Why Dragon Age 2 Is Still The Best Game In The Series (2024)

While Dragon Age: The Veilguard has shown that BioWare can still produce quality RPGs, it cannot supplant Dragon Age 2 as the crown jewel of the franchise. DA2 is a unique game that stands apart from other Dragon Age games, and one that stands out from other fantasy RPGs in a broader sense.

Whether it is a Western-style RPG like Dragon Age, or a JRPG, the genre tends to depict world-spanning quests and sweeping epics, following heroes destined to save the world. DA2 followed a family simply reacting to terrible circumstances, showcasing an urban adventure with masterful characterization and world-building.

Dragon Age 2 Showed A Refugee POV That Sets It Apart

Refugees Are Rarely The Protagonists In Fantasy RPGs

Some may argue Dragon Age: Veilguard is superior to other games in the franchise, and it certainly puts forward a solid effort, showing those who were disappointed by Anthem and Mass Effect: Andromeda that there is still reason to trust in BioWare. Still, it does not have the uniqueness or the grounded humanity of DA2, a game that made Kirkwall feel lived-in by its characters, and the player alike, for its 30-hour playtime. Fantasy RPGs centered on quests to save the world, or sinister conspiracies to unravel, might blur together, but Dragon Age 2 stands apart.

In Dragon Age: Origins character background mattered greatly, and the diverse character options made a significant difference in the experience. DA2 went in a different direction, with a distinct story to tell, that of a refugee and their family who fled their home to try to make a new life in the city of Kirkwall. This was a perfect follow-up to the climactic and earth-shaking events of the first Dragon Age, showing the human cost of the Darkspawn invasion in a way Origins never could. It opens with the Hawke family fleeing Darkspawn, then seeking refuge in Kirkwall.

Though Dragon Age: Veilguard is fantastically creepy at times, the eldritch horror of The Blighted is not as gripping as the real-world horrors refugees face, struggling against fear, rejection, and poverty. Dragon Age 2 is one of the few games to present this point of view, and it is more poignant than ever, today. In the USA there has been a rising tide of xenophobic sentiment, depicting asylum-seeking refugees as dangerous invaders, rather than sympathetic victims. Even after the Hawke family pushes through a terrible ordeal to reach the city of Kirkwall, they are initially denied access to the city.

From the perspective of Kirkwall’s guards and its leadership, the city is already overcrowded, and they see refugees as a source of crime and a strain on the city’s economy. They do not attempt to empathize with the refugees, people who are fleeing for their lives and simply trying to find a safe place to call home. The player’s actions gain access to Kirkwall for the Hawke family; many other refugees are not so fortunate. Kirkwall has no interest in doing the right thing for altruistic reasons, the city opens its doors to those refugees who have something to offer.

Kirkwall Was A Character In Dragon Age 2, Rather Than Just A Location

The City And Its People Are Their Own Worst Enemies

In Cyberpunk 2077 Night City has secrets, and players become immersed in the high-tech megalopolis. The cyberpunk genre of literature has always highlighted the disparity between the rich and the poor in its dystopian futures. With the city of Kirkwall, DA2 showed the same contrasts, giving the fantasy genre a cyberpunk vibe. Kirkwall is full of people trying to get by. The wealthy and powerful want to remain in positions of authority, the poor want to improve their lot in life, and various political and ideological beliefs lead to bloody clashes. The city is incredibly real and vibrant.

Players see Hawke rise from living in the slums, with an entire family crammed into a dilapidated home, to dwelling in an opulent uptown manor. Quests routinely send Hawke to each of the city’s districts. The aesthetic differences between districts like Darktown and Lowtown, compared to The Gallows Courtyard and Hightown, are striking.

The differences between Kirkwall’s people are even more noteworthy. Common threads, like a desire for safety and security, are shared across all social strata of Kirkwall, but that means different things to different people. Those who live in the Alienage experience life in a racially segregated ghetto.

The amazing companions in Dragon Age 2 highlight the many different outlooks within a city. Mages like Anders and Merrill despise the templars' overreach and abuse of magic users, while Fenris suffers from the trauma of unethical magic use. Opportunists like Isabela and Varric are willing to break Kirkwall's laws for profit.

Aveline sees the law as a necessity for stability and security, even as she is confronted with corruption within the ranks of the city’s peacekeepers. The game depicts peaceful protests, attempts at diplomacy, as well as a rising tide of political violence, in a way few RPGs do.

DA2 Proved Bigger Isn't Always Better & Other RPGs Should Take Note

Epic Quests To Save The World Are Less Memorable

See Also

Best Dragon Age games in 2024 - every series entry ranked

Most RPG video games pursue the biggest scope and scale they can. The immensity of the threats faced in the first Mass Effect game made it genuinely hard to see how the second game could raise the stakes. Instead, Mass Effect 2 pursued a more personal story of assembling a crew and risking self-sacrifice, and it is fondly remembered for it. Dragon Age 2 took a similar tactic, dialing back the original’s epic fantasy scope to shine a spotlight on the survivors of supernatural invasions, refugees produced when a village burns, and the cold reception refugees receive, instead of mercy.

There are clever Dragon Age 2 PC mods that add new features, but the core experience holds up incredibly well, even today. Instead of an otherworldly evil that unites disparate people against an external threat, Dragon Age 2 showed how simple bigotry can be as threatening as a demon lord. Dehumanization of refugees, and those of different races, are themes that skew much closer to real world dilemmas. Kirkwall was a city that Dragon Age 2 brought to life, showing the ugly truth of how greed and fear cause those in power to treat refugees with contempt, rather than compassion.

Source: BioWare/YouTube

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Dragon Age 2

RPG

Systems

Franchise

Dragon Age

Platform(s)

PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360 , PC , macOS

Released

March 8, 2011

Developer(s)

BioWare

Publisher(s)

Electronic Arts

Engine

Lycium Engine

ESRB

Mature // Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Content, Violence

How Long To Beat

26.5 hours

X|S Optimized

No

Steam Deck Compatibility

Unsupported

How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)

57.5 hours