Best Dragon Age games in 2024 - every series entry ranked

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 The Veilguard cardinal creation showing Rook surrounded by statement members
(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Honorable mention: Heroes of Dragon Age (2013)

A screenshot from Heroes of Dragon Age showing 2 opposing sides

(Image credit: EA)

Though discontinued, Heroes of Dragon Age was a strategy-based mobile crippled that re-imagined cardinal moments from nan mounting pinch different characters from crossed nan series. Unfortunately, nan free-to-play crippled was discontinued successful 2022 aft 9 years. However, there’s plentifulness more Dragon Age retired location to enjoy.

The champion Dragon Age games travel successful galore different shapes and sizes. From Dragon Age: Origins in 2009 to Dragon Age: The Veilguard, these imagination role-playing games (RPGs) person changed and evolved pinch nan times. While each title offers different stories and characters, each of them stock a cardinal committedness to weaving gripping imagination tales that’ll immerse you successful nan imagination world of Thedas.

That said, of nan galore gems successful nan Dragon Age crown, immoderate radiance much brightly than others. To thief you find nan very champion acquisition possible, we’ve put together a broad database of nan champion Dragon Age games.

With a bid arsenic iconic arsenic Dragon Age, making specified a database is simply a gangly order. The developers astatine BioWare person offered a wide scope of different experiences complete nan years, making nan titles challenging to compare. The granular, slow-paced combat of Dragon Age: Origins may prosecute fans of much accepted RPGs while disappointing those who are looking for a much cinematic experience. Similarly, nan much intimate, character-driven storyline of Dragon Age 2 is rewarding for fans of ensemble play group successful a azygous metropolis but whitethorn disappoint those looking for much exploration successful their fantasy.

With this successful mind, we’ve put together this database based not connected immoderate thought of an objectively champion Dragon Age game, but, rather, a Dragon Age crippled that astir delivers connected nan committedness of its premise. Every crippled connected this database is, successful its ain way, 1 of nan best RPGs and best communicative games retired there, good worthy playing successful its ain right. However, if you’re looking to find retired which of nan champion Dragon Age games is correct for you, past publication on.

Best Dragon Age games to play successful 2024

Why you tin spot TechRadar We walk hours testing each merchandise aliases work we review, truthful you tin beryllium judge you’re buying nan best. Find retired much astir really we test.

Dragon Age Inquisition dual-wielding characteristic fighting panic demons

(Image credit: BioWare)

5. Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014)

Searching for nan truth

Why we emotion it

Inquisition boasts an exceptional soundtrack from world-class composer Trevor Morris. Thanks to soaring orchestral sounds and moving in-setting people music, your ears are successful for a treat.

Available on: PS5 (backwards compatibility), PS4, PS3, XSX|S (backwards compatibility), Xbox One, Xbox 360, Steam

2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition is an ambitious, world-spanning escapade that thrusts you into nan very bosom of nan acheronian imagination authorities that helps make nan Dragon Age mounting truthful iconic. You play arsenic nan Inquisitor, nan leader of a powerful, pan-national statement tasked pinch stopping an apocalyptic crippled to overrun nan world pinch demons. It’s a gangly order, but you’re joined by nan accustomed cavalcade of beardown supporting characters that you’d expect from a Dragon Age game.

Inquisition is an fantabulous title, but it does creak nether nan weight of its ain ambition astatine times, earning it nan bottommost spot connected our champion Dragon Age crippled list. The RPG’s communicative sections are sublime, but its open-world sections tin consciousness bloated and aimless. That said, nan rewarding main communicative and nan fascinating supporting characters make Inquisition good worthy a try.

What’s more, Inquisition boasts a fast-paced and kinetic combat strategy that maintains a satisfying grade of strategy and subordinate choice. Character customization is excellent, and offers plentifulness of scope for you to create an Inquisitor who reflects you.

Should you prime up Inquisition, we powerfully counsel picking up nan Dragon Age: Inquisition – Trespasser expansion too. It adds a important closing to nan crippled and serves to make Inquisition a much complete experience.

 Origins – Ultimate Edition cardinal creation showing a cloaked woman, pinch warriors successful nan background

(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

4. Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening (2010)

Shadows and secrets

Why we emotion it

Awakening offers tantalizing glimpses into nan mysteries that underpin nan main communicative of Dragon Age: Origins. Fans of lore and worldbuilding are successful for a delight.

Available on: PS3, Xbox 360, Steam

Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening is simply a stand-alone description for Dragon Age: Origins which offers a caller position connected nan events of nan main game. Playing arsenic either a marque caller characteristic aliases your characteristic from Origins proper, you’ll beryllium forced to equilibrium your responsibilities arsenic a Darkspawn-slaying Grey Warden pinch your caller governmental domiciled arsenic nan Arl of Amaranthine.

Awakening complements Origins, offering caller perspectives connected existing characters and situations. For instance, nan formed of supporting characters includes a insignificant characteristic from Origins alongside Anders, a fan-favorite characteristic who goes connected to characteristic arsenic a companion successful Dragon Age 2. Oghren nan drunken dwarf makes a return, too, serving arsenic a cardinal personnel of your statement arsenic he did successful Origins.

This acheronian imagination communicative lives up to nan name, forcing you to make difficult decisions successful nan sanction of nan greater good. The champion Dragon Age games are those which connection nan subordinate agency and nan expertise to style nan wider world arsenic they play. While Awakening focuses connected a mini parcel of nan setting, it does an fantabulous occupation of allowing you to time off your people connected nan world. However you portion it, this description offers a batch much than conscionable quiet fanservice.

A Gray Warden faces disconnected against a DarkSpawn Ogre successful a sinister tower

(Image credit: BioWare)

3. Dragon Age: Origins (2009)

Cool original

Why we emotion it

The last setpiece of Dragon Age: Origins sets a golden modular for RPG finales, offering a wide scope of nail-biting choices and meaningful consequences.

Available on: PS3, Xbox 360, Steam

Inspired by classical RPGs for illustration nan original Baldur’s Gate, Dragon Age: Origins offers real-time top-down combat (which you tin pause) pinch an accent connected strategy complete flair. These much granular mechanics thief waste nan gritty realism of nan acheronian imagination astatine nan bosom of Dragon Age: Origins’ story.

The communicative itself is simply a standout classic. After choosing an ‘origin’ that determines your character’s prologue arc, you’ll beryllium thrust into a warfare against nan Darkspawn, a sinister service of corrupted monsters led by a monolithic dragon known arsenic an Archdemon. To combat nan threat, you’ll request to merge nan disparate factions of nan federation of Ferelden. However, your quest to shape an confederation to conflict nan Darkspawn comes astatine a cost. As you adventure, you’ll beryllium forced to make reliable decisions which will really trial your civilized values. Without spoiling excessively much, these are often much than your accepted video crippled trolley problems and often unit you to wrestle pinch each sorts of (sometimes literal) demons.

Origins besides boasts an exceptional formed of supporting characters, galore of whom went connected to go staples successful nan series. While nan caller companions of Veilguard connection immoderate fantabulous stories of their own, there’s nary substitute for nan acerbic wit of Morrigan nan witch aliases nan adorable sarcasm of Alistair nan Grey Warden.

 The Veilguard dragon stretches its wings arsenic nan protagonist's statement fresh themselves for battle

(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Why we emotion it

Veilguard nails leader conflict setpieces successful a measurement that Dragon Age has often struggled to execute successful its erstwhile iterations. If you’re looking for epic imagination battles, you’re successful nan correct place.

Available on: PS5, XSX|S, PC

The latest summation to nan Dragon Age series, Dragon Age: nan Veilguard is an awesome summation to nan bid which stands enarthrosis to enarthrosis pinch its predecessors. Though nan RPG drops you successful nan heavy extremity erstwhile it comes to lore, Veilguard delivers nan astir polished Dragon Age acquisition to date.

The combat is particularly rewarding, offering a highly customizable real-time strategy that rewards skillful parries and dodges while besides leaving plentifulness of scope for strategy by allowing you to region astatine immoderate time. The execution makes for a fluid and kinetic combat experience, reminiscent of nan Mass Effect series, BioWare’s beloved sci-fi saga.

There’s besides utmost scope for customization erstwhile it comes to designing your characteristic and deciding connected their build successful combat. While nan ample web of nodes connected connection whitethorn beryllium intimidating, nan branching accomplishment trees that constitution Veilguard’s leveling strategy let for meaningful choices. Even nan passive abilities tin radically change your playstyle, offering caller onslaught combos and powerful situational buffs.

While Veilguard’s move toward a much precocious imagination communicative whitethorn dissuade some, its supporting characters are written pinch a consciousness of maturity and depth. Taash’s travel of self-discovery and Bellara’s efforts to reconcile pinch condolences consciousness applicable and personal. The emotive speech bites pinch an separator that you seldom spot successful RPGs.

Dragon Age 2 Hawk utilizing magic

(Image credit: EA/BioWare)

1. Dragon Age 2 (2011)

City of dreams

Why we emotion it

Kirkwall itself often feels for illustration a surviving breathing character. What commencement arsenic intimidating alleyways and seedy backstreets soon go aged friends arsenic you study its nooks and crannies.

Available on: PS3, Xbox 360, Steam

In immoderate ways, Dragon Age 2 feels straight comparable to Veilguard. Both were attempts to amended upon a beloved but flawed predecessor by adding cinematic flair and timeless imagination spectacle. However, contrary to Veilguard, Dragon Age 2 delivers an accessible communicative that, while rewarding for die-hard fans of nan series, is besides welcoming to newcomers.

Dragon Age 2 is simply a classical communicative of rags to riches. Starting arsenic an immigrant, your protagonist, known arsenic ‘Hawke’, must conflict to rebuild their family and past nan grimy streets of Kirkwall - nan metropolis wherever nan mostly of nan communicative takes place. Important Dragon Age concepts for illustration Mages and Templars are introduced slow pinch meaningful setpieces offering meaningful exposition. It’s a changeless workout successful “show, don’t tell”.

While nan crippled does re-use its environments, nan intrigue and claustrophobia of Kirkwall thief create a communicative that’s some highly friendly and writ crossed a full city. While astir of nan crippled stays successful Kirkwall proper, nan metropolis itself acts arsenic a benignant of microcosm for nan mounting arsenic a whole, allowing nan communicative to attraction connected nan societal conflict that gives Dragon Age its grit without getting bogged down successful high-concept metaphysics.

This intimacy gives Dragon Age 2’s companions room to breathe. Rather than approving aliases disapproving of you arsenic they mightiness successful different RPG, companions successful Dragon Age 2 veer betwixt relationship and rivalry. This makes for immoderate fascinating interactions and dynamics, each of which lend nan main communicative a powerful consciousness of humanity. It’s this value that earns Dragon Age 2 its spot astatine nan apical of our champion Dragon Age games list.

How we made our champion Dragon Age games list

I’ve devoted hundreds of hours to nan Dragon Age series, having undertaken possibly a twelve playthroughs crossed nan bid connected some console and PC. I besides reviewed Dragon Age: The Veilguard, spending much than 40 hours pinch nan crippled to find retired precisely what makes it tick. Armed pinch this knowledge, I’ve done my champion to rank nan champion Dragon Age games arsenic even-handedly arsenic possible.

A adjacent up of Solas, opinionated successful beforehand of a glowing bluish portal

(Image credit: BioWare)

Best Dragon Age games 2024 - FAQs

Which Dragon Age crippled should I commencement with?

While Dragon Age: Origins whitethorn look for illustration an integrated spot to start, its slow gait and wide scope tin make for an intimidating prospect. If you for illustration tighter, better-paced experiences, past we urge Dragon Age 2 arsenic an perfect starting point. That said, if you’re prepared to beryllium successful it for nan agelong haul, past Origins will suit you perfectly.

We don’t urge starting pinch Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Though it’s an fantabulous introduction successful nan series, it drops players successful nan heavy extremity and is liable to confuse those who deficiency anterior Dragon Age knowledge.

Which people should I play successful Dragon Age: nan Veilguard?

All of nan classes successful Veilguard are divers and well-designed, offering unique playstyles which connection meaningfully chopped experiences. It’s a mobility of which imagination you’d for illustration to pursue. The Warrior offers a powerful suite of protect abilities, making it a awesome prime for those who for illustration to play much conservatively. Conversely, nan Rogue is fast-paced, requiring you to skillfully dodge and parry arsenic you weave done your opponents. The Mage is simply a spot of a wildcard, tin of sustained ranged attacks and powerful area-of-effect abilities.

However, acknowledgment to nan sheer assortment of abilities and nan scope of customizability connected offer, you’re improbable to spell incorrect pinch immoderate of nan Veilguard classes.

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An editor and freelance journalist, Cat Bussell has been penning astir video games for much than 4 years and, frankly, she’s developed a sensation for it. As seen connected TechRadar, Technopedia, The Gamer, Wargamer, and SUPERJUMP, Cat’s reviews, features, and guides are lovingly curated for your reference pleasure.

A Cambridge graduate, recovering bartender, and Cloud Strife enjoyer, Cat’s foremost ngo is to bring you nan champion sum she can, whether that’s done adjuvant guides, even-handed reviews, aliases thought-provoking features. She’s interviewed indie darlings, triple-A greats, and legendary sound actors, each to thief you get person to nan action. When she’s not writing, Cat tin beryllium recovered sticking her cervix into a caller RPG aliases moving yet different Dungeons & Dragons game. 

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