The thing I like the most about Dragon Age 2 that gets underappreciated a lot is the friendship/rivalry system with companions. Unlike all the Bioware games before and after it, in DA2, you can have two different relationships with the characters and they will change reflecting that relationship. It was much more nuanced and narratively interesting than a good/evil morality bar could ever be.
Pardon my ignorance but i just started playing DA2 (so try not to spoil) but isn't the friendship rival mechanic just carried over from DAO? Or is it deeper than that?
@@tomk8350 The mechanics use the same words but work a bit differently. In Origins, a companion with maximum rivalry will hate your guts and will want to leave the party permanently, so you want to avoid that in general. In 2, rivalry still allows the companion to stay even if they disagree with your methods. You still unlock special abilities for them and you can still romance them. It's just going to be different abilities and a different romance. For certain companions, I found the rivalry path to be much more to my liking.
@@LungDrago companions leaving you in origins was overall better as it really made your decisions more impactful. In 2 its so hard for companions to hate you unless you do the negative route in their questline. The fact Varric will never hate you is ridiculous im both 2 and 3
@@PuppetMaster-Blade Well, I can't agree with that. To me, there's nothing impactful about a decision I'm not ever going to make. Why would I make a decision to see less of the game, if I like the game? Unless I would hate the companion's guts I guess, but I have no such hard feelings for anyone either in Origins or 2. And even if I did, it's still more interesting to me if I can change their ways rather than have them kicked off my party.
@@LungDrago Having characters leave automatically gives the player multiple ways to play the game and gives each encounter more depth.. i remember my first playthrough of origins in 09 and both Sten and Z left my party due to the choices i made in dialog and storylines.. way better than them calling me a meanyhead but still staying. My later playthroughs i found ways to keep them in.. ultimately Sten still tried to kill me but he gain my respect after. That will never happen in Da3 or 4 as characters are always supposed to love you..minus Cassandra, shes the easiest one to get to hate you
To me a game lives and dies by the tone and atmosphere. Origins very much had this late 90s/early 2000s edge. The Ostagar Battle cinematic was ripped straight out of Braveheart, Gladiator, 300, Battle for Helms Deep and Kingdom of Heaven. That set the scene for the rest of the game. The sheer desperation of the soldiers facing this pure and ancient evil, that every fight was a hail mary suicide mission. I fell in love with that only to have it ripped away from me with the sequel and Inquisition thought it was a good idea to reverse the tone completely. Suddenly it wasn't grim and dark with occasional moments of levity anymore but it was, trying to be, funny and hopeful with occasional moments of darkness. To me, the only Dragon Age game that actually was Dragon Age was Origins.
I agree, i do kinda feel that DA2 kept the tone of the first one, just in a different way. I honestly think the story by itself is very good after replaying it for the first time since it came out a year or two ago. The game still isn't very good as a game, and the choices are very shallow. Imo inquisition is when it really went downhill. There's just something about that game's esthetic and tone that i just don't like, and i can't put my finger on it. And i feel that way even more about veilguard
Dragon Age II broke my hearth because it was not direct sequel to the events of Origins. But after replaying it, that game is much more darker and was better written than Origins. Like you said, every game after lacks Origin atmosphare and DA II had many problems. But writing and dark atmosphere were not among does problems.
@gromdal9293 i used to feel similar but looking back it wouldn't have made sense for it to be a direct sequel. The story of origins was done and especially if you include witch hunt and the other expansions plus the endings of the main games there'd be just so much to take into account. It made more sense for it to follow different characters in a different area
What went wrong? They made a game that was universally loved, then made 3 sequels that were very different from what people loved about the original and slapped the DA name on them.
And continue to strip out more and more pieces of what people liked about that first game each time. Blood Magic is evidently never going to return, which pisses me off greatly. Blood Magic is one of the coolest parts of Dragon Age and the writers/developers don't make it usable because it's "too hard" to implement. Give me a break.
@@JuliusKingsleyXIII Give them a break…this is baby’s first Dragon Age. I mean, it probably is. How many of these people actually worked on even Inquisition?
@@dereka5017 I don't understand why we need "baby's first" anything as the 4th entry in a series. It's a joke. They need to stop trying to pull people away from Call of Duty with every new game they make. There is a difference and a fine line between broadening your appeal and being more accessible and throwing away your identity in pursuit of focus group mediocrity and universal blandness. I just got this game last year -- it was called Final Fantasy 16 and it was mid at best. Meanwhile Rebirth was great primarily because it embraced what it was and who it was for. Until the ending but that's a whole different story.
i played DA Origins as a young teen and loved it, played DA2 and I absolutely hated it lol. going back and forth throughout the same road in the city just to get ambushed every other time drove me crazy, but the characters were cool. didn’t bother picking up Inquisition and won’t bother with this one either. chalked Bioware after the ME3 ending debacle.
Yeah, sadly the series died when Morigan stepped through that portal at the end of the brilliant addon to DAO. When we all had such high hopes for that series to be something epic. And it already completely died with the turd that was DA2. Both sequels had some moments that were good, but they were largely just uninspired bogus when compared to the first entry in the series. This is what happens when a company starts changing personell too quickly and the new generation does not understand what made them great in the first place and they want to make their own mark with low effort get rich quick type of thinking. It was written ALL OVER DA2 and DAI.
Same here. And I'm saying that without any nostalgia goggles on. I played through all 3 games back to back around 2017, long after Origins had already been considered dated by modern standards. I can still say with impartiality that looking back, Origins was the only one that got it right and set Dragon Age apart from other generic games.
Bioware used to be my favorite game company for many years up until about 10 years ago. That's why I was so happy that Baldurs Gate 3 got so much success. It shows that games like Dragon Age Origins and Baldurs Gate can appeal to the mainstream without sacrificing that crpg identity. I don't mean to sound negative but in my mind Bioware has already been dethroned and I'm waiting excitedly for Larian's next release. Also as a side note the Boogie clips were hilarious lol.
Bioware is only the same studio that made all of their classic games in name only. Almost none of the people who worked on Knight of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age Origins. Bioware wasn't dethroned. They just literally don't exist anymore. All that's left is the name.
Exactly my thought. Dragon Age Origin was such a perfection in terms of cRPG - 6 backgrounds you can actually play, short, mid, and long term consequences of choices, travel map with random encounters, companions relationships, the lore, the scenario and it's evolution (the blight taking over gradually). Everything was setup in a way to build a tension reaching its climax at the end. If they continued the next ones with the same philosophy, Dragon Age 4 would have been the absolute pinnacle of cRPGs imo
I absolutely love Dragon Age 2, and in some areas it's probably my favorite game in the series. But even a dedicated DA2 simp like me can admit that there's glaring issues with it. I think DA2 might've gone over better if it was marketed as more of a spinoff side game and not a full sequel.
IIRC that was the plan, but EA demanded a less than 2 year dev cycle and an indication it's a direct sequel, the second dragon age game, dragon age 2, not the dragon age spinoff game, dragon age exodus. well, i know they planned on calling it exodus not 2, supposedly, from mark darrah saying so on his YT channel.
agree one of the dev who used to work at Bioware came out recently said when they made Dragon age 2 it was all hand on deck and the worst part the top head gave them a deadline and refuse to change it, I like dragon age 2 but there are problem to, and this just like mass effect 3 all over again, if dragon age 2 wasn't rush out, it would be so 10x better for sure
@@cobraglatiator There was suppose to be a dlc I believe called the Long March but that was scrubbed from copilot: You’re right! “The Long March” was indeed a planned DLC for Dragon Age II that was ultimately canceled. The DLC was intended to expand on the game’s story and provide additional content, but due to the mixed reception and commercial performance of Dragon Age II, BioWare decided not to proceed with it.
@@thetrashcanman7537That was about other deep indie rpgs like underrail, you cannot expect that polish from everyone, it's where all turn based WRPGs are after all.
The Lead Designer on DA:Origins was Brent Knowles. Laidlaw was brought in when the game was finished for the port to consoles and Knowles left because he didn't like the direction for DA2. Just this small thing for an otherwise excellent video! I've been a follower of Bioware for, I think, almost as long as you and am so not hyped for Veilguard.
Uh, you don't quit your job to write books unless you know you can. Let's dispel with this myth that Knowles left BioWare because they butchered his boy.
Dragon Age is a complete mess, no set vision for the art direction, atmosphere or gameplay. Bioware themselves have no clue what audience they are targeting with this franchise.
@@TheOneGreat 2 was mostly due to time constraints. The combat seems to be more of a "Make it more accessible" initiative pushed either by EA(Which wouldn't surprise me because it's EA), or incompetent Bioware leadership. I lean towards the latter because Bioware did give us DAO. DAI was just bad all round because whoever's bright idea it was to wrap the mage vs templar conflict in the prologue, well, let's just hope they move to a different industry.
A good explanation of how Bioware began. I would add Brent Knowles as one of the people responsible for the success of Dragon Age Origins.He was the DAO director.
Larian has claimed the rpg throne. Bioware can't compete for it and I sincerely hope they won't even try. I want them to rise from the ashes with fresh ideas and a new style that will characterise them for the next decade. Larian is my GOAT now, but I will still keep my eye on Bioware, for old times sake.
Bioware is just a name. A company is the sum of all it's parts, and the people that work there are the main part of it. Essentially, Bioware today is an entirely different company than what it used to be. It shouldn't even have the same name.
I mean larian only gets that title because obsidian decided that avowed was a better idea than tyranny 2 or pillars 3, and owlcat still cant get their games functioning fully on release If obsidian either goes back to crpgs or owlcat can make a game that doesnt take 8 months to be playable, larian is cooked Especially given wrath of the righteous is currently the best crpg on the market and rogue trader is getting there
I love the companions in all the games, but DA2 is so bittersweet. All things considered everyone did an incredible job with the time crunch (and the ending is still better than ME3), but it’s hard not to think what could have been. Lovely video
Ya, my first time playing DA2 felt like a horrible chore, and I stalled on it a couple times. Definitely wasn't what I was expecting from a Dragon Age game. I had played Origins for the first time not long after it came out, somehow missed DA2, played Inquisition at launch, and then went back to DA2... it was a shock for me when I did, and I absolutely was not impressed. But, after some time to let it sink in, and learning about EA's interventions, I gave it another try, and it grew on me. It's certainly not the best entry, imo, so far. But it isn't a bad game overall, I really wish EA had just stepped back, and let Bioware do their thing
I still think DA2 has the best ensemble cast after Origins. Inquisition characters were really disappointing to me. Outside of legacy characters like varric Cassandra leliana and Cullen, everyone was very... 1 note, very flat, even boring. Veilgaurd looks even worse, even more marvelified than inquisition. Awful.
In their defense i loved DA2 and the small Scale of one City with The Family Dynamic and how You loose some of them while climbing up The Social ladder. Also the focus on Mages and their Dangerous Abilitys was interesting to see.
1.3k follows and this high level of both narrative and editing quality is simply baffling. I was genuinely impressed. Also, thanks for acknowledging the rough gem that DA 2 is and what it potentially could have been. So here is a plus one for the algorithm.
This is genuinely another masterpiece. Your attention to detail and abilities as storyteller is fucking insane. Incredibly sorry to hear about your day job but I have fingers crossed that this world is just and that your production talents are able to be put to use full time!
I agree.I knew all this already since I was a Bioware fan since Origins was released.Then I went back and bought Baldurs Gate later on.But this is a fine rendition of how events went about. Very well done.
hell yessss. ive been waiting for the next video essay from you man. there are so many games & series that i would love to see u do vid essays for man, so im excited for the future of your content. you do excellent work here, with matty, and lsm. cheers 🖤
Mark Darrah agreed to put his name for the quality of the game for a few bucks, he is broke probably so thats why. Bioware is dead for 10 years, if u expect something out of them u will be disappointed. EA have never treat dragon age with respect even at its highest, they dont give a damn otherwise we would already get remakes. We have got other remakes like Dead space instead. We need to move on, every big studio started somewhere and we arent gonna get anything from big ones. Bioware or Bethesda, ubisoft, blizzard or even CDPR. TES 6 will be trash as was starfield, Witcher 4 will be woke trash, because they cannot make people feel offended. It is whar it is, people coping for far too long, indies are the future
Just played through them all. I like them all, even da2 is definitely the weakest, still don’t find it to be absolute garbage. And dai is still one of my favorite games in general
After dragon age 2 something changed , people hate them so much... maybe it broke something inside. And it was great game and great adventure . Dragon age 2 had spirit and bioware atmosphere
It's because people wanted a direct sequel to origins that they knew they weren't getting because either your warden died or they are trying to find a cure and have either found it and settled down or died trying. That last part is TBD but the story for the Warden was over at the end of origins
Every Dragon Age feels like a entirely new game and not a sequel, that's the problem. There's no unique traits to the series, because every fricking game they change the art style, the combat, etc. They say it's to appeal to the modern audience, but who is this audience? If we ever get another game after Veilguard they will probably change everything else again instead of improving and making things consistent. I honestly wouldn't recommend this series for none of my friends, because there's no quality control and every game is a different things.
Art style maybe but that’s has been explained to technically limitations interviews but the art theme has always been the same unlike veil guard it’s very colorful and saturated. An the other clothes look very French / drag queen looking which to me is a completely different art theme for the last 3 games I don’t really like but whatever honestly you know lol. The problem I have with the game from what people are saying it’s not going to continue with follow solas and what he is doing and to have all the crazy world building from the last 3 games and then no open world man… I just don’t know to be real with you I loved origins and inquisition and number 2 I really enjoy it’s just all the copy and paste POI’s hurt the game for me when I was younger
I hope they release all the Dragon Age games for PS5, I would love to play all of them with the same save the way I did with Mass Effect. Great video, bro!
"Guys, it's not video games, it's drugs, I swear!" - young Lockmort. The fact BioWare has abandoned the Origins system is baffling, it is one of the most unique mechanics in RPGs to date and has not been replicated quite in the same way by ANYONE. Cyberpunk and BG3 kinda do something similar, but the problem is that neither of them quite have their "Origins" interwoven with the main narrative in the same way. BG3 gets really close with Dark Urge, but unfortunately that's just one origin, all the others are not custom, but specific characters.
The Origins were all specific backgrounds that are NOT changable, to a set custom character though. The backgrounds in BG3 don't go near this point - they DO give you certain skills if your class doesn't get them. That's it. Whoopideedo da. * The Dark Urge I wish people would stop fucking talking about = Canonically in D&D lore the character SHOULD NOT exist. Abdel was the LAST Bhallspawn; and Bhall is canonically RETURNED in BG3 - so there is NO DARK URGE!!! (The rite that brought Bhall back REQUIRED ALL of his bhallspawn to DIE. They did = there is no further reason to create MORE Bhallspawn because Bhall isn't likely to let anyone murder him again. Ever. If not any time soon) Cyberpunk had the chance - and if they'd stuck to the ORIGINAL plan of design maybe they would have... but instead they retconned the "Iconic" out of one of the more noteable (over-rated/over-used) characters in the table top = and fucked over what made him memorable as a CAUTIONARY tale in the first place. To do this, they overpaid an actor, focused WAY too much on him and sliced out just about every actual RPG element, to the point they couldn't even legally call it an RPG anymore. It's an action adventure game now. Yipee. Devs these days can barely be bothered to actually program a genuine RPG. Nevermind a functional game that has "elements." That's why we haven't gotten anything like Dragon Age Origins in a LONG TIME. That's why Baldur's Gate 3 (Which SHOULD NOT be titled that - and frankly is JUST Divinity Original Sin with D&D 5e slapped on it like a cheap coat of paint) "blew everyone's minds" [Let's all nevermind that they literally had a blog post that showed everyone exactly how the sausage was made at every fucking step - so if you watched all of that there's damned near no point in buying it in the first place, and the dice roll system is so borked for checks they literally had to fix it with "kharmic" dice. Which still don't work in your favor more often than not] * I was one of the 88% buddy = and IF they'd stuck to the original game's formula with actual improvements; no one would have complained. At all. Origins even with it's own slate of problems, is still objectively the BEST game in the franchise. Instead it's Fortnite: Dragon Age edition, with DEI everything, for no reason. (Other than the bullshit check box requirements that EVERY creative media awards system has hand-fisted in, to literally kill the entire reason they exist in the first place: You can't be "creative" with a big assed checklist of 'you must do X' you CEO Dipshits!)
@@TheRavenShadowsWolfwe get it you dont actually play a lot ot crpgs so youre mad the only one that got publicity wasnt actually that good at being an rpg and is better at being an imsim-lite Go play rogue trader
Wow lockmort 👍 This one of the greatest TH-cam Documentary I seem, this Video just hook me and entertaining had to watch it to the end. Got urges to play old Bio Ware games. Please keep making more video like this 👏👏👏
Nice video. I dont think they have the guts to do the Dragon Age lore any justice. I also didn't finish Inquisition or play Trespasser, so I dont really care about the setup for the story. I dont think the writers in most modern games, have what it takes to deliver like DAO an DA2 did. They are too worried about getting canceled, to write stories that go to the dark places that Origins and 2 did. And the more I hear about Veilguard, the more I loose interrest in the game. No Tactical view in combat. Only 2 companions at a time, that you can't control. A giant sprawling skill tree with mostly small skill buffs instead of abilities that makes you rethink your strategies. Level 50 level cap. (Just why?! Sound like Quantity over Quality.) A mission based structure. (It worked in Mass Effect 2, but I dont really see it for Dragon Age.) And still, after 15 years, for the return of the series, still no player character origin. (From what I have seen, they only play lipservice to the concept.) I hope I'm wrong of course, but I dont have much hope, nor hype.
Veilguard will essentially be the best parts of all 3 games rolled into 1. The mission based map is a combination of origins and 2 which both did very well with. The dialogue wheel is from 2 which takes a bit of getting used to because that's what forms your characters personality. They took the combat from DA2 and dai and made it more stylish and there is an explanation on why there's one 2 companions and 3 abilities per person if you look and read that one article titled something like "you can't handle it" which was just a title to get rage bait in. Dragon age has always been about the story and we all know they're amazing at that, so I say give it a chance
@@elissahe2377 Their writing team is not the same as it was 15 years ago. Only Mary Kirby, Lukas Kristjanson and Sheryl Chee, are on the writing team from the first 2 games in the series. And after Inquisition and Mass Effect Andromeda, I dont really see it going in the direction of DAO or DA2. Call me a purist, but I just cant get excited about this game. But I hope you will enjoy it, since you seem to have a more positive outlook on the changes made to the combat.
@@christiankaiser3885 If your concern is the writing, there's an audio drama that they're releasing episodes every week and it's actually amazing. It's about a girl named Nadia and she's hunting down the dreadwolf for what happened to her fiance Elio and along the way, she's running into the companions that will be in veilguard. It's got so many more people excited to come back every week to listen
@@elissahe2377 From what I have seen, in the trailers, it looks like the story has a good chance of still holding up, but I am definitely not sure how well the Mass Effect style of combat is going to transfer over to Dragon Age
Yea the story looks repulsively feminine the definition of soft modern, they turned a dark fantasy into soft modern slop. Took away all the tactics from the combat and dumbed it down to a toddlers level. Also the dialogue shown so far is absolute and utter trash.
What happened? They hired people that no longer wanted to make games for an audience... but for themselves. Just look at the narcissistic people investing every hobby nowadays. All they ever talk about is how they made the IP "Their own" and how they allways wanted to see themselves "represented" in these games and now finaly got what they wanted. These freaks arent interested in anything but themselves. Thats why so many of these "diverse and inclusive" games are utter garbage.. cause they are made for no one except the game director and their in company clique of chosen ones.
It breaks my freaking heart that they really probably DID want to make Dragon Age as an action RPG. I didn't realise their first ever games were action games. Ugh. That explains why Darrah is so incredibly scathing of the mechanics of Origins now that he's back in the BioWare team. I feel kind of like I've been catfished by a fucking video game studio lol. 😔 Honestly, the marketing of DA:V is giving me whiplash. It looks terrible!! Oh no, wait, it looks ok... oh no wait, that's really concerning... Oh, nope, it looks OK... Oh sweet jesus the mage combat looks awful!!... oh, but the ROGUE looks good... oh wait, there are BUTTON COMBOS??? FFS that's horrible for keyboard users... I just can't anymore. Darrah and Corrine have made it abundantly clear that they don't want CRPG players in their customer base, and they apparently always wanted DA to be an action game. That's all I needed to hear. There are studios who actually WANT my money, so I'll go to them. 😞 🤷
Yeah, DA:V is just a mess of Particle Effects that are just different Colors for Spells. I am sure it will be a pretty decent Action Game when it comes to Melee, after all its pretty clear they are going with a Souls Like Game. For a Series that started as a CRPG, its just not what I am looking for in DA.
I much prefer it just being an action game that might or might not work rather than the abomination that was inquisition where it was just pretending to be an rpg but had the worst of both genres.
I'm gonna wait until after launch before I decide to buy it or not. I want to see if the trainwreck goes beyond the character creator, weird art style, and ugly characters.
How are you catfished by a studio making one game that ISN'T an action RPG? Every game they've done since Mass effect 1 has played pretty similarly other than origins. Hell, the initial plots of dragon age and mass effect are pretty samey with the grey wardens and spectres being functionally identical.
@ReaperCet I dont know if you just did follow Bioware before ME and DA, but your forgetting all the Star Wars Games they made as well. Also when Origins came out they made a big deal about bringing back CRPG's, and that their Focus was PC at the time because of this. You cant blame Fans for expecting them to keep making them, when it was what they had become known for until ME2 and DA2.
I absolutely loved DA:O, but with every game they made afterwards, it strayed further and further away from it. Just a couple of examples would be to compare the spell "Fireball" in DA:O with the one in DA:2. One is basically a bomb, while the other is a wet fart. The other is the ability to configure your companions' behavior. In DA:O, I could basically program the behavior of my companions to handle almost any situation, and it was great! That ability has shrunk with every single game forward, ending up with what we see in DA:VG. DA:I was okay, and by okay, I mean a solid 5/10, when comparing to other games. Also, I have nothing against inclusion and diversity, for as long as they makes sense. Game of Thrones was a brilliant example of how to include people of different ethnicities, because it was explained well within the story. It made sense. Overwatch is another great example of how to add diversity and have it make logical sense, as their heroes comes from all over the world. And they even point out where in the world the different heroes come from. A bad example would be Rings of Power, where every set of people have the same amount of diversity. As if they took inspiration from New York. And Dragon Age: Veilguard appears to follow the same trend. I think the most civilized way to act as a consumer, is to be honest, but avoid insults, when sharing your opinion on a topic. And to vote with your money. I don't think my vote will go to Dragon Age: Veilguard. I gave DA:2 a chance, and I was disappointed. I gave DA:I a chance, and I was let down. I won't be making the same mistake with DA:VG. Apart from that, great video and I hope you have a nice day.
Dragon Age Inquisition was the reason I played Origins. And after playing Origins, no other game ever made me happier, even BG3. Origins has something magical, something special in it. Veilguard looks very promising. Of course I have my doubts but, as you said in the end we have reasons to hope. I hope Dragon Age never dies.
That’s crazy, I just played origins first time this year and it’s for sure fun but nah I can’t lie it’s not as amazing as BG3 but to each their own for sure
@@gnarlyboyjai I played it before BG3 during 2023 January. Narrative, story and lore-wise DAO has more depth. It’s more realistic because David Gaider created it to be so. Bg3’s story is not that exciting. I’ve spent many hours in bg3 btw, I also played dos2 twice and I love Larian’s both works. But as I said, Dragon Age is deeper and better when it comes to story and narrative. Also musics better in DAO.
How can you say there's hope after looking at those ugly quanris and the soft modern look, the monsters don't even look menacing. It's all so soft and feminine it's almost repulsive
@bungouyevsky the company is dead best to get it now, but I agree about the bg take tho. The companions in bg3 got completely ruined by the decision to make it "inclusive" by removing everything but hyper sexual companions that try to get with anyone. We will never get an allistar or anders or a Garrus or wrex with this system since sexuality isn't just a part of someone's larger identity and character but now the only defining trait that matters according to the modern audience and for the vast majority of people forcing unwanted advances stops them from using them as party members
I am the minority here, but no other DA game made me as happy as DA2. A perfect mix of characters, tight story and a location that really grows on you. Even DAO didn't make me feel this way. I cannot explain it, but my feelings tell me this game was made by people who loved it, even though it was rushed.
DA2 decided to explore an actual conflict within the world of Thedas (Templar-mages), something almost never seen in any RPG before. Hawke is not a chosen one, he is not the saviour of the world, but just a guy-girl trying to survive and protect her-his family. It was a more intimate story and ilustrated how social phenomena many times cannot be prevented by individuals, no matter how great they are. I wish DA2 had a proper development time instead of the 2 years time limit given by EA.
@@malindrayy I'm with you there, the writing stood head and shoulders above Origins in both story and companions, and Kirkwall was a more compelling location than any of the fantasy by number Origin locations. If only the asset reuse wasn't absolutely crushing to deal with by mid game and the combat an utter horror show, but for the vibes and general memorable bits all these years later, DA2 was the peak.
@@jonanderetxebarria9944 Origins is my fav but DA2 is special to me. I have such warm feelings when I think of it because it has such great characters and you're right! It gave us such a great look into Thedas on a smaller scale.
@@ellycridland9380What is this writing everyone is saying about? In every game there are interesting and less interesting companions. Classic core Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana - can't be any better. Personally like Sten and his interactions with party were funny. With Dragon Age 2 those were Anders, Aveline, Varric + Hawke sibling. Inquisition - Cassandra, Varric (the man), Solas (the myth). In my opinion the most interesting from side companions was Dorian, probably because he's from Tevinter and it's like the most anticipated place too know more about in Thedas.
Bioware pushed out it's golden team in favor of it's modern audience chasing team. I agree the environments seem to look like they pay homage to a previous title mainly Dragon Age Inquisition Trespasser DLC. The character design of franchise favorites however look androgynous; there is a distinct lack of beauty especially when compared to previous titles in genre. Bioware is pushing their ESG,DEI and BRIDGE agenda. You are far to high on copium to see the truth, the emotionless faces shown in the trailers when interacting with Rook already give flash backs to Mass Effect Andromeda. Lets stick to facts Bioware now is no longer in the same league as Larian. Larian actually listens to their communities they adjust based on that feedback. Bioware doesn't they would rather just walk away from their failures. You can't blame it all on EA this Dragon Age The Veilguard is directed at the modern audience Game Director Corinne Busche has already shown their cards in the IGN Interview going as far as to push Taash romance the non binary androgynous companion. Why!!! Well it's quite simply the gamers do not like the character design instead of changing it Bioware would rather double down pushing their own virtue signaling agenda for the modern audience.
This. I find it strange that the androgynous character designs aren't mentioned... Veil Guard designs is a far cry from the days of Bastila Shan and Miranda. Or just normal guys like Carth Onasi.
@@TheWaterDragon_91 Not really sure what your trying to emphasise here with your comment? The woke ideology is being pushed both by Corrie Bushe and IGN shills, they are having to draw attention to Taash the one companion all the audience don't like . Western studios are stripping beauty out of games to try to avert the male gaze. They are trying to sell this as something which helps women, most women love seeing beauty and don't want it stripped out of their favorite franchises. This is straight up virtue signaling It's really for the trans community, The trans community feel inferior when comparing themselves to the real beauty of real women. They know deep down they can never truly emulate that beauty and sex appeal. No amount of plastic surgery or pro-nouns will change the scientific fact your a male pretending to be a female. Carth Onasi, nicknamed Fleet, was a famous Human male soldier 2003 Bastila Shan, a Human female, was a legendary Jedi Master 2003 Miranda is a potential romantic interest for a male Commander Shepard 2009 These character designs you mention were designed by the Old Guard Bioware they knew there was no such thing as pro-nouns it was male and female; how gamers were born you know based on scientific fact not woke ideology especially not a mental patients perspective Even though the software from these two early titles are from the real Bioware it is ancient software compared to the latest software from the woke EA/Bioware you can still clearly tell the difference between male and female so they are not androgynous the females clearly show femininity and sexuality in every way; from the way they walk, run, stand and mannerisms. I mean you just have to look at the difference of Morrigan in Dragon Age: Origins (2009) The steamy sultry female witch of the wilds who was full busted and sexy - to the Dragon Age The Veilguard (2024) flat chested androgynous non sultry she/her pandering to the trans modern audience who hate to be remined they have no real femininity and sexuality they can't they're still really men playing dress up no matter what pro-noun they label themselves with.
EA never listens to the fans and things won't change unless EA sells BioWare which is unlikely. Or Andrew Wilson left EA and was replaced by a competent CEO. If Veilguard fails EA is more likely to close the studio . A dream would be Larian buying Bioware from EA after EA decided they didn't want to keep the studio but that would never happen. Buying Bioware even if by some miracle EA would be willing to sell would be a financial bridge too far for Larian. I would advise against it as it would likely require a large loan and/or a much larger investment from tencent and that could put Larian in financial jeopardy. Another possibility is XBOX/MS buying Bioware but with MS demanding XBox repay the 78 billion they spent on their previous acquisitions I doubt MS would be inclined to say yes to such a deal if EA put Bioware up for sale which I think is unlikely. EA would rather close it if Veilguard fails and there is a strong chance Veilguard will fail imo.
"Lets stick to facts" also you "bioware is pushing their esg, dei and bridge agenda". No normal person cares about this. Only the grifttubers actually give a fuck about this.
Not only do I very much appreciate your summary of the history, a lot of which I was unaware of, but you exactly articulate my feelings toward each of these games. Bravo, sir! In particular, I kept saying to people that DA:I felt like a single-player MMORPG, and people acted like I was crazy. I strongly disagree with your conclusions, but I hope you're right.
Blaming only consoles for the problems with Dragon Age overlooks a bigger issue: the infiltration of certain DEI-driven agendas into entertainment, which has contributed to a decline in the quality of games, especially story-driven RPGs. This shift prioritizes surface-level representation over the rich storytelling, character depth, and world-building that once defined the genre, ultimately diluting the overall experience for longtime fans.
I have been a big fan of Dragon Age, Mass Effect, the Old Republic, and BioWare for a long time. I didn’t know the full sad story of their downfall. But I waited so long for this and they are spitting on the grave of those before them.
Hell yeah, True Detective and Dragon Age in one video. I'm one of the grouchy old dudes that still adores Origins above everything else, but that's definitely because of nostalgia. Veilguard looks awful, tone-deaf and the endpoint of quirky OC, Critical Role-era RPGs, but there's nothing wrong with other people being excited for it. And if you enjoy it, great... but personally I stopped paying attention even before Andromeda.
When I heard in this video that you made a wasteland three video I immediately subscribed. You're talking about bioware games and wasteland 3 sold. I love these long essay videos however to help grow your channel I would suggest making five to ten minute videos So you can be in the algorithm more often. Sorry for you losing your job but the maker works in mysterious ways. Great content and keep going 👍🏿
what went wrong? strict timelines, and one of the dumbest decision they could have made, to change the artstyle and dumbing down gameplay between 1 and 2 so dramatically. which probably also was influenced by those time restrictions. If you look at how much time goes by between even sorry made DLC content, the guys at Bioware at the time put out DAO, and not even a year later they pushed out a full fledged addon to that, which was easily another 20-30 hours worth of content, and not just bad dlc content but actual quality stuff. And just a year later they already released Dragon Age 2, which was FAR from ready. And it absolutely showed, and those of us who were around for it, were pretty much baffled as to why they did it in the way they did...
Even with its obvious problems caused by lack of time, DA2 is my favorite of that series. I find the combat fine. The reuse of locations is absolutely criminal. But the characters, man. The character writing and voice acting keep me coming back to 2 again and again. Absolutely top tier. On the level of mass effect 2's companions, even though there are fewer of them.
Very good work, I did not tought I could learn so much about Bioware that i already knew. I'm surprised you didn't mention Drew Karpishyn writing. But for myself I have absolutely no faith in Bioware anymore. I guess we will know soon
What went wrong? They created a masterpiece then EA games "fked up everything" happened and make another 2 garbage with live service and launcher that doesn't work.
What an amazing video. Kept me concentrated on it for a full hour with ease. I have to say couple of things about the upcoming dragon age tho. As every old bioware/da fan, I too would love nothing more then bioware to return to what they used to be, or rather make something good of their current situation. The problems come when you realize that the company is just another corporation built with the purpose of making money. At least that's the expectation. And to do this, if you're a CEO, you need to hire people who are capable of building you something based on a framework/concept, like a patent for success, but you can't pay them too much money since you want to maximize profit, so you need to get people who are just capable enough to go through the steps but not masters of their craft so that you need to actually pay them. Slap ontop of that couple of familiar faces which will give hope to people who are fans of their previous work to increase sales. Hire DEI for more investment with no returns money from blackrock and vanguard. And you end up with a company with people who are barely capable to producing something that they have a blueprint of, half of the company are DEI who are there just to leech the money or push political propaganda and couple of big names who are there to push the marketing of the game. This is the reason why we're getting 1 good game in a blue moon from AAA companies. And even tho I'd love nothing more then to play a good game released in a new day and age, from a western studio that is, I know that those times are over and we're deep into the darkness of the current empire for games to be able to be made with love and passion of their predecessors. Hope does die last, but with the western propaganda pushing and oppression, even towards eastern games, where they are being sabotaged if they create, for example, a beautiful female character, that hope is far at the bottom of Pandoras' box while the rest of the box is still filled with too much darkness.
Man DA2 was really special despite their circumstances. I'd argue the companions were the best of the 3. Even Origins. The story was great for its smaller scope (maybe that helped). Not as epic as 1 but alot of really memorable moments.
yeah i dont know, anders collecting dragon dodo in the sewers to make a military grade explosive was beyond anything in Origins 1. I liked the fact that it wasnt anoter ancient evil that you have to defeat in order to save the world scenario. But the ending was cheapened by the fact that the main villain was "corrupted" by that dwarven artifact or whatever..... But the qunari plotline was better then anything that Inquisition ever did...... So for me its 1,2,................................................................................3
I think the DA:O companions were better (I mean, how can you top the trio of Morrigan, Alistair, and Leliana?), but DA:2 did a lot right. I especially loved Aveline and Isabella's relationship. But to me what DA:2 did best was develop Hawke as a person. Because you get these vignettes from across their life, you can feel them develop as a person - at least I did. And it makes it feel like you, a nobody, had a real tangible effect on the world, even if you weren't overtly trying to.
That's fine with me, tbh. In my head cannon, Sylvania Mahariel answered her Calling prematurely around the events of Veilguard because not only did she felt like she was no longer needed as the Hero of Ferelden, but because she had grown increasingly despondent over the two decades to the point of being suicidal without her deceased lover Tamlen and the rest of her tribe being her rock in this crazy world of Thedas and decided to go down fighting as a proud Dalish Huntress. Meanwhile, my Wilhelm Hawke is currently chilling in a tropical forest with Merrill building a new Dalish tribe and my Lavellan Inquisitor is hunting down Solas to kill him because she deems him an ancient threat (no different from Corypheus) to everyone, including elves.
Meh he's to busy banging morrigan and rebuilding house cousland anyways, THEY SHOULD have brought him back in DAI since the villain in that is the reason the darkspawn and blights exist but noooo we get the lame ass inquisitor.
@@delta2372 Bioware should've made an option where the Hof or the Champion could've potentially been the Inquisitor through imported saves since they both disappeared towards the end of DA2. Such a wasted golden opportunity there.
@@prestonprice-eo1xq wanna hear something funny? so originally bioware wanted to make the DA2 protagonist into fantasy commander shepard because it's quite obvious by the end of 2 they had something very important set up for him and they wanted hawk to be the protagonist for inquisition and this upcoming game, since DA2 failed they decided to try and save some face with the BS revolving protagonist policy. The idea you just proposed where you can import one of the characters from origins or 2 (let's be honest we'd all just be using the grey warden anyways since no one gives a shit about the DA2 cast, people only like Isabella because she's a big titty dark skinned pirate girl) is a fantastic idea that I wish bioware thought of. It's a shame that this series fell flat after it's first entry because the lore and world building of dragon age could have made this be a serious competitor and alternative to the elder scrolls games.
DAMN YOU FOR MAKING THIS BEFORE ME. It's great and spot on. I think your faith is misplaced. I think Bioware has lost to much of it's talent to make Vielguard a win. I will gladly be wrong. But don't think I will be. Still a great video.
I was planning to listen to this at work, but I'm glad I sat down and watched it instead. The visual gags are hilarious. Great work, Lock. You did miss a great opportunity to dig up Colin's infamous Mass Effect 3 IGN video, though. Just sayin!
@@bryymiller2475 That isn't what they're talking about. Woke in media is tokenism. It's not made with the intent to have a good story but rather a checklist for virtue signaling.
@@IgnoreMeImWrong right iwngers can;t even agree on what "woke" is anymore because, unfortunately, reality has a liberal bias. They've moved on to DEI as the new buzzword.
I love the amount of research and passion you show in your videos, and the wit that never distracts or takes away from the point being made. I, frankly, do not share your faith in Veilguard's debut; even if it is good, it's too little too late. We've seen a decade without BioWare being at the frontlines, and while they've been reeling, other studios have taken up the mantle with aplomb. There is little in Veilguard I see that's really worthy of the moniker of a real RPG; it looks like a prettier Dragon Age II, which has next to nothing I love from the franchise. A decade waiting for a follow-up to Inquisition's DLC only for the former namesake to be shelved in favor of a 'witty,' corny, quirky cast is not a good look, and even without that, the grit and soul of Origins has long been fleeting.
I absolutely loved DA:O, beat it at least 4 times! I hope Veilguard can pull it off. I’ve been hesitant to play Baulder’s Gate 3. Even though I loved DA:O, Divinity 2: OS kicked my ass so quickly out the gate, I tucked my tail and ran as fast as I could, so BG3 has me a little gun shy
I love Dragon Age Origins. It was one of the first games i ever owned myself. It, Red Dead Redemption, and AC2 were my very first games when i got my first console (the original Xbox 360). I loved it to no end. I constantly replayed it, findinf every single variance to your choices to the point now i can skip through every line of Dialogue and still know everything that was said. I remember talking to my friends, asking if they had heard about Dragon Age before. I remember them all asking what it was and me feeling let down by that. Then came DA2. It was good. I enjoyed it. Not nearly as much as Origins but i found it a good game to "hold me over". Then Inquisition released. I will admit i didnt like it at first. Its very slowly grown on me though, although i dislike parts of it to this day. Especially since it practically forces your character to worship the Maker no matter how much you refuse. Now with Veilguard on the horizon...i dont even know if i want to buy it. I enjoy the Dragon Age games, none as much as i do Origins, but...theyre still good games in my eyes. Not perfect like Origins, but good. A solid 6 or 7 out of 10. I can only pray Veilguard wont further ruin the game series i fell in love with
I'm so waiting for Exodus with James Ohlen at the helm of the game. Free of the turd that is EA. The original BW will always be my favourite Studio. Will agree that DA2 was excellent, especially the writing, which saved the game for me. DA:I man, that game is a turd.
Quite the fan of DA2 despite its issues, i really wish it had had been given a reasonable development time to allow for better environments. But the smaller scale combined with time skips where you see the long term consequences of your choices is great. I have my doubts about Veilguard and certainly won't pre-order it in a million years but I'm willing to give it a chance and see what people are saying after release. I have heard some good things from creators who were able to play some of it at events particularly about the fact that there are player choices that carry heavy consequences for your companions. However, it'll be hard for me to get over my dislike of the aesthetic, it all seems like over-the-top high fantasy with floating buildings and giant glowing portals which is a big departure from the fairly gritty and grounded setting of Origins and 2. The models have weird cartoony proportions with big heads and the colour palette is very disney/marvel and i don't just mean the attack animations but the whole UI itself is bright and cluttered and immersion breaking :/ But, i really do like the franchise and it's lore, i've even played the TTRPG, so hopefully the writing is good enough to get passed all that, and maybe there will be mods to tone it down a bit eventually too?
Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age 2 really was great because I actually loved how choices actually mattered and all the beautiful atmosphere i truly felt it could of been a reflection of real life magic lore ... but unfortunately Kingdoms of Amalar was better than anything after that i loved amalar too of course
BG3 is honestly going to eat the lunch of every fantasy RPG that comes out for a while. I see it becoming the next Skyrim, a game that just keeps being played and modded and loved for a decade or more. Baldur's Gate 3 proved that every excuse and "trend" that AAA studios have been pushing for ages now... are bullshit. Single-player, offline games with zero microtransactions or in-game stores absolutely CAN still dominate. Listening to players (real ones, not social media activists) and implementing what they want... DOES pay off and brings success to the game. I was in the early access for BG3 from the very first day it was available, and I watched the game evolve. They were actually listening and engaging with players the entire time they were developing the game. Making changes based on what the community wanted. Seeing the bits that weren't landing and then taking them out. It really has been a much needed breath of fresh air in an industry that has had all of it's air spoiled with fetid rot.
I loved Dragon Age Origins and feel it was one of the best RPGs ever made. I was disappointed by Dragon Age 2 but still saw it as above average and somewhat enjoyable even with the negative changes from the first game. Dragon Age Inquisition had good points but all in all it was a slog to get through, finishing it was an act of determination rather than joy. I doubt I'll bother with Dragon Age The Veilguard based on what I've seen and read, down the road if I hear different I may reconsider but I have so little faith in "modern" game devs I doubt it would be worth my time.
Dragon Age Inquisition was pretty good. Not nearly as good as Origins, but I'd give it at least an 8. The cracks were starting to show, but it was a lot of fun.
I loved Dragon Age, both 1 and 2. The sequel had its issues, to be sure, but that was mostly in the reused locations. In terms of gameplay, a simple fight against a pair of ogres became one of the most memorable experiences I've had in all my years of gaming. If they released a new game like either of these two, it would make me very happy. Unfortunately, I've seen the glory of Mass Effect get subverted into ME2, and continued its decline into ME3. I gave up on Inquisition after discovering it was a single-player MMO, and not in the way SWTOR should have been. When I gave Anthem a chance, it turned out to be even worse than expected. These days, the name Bioware does not inspire confidence. If they announced a Jade Empire 2, I would be devastated by the horrors we would inevitably see. So I can't see any hope whatsoever for DA4. As a best case scenario, it would be Dragon Age Andromeda. Insufferable characters, nonsensical story, atrocious worldbuilding with no regard for the setting... and gameplay mechanics that I can't call good, but that are strangely compelling. Unfortunately, everything I've seen implies this will be Inquisition 2 instead. When the benchmarks for quality are the worst Mass Effect game and the worst Dragon Age game, both of which are part of the series in name only, I can't agree with your optimism. I hope we get something halfway decent, but at this point I'd be just as happy if the entity calling itself Bioware finally got the EA treatment. They had a good run, and deserve to rest in peace.
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The thing I like the most about Dragon Age 2 that gets underappreciated a lot is the friendship/rivalry system with companions. Unlike all the Bioware games before and after it, in DA2, you can have two different relationships with the characters and they will change reflecting that relationship. It was much more nuanced and narratively interesting than a good/evil morality bar could ever be.
Pardon my ignorance but i just started playing DA2 (so try not to spoil) but isn't the friendship rival mechanic just carried over from DAO? Or is it deeper than that?
@@tomk8350 The mechanics use the same words but work a bit differently. In Origins, a companion with maximum rivalry will hate your guts and will want to leave the party permanently, so you want to avoid that in general. In 2, rivalry still allows the companion to stay even if they disagree with your methods. You still unlock special abilities for them and you can still romance them. It's just going to be different abilities and a different romance. For certain companions, I found the rivalry path to be much more to my liking.
@@LungDrago companions leaving you in origins was overall better as it really made your decisions more impactful. In 2 its so hard for companions to hate you unless you do the negative route in their questline.
The fact Varric will never hate you is ridiculous im both 2 and 3
@@PuppetMaster-Blade Well, I can't agree with that. To me, there's nothing impactful about a decision I'm not ever going to make. Why would I make a decision to see less of the game, if I like the game? Unless I would hate the companion's guts I guess, but I have no such hard feelings for anyone either in Origins or 2. And even if I did, it's still more interesting to me if I can change their ways rather than have them kicked off my party.
@@LungDrago Having characters leave automatically gives the player multiple ways to play the game and gives each encounter more depth.. i remember my first playthrough of origins in 09 and both Sten and Z left my party due to the choices i made in dialog and storylines.. way better than them calling me a meanyhead but still staying.
My later playthroughs i found ways to keep them in.. ultimately Sten still tried to kill me but he gain my respect after.
That will never happen in Da3 or 4 as characters are always supposed to love you..minus Cassandra, shes the easiest one to get to hate you
To me a game lives and dies by the tone and atmosphere. Origins very much had this late 90s/early 2000s edge. The Ostagar Battle cinematic was ripped straight out of Braveheart, Gladiator, 300, Battle for Helms Deep and Kingdom of Heaven. That set the scene for the rest of the game. The sheer desperation of the soldiers facing this pure and ancient evil, that every fight was a hail mary suicide mission. I fell in love with that only to have it ripped away from me with the sequel and Inquisition thought it was a good idea to reverse the tone completely. Suddenly it wasn't grim and dark with occasional moments of levity anymore but it was, trying to be, funny and hopeful with occasional moments of darkness.
To me, the only Dragon Age game that actually was Dragon Age was Origins.
I agree, i do kinda feel that DA2 kept the tone of the first one, just in a different way. I honestly think the story by itself is very good after replaying it for the first time since it came out a year or two ago. The game still isn't very good as a game, and the choices are very shallow. Imo inquisition is when it really went downhill. There's just something about that game's esthetic and tone that i just don't like, and i can't put my finger on it. And i feel that way even more about veilguard
100% I remember being so hyped for da2 after being in love with origins. this was probably my 1st ever heart break when I played that shit
Dragon Age II broke my hearth because it was not direct sequel to the events of Origins. But after replaying it, that game is much more darker and was better written than Origins. Like you said, every game after lacks Origin atmosphare and DA II had many problems. But writing and dark atmosphere were not among does problems.
@gromdal9293 i used to feel similar but looking back it wouldn't have made sense for it to be a direct sequel. The story of origins was done and especially if you include witch hunt and the other expansions plus the endings of the main games there'd be just so much to take into account. It made more sense for it to follow different characters in a different area
100% agree! Theyve gotten progressively worse with each release
What went wrong? They made a game that was universally loved, then made 3 sequels that were very different from what people loved about the original and slapped the DA name on them.
😭😭 too true. 💔
EA was largely responsible for that by mandating DA2 be made in such a short time frame and that Bioware use the frostbite 3 engine.
And continue to strip out more and more pieces of what people liked about that first game each time. Blood Magic is evidently never going to return, which pisses me off greatly. Blood Magic is one of the coolest parts of Dragon Age and the writers/developers don't make it usable because it's "too hard" to implement. Give me a break.
@@JuliusKingsleyXIII Give them a break…this is baby’s first Dragon Age.
I mean, it probably is. How many of these people actually worked on even Inquisition?
@@dereka5017 I don't understand why we need "baby's first" anything as the 4th entry in a series. It's a joke. They need to stop trying to pull people away from Call of Duty with every new game they make. There is a difference and a fine line between broadening your appeal and being more accessible and throwing away your identity in pursuit of focus group mediocrity and universal blandness. I just got this game last year -- it was called Final Fantasy 16 and it was mid at best. Meanwhile Rebirth was great primarily because it embraced what it was and who it was for. Until the ending but that's a whole different story.
Took me 2 DA games to realize I was actually out after Origins. Not this time.
Most people who say they are dragon age fans are either fans of the first game who want the ip to not be dead or coomers who only like the fan art.
i played DA Origins as a young teen and loved it, played DA2 and I absolutely hated it lol. going back and forth throughout the same road in the city just to get ambushed every other time drove me crazy, but the characters were cool. didn’t bother picking up Inquisition and won’t bother with this one either. chalked Bioware after the ME3 ending debacle.
Yeah, sadly the series died when Morigan stepped through that portal at the end of the brilliant addon to DAO. When we all had such high hopes for that series to be something epic. And it already completely died with the turd that was DA2. Both sequels had some moments that were good, but they were largely just uninspired bogus when compared to the first entry in the series. This is what happens when a company starts changing personell too quickly and the new generation does not understand what made them great in the first place and they want to make their own mark with low effort get rich quick type of thinking. It was written ALL OVER DA2 and DAI.
Same here. And I'm saying that without any nostalgia goggles on. I played through all 3 games back to back around 2017, long after Origins had already been considered dated by modern standards. I can still say with impartiality that looking back, Origins was the only one that got it right and set Dragon Age apart from other generic games.
Bioware used to be my favorite game company for many years up until about 10 years ago. That's why I was so happy that Baldurs Gate 3 got so much success. It shows that games like Dragon Age Origins and Baldurs Gate can appeal to the mainstream without sacrificing that crpg identity. I don't mean to sound negative but in my mind Bioware has already been dethroned and I'm waiting excitedly for Larian's next release.
Also as a side note the Boogie clips were hilarious lol.
Bioware is only the same studio that made all of their classic games in name only. Almost none of the people who worked on Knight of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age Origins.
Bioware wasn't dethroned. They just literally don't exist anymore. All that's left is the name.
Exactly my thought. Dragon Age Origin was such a perfection in terms of cRPG - 6 backgrounds you can actually play, short, mid, and long term consequences of choices, travel map with random encounters, companions relationships, the lore, the scenario and it's evolution (the blight taking over gradually). Everything was setup in a way to build a tension reaching its climax at the end. If they continued the next ones with the same philosophy, Dragon Age 4 would have been the absolute pinnacle of cRPGs imo
I absolutely love Dragon Age 2, and in some areas it's probably my favorite game in the series. But even a dedicated DA2 simp like me can admit that there's glaring issues with it. I think DA2 might've gone over better if it was marketed as more of a spinoff side game and not a full sequel.
IIRC that was the plan, but EA demanded a less than 2 year dev cycle and an indication it's a direct sequel, the second dragon age game, dragon age 2, not the dragon age spinoff game, dragon age exodus.
well, i know they planned on calling it exodus not 2, supposedly, from mark darrah saying so on his YT channel.
@@cobraglatiator You're completely correct. It was meant to be a spin off game, but they were told to turn it into a mainline game
@@davidgomez7882 right. thought so.
i mean, obviously, but...yeah.
agree one of the dev who used to work at Bioware came out recently said when they made Dragon age 2 it was all hand on deck and the worst part the top head gave them a deadline and refuse to change it, I like dragon age 2 but there are problem to, and this just like mass effect 3 all over again, if dragon age 2 wasn't rush out, it would be so 10x better for sure
@@cobraglatiator There was suppose to be a dlc I believe called the Long March but that was scrubbed
from copilot:
You’re right! “The Long March” was indeed a planned DLC for Dragon Age II that was ultimately canceled. The DLC was intended to expand on the game’s story and provide additional content, but due to the mixed reception and commercial performance of Dragon Age II, BioWare decided not to proceed with it.
Now that BG3 exist, Bioware has an uphill battle with Veilguard. Frankly i dont need them anymore
Lol that game is really the definitive RPG no wonder the devs were crying “ this isn’t the new standard”
@@thetrashcanman7537That was about other deep indie rpgs like underrail, you cannot expect that polish from everyone, it's where all turn based WRPGs are after all.
@@thetrashcanman7537 honestly i think Pathfinder WotR is a better RPG.
I think 90% of Bioware's catalog did story and character better than BG3, which was really really good. They are different beasts.
@@lucasLSD nah Ubisoft and AAA commented too you didn’t know that I see
The Lead Designer on DA:Origins was Brent Knowles. Laidlaw was brought in when the game was finished for the port to consoles and Knowles left because he didn't like the direction for DA2. Just this small thing for an otherwise excellent video! I've been a follower of Bioware for, I think, almost as long as you and am so not hyped for Veilguard.
Uh, you don't quit your job to write books unless you know you can. Let's dispel with this myth that Knowles left BioWare because they butchered his boy.
@@bryymiller2475sure, but gaider definitely did, hence why he started trying to go indie
That doesn't disprove my point. Indie only cements it further.
Dragon Age is a complete mess, no set vision for the art direction, atmosphere or gameplay. Bioware themselves have no clue what audience they are targeting with this franchise.
Because it is not really BioWare…just the name left with ea using the name to try and sell slop
Hear, hear. The only excellent one was Origin. 2 was weird but "okaaaay", 3 bored me to tears. And now we have DA : Mass Effect edition. 🤦
@@TheOneGreat if its actually that including the darkness then im in. If its legit ME trillogy quality im in
@@TheOneGreat 2 was mostly due to time constraints. The combat seems to be more of a "Make it more accessible" initiative pushed either by EA(Which wouldn't surprise me because it's EA), or incompetent Bioware leadership. I lean towards the latter because Bioware did give us DAO.
DAI was just bad all round because whoever's bright idea it was to wrap the mage vs templar conflict in the prologue, well, let's just hope they move to a different industry.
I've never seen a series as schizophrenic as this one. It's actually baffling.
A good explanation of how Bioware began.
I would add Brent Knowles as one of the people responsible for the success of Dragon Age Origins.He was the
DAO director.
Your blind optimism is remarkable 😂
thank god you said DA2 was great, i thought so too and just wanted more of what they did but better in the next game
Yeah
Larian has claimed the rpg throne. Bioware can't compete for it and I sincerely hope they won't even try. I want them to rise from the ashes with fresh ideas and a new style that will characterise them for the next decade. Larian is my GOAT now, but I will still keep my eye on Bioware, for old times sake.
I think Biowares only real hope anymore is if ME4 is actually good and sticks with the way the original trilogy did things
Bioware is just a name. A company is the sum of all it's parts, and the people that work there are the main part of it.
Essentially, Bioware today is an entirely different company than what it used to be. It shouldn't even have the same name.
I mean larian only gets that title because obsidian decided that avowed was a better idea than tyranny 2 or pillars 3, and owlcat still cant get their games functioning fully on release
If obsidian either goes back to crpgs or owlcat can make a game that doesnt take 8 months to be playable, larian is cooked
Especially given wrath of the righteous is currently the best crpg on the market and rogue trader is getting there
I love the companions in all the games, but DA2 is so bittersweet. All things considered everyone did an incredible job with the time crunch (and the ending is still better than ME3), but it’s hard not to think what could have been.
Lovely video
Yeah, it's a very rough gem, but rivalry system was very interesting
Ya, my first time playing DA2 felt like a horrible chore, and I stalled on it a couple times. Definitely wasn't what I was expecting from a Dragon Age game. I had played Origins for the first time not long after it came out, somehow missed DA2, played Inquisition at launch, and then went back to DA2... it was a shock for me when I did, and I absolutely was not impressed.
But, after some time to let it sink in, and learning about EA's interventions, I gave it another try, and it grew on me. It's certainly not the best entry, imo, so far. But it isn't a bad game overall, I really wish EA had just stepped back, and let Bioware do their thing
I still think DA2 has the best ensemble cast after Origins. Inquisition characters were really disappointing to me. Outside of legacy characters like varric Cassandra leliana and Cullen, everyone was very... 1 note, very flat, even boring. Veilgaurd looks even worse, even more marvelified than inquisition. Awful.
Dragon Age II opening music is amazing.
Amazed how much they did well in just less than 2 years.
The game was mediocre at best.
@adeptdamage3669 It has a lot of good but yeah the game was a crash landing that's for sure
That is the problem right there, SOUL.
When the original creators are long gone and it is "just a product"
It makes you feel SAD.
In their defense i loved DA2 and the small Scale of one City with The Family Dynamic and how You loose some of them while climbing up The Social ladder. Also the focus on Mages and their Dangerous Abilitys was interesting to see.
throwing in Raphael's theme as soon as you start talking about EA works way too well XD
1.3k follows and this high level of both narrative and editing quality is simply baffling. I was genuinely impressed. Also, thanks for acknowledging the rough gem that DA 2 is and what it potentially could have been. So here is a plus one for the algorithm.
casey has his own studio now, developing a scifi game.
Exodus, right?
This is genuinely another masterpiece. Your attention to detail and abilities as storyteller is fucking insane. Incredibly sorry to hear about your day job but I have fingers crossed that this world is just and that your production talents are able to be put to use full time!
I agree.I knew all this already since I was a Bioware fan since Origins was released.Then I went back and bought Baldurs Gate later on.But this is a fine rendition of how events went about. Very well done.
but i loved inquisition
24:55 That's not unique, that's just the Warp from Warhammer Fantasy & 40k
Which is in turn the Realms of Chaos from Michael Moorcock's Multiverse/Eternal Champion series.
Wow, that's a really exciting video. I'm glad TH-cam recommended your channel.
Your level of humour deserves more subscriptions
hell yessss. ive been waiting for the next video essay from you man. there are so many games & series that i would love to see u do vid essays for man, so im excited for the future of your content. you do excellent work here, with matty, and lsm. cheers 🖤
Mark Darrah agreed to put his name for the quality of the game for a few bucks, he is broke probably so thats why. Bioware is dead for 10 years, if u expect something out of them u will be disappointed. EA have never treat dragon age with respect even at its highest, they dont give a damn otherwise we would already get remakes. We have got other remakes like Dead space instead. We need to move on, every big studio started somewhere and we arent gonna get anything from big ones. Bioware or Bethesda, ubisoft, blizzard or even CDPR. TES 6 will be trash as was starfield, Witcher 4 will be woke trash, because they cannot make people feel offended. It is whar it is, people coping for far too long, indies are the future
why is CDPR randomly catching strays?
This video makes me hate EA above all else. How the mighty have fallen, what a shame.
Great video. Im looking forward to seeing more and its a shame that you've only got 2 videos st the moment.
Just played through them all. I like them all, even da2 is definitely the weakest, still don’t find it to be absolute garbage. And dai is still one of my favorite games in general
After dragon age 2 something changed , people hate them so much... maybe it broke something inside. And it was great game and great adventure . Dragon age 2 had spirit and bioware atmosphere
It's because people wanted a direct sequel to origins that they knew they weren't getting because either your warden died or they are trying to find a cure and have either found it and settled down or died trying. That last part is TBD but the story for the Warden was over at the end of origins
People should hate less and play more. It's all because of those TH-cam videos that leech on making clout around games. 🥲
Every Dragon Age feels like a entirely new game and not a sequel, that's the problem. There's no unique traits to the series, because every fricking game they change the art style, the combat, etc. They say it's to appeal to the modern audience, but who is this audience? If we ever get another game after Veilguard they will probably change everything else again instead of improving and making things consistent. I honestly wouldn't recommend this series for none of my friends, because there's no quality control and every game is a different things.
Art style maybe but that’s has been explained to technically limitations interviews but the art theme has always been the same unlike veil guard it’s very colorful and saturated. An the other clothes look very French / drag queen looking which to me is a completely different art theme for the last 3 games I don’t really like but whatever honestly you know lol.
The problem I have with the game from what people are saying it’s not going to continue with follow solas and what he is doing and to have all the crazy world building from the last 3 games and then no open world man… I just don’t know to be real with you
I loved origins and inquisition and number 2 I really enjoy it’s just all the copy and paste POI’s hurt the game for me when I was younger
I hope they release all the Dragon Age games for PS5, I would love to play all of them with the same save the way I did with Mass Effect.
Great video, bro!
There all backwards compatible with the new Xbox's
"Guys, it's not video games, it's drugs, I swear!" - young Lockmort. The fact BioWare has abandoned the Origins system is baffling, it is one of the most unique mechanics in RPGs to date and has not been replicated quite in the same way by ANYONE. Cyberpunk and BG3 kinda do something similar, but the problem is that neither of them quite have their "Origins" interwoven with the main narrative in the same way. BG3 gets really close with Dark Urge, but unfortunately that's just one origin, all the others are not custom, but specific characters.
The Origins were all specific backgrounds that are NOT changable, to a set custom character though. The backgrounds in BG3 don't go near this point - they DO give you certain skills if your class doesn't get them. That's it. Whoopideedo da.
* The Dark Urge I wish people would stop fucking talking about = Canonically in D&D lore the character SHOULD NOT exist. Abdel was the LAST Bhallspawn; and Bhall is canonically RETURNED in BG3 - so there is NO DARK URGE!!! (The rite that brought Bhall back REQUIRED ALL of his bhallspawn to DIE. They did = there is no further reason to create MORE Bhallspawn because Bhall isn't likely to let anyone murder him again. Ever. If not any time soon)
Cyberpunk had the chance - and if they'd stuck to the ORIGINAL plan of design maybe they would have... but instead they retconned the "Iconic" out of one of the more noteable (over-rated/over-used) characters in the table top = and fucked over what made him memorable as a CAUTIONARY tale in the first place. To do this, they overpaid an actor, focused WAY too much on him and sliced out just about every actual RPG element, to the point they couldn't even legally call it an RPG anymore. It's an action adventure game now. Yipee.
Devs these days can barely be bothered to actually program a genuine RPG. Nevermind a functional game that has "elements." That's why we haven't gotten anything like Dragon Age Origins in a LONG TIME. That's why Baldur's Gate 3 (Which SHOULD NOT be titled that - and frankly is JUST Divinity Original Sin with D&D 5e slapped on it like a cheap coat of paint) "blew everyone's minds" [Let's all nevermind that they literally had a blog post that showed everyone exactly how the sausage was made at every fucking step - so if you watched all of that there's damned near no point in buying it in the first place, and the dice roll system is so borked for checks they literally had to fix it with "kharmic" dice. Which still don't work in your favor more often than not]
* I was one of the 88% buddy = and IF they'd stuck to the original game's formula with actual improvements; no one would have complained. At all. Origins even with it's own slate of problems, is still objectively the BEST game in the franchise. Instead it's Fortnite: Dragon Age edition, with DEI everything, for no reason. (Other than the bullshit check box requirements that EVERY creative media awards system has hand-fisted in, to literally kill the entire reason they exist in the first place: You can't be "creative" with a big assed checklist of 'you must do X' you CEO Dipshits!)
@@TheRavenShadowsWolfwe get it you dont actually play a lot ot crpgs so youre mad the only one that got publicity wasnt actually that good at being an rpg and is better at being an imsim-lite
Go play rogue trader
Wow lockmort 👍
This one of the greatest TH-cam Documentary I seem, this Video just hook me and entertaining had to watch it to the end.
Got urges to play old Bio Ware games.
Please keep making more video like this 👏👏👏
Nice video.
I dont think they have the guts to do the Dragon Age lore any justice. I also didn't finish Inquisition or play Trespasser, so I dont really care about the setup for the story.
I dont think the writers in most modern games, have what it takes to deliver like DAO an DA2 did. They are too worried about getting canceled, to write stories that go to the dark places that Origins and 2 did. And the more I hear about Veilguard, the more I loose interrest in the game.
No Tactical view in combat.
Only 2 companions at a time, that you can't control.
A giant sprawling skill tree with mostly small skill buffs instead of abilities that makes you rethink your strategies.
Level 50 level cap. (Just why?! Sound like Quantity over Quality.)
A mission based structure. (It worked in Mass Effect 2, but I dont really see it for Dragon Age.)
And still, after 15 years, for the return of the series, still no player character origin. (From what I have seen, they only play lipservice to the concept.)
I hope I'm wrong of course, but I dont have much hope, nor hype.
Veilguard will essentially be the best parts of all 3 games rolled into 1. The mission based map is a combination of origins and 2 which both did very well with. The dialogue wheel is from 2 which takes a bit of getting used to because that's what forms your characters personality. They took the combat from DA2 and dai and made it more stylish and there is an explanation on why there's one 2 companions and 3 abilities per person if you look and read that one article titled something like "you can't handle it" which was just a title to get rage bait in. Dragon age has always been about the story and we all know they're amazing at that, so I say give it a chance
@@elissahe2377 Their writing team is not the same as it was 15 years ago. Only Mary Kirby, Lukas Kristjanson and Sheryl Chee, are on the writing team from the first 2 games in the series. And after Inquisition and Mass Effect Andromeda, I dont really see it going in the direction of DAO or DA2.
Call me a purist, but I just cant get excited about this game.
But I hope you will enjoy it, since you seem to have a more positive outlook on the changes made to the combat.
@@christiankaiser3885 If your concern is the writing, there's an audio drama that they're releasing episodes every week and it's actually amazing. It's about a girl named Nadia and she's hunting down the dreadwolf for what happened to her fiance Elio and along the way, she's running into the companions that will be in veilguard. It's got so many more people excited to come back every week to listen
@@elissahe2377 From what I have seen, in the trailers, it looks like the story has a good chance of still holding up, but I am definitely not sure how well the Mass Effect style of combat is going to transfer over to Dragon Age
Yea the story looks repulsively feminine the definition of soft modern, they turned a dark fantasy into soft modern slop. Took away all the tactics from the combat and dumbed it down to a toddlers level. Also the dialogue shown so far is absolute and utter trash.
What happened? They hired people that no longer wanted to make games for an audience... but for themselves. Just look at the narcissistic people investing every hobby nowadays. All they ever talk about is how they made the IP "Their own" and how they allways wanted to see themselves "represented" in these games and now finaly got what they wanted.
These freaks arent interested in anything but themselves. Thats why so many of these "diverse and inclusive" games are utter garbage.. cause they are made for no one except the game director and their in company clique of chosen ones.
It breaks my freaking heart that they really probably DID want to make Dragon Age as an action RPG. I didn't realise their first ever games were action games. Ugh. That explains why Darrah is so incredibly scathing of the mechanics of Origins now that he's back in the BioWare team. I feel kind of like I've been catfished by a fucking video game studio lol. 😔
Honestly, the marketing of DA:V is giving me whiplash. It looks terrible!! Oh no, wait, it looks ok... oh no wait, that's really concerning... Oh, nope, it looks OK... Oh sweet jesus the mage combat looks awful!!... oh, but the ROGUE looks good... oh wait, there are BUTTON COMBOS??? FFS that's horrible for keyboard users... I just can't anymore. Darrah and Corrine have made it abundantly clear that they don't want CRPG players in their customer base, and they apparently always wanted DA to be an action game. That's all I needed to hear. There are studios who actually WANT my money, so I'll go to them. 😞 🤷
Yeah, DA:V is just a mess of Particle Effects that are just different Colors for Spells. I am sure it will be a pretty decent Action Game when it comes to Melee, after all its pretty clear they are going with a Souls Like Game. For a Series that started as a CRPG, its just not what I am looking for in DA.
I much prefer it just being an action game that might or might not work rather than the abomination that was inquisition where it was just pretending to be an rpg but had the worst of both genres.
I'm gonna wait until after launch before I decide to buy it or not. I want to see if the trainwreck goes beyond the character creator, weird art style, and ugly characters.
How are you catfished by a studio making one game that ISN'T an action RPG?
Every game they've done since Mass effect 1 has played pretty similarly other than origins. Hell, the initial plots of dragon age and mass effect are pretty samey with the grey wardens and spectres being functionally identical.
@ReaperCet I dont know if you just did follow Bioware before ME and DA, but your forgetting all the Star Wars Games they made as well.
Also when Origins came out they made a big deal about bringing back CRPG's, and that their Focus was PC at the time because of this.
You cant blame Fans for expecting them to keep making them, when it was what they had become known for until ME2 and DA2.
I absolutely loved DA:O, but with every game they made afterwards, it strayed further and further away from it.
Just a couple of examples would be to compare the spell "Fireball" in DA:O with the one in DA:2. One is basically a bomb, while the other is a wet fart.
The other is the ability to configure your companions' behavior. In DA:O, I could basically program the behavior of my companions to handle almost any situation, and it was great! That ability has shrunk with every single game forward, ending up with what we see in DA:VG.
DA:I was okay, and by okay, I mean a solid 5/10, when comparing to other games.
Also, I have nothing against inclusion and diversity, for as long as they makes sense. Game of Thrones was a brilliant example of how to include people of different ethnicities, because it was explained well within the story. It made sense.
Overwatch is another great example of how to add diversity and have it make logical sense, as their heroes comes from all over the world. And they even point out where in the world the different heroes come from.
A bad example would be Rings of Power, where every set of people have the same amount of diversity. As if they took inspiration from New York. And Dragon Age: Veilguard appears to follow the same trend.
I think the most civilized way to act as a consumer, is to be honest, but avoid insults, when sharing your opinion on a topic. And to vote with your money.
I don't think my vote will go to Dragon Age: Veilguard. I gave DA:2 a chance, and I was disappointed. I gave DA:I a chance, and I was let down. I won't be making the same mistake with DA:VG.
Apart from that, great video and I hope you have a nice day.
Dragon Age Inquisition was the reason I played Origins. And after playing Origins, no other game ever made me happier, even BG3. Origins has something magical, something special in it. Veilguard looks very promising. Of course I have my doubts but, as you said in the end we have reasons to hope.
I hope Dragon Age never dies.
That’s crazy, I just played origins first time this year and it’s for sure fun but nah I can’t lie it’s not as amazing as BG3 but to each their own for sure
@@gnarlyboyjai I played it before BG3 during 2023 January. Narrative, story and lore-wise DAO has more depth. It’s more realistic because David Gaider created it to be so. Bg3’s story is not that exciting. I’ve spent many hours in bg3 btw, I also played dos2 twice and I love Larian’s both works. But as I said, Dragon Age is deeper and better when it comes to story and narrative. Also musics better in DAO.
Sorry, man, but it's already dead. What they're about to launch is a generic Hack n' Slash cartoony fortnite clone wearing DA's skin
How can you say there's hope after looking at those ugly quanris and the soft modern look, the monsters don't even look menacing. It's all so soft and feminine it's almost repulsive
@bungouyevsky the company is dead best to get it now, but I agree about the bg take tho. The companions in bg3 got completely ruined by the decision to make it "inclusive" by removing everything but hyper sexual companions that try to get with anyone. We will never get an allistar or anders or a Garrus or wrex with this system since sexuality isn't just a part of someone's larger identity and character but now the only defining trait that matters according to the modern audience and for the vast majority of people forcing unwanted advances stops them from using them as party members
I am the minority here, but no other DA game made me as happy as DA2. A perfect mix of characters, tight story and a location that really grows on you. Even DAO didn't make me feel this way. I cannot explain it, but my feelings tell me this game was made by people who loved it, even though it was rushed.
Exactly 💯
DA2 decided to explore an actual conflict within the world of Thedas (Templar-mages), something almost never seen in any RPG before. Hawke is not a chosen one, he is not the saviour of the world, but just a guy-girl trying to survive and protect her-his family. It was a more intimate story and ilustrated how social phenomena many times cannot be prevented by individuals, no matter how great they are.
I wish DA2 had a proper development time instead of the 2 years time limit given by EA.
@@malindrayy I'm with you there, the writing stood head and shoulders above Origins in both story and companions, and Kirkwall was a more compelling location than any of the fantasy by number Origin locations.
If only the asset reuse wasn't absolutely crushing to deal with by mid game and the combat an utter horror show, but for the vibes and general memorable bits all these years later, DA2 was the peak.
@@jonanderetxebarria9944 Origins is my fav but DA2 is special to me. I have such warm feelings when I think of it because it has such great characters and you're right! It gave us such a great look into Thedas on a smaller scale.
@@ellycridland9380What is this writing everyone is saying about? In every game there are interesting and less interesting companions. Classic core Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana - can't be any better. Personally like Sten and his interactions with party were funny.
With Dragon Age 2 those were Anders, Aveline, Varric + Hawke sibling.
Inquisition - Cassandra, Varric (the man), Solas (the myth). In my opinion the most interesting from side companions was Dorian, probably because he's from Tevinter and it's like the most anticipated place too know more about in Thedas.
I grew up playing all these games. The nostalgia is so strong with this video. Great job Lock.
Bioware pushed out it's golden team in favor of it's modern audience chasing team. I agree the environments seem to look like they pay homage to a previous title mainly Dragon Age Inquisition Trespasser DLC. The character design of franchise favorites however look androgynous; there is a distinct lack of beauty especially when compared to previous titles in genre. Bioware is pushing their ESG,DEI and BRIDGE agenda. You are far to high on copium to see the truth, the emotionless faces shown in the trailers when interacting with Rook already give flash backs to Mass Effect Andromeda. Lets stick to facts Bioware now is no longer in the same league as Larian. Larian actually listens to their communities they adjust based on that feedback. Bioware doesn't they would rather just walk away from their failures. You can't blame it all on EA this Dragon Age The Veilguard is directed at the modern audience Game Director Corinne Busche has already shown their cards in the IGN Interview going as far as to push Taash romance the non binary androgynous companion. Why!!! Well it's quite simply the gamers do not like the character design instead of changing it Bioware would rather double down pushing their own virtue signaling agenda for the modern audience.
This. I find it strange that the androgynous character designs aren't mentioned... Veil Guard designs is a far cry from the days of Bastila Shan and Miranda. Or just normal guys like Carth Onasi.
@@TheWaterDragon_91 Not really sure what your trying to emphasise here with your comment? The woke ideology is being pushed both by Corrie Bushe and IGN shills, they are having to draw attention to Taash the one companion all the audience don't like . Western studios are stripping beauty out of games to try to avert the male gaze. They are trying to sell this as something which helps women, most women love seeing beauty and don't want it stripped out of their favorite franchises. This is straight up virtue signaling It's really for the trans community, The trans community feel inferior when comparing themselves to the real beauty of real women. They know deep down they can never truly emulate that beauty and sex appeal. No amount of plastic surgery or pro-nouns will change the scientific fact your a male pretending to be a female.
Carth Onasi, nicknamed Fleet, was a famous Human male soldier 2003
Bastila Shan, a Human female, was a legendary Jedi Master 2003
Miranda is a potential romantic interest for a male Commander Shepard 2009
These character designs you mention were designed by the Old Guard Bioware they knew there was no such thing as pro-nouns it was male and female; how gamers were born you know based on scientific fact not woke ideology especially not a mental patients perspective
Even though the software from these two early titles are from the real Bioware it is ancient software compared to the latest software from the woke EA/Bioware you can still clearly tell the difference between male and female so they are not androgynous the females clearly show femininity and sexuality in every way; from the way they walk, run, stand and mannerisms. I mean you just have to look at the difference of Morrigan in Dragon Age: Origins (2009) The steamy sultry female witch of the wilds who was full busted and sexy - to the Dragon Age The Veilguard (2024) flat chested androgynous non sultry she/her pandering to the trans modern audience who hate to be remined they have no real femininity and sexuality they can't they're still really men playing dress up no matter what pro-noun they label themselves with.
EA never listens to the fans and things won't change unless EA sells BioWare which is unlikely. Or Andrew Wilson left EA and was replaced by a competent CEO. If Veilguard fails EA is more likely to close the studio . A dream would be Larian buying Bioware from EA after EA decided they didn't want to keep the studio but that would never happen. Buying Bioware even if by some miracle EA would be willing to sell would be a financial bridge too far for Larian. I would advise against it as it would likely require a large loan and/or a much larger investment from tencent and that could put Larian in financial jeopardy. Another possibility is XBOX/MS buying Bioware but with MS demanding XBox repay the 78 billion they spent on their previous acquisitions I doubt MS would be inclined to say yes to such a deal if EA put Bioware up for sale which I think is unlikely. EA would rather close it if Veilguard fails and there is a strong chance Veilguard will fail imo.
"Lets stick to facts"
also you "bioware is pushing their esg, dei and bridge agenda".
No normal person cares about this. Only the grifttubers actually give a fuck about this.
@@ANGRYWOLVERINE2060-ft2nc It'S not just EA anymore. The Biowere is infiltrated by woke activists even if EA sold the company nothing would change.
What a great video! Great and focused narration!
I have never played a bioware game, but your video has me intrigued. Great job lock, absolutely amazing retrospective!
Not only do I very much appreciate your summary of the history, a lot of which I was unaware of, but you exactly articulate my feelings toward each of these games. Bravo, sir!
In particular, I kept saying to people that DA:I felt like a single-player MMORPG, and people acted like I was crazy.
I strongly disagree with your conclusions, but I hope you're right.
Blaming only consoles for the problems with Dragon Age overlooks a bigger issue: the infiltration of certain DEI-driven agendas into entertainment, which has contributed to a decline in the quality of games, especially story-driven RPGs. This shift prioritizes surface-level representation over the rich storytelling, character depth, and world-building that once defined the genre, ultimately diluting the overall experience for longtime fans.
I have been a big fan of Dragon Age, Mass Effect, the Old Republic, and BioWare for a long time. I didn’t know the full sad story of their downfall. But I waited so long for this and they are spitting on the grave of those before them.
This is an EXCELLENT overview! Thank you.
I love your video style! Do you only have two videos or are the others hidden?
Hey man, thanks! So far, only 2, but I have a couple over on Retro Rebound as well: th-cam.com/video/hwxby3W0fFQ/w-d-xo.html
Hell yeah, True Detective and Dragon Age in one video. I'm one of the grouchy old dudes that still adores Origins above everything else, but that's definitely because of nostalgia. Veilguard looks awful, tone-deaf and the endpoint of quirky OC, Critical Role-era RPGs, but there's nothing wrong with other people being excited for it. And if you enjoy it, great... but personally I stopped paying attention even before Andromeda.
When I heard in this video that you made a wasteland three video I immediately subscribed. You're talking about bioware games and wasteland 3 sold.
I love these long essay videos however to help grow your channel I would suggest making five to ten minute videos So you can be in the algorithm more often.
Sorry for you losing your job but the maker works in mysterious ways.
Great content and keep going 👍🏿
what went wrong? strict timelines, and one of the dumbest decision they could have made, to change the artstyle and dumbing down gameplay between 1 and 2 so dramatically. which probably also was influenced by those time restrictions. If you look at how much time goes by between even sorry made DLC content, the guys at Bioware at the time put out DAO, and not even a year later they pushed out a full fledged addon to that, which was easily another 20-30 hours worth of content, and not just bad dlc content but actual quality stuff. And just a year later they already released Dragon Age 2, which was FAR from ready. And it absolutely showed, and those of us who were around for it, were pretty much baffled as to why they did it in the way they did...
Thats such a great and emotional analysis! Awesome! One of the best videos in a long time.
Even with its obvious problems caused by lack of time, DA2 is my favorite of that series. I find the combat fine. The reuse of locations is absolutely criminal. But the characters, man. The character writing and voice acting keep me coming back to 2 again and again. Absolutely top tier. On the level of mass effect 2's companions, even though there are fewer of them.
Very good work, I did not tought I could learn so much about Bioware that i already knew. I'm surprised you didn't mention Drew Karpishyn writing. But for myself I have absolutely no faith in Bioware anymore. I guess we will know soon
What went wrong? They created a masterpiece then EA games "fked up everything" happened and make another 2 garbage with live service and launcher that doesn't work.
What an amazing video. Kept me concentrated on it for a full hour with ease.
I have to say couple of things about the upcoming dragon age tho. As every old bioware/da fan, I too would love nothing more then bioware to return to what they used to be, or rather make something good of their current situation. The problems come when you realize that the company is just another corporation built with the purpose of making money. At least that's the expectation. And to do this, if you're a CEO, you need to hire people who are capable of building you something based on a framework/concept, like a patent for success, but you can't pay them too much money since you want to maximize profit, so you need to get people who are just capable enough to go through the steps but not masters of their craft so that you need to actually pay them. Slap ontop of that couple of familiar faces which will give hope to people who are fans of their previous work to increase sales. Hire DEI for more investment with no returns money from blackrock and vanguard. And you end up with a company with people who are barely capable to producing something that they have a blueprint of, half of the company are DEI who are there just to leech the money or push political propaganda and couple of big names who are there to push the marketing of the game. This is the reason why we're getting 1 good game in a blue moon from AAA companies. And even tho I'd love nothing more then to play a good game released in a new day and age, from a western studio that is, I know that those times are over and we're deep into the darkness of the current empire for games to be able to be made with love and passion of their predecessors.
Hope does die last, but with the western propaganda pushing and oppression, even towards eastern games, where they are being sabotaged if they create, for example, a beautiful female character, that hope is far at the bottom of Pandoras' box while the rest of the box is still filled with too much darkness.
Dude Great Video. I love the long history lesion! good stuff cant wait for more.
This video kinda depressed me lmao. RIP Bioware
Great video tho!
This is a great video, you perfectly combine facts with humor, thank you.
Man DA2 was really special despite their circumstances. I'd argue the companions were the best of the 3. Even Origins. The story was great for its smaller scope (maybe that helped). Not as epic as 1 but alot of really memorable moments.
yeah i dont know, anders collecting dragon dodo in the sewers to make a military grade explosive was beyond anything in Origins 1.
I liked the fact that it wasnt anoter ancient evil that you have to defeat in order to save the world scenario.
But the ending was cheapened by the fact that the main villain was "corrupted" by that dwarven artifact or whatever.....
But the qunari plotline was better then anything that Inquisition ever did......
So for me its 1,2,................................................................................3
I think the DA:O companions were better (I mean, how can you top the trio of Morrigan, Alistair, and Leliana?), but DA:2 did a lot right. I especially loved Aveline and Isabella's relationship. But to me what DA:2 did best was develop Hawke as a person. Because you get these vignettes from across their life, you can feel them develop as a person - at least I did. And it makes it feel like you, a nobody, had a real tangible effect on the world, even if you weren't overtly trying to.
WHat a great video! I felt all kinds of emotions during it and ended on sadness but hope. I really hope Bioware doesn't let us down.
Love this video my friend
*The Hero Ferelden smashes Darkspawn in anger upon hearing the news about Veilguard*
"They're not using me again!"
That's fine with me, tbh. In my head cannon, Sylvania Mahariel answered her Calling prematurely around the events of Veilguard because not only did she felt like she was no longer needed as the Hero of Ferelden, but because she had grown increasingly despondent over the two decades to the point of being suicidal without her deceased lover Tamlen and the rest of her tribe being her rock in this crazy world of Thedas and decided to go down fighting as a proud Dalish Huntress. Meanwhile, my Wilhelm Hawke is currently chilling in a tropical forest with Merrill building a new Dalish tribe and my Lavellan Inquisitor is hunting down Solas to kill him because she deems him an ancient threat (no different from Corypheus) to everyone, including elves.
Meh he's to busy banging morrigan and rebuilding house cousland anyways, THEY SHOULD have brought him back in DAI since the villain in that is the reason the darkspawn and blights exist but noooo we get the lame ass inquisitor.
@@delta2372 Bioware should've made an option where the Hof or the Champion could've potentially been the Inquisitor through imported saves since they both disappeared towards the end of DA2. Such a wasted golden opportunity there.
@@prestonprice-eo1xq wanna hear something funny? so originally bioware wanted to make the DA2 protagonist into fantasy commander shepard because it's quite obvious by the end of 2 they had something very important set up for him and they wanted hawk to be the protagonist for inquisition and this upcoming game, since DA2 failed they decided to try and save some face with the BS revolving protagonist policy.
The idea you just proposed where you can import one of the characters from origins or 2 (let's be honest we'd all just be using the grey warden anyways since no one gives a shit about the DA2 cast, people only like Isabella because she's a big titty dark skinned pirate girl) is a fantastic idea that I wish bioware thought of.
It's a shame that this series fell flat after it's first entry because the lore and world building of dragon age could have made this be a serious competitor and alternative to the elder scrolls games.
Featuring clips of the booger (also known as Tipples the clown) was a stroke of genius.
DAMN YOU FOR MAKING THIS BEFORE ME. It's great and spot on. I think your faith is misplaced. I think Bioware has lost to much of it's talent to make Vielguard a win. I will gladly be wrong. But don't think I will be. Still a great video.
Kind of obvious what went wrong. PC master race developers surrendered to console exclusivity deals. QED
I was planning to listen to this at work, but I'm glad I sat down and watched it instead. The visual gags are hilarious. Great work, Lock. You did miss a great opportunity to dig up Colin's infamous Mass Effect 3 IGN video, though. Just sayin!
This guy made awesome Essay video but he like many other people or reviewers never talk about repugnant CHARACTER DESIGNS and CRINGE DIALOGUES + DEI ~
10:03 Casey Hudson
10:16 Three choices
Oh no, I see a pattern forming...
They truly sold their soul to the devil... I really miss the BioWare of the good old days. And im still waiting for Kotor 3...
we cant even get KOTOR 1/2 remasters cuz of DEI subversion.
wait until you learn that minorities and women have been getting hired for generations before the latest grifter buzzword.
@@bryymiller2475 That isn't what they're talking about. Woke in media is tokenism. It's not made with the intent to have a good story but rather a checklist for virtue signaling.
@@IgnoreMeImWrong right iwngers can;t even agree on what "woke" is anymore because, unfortunately, reality has a liberal bias. They've moved on to DEI as the new buzzword.
Great job with this video! 👍🏻
I am confused, Dragon age Inquisition was the winner of the game of the year. Many people love it.
watching this after the actual launch makes me sad.
Holy shit. That intro with Rustin Cohle was chilling...
I love the amount of research and passion you show in your videos, and the wit that never distracts or takes away from the point being made. I, frankly, do not share your faith in Veilguard's debut; even if it is good, it's too little too late. We've seen a decade without BioWare being at the frontlines, and while they've been reeling, other studios have taken up the mantle with aplomb. There is little in Veilguard I see that's really worthy of the moniker of a real RPG; it looks like a prettier Dragon Age II, which has next to nothing I love from the franchise. A decade waiting for a follow-up to Inquisition's DLC only for the former namesake to be shelved in favor of a 'witty,' corny, quirky cast is not a good look, and even without that, the grit and soul of Origins has long been fleeting.
Hey the graveyard called, it wants you to crawl back inside the hole you crawled out and never resurface again.
I absolutely loved DA:O, beat it at least 4 times! I hope Veilguard can pull it off.
I’ve been hesitant to play Baulder’s Gate 3. Even though I loved DA:O, Divinity 2: OS kicked my ass so quickly out the gate, I tucked my tail and ran as fast as I could, so BG3 has me a little gun shy
Do it if you love DAO this is the best thing since it. I consider it to be what DA always was supposed to be
I love Dragon Age Origins. It was one of the first games i ever owned myself. It, Red Dead Redemption, and AC2 were my very first games when i got my first console (the original Xbox 360).
I loved it to no end. I constantly replayed it, findinf every single variance to your choices to the point now i can skip through every line of Dialogue and still know everything that was said.
I remember talking to my friends, asking if they had heard about Dragon Age before. I remember them all asking what it was and me feeling let down by that.
Then came DA2. It was good. I enjoyed it. Not nearly as much as Origins but i found it a good game to "hold me over". Then Inquisition released. I will admit i didnt like it at first. Its very slowly grown on me though, although i dislike parts of it to this day. Especially since it practically forces your character to worship the Maker no matter how much you refuse.
Now with Veilguard on the horizon...i dont even know if i want to buy it. I enjoy the Dragon Age games, none as much as i do Origins, but...theyre still good games in my eyes. Not perfect like Origins, but good. A solid 6 or 7 out of 10.
I can only pray Veilguard wont further ruin the game series i fell in love with
Neverwinter night mentioned. The fact the multiplayer was alive and well even before the release of the emhanced edition says it all
I came for Lockmort but I stayed for Boogie
It's criminal you only have 1k subs
I'm so waiting for Exodus with James Ohlen at the helm of the game. Free of the turd that is EA. The original BW will always be my favourite Studio. Will agree that DA2 was excellent, especially the writing, which saved the game for me. DA:I man, that game is a turd.
Funny video. Agree with your critique too. I subbed.
The Boogie clips are *chefs kiss*
you will be very disappointed
Dragon age has always kind of been the underdog at this point the game just needs to come out.
Thank you for this amazing hour long journey!!!
What Went Wrong?
Button! Awesome!
Quite the fan of DA2 despite its issues, i really wish it had had been given a reasonable development time to allow for better environments. But the smaller scale combined with time skips where you see the long term consequences of your choices is great.
I have my doubts about Veilguard and certainly won't pre-order it in a million years but I'm willing to give it a chance and see what people are saying after release. I have heard some good things from creators who were able to play some of it at events particularly about the fact that there are player choices that carry heavy consequences for your companions. However, it'll be hard for me to get over my dislike of the aesthetic, it all seems like over-the-top high fantasy with floating buildings and giant glowing portals which is a big departure from the fairly gritty and grounded setting of Origins and 2. The models have weird cartoony proportions with big heads and the colour palette is very disney/marvel and i don't just mean the attack animations but the whole UI itself is bright and cluttered and immersion breaking :/
But, i really do like the franchise and it's lore, i've even played the TTRPG, so hopefully the writing is good enough to get passed all that, and maybe there will be mods to tone it down a bit eventually too?
Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age 2 really was great because I actually loved how choices actually mattered and all the beautiful atmosphere i truly felt it could of been a reflection of real life magic lore ... but unfortunately Kingdoms of Amalar was better than anything after that i loved amalar too of course
BG3 is honestly going to eat the lunch of every fantasy RPG that comes out for a while. I see it becoming the next Skyrim, a game that just keeps being played and modded and loved for a decade or more. Baldur's Gate 3 proved that every excuse and "trend" that AAA studios have been pushing for ages now... are bullshit. Single-player, offline games with zero microtransactions or in-game stores absolutely CAN still dominate. Listening to players (real ones, not social media activists) and implementing what they want... DOES pay off and brings success to the game.
I was in the early access for BG3 from the very first day it was available, and I watched the game evolve. They were actually listening and engaging with players the entire time they were developing the game. Making changes based on what the community wanted. Seeing the bits that weren't landing and then taking them out. It really has been a much needed breath of fresh air in an industry that has had all of it's air spoiled with fetid rot.
I loved Dragon Age Origins and feel it was one of the best RPGs ever made. I was disappointed by Dragon Age 2 but still saw it as above average and somewhat enjoyable even with the negative changes from the first game. Dragon Age Inquisition had good points but all in all it was a slog to get through, finishing it was an act of determination rather than joy. I doubt I'll bother with Dragon Age The Veilguard based on what I've seen and read, down the road if I hear different I may reconsider but I have so little faith in "modern" game devs I doubt it would be worth my time.
people who hate videogames and videogame culture gained complete creative control of the series from DA2 onwards
I also have faith. When it comes to large entertaining trash-fires, modern BioWare just don't miss. Super hyped to watch the Vailguard one.
I'm a simple man, I see Lock drop a new video I watch, comment, like and subscribe 💪
Dragon Age Inquisition was pretty good. Not nearly as good as Origins, but I'd give it at least an 8. The cracks were starting to show, but it was a lot of fun.
Excellent video, thanks!
I loved Dragon Age, both 1 and 2. The sequel had its issues, to be sure, but that was mostly in the reused locations. In terms of gameplay, a simple fight against a pair of ogres became one of the most memorable experiences I've had in all my years of gaming. If they released a new game like either of these two, it would make me very happy. Unfortunately, I've seen the glory of Mass Effect get subverted into ME2, and continued its decline into ME3. I gave up on Inquisition after discovering it was a single-player MMO, and not in the way SWTOR should have been. When I gave Anthem a chance, it turned out to be even worse than expected. These days, the name Bioware does not inspire confidence. If they announced a Jade Empire 2, I would be devastated by the horrors we would inevitably see.
So I can't see any hope whatsoever for DA4. As a best case scenario, it would be Dragon Age Andromeda. Insufferable characters, nonsensical story, atrocious worldbuilding with no regard for the setting... and gameplay mechanics that I can't call good, but that are strangely compelling. Unfortunately, everything I've seen implies this will be Inquisition 2 instead. When the benchmarks for quality are the worst Mass Effect game and the worst Dragon Age game, both of which are part of the series in name only, I can't agree with your optimism. I hope we get something halfway decent, but at this point I'd be just as happy if the entity calling itself Bioware finally got the EA treatment. They had a good run, and deserve to rest in peace.