Summary

  • Dragon Age: The Veilguard launches this Halloween, but there's no way for PlayStation players to try out the first two games in the series.
  • Origins' PC port is also notoriously bad, making the original games needlessly difficult to get into.
  • BioWare solved this problem already with Mass Effect Legendary Collection, and Dragon Age should follow suit.

Every Dragon Age follows a different protagonist, a stark contrast from how its sister series Mass Effect frames all but one outing from the perspective of Commander Shepard. But each game also builds on from the events of the last. You don’t need to have played Dragon Age 2 to understand Inquisition, but the context only strengthens the story.

The Veilguard follows suit, immediately opening with Solas enacting his plans to tear open the namesake Veil. You play as a new hero who goes by the alias Rook, and like many who will be diving into this world for the first time, they're a stranger swept up in this larger-than-life story. But you get the gist from the intro—demons are everywhere and you need to stop this bald baddie. However, if you’ve played Inquisition, in which Solas is a key member of your party throughout, your connection to this prologue will be far deeper.

It's Time For Dragon Age To Get The Mass Effect Treatment

There’s just one hitch. Origins is a nightmare to play on PC, and the only way you can access it and Dragon Age 2 on modern consoles is through Xbox’s backwards compatibility program. PlayStation fans are left in the lurch. BioWare already solved this problem with Mass Effect Legendary Collection, a bundle that brings each game in the main trilogy to current-gen with a few quality-of-life tweaks and visual enhancements.

A new Mass Effect is in the works, although there’s no concrete release window. The Legendary Collection launching when it did has given newcomers ample time to familiarise themselves with the far-flung future of Shepard’s story, whereas those interested in The Veilguard have been given no such opportunity.

EA doesn’t need to pour a mountain of resources into its old games to make them readily available. Remakes are overkill, the first two Dragon Age games hold up even if the characters are a bit wonky-looking. A neatly bundled port does the trick and allows players to dive back into this world and uncover the story they’ve missed out on. Not only is it a great move for video game preservation, but it gives newcomers to the series a feast to gorge on after The Veilguard while they wait for whatever comes next.

Origins is regarded as one of the best RPGs of all time for good reason, and its much-maligned sequel is a hidden gem in the genre that has undergone a critical reevaluation over the years. These are vital parts of gaming history, paving the way for the likes of the immensely popular and award-winning Baldur’s Gate 3, but limited access means that most people getting into the series will only have Inquisition to familiarise themselves with. It might be the first-ever Game of the Year winner, but it’s hardly the best representative of Dragon Age.

It’s far too late now to get a Legendary Collection a la Mass Effect for Dragon Age ahead of The Veilguard, but if it’s not something EA has cooking for the near future, then what a wasted opportunity.

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Dragon Age

RPG Systems 7.0/10 Released November 3, 2009 ESRB M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content Developer(s) BioWare Publisher(s) Electronic Arts Engine Eclipse Engine Cross-Platform Play n/a Cross Save n/a
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