We were doomed from the moment we opened the Dragon Age: Origins box. A dark-fantasy BioWare RPG and the spiritual successor to the Baldur’s Gate saga, Dragon Age: Origins sucked us in with its super-in-depth story, shades-of-gray moral choices, memorable characters, and great combat. Yes, Virginia, there is a BioWare RPG with great tactical combat.
Though it hews to a familiar fantasy setting, full of elves, dwarves, and wizards, Dragon Age goes out of its way to subvert some of the genre’s most cherished tropes. Elves are oppressed and live in ghettoes, dwarves don’t speak with Scottish accents, and the moral landscape is ambiguous. The first five hours or so are taken up by one of six different origin stories, which converge in an epic battle. Only then does the game truly begin. And it’s wonderful: violent, moody, unpredictable, and full of delightful surprises. For a good time, crack open a glass phylactery!
We easily sunk 80 hours into our first play-through without buying any DLC or the forthcoming expansion pack. And then we rolled another character and started again.
