of cool to try.
Mobile gaming is a bit of a tough genre to really deliver something worthwhile.
The goal is always to give mobile players a good reason to keep playing, and offer game play that is simple and mindless.
In my opinion, that is exactly what we got here: A creative extension of a familiar franchise.
Not the best Dragon Age game, but certainly one worth exploring for any fan of the series who knows the lore and wants to see more of it.
Dragon Age II (2011)
As the sequel to one of the most beloved games in RPG history, Dragon Age II had a lot to live up to.
And unfortunately, the development team was only given about 14 months to develop a brand new installment in the series.
Taking feedback from players of “Origins”, BioWare focused on improvements to the game play mechanics and visual aesthetic of the game.
And while the game was generally appreciated and was a nice continuation from the first… it was hard for players to overlook the reuse of elements and hurried delivery of Dragon Age II.
What is still present is incredible story writing, awesome character interactions, great music, and game play that we love.
We just wish there were more of it!
Dragon Age: Origins Awakening (2010)
Developed as an expansion to the first Dragon Age game, and eventually treated as its own standalone…
Dragon Age: Origins Awakening adds a new campaign, new class, and new skills.. and is just more of that amazing fantasy world exploration we love.
Players could choose to start fresh in the “Awakening” world, or play as a continuation from their campaign in “Origins”.
Whether you look at this as a standalone game or merely an expansion, you will surely be pleased with the loads of content it adds to an already incredibly game play experience that was introduced in the first Dragon Age game.
Why spend any more time referencing it, let’s jump right in… The reason we loved “Awakening” is because it was a continuation of one of the best RPG games of all time:
Dragon Age: Origins (2009)
As the very first Dragon Age game in the series, you may be surprised to know it is still one of the best.
This 2009 release gave us everything we love in an RPG, and was a perfect continuation from BioWare’s previous works Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights.
Having enlisted nearly 150 voice actors and award winning composer Inon Zur for the game, the game is both a visual and audio feast to be devoured.
The games impeccable storytelling, paired with great combat mechanics all make for a perfect game play experience, and set in a world that you will be happy to spend hours upon hours in.
It is no surprise to us that it took a spot as one of the best PS3 RPG games.
Was hard to decide between this game and the following one to take the #1 spot on this list. But we had to give it to:
Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014)
Dragon Age: Inquisition is the third Dragon Age game in the series, and the most recent.
And as you might expect, it is here where they really nailed the formula.
BioWare really gave us everything we hoped for in a followup, and so much more.
Giving players several open-worlds to explore, the game was praised for the expansion and also further refinement of game play.
Visuals, game play mechanics, storytelling, and character customization was also praised.
Overall, what we know and love about the Dragon Age series is its near perfect execution of fantasy role-playing and giving players a lot of ways to form their own path with their character and the story.
And the joy of the franchise is discovering all that it has to offer in the worlds that they build.
“Inquisition” is truly the culmination of everything we love about Dragon Age, and we absolutely cannot wait for the follow up to be released.
But for now, Dragon Age: Inquisition takes our number one spot as the best Dragon Age game of 2023.
