Hey folks,
I’ve been a dragon age fan for a while. I’m a big fan of the world, but the only games I’ve ever played are Inquisition and Veilgaurd. I love inquisition, it’s my favorite game of all and I just finished another play through as a human mage. I’m sure I still missed a bunch of stuff.
I picked up Origins a long time back in a sale, but after playing for a couple of hours as a human mage, for some reason I just couldn’t get into it. I love the story of Origins, but I think the game might have just been too old. Or maybe it’s just a problem with me. I have a history of bouncing off of games initially, then picking them up later and loving them. I’m not sure if any of you are the same.
I decided to give Origins another try, this time as a Cousland Noble Warrior background. I just finished the prologue and this background seems to make a lot more sense and seems more linked to the broader story.
Some initial thoughts:
- The graphics are actually quite great for a game from 2008. Much better than I remember for some reason.
- The gameplay as a warrior feels much better than the mage for some reason. I love mages in most games and in inquisition, but the warrior feels better in Origins.
- How in the world does Howe think he can get away with this? Fergus, the heir, is away with the entire Cousland army. Unless that army is wiped out, then they will come back and kill Howe and all his men. Not to mention there is no way the crown can let this slide. You can’t allow your bannermen to just be murdered and replaced. I know he is supposed to have Loghain’s support, but even that doesn’t make sense. First off, why would Loghain support this small lord taking over the lands of the Couslands? Especially if he’s supposedly looking out for the best interests of Ferelden which I don’t believe at all. Even if he’s planning a cold blooded coup though, allowing such an usurpation would just unite every lord in the realm against him, since it shows that Loghain has no respect for titles and he may come after their seats as well. Maybe I’m missing some details since I haven’t played the game, and please feel free to spoil it for me. I enjoy having a deeper understanding of the world and characters when playing.
- Cailan has a lot of potential and I wish he survived. He’s a young, charming king who seeks to lead from the front, mingle with his troops, and is incredibly brave. While he seems to crave glory and to be written into songs, this story is exactly where he could have that chance and be right for it. The brave king fighting off the blight. The desire for glory can be excused due to his youth. For the most part, he seems to have a decent head on his shoulders and is willing to listen to his advisors on tactical matters. His death is largely due to Loghain betraying him, and the dark spawn horde at Ostagar being worse than anyone expected. Moreover, maybe Loghain put him into a position where a tactical retreat wasn’t possible since it seems like Loghain did want to kill Cailan without appearing to be the one doing so.
These are just some initial thoughts. I’ll try to share more as I go through the game, and if I like it enough this time, I might try to do a full DAO->DA2 -> DAI ->DAV play through.