In addition to all of the horror games I've been playing, I've also been revisiting the Dragon Age series over this past year. I originally played the first two games back in 2015, and the third in 2017, but with The Veilguard imminent I've wanted to replay the series. I loved going through Mass Effect a second time with the Legendary Edition so I hoped I'd enjoy a second go-through of these as well. I also decided to read the tie-in novels and comics so I've, um, gone all in on this.
Basically, I thought I'd chronicle my journey through everything Dragon Age I could get my hands on.
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My three custom protagonists.
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There were a few additional things I read/watched (the Penny Arcade comics, the earlier IDW comics, the machinima Warden's Fall, the live-action series Dragon Age: Redemption, and the movie Dawn of the Seeker) but I frankly just don't remember all that much about any of these so I won't go into detail about them. None of them are awful (well, the IDW comics aren't good), but there's also not a whole lot to them. Those exist if you need more Dragon Age in your life, but otherwise you can probably skip them. Oh, also, I haven't been able to revisit The Last Court (I remember enjoying it, but it shut down a while ago) and I still haven't gotten around to World of Thedas. Everything else below was something I saw/read/played that was able to keep my interest.
The Stolen Throne
This novel covers Loghain and King Maric as they fight off the Orlesian occupation prior to the start of Origins. I don't think I'd recommend someone new to the series start with this, as it's a bit of a standard fantasy story, but as a person who's already familiar with the setting and at least the idea of these characters I really enjoyed it. It greatly colored my opinion of Loghain for the game, when I got to it, and it was nice to have a picture in my head for what Maric was like.
The Calling
This novel is a voyage King Maric takes into the Deep Roads that has him cross paths with Awakening's Architect. It was cool to see more of Duncan since he was a memorable character in the game, and Fiona was also an interesting person to meet. This was a decent novel that fleshed out, well, The Calling, and as someone who has gotten very invested in the lore of this series it's always nice to get some more insight into what makes the Darkspawn tick.Origins
Ahh, Origins. What a game. It's not perfect and it's a bit finicky, but it's got some of that Mass Effect 1 Bioware worldbuilding magic that's hard to beat. It's probably the most "classic fantasy" of the three games, for better or worse, but the end result is something that stands on its own and still has people clamoring for a "return-to-form". The Warden is unvoiced and, as a result, gets to have some wildly different interpretations from player-to-player which, sadly, is why we'll probably never see them again. I'd love to have my Hero of Ferelden return, especially considering what the threat in The Veilguard entails, but based on what they've said about returning choices in that game I'm not even expecting a letter or a comment from Morrigan during her obligatory appearance. I don't really know what else there is to say, Origins was the start of the series and the franchise has stuck with people due to the strength of this first entry. It's a darn good game. Awakening
I mentioned it above with The Calling, but I think The Architect is a fascinating character. We'll probably never see him mentioned again (partially because not everyone would have let him live) but he makes a strong impression for the brief time he's here. The rest of this game was fine, though it was nice to remember what Anders and Justice were like before, well, Vengeance. The next DLC, Golems of Amgarrarak, was fine but otherwise unremarkable, and Witch Hunt provided a nice bookend to my Warden's story as I played a Dalish Elf who was in a romance with Morrigan so making it about an Eluvian again felt like a natural way for his story to end.
Dragon Age 2
Oh, Dragon Age 2, how I love you. It's far from perfect and you can see its shortcomings pretty clearly, but man does it have heart. I personally love the artstyle, particularly the way elves look, and I was disappointed when the sequel went for more of a realistic aesthetic again. Fantasy races that look alien are part of the appeal, IMO. The setup of the game, too, is unlike most other RPGs I've played. I love that it's (primarily) set in one location. A large, sprawling city-state, sure, but it's still about the politics of that one place rather than an entire country or world. Kirkwall, with all of its quirks and flaws, feels like home, for a bit anyway, and you get invested in its survival when it gets threatened in later acts. Speaking of the later acts, this game has one heck of a strong finale. It's controversial, yes, but I loved it. The two bits of DLC, Mark of the Assassin and Legacy, are alright, though Legacy is mostly only noteworthy for introducing Corypheus.
Thanks to the addition of the Mirror of Transformation, I changed my Hawke's appearance for each Act of the game and that made me feel like time was passing. Not necessarily a bullet point they'd advertise for this game, but it's something I'd recommend giving a shot if you ever play this.
The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak, and Until We Sleep
Varric, Isabela, and Alistair (now a king) chase down some leads regarding King Maric's death. These comics were decent and the character who shows up near the end was cool to see, but it's been a few months since I read these and I can't say I recall all that much else about them. They were fine? Worth reading if you want more Dragon Age in your life, I suppose.Asunder
This book deals with Cole's early life as... whatever Cole is, and his interactions within a Circle. He becomes friends with a Mage named Rhys and a Templar named Evangeline, and together they join up with Wynne and Shale to investigate some strange goings on at Adamant Fortress. This book, rather than the ending for Dragon Age 2, is where the Mage/Templar war that Inquisition would focus on begins, and the conflict is intriguing. Fiona briefly shows up again, too, which was nice. I enjoyed this book and not just because it was nice to see some returning faces.
The Masked Empire
This novel deals with "The Game" in Orlais and, specifically, the conflict between Gaspard and Celene that gets resolved in Inquisition. Celene's relationship with Briala, and their eventual falling out, both occur here and all three characters are far more interesting within this text than they were in the game that followed. A chevalier named Michel and a demon named Imshael are also prominent, and both will appear briefly in Inquisition to have their conflict resolved. Additionally, the Eluvian Crossroads make an appearance and are described in more detail. I enjoyed this book a fair amount and would recommend it if any of that seems of interest to you.Inquisition
I really enjoyed this game when I first played it and I still like it now. It's too big and there's way too much tedium and too many fetch quests, but when there's story happening it's as good as the rest of the series. As with the other games in this series, this was only my second time through and I largely made the same decisions. As such, I've only ever allied with the Templars and have never really seen what Fiona gets up to, which is a shame because she seemed like an important figure from the books. That being said, I made some different calls during Origins and thus I imported a different Warden into this playthrough and that made me take a different approach to Here Lies the Abyss. As for the rest of the story, Corypheus as a villain has a great introduction and then the game promptly does nothing of value with him. It's a shame.
I don't know entirely why, but the Inquisitor is probably my favorite of the three protagonists I've played as and it was nice to return to him. The first two expansions were decent, Jaws of Hakkon is fine (Ameridan is super cool, however) and the end of the The Descent is one of the coolest locations in this whole series., especially as a dwarf Inquisitor.
Like DA2, I also changed my Inquisitor's appearance periodically to show time passing and it made him feel ever so slightly more alive.
Trespasser
Maybe I don't need to separate this from the base game, but, man, Trespasser is so good. IT'S SO GOOD. It feels like a combination of the fun reunion-vibes of Mass Effect 3's Citadel DLC and the sequel tease of something like Mass Effect 2's Arrival DLC. Maybe putting something this significant behind an additional paywall isn't great, but it ends with an incredibly compelling ten-minute conversation that's still the main reason I've been excited for the sequel all these years.Last Flight
This novel follows some prospective Wardens at Weisshaupt during (and maybe after?) Inquisition, as well as the story of the Wardens who stopped the Fourth Blight. It details why griffons went extinct then and, crucially, why they're able to appear in The Veilguard. It's a pretty solid story about a group of people fighting a seemingly unwinnable war with enough neat ideas and innovative uses of magic to keep things interesting.
Magekiller, Knight Errant, Deception, Blue Wraith, and Dark Fortress
These comics center on some new characters, but they also feature a number of returning faces from the games, from Dorian and the Bull's Chargers to Varric and Fenris. Magekiller fleshes out some minor characters and events from Inquisition, Knight Errant continues their story and follows up on a few people and locations from Dragon Age 2, and Deception details these characters at the start of the Qunari invasion of Tevinter. Blue Wraith and Dark Fortress pick up after that and bring Fenris into the mix. Overall these were decent, if only because it was nice to see what the Inquisition gets up to after Trespasser and it's also good to know some of the events that transpire in this gap before The Veilguard.
Hard in Hightown
This is an in-universe novel written by Varric and, as such, it's a cliche-ridden noir about Kirkwall guards investigating a murder. It's accentuated by occasional illustrations, but the art is inconsistent and characters can vary in appearance from scene to scene. It features a handful of characters clearly inspired by people from Dragon Age 2, such as a fiery-haired guard-captain, a Rivaini pirate, and an overly-enthusiastic elf. It's not awful, and the cameos are fun, but it's also pretty short and there just isn't all that much substance to it.
Tevinter Nights
This is a collection of fifteen short stories set all across Thedas. though mostly focused on Tevinter and Nevarra, two countries in the north that haven't been seen much in the series up 'til now. The stories range from standard fantasy "Grey Wardens defend a cursed village" to "two prisoners are forced into an Enemy Mine situation" to "assassins try to solve a murder mystery," basically all kinds of stories in the Dragon Age universe. Some characters from this will reappear in The Veilguard, and in general it feels like setup for the factions and status quo of that game.
Absolution
This was my second time watching this Netflix series and while I did enjoy it initially I think I liked it more on a second viewing. It's ultimately a story about interpersonal connections and blood magic which is, frankly, what 90% of Dragon Age is about so it's a decent addition to this universe. It's a bit familiar and a bit cliched, but I had a good time watching it.
The Missing
Even though I think this is sort of part of the same run as the previous batch of comics I mentioned, I isolated this one because I'd heard it was a bit more of a direct precursor to The Veilguard. It's not the greatest thing, it's a series of sort-of-meaningless escapades starring Varric and Scout Harding, but each issue features different returning characters from Tevinter Nights and it was fun to see some familiar names again. Together, with Tevinter Nights, it sets up some of the locations and factions of the upcoming game, but as I alluded to earlier very little of substance actually happens in this so it's a bit underwhelming.
Vows and Vengeance
This only wrapped up recently, so it's a pretty direct precursor to The Veilguard. It's a podcast that largely exists to to flesh out each of the game's companions prior to the game's launch in, um, a couple days. It takes the form of an audio drama starring a few original characters who cross paths with those companions and it's not bad. Honestly, the most novel thing about it to me was the format. I used to listen to a lot of narrative podcasts, and a radio play or two, and returning to that medium for a Dragon Age thing was kind of fun. Most of the stories are a bit cliched but getting to meet these characters was nice and it's a pretty breezy listen.
Woof. I realize that was a lot. And, like I mentioned earlier, I didn't even go over some of the stuff I covered for this replay! There's a lot of Dragon Age out there and, surprisingly, I enjoyed most of it! Man, do I love this series. I sure hope that new game is good.
That's what this was all about, really. I loved these games when I played them almost a decade ago and I wanted to see whether that love was still there upon a revisit. Getting to see all this ancillary material was just a bonus. If you haven't gathered from these brief overviews, I had a good time. This is a rich setting that I hope beyond hope they can continue in a satisfying way with this next game.
To close things out, here's some screenshots of my player characters.
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Edmund Mahariel, my Warden.
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Regan Hawke, my, uh, Hawke.
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Kent Cadash, my Inquisitor.
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