The Dragon Age franchise from BioWare is iconic and fantasy fans first fell in love when we became the Warden and fought off the Blight in Dragon Age: Origins. We later became Hawke in Dragon Age II and eventually became the Inquisitor that had to clean up the mess from the “oh shit” moment at the end of the second game. All three games have charm, but the second game was massively rushed which led to repetitive environments and a shorter than expected narrative. Because of that, reviews were Not Good.
When I first played Dragon Age II I felt empty. I beat it, and like everyone else – I was shocked at the ending. But I didn’t relate to Hawke the way I did with my Warden and that left me heartbroken. But, I kept seeing a pocket of the DA fandom alight with passion for the characters so I dove into another playthrough to shake things up to see if maybe my choices led to the disconnect. Turns out, they did.
I first opted to play a female Rogue “blue” Hawke. Blue is diplomatic, which is my preferred playstyle, but little did I know that was the very first thing I did wrong. My second playthrough I went male Mage “purple” which led to some of the most hilarious dialogue options I’ve ever seen, a storyline that means more when playing a mage, and more meaningful character interactions. TLDR: Play purple, no matter what.
In the latest video we did over on our YouTube channel (it’s longer, apologies), but we address major plot points, THAT character betrayal, and the nuance that 90% of players miss out on with their first playthroughs. Without further adieu, here is why Dragon Age 2 doesn’t suck as much as you think and why you should give it another shot:
