Both the games it makes and the reactions surrounding them have become synonymous with the company. The sci-fiRPG Mass Effect is due to get a resurgence within the next couple of years. Dragon Age, the studio's equally beloved fantasy-RPG series, can sometimes be overlooked.
Dragon Age fans have been getting a lot of information about the follow up to Dragon Age Inquisition. The title reveal of the next major entry in the series was the beginning of the month. During Geeked Week, it was revealed that the series is going to be an animated series. Everything is coming up Dragon Age for the time being.
During a time when marines and realistic settings were taking over a lot of mainstream video games, The Witcher 3's success helped the genre get back in favor. The fantasy genre has had a lot of great games in recent years, whether you wanted to be a Monster Hunter, die again and again, or just feel like you're playing D&D, the genre has had a lot of games in recent years. The franchise has become lost in the shuffle as a result of Dragon Age being too early in the game's life cycle, and the fact that Inquisition came out just a few months ahead of the other game.
Dragon Age is a really good franchise. There is a lot of that due to the cast and the narratives in the games. The writing for the characters is engaging and there are at least two or three winners in each game. The ones that hit really hit, and the games give you moments to bond with them, romantically or otherwise. I cared about them so much that I made sure they stayed in the group. I enjoyed playing Inquisition so much that I wanted to bring the Iron Bull with me to hear them flirt back and forth. It's worth the price of admission just to listen to everyone trade barbs and see them get along.
Even though Dragon Age II is a bit of a black sheep in the franchise, there is still a soft spot for it. There is a certain charm to the fact that the game is considerably smaller in scale and size compared to its predecessor. The game feels more like a tie-in novel to a larger game when the focus is on the main character, a refugee in Kirkwall. As they rise to power in Kirkwall over the course of a decade, events are all kept squarely on Hawke and their allies, as they are a hero's journey, with an emphasis on "hero" The game had a rocky development, but there are many who have seen it for the hidden gem that it is in the 11 years since its original release.
Dragon Age isn't the last of its kind, and it certainly won't be the last, but it still feels like it's its own. Each game manages to feel like a thrilling fantasy adventure in its own right while remaining character focused, if it isn't the characters and political conflicts they can't completely pull themselves out of. It is the way in which the game indulges in the typical fantasies of its genre, like sitting on a throne to cast judgement, while giving you the relatively unique experience of learning how to navigate through its complicated political world, either on the fly at an important dinner party or at a war
It's possible that Inquisition is too big for its own good in certain areas, and that II isn't as large as it could be. It's fun to grab three of your favorite party members to explore a dungeon or face off against a dragon who you're pretty sure only showed up because someone in the group decided to smack talk. Dragon Age is similar to Mass Effect in that it allows you to use a jar of bees like a grenade or completely ruin the moment of a former friend turned enemy, who decides to repay your rudeness by being equally bitchy.
When we haven't seen a lot of anything from the sequel, it's a small step. It is fun to think about the real information that will be coming in the months leading up to the respective releases. The idea of meeting new people, seeing new places, and hanging out with old friends is more realistic than it has been in a long time. Dragon Age is on it's way back, and I'm excited for it to return, even though I don't like the idea of saying that a franchise is "back" when it hasn't really gone away. It was time to crack that egg.
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