Dragon Age is a series of video games in the fantasy, action role-playing genre. The series takes place in the fictional city of Ferelden and follows a Warrior Order called the Gray Wardens.
It’s had a lot of commercial success due to its combination of compelling stories, new playable races, and action role-playing elements.
These combine the fun of building up a character with the freedom of free action play so you aren’t locked into place like what happens in regular RPG titles.
In this article we list and describe all the Dragon Age games in order of release, which can be also a great place to start for playing the games in this order as well.
Dragon Age: Origins (2009)
As the first game in the series, Dragon Age: Origins was responsible for drumming up interest in the series.
It was playable for Playstation 3, and Xbox 360. The game focuses on saving the kingdom of Ferelden from enemies known as Darkspawn.
In this game, you can play as a mage, a rogue, or a warrior. You can choose human, elven, or dwarf for your race.
You join the Grey Wardens as you try to save the world. People have said that it has a similar feel as Neverwinter Nights or Baldur’s Gate games.
Dragon Age Journeys (2009)
This game was a browser game based on Flash. It was tied into the original game, Origins.
It was a 2D game with three chapters. A lot of its effects were taken right from the original Origins game.
The plot takes place underneath a mountain named Orzammar which is west of the original setting, Ferelden.
Before making your way to the dwarf city, you make your character including race, class, name, sex, and what you want them to look like.
It’s mostly a click game you play in a browser where you click where you want to move, and then hit buttons in the menu like an attack.
Dragon Age: Origins Awakening (2010)
Awakening is a full expansion for Origins where you need the original game to play this one if you play it on PC. It was also available for PS3 and Xbox 360.
One interesting option for PC users with the Origins game is that you can take your original character and keep using them for Awakenings.
You retain your skills and some of your equipment. Otherwise, you start from the beginning again.
There are new spells and abilities for this expansion, the level cap is raised so you can keep growing, and you can choose from 5 new party members as well as Oghren.
There are also new enemies and items, so it is a real enhancement on the original. This game did well in the media getting 8’s and 8.5 out of ten.
Dragon Age II (2011)
Dragon Age II came out for the usual platforms including Windows, Play Station 3, and Xbox 360.
It’s set on the continent of Thedas, which is in the southern hemisphere. You follow the main character named Hawke.
You can make him a mage, warrior, or rogue, just like in the Origins game. The city is called Kirkwall, and Hawke gets there as a refugee.
Gameplay is a third-person and mostly free action, though you are limited by a certain number of attacks based on your stats.
Once again, you can import your character from the original Origins game if you want, or just start over.
Every choice you make, including in the original Origins game, has an effect on the game, so it’s quite an immersive experience.
Dragon Age Legends (2011)
Legends is another flash game played in browsers. It was known as a “freemium” game because it was free to play but if you wanted extras it could cost money.
The game eventually became defunct in 2012, but a new version was made that you could use offline on PC.
In fact, you actually originally played the game specifically within Facebook and Google+, so the port made everything easier.
The game was set in a city called Kaiten, which is in the Free Marches section of the world that was used in Dragon Age II.
The game used a lot of virtual currency for you to play, and you had to play with allies to progress.
The game had a somewhat low score among many review sites, largely because it had somewhat cheap graphics and was at least initially a mostly social media type game.
Heroes of Dragon Age (2013)
Heroes is a similar type of game as some of the other games based on Flash, but this is instead played on mobile devices like Android.
This one is more of a tactical role-playing game, rather than the action RPG options from the full Dragon Age games.
This game doesn’t have its own plot, instead, it imagines different outcomes if you changed the previous plot from the series.
The gameplay is different than classic games in the series, as you pick your squad, and then battles just play out automatically.
Characters are defined by faction based on tiles where they stand that can give boosts. So, everything is about combos rather than freely swinging swords. This means fans of classic Dragon age may not like this different type of gameplay.
Dragon Age: The Last Court (2014)
The Last Court is another browser game rather than a full DA game. You played this game by drawing cards and collecting resources. The game is set between Dragon Age II and the next major title, Inquisition.
The online game went down in November 2020, but fans are trying to preserve it. Many people were fond of the game for what it was since at least it didn’t have a paywall and was mostly enjoyable to play for free without being reduced just because you didn’t expend money.
Again, however, it’s important to remember it’s a browser game and so the gameplay is going to be completely different than a full DA game.
Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014)
Inquisition came out for Windows, PS3, and Xbox 360, and you can now play it on PS4 and Xbox One as well.
One major difference between this game and previous ones is that it’s a full DA game that is also playable in multiplayer.
In the plot, we’re still on Thedas, and there’s the familiar tear in the sky that everyone calls “Breach,” where the monsters come into the world.
You play a character called “The Inquisitor,” and your mission is to close the Breach.
There’s a lot of freedom in this game where you can explore a partially open world where you can explore.
Like all the main games in the series, of which this is the third, you have a third-person view of your character.
A considerable amount of DLC is available if you buy this online as well.
One of the most striking things about this game is that you can finally build a character with the race Qunari. Many have horns and a big, tough appearance.
A major companion character in this game is called Solas, who is an elf.
Dragon Age 4 (TBA)
The next Dragon Age game will be a sequel to Inquisition, and it will continue with characters like Solas.
Trailers started in 2018, with more that came out in 2020, and current rumors are that the game will be out in 2023. Not much is known for sure about the game, but it is certainly highly anticipated.
The plot is going to involve a character named Fen’Harel who is an elven god of trickery kind of like the real world god Loki.
It looks like the game decided to move away from multiplayer where early rumors said it might do that. However, it will now likely be a single-player game, although this is all still rumors.
We do know that the game will be set in the Tevinter Imperium, one of the realms within the game. It’s likely the city Minrathous will feature prominently. This is the capital city that’s run by mages.
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