Ranking The 12 BioWare Games I've Reviewed

Ranking all of the Bioware games I've previously reviewed!
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:38 Mass Effect Andromeda
02:21 Dragon Age 2
03:15 Mass Effect 3
03:58 Jade Empire
04:55 Mass Effect
06:02 Neverwinter Nights
07:13 KOTOR
07:53 Dragon Age: Origins
09:10 Baldur's Gate 2
10:19 Mass Effect 2
11:44 Dragon Age Inquisition
13:00 Baldur's Gate
Intro Music By Juan Andrés Matos, www.juanmatosmusic.com/
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#gaming #gamereviews #listvideo

[@JohnnyTightIips]

For it's time when it came out in 2009, Dragon Age: Origins was truly amazing. I played BG1 and BG2 as a kid cos my dad played cRPGs and played DnD when he was younger, and it DA:O really felt like a continuation of the fantastic storytelling and companion characters that those games had. A spiritual successor to BG1 and BG2 for me.

[@SB-qm5wg]

I hate the direction they took of making them single-player only.

[@johnnicholas1657]

Some of the quests and dungeons were way way way way way too long though

[@Junk_Ramen]

Dragon's Age Origins really felt like the beginning of a new wave of CRPG's, like the spiritual successor of the IE engine games with a bigger budget and modernized (at the time) storytelling. Then DA2 came out and it was like... what? We had something so cool going on, why betray this new formula? Even if DA: O wasn't a perfect game, it represented something far more important, which unfortunately never came to be even if DA: Inquisition is a lot better than DA2.

[@lordkhan]

@@SB-qm5wg They were always supposed to be SP though

[@khal7702]

​@@lordkhani think he meant no more party

[@erics8192]

My memories of inquisition are pretty much trekking endlessly through the snow to get the stronghold and doing fetch quests to get your prestige class.

[@Yarxov]

Mine were of getting bored of the fetch quests and then starting to stealth around higher level areas- Exactly how I played WoW funnily enough.

[@ChicCanyon]

Mine are playing its for over 600 hours to see every single thing the game had to offer

[@selfloathingweekly]

​@@ChicCanyon that's me and Origins

[@ChicCanyon]

@selfloathingweekly ive played origins over 1k hours so i feel you. Origins is my favorite game of all time.

[@chrism8860]

​@@selfloathingweeklyI beat every origin in the game

[@Boromir95]

Dragon Age: Origins is one my most favourite games of all time. I think I've never heard anyone say it's overrated 😅

[@1ntelligentDiscourse]

The way I like to describe it to people is that Origins is 60 hours of good game in a 70 hour game while Inquisition is 60 hours of good game in a 150 hour game.

[@fenharel2137]

Jade Empire main menu soundtrack always give me massive chills. Please, Bioware, we need Jade Empire 2, or at least a remaster of the first one.

[@SonUzumakiIchigo]

Jade Empire + soulslike should be the best game in universe :)

[@HiddenAdept]

With Bioware's recent track record can only hope the developers still there can hit their stride and release something good before they go under.

[@humorinpolitics56]

Less than 10% of the bioware team that made the mass effect and dragon age games are still at bioware. Unfortunately its only a name now. EA drove away all the good ones.

[@jmmywyf4lyf]

Yeah.. Ive lost any hope for that. What devs they do have, are still under the thumb of the AAA publishers, and stock holders.

[@AveSicarius]

@@humorinpolitics56 Just like they've killed so many other studios (still never forgiven them for killing Visceral and ruining DS3), they've effectively killed Bioware and are simply rolling it's corpse out for name recognition purposes. Honestly I'm not even excited about DA4 precisely because I know the writers, developers, and other staff who made the early Bioware games great just aren't there anymore. Plus EA has full control now, meaning the game will likely be a hot mess just like Anthem.

[@humorinpolitics56]

@@zachb8012 Absolutely.

[@Schlumpsha]

Can't have a BioWare RPG game ranking without mentioning Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, now can we?

[@gkeuler]

you monster

[@adamkmet8936]

@@fitz394 HEY. I Enjoyed Unleashed a lot.

[@tortoiseoflegends4466]

I can't believe this fake fan didn't even mention MDK2!

[@oj3730]

Is Sonic Chronicles from bioware???? Omg, I kinda love it lol

[@ERHershman1]

I think with Inquisition, they kind of over-compensated. They heard the complaints about DA2 being too small and restrictive, and responded by (as we heard stated proudly over and over again in the game's early marketing) giving us a starting area that was bigger than all of Origins put together. I rate BG2 as my #1, but mainly for nostalgia reasons. I have so many great memories of growing up playing that game. It was the game that basically taught me how to play CRPGs, and in general how to think strategically about my choices in playing a video game--it was the first game I ever delved into character build guides on the internet for.

[@AveSicarius]

Not only that but they made the space as full with "things to do" as possible to try and pad the size. DA2 was small, but virtually every quest actually had some meaning to it or some influence on later events. They were overcompensating, but they did it in the worst possible way (not really expecting much else from modern Bioware honestly). I wouldn't mind the excessive filler "open world mechanics" so much if they hadn't cut out 90% of what people actually enjoyed from the first two games to shove them in. It's such an odd move, in line with other franchises completely changing their identity to try and enter the mainstream. It worked with Skyrim because they made the world far more interactive while keeping the core essence of the previous games, even if they did massively dumb down the RPG elements, DA:I is just hollow and obese in comparison. It's honestly like a far worse version of TW3 for me, and I like that game, but much of the content feels like it's been added in for no reason but to pad the game out.

[@AveSicarius]

@@SeventhheavenDK It's just this incessant drive to pad games out for no reason. TW3 is one of my favourite games, but the pacing and tightness of story are objectively worse than TW2 and while it's really cool to explore the landscape, I feel many area's could have been cut to focus more on . Don't get me wrong I really like some of the side content, like finding the Witcher gear or the Witcher Contracts, but much of the space on the map is just random events that don't add anything to the game as a whole. They could have removed them and focused more development on meaningful content that connected to the core of side stories. Basically you have two options, go with a broader area full of lighter content but really focus on environmental storytelling and free exploration (this is what the Elder Scrolls does) or focus on a much tighter experience with a focus on direct storytelling and character development for world building (what DAO, ME, TW2, and so on do). A combination between the two always sacrifices that cohesion and direct exposition in favour of often meaningless side content (because developer's outside of Bethesda don't often understand how to make meaningful side content that adds to the world) that exists solely because other games have used it. Inquisition goes incredibly far in this direction sacrificing much of what made DAO/2 good (the tactical combat options, the tighter story focus, the companion development, etc) but unlike TW3 it does really have the story or gameplay elements to compare to previous installments (TW3 story isn't paced as well or as tightly as TW2 but it's still excellent as is the gameplay loop). More is not always better, and especially so when it's just generic copy-paste open-world mechanics ripped directly from other games.

[@RamssesPharaoh]

In a perfect world, we would see a remaster of DA: Origins and DA: 2. One for introducing us to a fascinating world and the second for the great characters. Even if for the improvement in performance and updating certain aspects, plus a well-deserved and needed, variety of assets for DA:2.

[@Kadbros]

The Hinterlands almost broke my mind lol, I had to google it, and main advice given was, "get out of the Hinterlands"

[@hoihoi13]

Only advice needed actually

[@ShootingStar1313]

Baldur's Gate 2, Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age Origins, Mass Effect 2. They're some of my favorite games of all time. Thank you Bioware. You will be missed. ⚰

[@kaidorade1317]

I personally prefer Origins over Inquisition but no one can deny BioWare made fantastic games!

[@Twilight5007]

I wish i liked inquisition more. The gameplay loop felt like a chore more than a fun experience and i hated how they hard limited the number of skills you can use at once unlike origins. Really made my mage felt watered down compared to origins.

[@marcomongke3116]

I would personally put Origins and ME2 at the top. Sadly still haven't finished Inquisition and MEA to rank them properly. Mostly because of the boredom of doing endless fetch quests and large map exploration with mediocre loots. And unpopular opinion of mine is that crafting high level overpowered weapons and armor just takes away the purpose of exploration, not to mention a bit dull companions compared to the previous games.

[@marcomongke3116]

@@Zarkil There are great things about Inquisiton, i am sure. But for me Dragon age Origins does the same and offers even more depth.. That has prolly spoiled some of us. Right now forcing myselft to finish Inquisition for Morrigans sake but man, modern open games sure feels emptier and shallow compared to 2010 games. I can understand anyone prefering Inquisition perhaps its a generation gap. But at the end of the day, as fans of Dragon age games, we need to unite on pushing Bioware develop a better game that caters to all the fans. Because I have a bad feeling that the next game might just become a convoluted mess based on highly subjective preferences of this modern world of extreme divisions. If you know what i mean..

[@vilmarv]

Yeah I'm not even gonna comment on that second place but to each his own man! Stand up to what you like man, I Respect your opinion

[@wardensurana8336]

Sorry... I almost spill my tea when I saw DAI not only above DAO, but also very high in the list. Precisely it is because of my distaste and disappointment for DAI that I am considering skipping DA4 or at least to spoil myself most of the game in youtube before planning to buy it.

[@tonynussbaum]

I've played all these games besides Andromeda. Our lists are pretty much exact if you swap Origins with Inquisition. The graphics and mechanics are better in Inquisition but there are so many fake choices and sometimes the dialogue is so disjointed the responses make literally no sense. Origins was just amazing. Not gonna lie, I had a tear well up in the corner of my eye when the credits rolled and that "This is War" song played. Sooooooo good.

[@Angavelmar]

I prefer DA 2 to DA:I, from the moment you declare yourself an Elf mage who hates Human Gods and spits on Andraste and the you still become Herald of Andraste and lift THE SWORD! I knew it's going to be trash and it was. TRASH

[@pete4791]

Ditto! DA2 is my gulity pleasure. Played through DAI w/expansion only once and never could do it again. Origin and DA2 still gets revisited to this day.

[@Skumtomten1]

Seeing the credits roll after finishing the epic journey that was Dragon Age Origins was probably the only time ive ever cried in a video game. I tend to only cry because of joy, or experiencing something epic, and for me DA:O was the most epic game ive ever played. I can understand why some may not have it on top of their list though, everyone have different taste after all.

[@pabloarredondo6711]

En defensa de dragon age inquisition,las opciones que te presenta el juego casi siempre son a corto plazo y son más de dar un impacto narrativo en el momento mas que dar cambios reales a la trama (que por cierto es muy buena).de ahí los diálogos de la rueda de conversacion son bastante buenos,ya que no ahi ni malas o buenas respuestas y las opiniones sociopolíticas en el juego tienen bastante profundidad y dan para el cuestionamientos del jugador sobre sus posturas a medida que avanza el juego y se descubren cosas

[@joshuatochhawng8884]

Considering both their flaws, i would switch places for DA:I and DA:O

[@royflowers9316]

For me it would be 1. Neverwinter Nights 1 (the best community content of any game I have played) 2. Mass Effect 2 and 3. KOTOR 1 (never thought they would do a proper Star Wars RPG).

[@mightquinnable]

I need to check it out, heard playing a monk is a blast and a campaign called dance with the rouge is good

[@Geologese]

Im always sad to hear that people like ME2 more. I feel so alone. ME1 feels like a classic sci-fi novel whereas ME2 feels like a 90's sci-fi action movie. Both are good, but ME1 is just so pure in its sci-fi elements.

[@ShotJon]

Oh man how based it is to put BG1 on the top. And well for DA:I I am one of the victims of Hinterlands and the open world nature it has which feltt like it added quantity of content but not quality, in fact my fav DA is 2, yeah the repeated stuff was annoying, but I liked how quick and smooth combat (having horders of weaker enemies made me really feel like we are bunch of heroes) felt even if it was simplified and the characters were awesome. Plus it was pretty unique how itt was based in one massive city.

[@nodieza]

Just hearing your thoughts on the bottom 3 alone has forever cemented you as a person I can trust to always tell it like it is, because so many people get dogpiled just for suggesting that any of them are worth playing at all. 👏👏👏 And especially your DA:I placement. You brave brave soul.

[@sadcoyote89]

Dude I'm just glad you even remembered Jade Empire The GOG version works without fuckery for me if anyone saw it and was interested. I wish Jade Empire would get literally any kind of attention from Bioware. Would love a remaster/remake or a sequel.

[@fcold9402]

I agree I liked DAI a lot too. You just have to move on through the hinterlands. You can always come back but just dont get stuck there.

[@jmmywyf4lyf]

I see you have chosen war! 😁 Inquisition is, by far, my least liked Bioware game. I would actually say I hate it. If they had just left in the rpg, and the AI editor, I could have gotten over the other shortcomings. I loved setting up ai in Origins.

[@jepeman]

Same, it felt like a grindy singleplayer MMO. The last DLC was good though, the other DLCs felt like more filler MMO content.

[@kathleendelcourt8136]

I like DA:I even less than ME:A. I could never be bothered to finish Inquisition despite several attempts, the game always fell off my hands before I could reach the end. Too much bloat, grinding, useless gimmick mechanics and the combat system wasn't even that good or fun. Andromeda is no masterpiece but at least it managed to keep me interested enough to beat it. To me Origins is the best DA by far and despite its cut content, simplified mechanics and recycled assets I enjoyed DA2 more than DA:I.

[@ReaperCet]

@@kathleendelcourt8136 see? You can bypass inquisitions bloat by just... Not doing the unnecessary content, you actually get a pretty streamlined experience. There's no getting around origin's clunkiness. As much as I love it, I just wouldn't play it today.

[@kathleendelcourt8136]

@@ReaperCet Even so, I'm not a fan of the story, the characters/companions and the combat system. As clunky as Origins may be I find it more enjoyable to play than Inquisition. And if you have to bypass more than half of a game's content in order to somewhat enjoy it... you might as well skip the game entirely and spend that time on a better one.

[@jmmywyf4lyf]

@@ReaperCet In order to know what is "unnecessary bloat", you must first had played the dang thing. Not to mention the silly power levels, god awful wartable, etc. Sure, you can say the shards, and the star glyphs were easily recognizable as filler, but the overwhelming majoritg of "!" On the map were trash as well. And you have no way of knowing which is which. I replay Origins yearly, and love it. I dont find anything clunky whatsoever. Clunky, was the combat of I quisition. Both in action mode, and especially in tactical mode.

[@SorenHall]

Dragon Age: Origins should get bonus points for the ai tactics system. The ai wasn't great and still needed to be controlled ala BG, but ai customization is so lacking in games (shout out to some of the Baldur's Gate 1/2 ai mods). Imagining a remaster of Origins with that, and even better expanding that kind of system into all other games, if only. If only.

[@c3cxla]

what I really like about origins and mass effect are evil playthroughs, they are really fun.

[@kolosmenus]

Inquisition has an amazing cast of companions, and the combat is servicable, but my god it is by far the worst open world in video games I've ever experienced. I'd genuinely like the game way more if they got rid of the actual gameplay and let us just run around the castle and talk with everyone lol

[@thufreeman7553]

Inquisitions open world is pretty bad but final fantasy 15 has the worst open world by far.

[@Choteron3]

I played Dragon age and Mass effect franchise for the first time this and last year and i can say that i fell in love with their games. Cant wait for Dragon Age Dreadwolf and Mass Effect 4

[@SilverBld]

Man we definitely need a remaster for all the dragon age games similar to mass effect legendary edition

[@SB-qm5wg]

I'm older and liked the "clunky" aspects of some D&D games because of the turn-based mechanics. I was one of those people that used auto-pause per round and when enemies appeared. Probably an age thing and coming from the world of pencil and paper (yep that old 👴)

[@brandontk83]

I really enjoyed Dragon Age: Inquisition as well, even though the final boss was more cinematic than difficult. I would've ranked Baldur's Gate 2 over the first game personally, but I agree that late game the combat falls off. I wasn't able to get into the BG2 expansions because the high power level fights weren't as engaging.

[@ducky36F]

I love that you aren’t afraid to go against the popular order in your “top x” lists. Makes them feel more honest and personal. I love all their games I’ve played except for Anthem, My ranking would be: 1) DAO 2) DAI 3) ME3 4) ME2 5) KOTOR 6) ME1 7) DA2 8) Jade Empire 9) MEA >>> 10) Anthem Haven’t gotten around to Neverwinter Nights or BG2 and haven’t finished BG1 yet. Need to do that 😂

[@Esty770]

Pitchfork time?? 😅 Mashy mmo combat/ loss of strategic elements aside, i feel like the main problem with Inquisition is that it fails to follow through on the world building set up in Origins. Yes, we have Corypheus - his actions link back to Origin’s story. But i feel like the more compelling aspect of this setting is the Blight itself and how it’s resurgence results from the corruption of a sleeping god, manifesting as an Archdemon in dragon form. I feel like a dark world characterised by new cycles of Blight is a much more compelling scenario for successive games than what we got. After the first game I was excited to see new permutations of what an Archdemon dragon could be based on different gods turned by the Darkspawn. This idea also aligns more with the series title “Dragon Age” - each new Archdemon heralding a new and different age of Blight. I hoped we might visit key locations teased in Origins like the Black City in the fade. Instead I feel like the concept of Blight as a lingering threat was abandoned to focus on a more generic antagonist.

[@so2o2o]

I actually really liked the world building in Inquisition and it's what kept me playing. Like you, I was also interested in the blight, darks pawn, Archdemons and the strife these elements may bring. But instead of these underground aspects, Bioware decided to focus on the "overground" aspects of the world. Elven Gods, the pantheon, the creation of the fade, the concept of the Maker/Andraste and how much of it is actually real, and of course the political stories between the various factions in the continent. They decided to go in a different direction and maybe they'll come back to the blight story arc soon.

[@emilywilson967]

On the other hand, it probably gets stale to save the world against a blight in 3 consecutive games. I mean, maybe it's only after you do it 8 or 9 times, considering I'm at like 6 replays of Origins

[@fragilemetal1982]

I see DA:I in the same place as ME:A. Both of them had unnecessary filler that needed to be trimmed, and while neither are bad games, ME:A is beneath the previous ME series. DA:I would be beneath DA:O for me, I would consider DA2 the weakest in Dragon Age, that game was rushed out the door unfinished.

[@juodagalvesniegena714]

DA2 had great storyline though,not worse than Origins unlike Inquisition which felt like a mmo 1 hour in I forgot what's the game about. The companions felt empty too.

[@momqabt]

Hawke is an idiot who things happen to not one who makes things happen🤔 You Can have a reactive protagonist, but that's rarely appealing and you need writers on a level BW (especially now) didn't(/doesn't) have. Also: Anders and his "thing" regardless of what you do. Also: the forced aspect of mages vs templars. Also: and this extends to DAI as well, how they treat the Dalish and their history, lore and in game developments (or lack there of). Can't comment on the dwarves, no fantasy dwarf culture ever captured me, sry. Also: Merrill DA2 compared to DAO. Also:having the preknowledge to gear up for certain NEXT CHAPTERS and events for the game. Yes, this is specifically about gear as the game limits you in a very restrictive way with lootable/purchasable and especially /craftable gear that may or may not cause you to have to either lower the difficulty or lose hours (or even days) of game play just to be ready for that one bit with gear you're never gonna use again. Yeah I got gripes with the whole story/mechanics of DA2 but a (edit, typo) whole lot more with the writing from 2 to inquisition. Why can't we tell mom to be careful because there's a serial killer that sends their victims a specific flower? Why can't we decide which of our siblings die or their class? Why does Anders exist?!

[@theshadowcult]

ignoring the fact that a bunch of the maps were wasted because they were built to be a live service mmo, the thing that killed inquisition for me, was i played it right at the start,, before they fixed the issue of melee characters getting stuck on terrain in fights. I kept getting killed because i'd use the movement skills, or i'd waste entire attacks because i'd use a charge or teleport, and even the teleport would stop on a small pebble. it was so infuriating.

[@Ixnatifual]

I also think Baldur's Gate 1 is the best. I did enjoy Neverwinter Nights (especially Undrentide) more than the Dragon Age games. I never really explored the mod scene much, though. The Baldur's Gate games in general also have the best soundtracks by far.

[@jacobeden2083]

I recently started the Undrentide campaign since the enhance edition was on sale recently and I only ever played the original prior to expansion packs as a teen - does it pick up after the first chapter? Not sure if the combat is just worse than I remember or its the campaign itself.

[@Asghaad]

@@jacobeden2083 SotU definitelly picks up more in later chapters, the start is bit too overtuned for low level character. BUT whats more important is the Hordes of the Underdark campaign which is by far the BEST NwN1 has to offer

[@under545]

Counterpoint: The first act of Baldur's Gate 1 feels so tedious. You're basically lawnmowing a bunch of generic forested areas and running into disconnected encounters that have no sense of cohesiveness. It's technically open but it doesn't feel rewarding to explore these maps because most of them feel copy pasted with the exception of a few bespoke encounters. The Baldur's Gate 2 cityscape feels much more engaging in comparison and, even without the context of the prequel, feels much more significant to traverse. Further, early combat in this edition of D&D is like controlling a squad of zerglings in Starcraft. You just drag select your group and right click on the enemy because you've probably already used your three spell slots and don't feel like resting four times to refresh them without getting ambushed by xvarts.

[@shawngillogly6873]

And I feel the exact opposite about low-level vs high level combat (at least until ToB, where silliness reigns) in BG. Low level combat is a RNG test. High level is actual strategy. And give me Origins' clunkiness over Inquisition's MMO mechanics any day. I like Inquisition well enough (other than Jaws of Haakan, which I refuse to play again). But it's a good game, compared to the one I think marked the end of the Golden Age of CRPGs.

[@regalgiant1597]

Mass Effect Andromeda is my fave of all the mass effects, yes I have played all of the mass effects, at release and back to back recently, its my fave.

[@Wanglord]

Big fan of Inquisition here as well, love to see you giving it some props.

[@Gr4v3l0rd]

Feel pitchforked because of Jade Empire. Apart from that, really enjoyed your list.

[@dudeguybro]

It's funny you mention that section in Dragon Age: Inquisition. That's basically where I stopped - shortly after Hinterlands. You're definitely frontloaded tons of content and are like wtf is going on?! Maybe I'll load it back up and push further ahead.

[@chimpy7267]

I want a Jade Empire remake and a sequel

[@88oscuro]

Star Wars in an infinity engine styled crpg would be amazing

[@MortalReaver]

DAI has bad AI. Like leash range, playing archer and mage was so painful because rest of the party would go back and forth, and enemies constantly were out of tactical camera range with how big the world was. Enemies also were spawning in checkpoint after few seconds. That the mages were even more of damage sponges than warriors mercs they hired did not help either.

[@bjm1777]

I didn't think I enjoyed Inquisition that much, when I first played it, but then I played it again and now find myself wanting to play it for a third time. I enjoyed the combat, the exploration and the characters. Definitely feels like an MMO at times but I can look past that.

[@pabloarredondo6711]

Ojala algún día un MMO tenga la calidad de inquisition

[@emmathepony1992]

i cant fathom the idea of putting inquisition above origins i think you might be the only person ever to do it lol

[@decus478]

I think something like DA:I is just more polarizing. Any time your game is long and has an unbalanced time versus reward structure, a lot of players are just going to quit right out as other games come out or they get busy. I usually describe them as games that have you searching for a needle in a haystack full of manure. Not great to play unless/until you figure out where the manure is so you can avoid it, but you're not going to do that without getting some all over you first. This applies to DA:I, The Witcher 3 and Elden Ring for me.

[@MaxiGoethling]

For me Inquisition (with DLCs) is one of my all time favorite games, the way they expanded on the lore and carved out a unique identity for Dragon Age's visual style in general, the story, the vibes were all immaculate. The biggest issue with it that you can play it wrong. It's comfortably manageable without drowning in fetch quests as long as you pace your playthrough well. It also has this weird thing that allows me to create my own head canon for back stories in some of the areas, they are beautifully designed albeit empty. It's just a great expierence and the Tresspasser ending just left me in awe. I cannot wait for Dreadwolf!

[@michaelh878]

Unique identity by copying every ubisoft game?

[@tyskbulle]

Inquisition has a large entry barrier that puts you off Even when you know the game, there is this wall to break Knowing what to avoid, save for later or do right away - means you will have a much better experience overall The game has some of the best moments in the franchise There is just a lot of work to get there when you don't know - what content is filler and what is worth pursuing The Trespasser DLC is excellent and great setup for DA 4 Playing on Nightmare is a must even if its sluggish at first Do the main quest whenever you meet the level requirement Use DA wiki for the Table Operations and Character Amulets Never do most of a zone all at once, get out and switch

[@annmester2740]

Just want to give a shoutout to the female city elf origin story in DA:O. Really set me into the world. Also, for DA:I the fetch questing can really bog your down in terms of story, but to play a female elf in that game and to romance Solas can lead to some tears! I am looking forward to DA Dreadwolf. I agree about ME2 being the best of those games. Intend to play BG 2 but I'm so enamoured of WOTR at the moment that I've not got the time for it.

[@stuchatterton6550]

Bioware certainly had a golden era. I think it was about DA Inquisition the wheels began to come off iirc. After setting the bar so high, it was kind of inevitable really. But I can tell you this with absolute honesty, I know of no other studio that invoked such a sheer sense of anticipation whenever a new game was announced.

[@ducky36F]

I’m glad that you mentioned that DA2’s combat gets better when you crank up the difficulty so you actually have to use the tactical features (which sadly they seem to be trying to hide). Think it’s something that is missed about the game regularly in reviews.

[@TechnoLawyer]

I thought BG1 had too much dead space in it. BG2 was more streamlined in a good way. I found the TOB high level battles to be fun, as they turned into mage battles. Being the first to get off a time stop was always exciting. Side note - I thought the infinity engine game that had the best combat was Icewind Dale. It had nothing interesting to speak of in the way of plot, but it nailed the exploration and combat aspects, and had some lovely scenery. Plus the Heart of Winter expansion made druids a ton of fun. I think ME2 was my favorite BioWare game overall. The world building, characters, and tight missions grabbed me. ME1 was a bit too sloppy and the ending nonsense with ME3 made me literally throw my controller. I loved DA:O as well. Really enjoyed the world, characters, plot. Although some of the ending choices… 😆 The choice to knock Morrigan up so the demon thing can go into the fetus, wtf?

[@nokronis]

Neverwinter Nights was my first real RPG, as well as my first MMO and experience playing a game with other people. It was my first introduction to the internet. It was also my first introduction to game design, using the tool set to make levels and stories. For all those reasons it's hard for me not to put it as my number one game, though honestly I feel like all of these are some of my number one games, it's like children in which you can't pick a favorite haha.

[@aphexted5608]

My BioWare Ranking of the games I've played. 1- Star Wars KotOR 1 2- Mass Effect 2 3- Dragon Age Origins 4- Mass Effect 1 5- Jade Empire 6- Baldur's Gate 2 7- Baldur's Gate 1 8- Neverwinter Nights 1 9- Mass Effect 3 10- Dragon Age Inquisition 11- Dragon Age 2 12- Mass Effect Andromeda

[@aaronthompson2329]

My top 3 would be 1 BG2, 2 BG1 & 3 DAO. I played all three of these when they came out and along with Elder Scrolls Daggerfall, ES Morrowind & ES Oblivian they are some of the best memories from way back then.

[@jangiurg5295]

The Inquisition main storyline is absolutely amazing with quests like "In Your Heart Shall Burn", sadly its hidden under a ton of empty content. If you ignore all the silly icons on the map you are going to havea great time.

[@pabloarredondo6711]

Meh, ni tan vacio,claro que un punto débil en las misiones es que una buena parte de estas están centradas en resolver conflictos únicamente por medio del combate,pero casi todas las missiones tienen un buen transfondo narrativo y presentan objetivos variadod,ninguna se siente de relleno ya que todas tienen concreción con la trama principal o las cituaciones de las zonas a explorar,además de que el juego nunca repite locaciones ya que las ubicaciones de los mapeados están estrictamente diseñados para una o dos misdiones en concreto,las cuales estan echas llenas de detalle y cuentan historias solo con objetos del escenario.y es satisfactorio limpiar un mapa,resolviendo todos los conflictos de la región,ya que sientes que tus acciones afectan al mundo tomando el papel del inquisidor emves de pasar por la misma zona varias veces y ver a los mismos enemigos haciendo respawn..

[@markusk2289]

Switch ME2 with BG2 and then with DA:I and it’s my list exactly. Love that you ranked BG No.1. My favorite game ever.

[@blakej6416]

Happy to see you put the Baldur's Gate games so high.

[@kopicat2429]

So Inquisition over Origins huh? I liked both, but Origins I liked way way more. Would personally put Mass Effect 3 and 1 much higher. I agree that the second was the best of them though.

[@spaceghostohio7989]

Nice rankings ! Although Dragon Age Inquisition is the only game on the list I did not finish....

[@michael8763]

KOTOR 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. Get the restored content mod and boom. Perfect SW game

[@maxrulov7331]

Avery time Mort says that he likes BG1 over BG2 it warmths my heart. While BG2 is huge, and without doubts awesome game that got some cool mechanics and it's high-level fantasy, frankly, I always liked the BG1 one more. Yeah it's cool to cast a high-level spells and deal ridiculous amaount of dmg with your +N sword or be a hero that saves the world\universe, but I prefer a smaller scope. Local community, kingdom\country side problems, personal stuff. Even as a DM with over decade of expirience I'm loosing all interest as soon as adventures or modules goes over 10th level.

[@richardkenan2891]

I like exploration-driven games. BG1 did that better. You go places just to see what's there a lot of the time, and there's usually something there to see. It's also why I enjoy Fallout 3 even though the plot and world building don't make any sense at all, and why I love Ultima Underworld 1.

[@LuxuriaU]

As DM I agree, I prefer lower scale stuff, and as a theoretically pen and paper player too (forever DM). I ended up liking BG(EE) a little more, but not due to gameplay. I preferred Hexxat and Morgan more than I did Monteron and Xzar. Though I know Hexxat, is EE only content, even with just Korgan I'm still much more content. In general I found the companions to be more engaging in 2, and personally that is my main draw when it comes to CRPGs.

[@Craigerade]

Great video. Love your content. I disagree with the DAO ranking, but see where your coming from. Its my favorite rpg of all time. I know some of it is nastalga, but I just love it.

[@paulshortall5358]

I kinda 'get' what you mean with Baldur's Gate 1 vs. it's sequel.. As while the sequel probably IS the 'better' game, ..I personally ended up back in the day playing the FIRST one and it's respective expansion thru.. way more than the second. I think the more desperate balance of 'precarious' health/abilities mixed with meager gold/equipment considerations.. as well as the lovely/mysterious OPEN landscapes to explore.. just made the first game 'breath' a lot better. Feeling like going thru an actual campaign with a group of interesting newbies. The sequel.. (Also to it's credit..) had so much 'stuff', high-end items and interactions.. It could often feel a little TOO cluttered sometimes for my taste. I also was not a huge fan sometimes of the somewhat-forced "romances". Honestly, playing Icewind Dale instead could be something of a relief.. as aside having an awesome soundtrack.. It was nice to have a team of characters you designed.. that would just SHUT UP and do their jobs! ;0) Always considered the 'Undrentide/Hordes' combo to be THE 'campaign' for Neverwinter Nights 1, as the Original was more of a tester/show than anything. Although it does have a few really good sections surprisingly. Recently went thru all of them with a pure rogue character(s) (my personal fav) at hardest difficulty(Even then, it's not that hard - compared to the Baldurs/ID series).. and found them perfectly doable. It even made the original (solo'd) something close to.. 'fun'... although have to admit it's pretty samey and probably overstays its welcome by a chapter. Biggest trouble I really ever have with those games(original version at least) is the numerous little obvious annoying bugs that remained EVEN up to the final patch.. Making me often wonder if anyone had really actually playtested the damn things.. or if the engine itself had been just a bit too clunky for it's own good. Eh.. Apparently common to a lot of Bioware stuff.. as well as others. But dealing with those is part of the process. I still found CREATING characters, and even taking them all the way thru high-level campaigns (Swordflight, Sands of Fate, etc) unlike Baldur's Gate.. to be fun. Using different kinds of tactics than beginning play.

[@garchomowner]

Also do obsidian next :)

[@sneslive1556]

I think with BG and maybe D&D in general I tend to like low level content more than high level. I think power creep has a lot of do with it.

[@Art0r1a]

For me Inquisition is by far the worst in story and combat. (Couldn't even finish and I tried like 4 times over the years) That said everybody has their opinion and getting angry at someone because they don't like the same things is just silly.

[@larrybobinski1257]

Where is Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood? This ranking is incomplete

[@GrailSeeker]

Almost all of the Bioware titles are on my backlog after watching your reviews. I haven't tried them yet for various reasons (except KOTOR I & II). I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi but I'm getting Mass Effect LE soon.

[@jmmywyf4lyf]

Im not a bug sci fi guy either, but I must say, the ME trology was a happy exception. Ive replayed it a few times, and still enjoy it.

[@seandalton44]

If only I could be in your shoes and experience mass effect for the first time again. Masterpiece

[@ItsaDaPope-a]

@@seandalton44 same!

[@uhobme2028]

You are in for quite an experience

[@Silentpoppy]

as a fellow enjoyer of inquisition mods fixed a ton of my main annoyances with inquisition :D

[@JimHamiltonIII]

I stumbled on your channel a couple of months ago. Subscribed! I looked through your videos and Steam profile, and I didn't see that you reviewed Othercide. I mean, perhaps you did in one of your compilation videos, but I didn't find you dedicated one to it. I've watched several of your videos and I think they're extremely well done. Many of the games you review are in my Steam library (but many on backlog). Perhaps we have similar tastes. At any rate, have you considered playing and/or reviewing Othercide? I've purchased it, but not sure yet if I want to get into it. Please keep up the fantastic work!

[@MortismalGaming]

I might get too it eventually, it'll be a little while though

[@JimHamiltonIII]

@@MortismalGaming Thanks for the quick response! No worries! Look forward to your next video!

[@jizamkizam9611]

Inquisition was good when it was focused. The main quest missions and companion quests were all solid. Just the damn open world maps were such a slog.

[@troypierce5055]

New video idea: You could do a similar list for Obsidian games! Bioware used to be my favorite developer of all time, but ever since they were acquired by EA, the quality of their games has fallen significantly... Now my 2 favorite game developers are Obsidian and InXile. Admittedly, InXile has only produced a few gems (but its predecessor company, Interplay, was responsible for Fallout 1&2): 1.) Wasteland 2 2.) Wasteland 3 3.) Bard's Tale IV 4.) Torment: Tides of Numenera Obsidian, on the other hand, has released a ton of quality RPGs (which I will not list here), plus its predecessor company, Black Isle, did some amazing work. Lastly, another company that I am slowly falling in love with is Spiders. They have developed: 1.) Bound by Flame (a little rough around the edges, admittedly) 2.) Mars: War Logs (a little rough around the edges, admittedly) 3.) The Technomancer 4.) Greedfall 5.) Steelrising And Spiders is currently working on Greedfall 2!

[@MortismalGaming]

I want to do Alpha Protocol before I touch on Obsidian

[@troypierce5055]

@@MortismalGaming Alpha Protocl is one Obsidian game that I have not played yet either. The reviews at release were very negative, but it does seem to have a cult following.

[@poklours4257]

I'm still a very big fan of Dragon Age 2 despite what everyone says. Yes, the reused assets is a shame, but the overall writing makes up for it imo. My favorite cast of companions too, and the story is very well made, with everything building up for the finale of each act, and of the game overall. The combat is more on the action side, yes, but I don't really see this as a bad thing. Dragon Age Origins's combat feels really.. slow, and static, and sometimes really punishing. I switched to easy difficulty at some point because of how fed up I was with it. But the writing is absolutely incredible, even if, in the end, it's a very classic story of good vs evil with a big battle against a dragon in the end. It's really well executed, yes, but it feels less interesting that DA2 plot. Dragon Age Inquisition's combat is pretty good, feels like the most polished of the bunch, but the story... It's a bit all over the place. Not enough time spent with companions imo. The main story goes pretty fast and you are left with endless filler quests and collectibles to find in the world. It's a great game too, but.. I can't help but feel like the main story needed more time and more work. That's why DA2 feels to me like the best of both worlds. Hawke feels like the best protagonist, his family being a real part of his story, and... yeah. That being said, I enjoy the Dragon Age games a lot, especially all the lore surrounding the setting and stuff. Only game I can't really go back to is Origin because of the gameplay.

[@ilejovcevski79]

Everyone who has BG1 as their favorite BW game is ok in my book, even if they happen to have Inquisition as their second favorite...

[@JohnClarkW]

I agree with your take on Andromeda. If it had been J-random sci-fi game, it would have been perceived as far better than the Mass Effect 4 titles it was.

[@LuckyBeerCamper]

Coming in late to this video, but I'm just gonna say I LOVE that DA:I is number 2 on your list. I love that game. Played it to completion 3 full times, hundreds of hours in that world. Love it.

[@brothercoconut6599]

Glad to see someone gave DA:I some praise!

[@gearzdesign]

For story telling, I enjoyed ME: 2 and Dragon age origins, but gameplay wise, Inquisition is my favorite. I hope Dreadwolf (if it ever gets released) combines the best of origins with improved inquisition gameplay mechanics.

[@Chessrook44]

For those wondering why Neverwinter Nights 2 and KOTOR 2 aren't up there... those games were made by Obsidian, not Bioware, despite being sequels to Bioware games.

[@fragilemetal1982]

Yup, that said, Bioware wasn't a stranger to picking up sequels either, developing MDK2 after Shiny did the original MDK.

[@Fredericco1]

Played all those games and i like them all. The problem is, that it´s bit hard to rank fair, when you have different setting and and genre. But i think that this ranking is okay. So good job. Jade empire is game, that is very unique, so it´s not easy to compare it with others. It look prety much like KOTOR, but on the other hand it´s not. DA: I is in some way very similair to ME: Andromeda. At least i get that feeling. Problem is, that Andromeda lack all that good thing that Inquisition have and just don´t work the same. There is something on everyone of those games that i like and that i don´t. Would i make this list different? Probably yes. Would be better? Who knows😃

[@dpkkmr424]

The thumbnail is from Dragon age Dreadwolf. Are you planning to update the video in future?

[@derella]

I'm terrible at ranking stuff, but I think I would've put NWN lower. As a platform for content creation in the early 2000s, it was amazing. I had it installed for like 5+ years, was deeply into the mod community, used the toolset to create maps, played online in MMOs as well as small parties with a DM, etc... But as it stands now, as a single-player campaign? I don't see myself ever going back to it. This video also makes me want to re-play Origins again, as it has been a LONG time. I loved it, and had 3 full playthroughs plus several partial ones. I think it's #1 for me, but I don't know how much of that is fond memories vs. how it is today.

[@niemand7811]

My problem with Dragon Age, while being a good rpg as is, flares up when I play older rpgs like Morrowind (ES3). Morrowind is from 2002 and lets me explore until the enemies become too strong to bother, that in itself is a learning mechanism where the game tells me that I might rather not be there yet. But otherwise I can swim, dive, run up almost every hill. There are also restrictions (invisible walls) but they are less strict and not so much in my face as with Dragon Age. DA feels cinematic in its approach but so do games like Elex and Dragon's Dogma. Games that let me explore more freely like Morrwind.

[@renendell]

I actually agree about ME2. The first game is more of an imaginative labor of love. But ME2 just feels better to play and still the story still hits right

[@RagnarTheRed-x5s]

My biggest disappointment with Inquisition was the wasted opportunity they had with War Table missions. I'd much rather have had some short side missions like searching for the HoF and meeting the Lavellan Clan than requisitions, shards, and watchtowers. There was so much fetch questing and busy work in that game. Also, Origins Leliana > Inquisition Leliana. I hated how cruel and cold she'd become in Inquisition.

[@TheBlueDeath123]

I really liked dragon age inquisition and i played over 100 hours in it. Loved exploring and reading the lore. Murdered all the dragons and was rolling in loot by the end lol

[@alverygrissom2544]

that's a rookiee number for an RPG

[@alverygrissom2544]

@@smellycatbutts Jesse what the fuck are you talking about

[@wizardwhohasmorempthanhp]

Mfw Dragon Age: Origins appears before DA:I. Number 2, oh no. You'll have a revelation one day, hopefully.

[@Ricardo-Mureb]

I love Dargon Age lore. Played 1 and 2 like 3 times each, if i'm not mistaken. But with Inquisition, in the year it was launched, went exactly as said. They threw A LOT at the player at just the beginning and i droped it. Gonna give this one another try.

[@tjbrody]

I agree with Inquisition. Despite its bloated side quest bs, it has amazing characters, the combat is a nice combination of 1 and 2, there’s a wide variety of areas to explore, the story is great. Origins will always have a place in my heart but going back to it now, it did not age well in the last 15 years

[@mister-x2]

Jade Empire is one of the very few cases were a remake would be 100% justified.

[@denizinyeri]

While Bioware games will always have a special place in my heart, some of them have difficulty balance problems like starting with too hard, undelayable/inescapable encounters. The tower fight in DA:O and Suna Seni and her group in BG2 comes to mind. I think ME games and BG1 don't have that problem. There is a potentially deadly Friendy Arms Inn encounter at the start of BG1 but you can go to southern areas, kill some xvarts/hobgoblins etc. to lvl up, return to FAI and finish that easily.

[@89Dienekes]

I’m curious if the order you played the games in influenced your opinion of the Dragon Age games. If memory serves you played Inquisition first. Where most of the value in DA:O was in getting your first foot in this crazy complex world of Thedas. Seeing the cultural and social problems. And the great lore, mystery, and core questions that defined the games. How real are the gods? What is the appropriate way to handle people spontaneously born with the ability to dominate society? What morals are worth keeping against a coming apocalypse? Would you give this half crazy witch who says frankly horrid social Darwinist crap every other sentence a god baby? But you got your first taste of all that in Inquisition, and even some answers to those questions. So, yeah, I can see how Origin would be a lesser experience after that. Personally I like both games a lot. But playing them in order, I always felt characters had to make some pretty idiotic decisions to create the world state in DA:I considering where we left it off. That said; the story and companion of both games are quite good. And that’s the core of playing the games. Heaven knows it’s not because the moment to moment gameplay is particularly good, in either game.

[@s.p.q.r195]

Thanks for those reviews, it's interesting and of course everybody has his own opinion. I find kind of strange not to see D:OS1 on your Top-40 but instead some more action RPG oriented games like Greedfall or Elex (are they cRPG?), but then no Soul game? Just questioning, no judgment 😉

[@fabiomariabarillaro7635]

He ranked only the games he reviewed, not all the ones he played.

[@s.p.q.r195]

@@fabiomariabarillaro7635 If I'm not mistaking, he reviewed the likes of Elden Ring, DA 2 and DA3 🤔

[@DrGaslight187]

Dragon Age Origins is the perfect Bioware game Mass Effect 3 is the best Bioware game. IMO

[@Fellentos]

I have almost the same list except for the nr 2. en nr 1. 1. Baldur's Gate 2: While I think Baldur's Gate 1 is the better free form RPG experience at first. Baldur's Gate 2 just expanded on everything and had more interesting characters and quests. 2. Mass Effect 2: The best Mass Effect game. Although I don't fully agree with Mass Effect 3 being so low on your list. It was still an epic journey even if it didn't stuck the landing. I put Dragon Age Inquisition on the spot of Mass Effect 3 of your list. I absolutely hated the massive area's with those boring fetch quests. I couldn't even finish the game. Something I had no problem with Dragon Age Origins or 2.

[@jleonas]

Did you play Baldur’s Gate in the original or the Enhanced Edition? The EE is a major overhaul - basically reskinning the game into BG2’s interface - without which you are more limited in character options, doesn’t allow dual wielding, clunky, etc. Not sure it would be quite as high without the EE, but of course it makes more sense to review and rank what would be currently played by most folks.

[@MortismalGaming]

Both actually, though the original was all the way back in the early 2000s