Dragon Age Can't Get the Mass Effect Remaster Treatment Because of Dev Difficulties

There is basically no one at BioWare anymore that understands video games.

Developers love to advertise their games by saying stuff like “from the creators of dragon age” while at the same time everyone that work on those games left years ago.

If there were ZERO changes to the content and designs and it was just a glow-up to get it on PS4/5, I’d be fine with it. But we know that won’t happen.

No one who was involved with Veilguard should be allowed within 500 miles of any possible remasters.

Thank goodness for XBox BC. Can still play the originals there.

Oooooh the irony 😂😂😂😂😂

Dragon Age Origins was a good game with a decent story, but its also very much a product of its time that shows its age now. It would need a substantial amount of changes to get me to play it again as the systems were never the best.

DA2 can get right in the bin however, that garbage is easily the worst game in the franchise.

I Remember trying to play origins back in the day and the font and menus were so small I couldn’t read it because I’ve been cursed with terrible eyes. But they are games I should probably love.

Of course. They never give the people what we actually want. This is why we can’t have God of War 1/2 on PS5, either. Oh well, at least we got AC Black Flag, and lookie it sold 4MM copies already, too.

DA1 was arguably the only one worth bothering with and that would need a massive glow up.

if i got a proper remake of DA: Inquisition I think I could die a happy, happy man.

I literally asked for a quality of life remaster of DA:O the other day on here. Glad someone read my comment 😏 Seems unlikely now...maybe (yet another) remake is due then. They can keep part 2 tho lol.

While I'm interested in a remake (heck a re-release of any kind would be fine by me) I think we should prolly let this one go. Bioware doesnt know what Dragon Age is at this point, and they work for EA. Has EA successfully revived any franchise? I dont think they care to.

Give me a goddamn remaster of ORIGINS, don't care for anything after that

They would find a way to stuff up just a simple remaster. I'm very nervous about Mass Effect. I mean when was the last actual big selling game Bioware had? Inquisition probably and that was a decade ago.

EA are actually nice to not drop them already.

At this point, I honestly think I'd prefer a remake of Origins with something akin to Inquisition's combat over a remaster. The game is too dated for a simple remaster.

DA2 gets a bad rap, but I really liked it. Wasn't crazy about the recycled dungeons, but the story was cool and I liked the combat. Remaster could be cool, but a remake to unify Origins and 2 in gameplay would be ideal.

Inquisition was also bloated, but had a great story and gameplay. I still think it looks great, so a remaster is totally unnecessary.

Because each game is so different from a gameplay standpoint, I think it would be too much work to make a cohesive, remastered collection. None of it is going to happen though, so whaaaaatever.

Personally I thought Veilguard was the best out of all the DA games, so the upgrades to the earlier games would have to be pretty significant across the board to get me to buy in (more remake as opposed to remaster).

I actually really liked Veilguard. Yeah it had problems, but the combat was awesome, and the magic was FANTASTIC. I haven't had that much fun playing a mage class since Kingdoms Of Amalur.

@Rich33 What spoke to you about Veilguard more than the previous entries? Was it purely gameplay or did the change in tone speak more to you?

Darrah is just factually wrong here. Neverwinter Nights, which used the Aurora Engine (albeit an earlier form) is still getting mods made by people who understand this engine very well. Especially the many mods that were made using more than it's the NWN toolset. Some of them even made mods for Dragon Age Origins, and continue to do so (again, many of which required more in depth technical work than using the toolset). A lot of why Dragons Age Origins is still very playable is because of those modders and there ability to update the game so it runs well on more modern operating systems (because the original devs made some very interesting technical decisions that have had to be modded out to make the game stable on modern hardware).
Other devs used this engine as well- the first Witcher game was developed using this engine and contrary to the misinformation floating around, most of the people at Obsidian who made KOTOR 2 are actually still there. Both KOTOR games were made using Aurora. Both games get a lot of mod support despite neither officially supporting that.
This engine is very well understood, just perhaps not by Bioware anymore.

Remasters do nothing for me, as I find both gameplay and graphics outdated. Remakes on the other hand...

Bioware Interpretation:

"We have no idea how to make a video game people would enjoy, even if a complete enjoyable game is in our archives. Besides, we are too busy attending human resource meetings and spending money on retreats to bother with such nonsense."

@For-Kier Do you say anything positive on this website? All I ever see is you spreading negativity.

konami figured out mgs4. rockstar figured out red dead redemption. the holy grails of cursed spaghetti code. stop with the excuses and just do it.

All EA need to do is let the people who know what should be done (gamers)do the things that will make the game sell and everything will work out.

@wildcat_kickz
The gameplay, specifically the combat and combat styles, felt the biggest improvement to me. I don't know if some aren't as interesting as others - I played as a Spellblade mage.

Whilst DAV had a few cringy moments, and did have a fair bit of bloat, I did find it enjoyable, and fun.
I did mostly like the tone, even if I would have liked to have seen more dark humour (I played as a Crow, which I thought fitted the spellblade nicely), and for more to have been made of your background.
A couple of the characters came off as annoying sometimes, and I definitely had favourites.

The thing is, previous entries were just almost completely forgettable to me - literally, they made no impact on me whatsoever. It actually makes it very hard for me to compare why!
I only vaguely remember a few small parts of DAI, in fact my main memory is being fairly bored by it for periods of time, particularly in the latter half.

@wildcat_kickz
Oh and part of what I was meaning is as you suggested - if they were to do these games, I would like to see coherence in the gameplay.

The first couple were great, then it went off the deep end.

@Rich33 Very interesting! I didn't like Veilguard that much, so was curious where you were coming from. I do prefer the real-time combat of DA:V, but found myself wishing the non-mage builds were a little more grounded. I also like the more linear levels in DA:V; they reminded me of DA:O.

Broadly speaking, my main issue with DA:V was the shift in tone from the previous games. DA:V felt very YA infused, where the other games came across more as mature dark fantasy. I also didn't really care for what I perceived to be pretty blunt, modern social messaging within the story. This isn't to say that I opposed the messages, but found the way they told them very poor and didn't vibe with what I view as the "world" of DA. I'm not one of the people who thinks that social messaging shouldn't be in fiction. It obviously should be and there is a loooong lineage of social commentary in prominent works of art. Essentially, I think if they had better writers, they would have been able to weave queer acceptance and conflict-resolution messaging within DA-appropriate allegory, rather than using modern, real-world problems and just throwing them into DA. It felt like really lazy writing and just totally took me out of it.

That all said, it is of course all according to taste. Don't want to take away any enjoyment you had!

I would love a remaster of the first three. Maybe one day. I can dream.

I loved DA:O when it came out. 2 was a let down, the faster paced combat didn't feel as heavy and meaningful, and it was short. Of course the recycled dungeons weren't great. DA:I just can't hold my attention. I've retried playing it 3 times, make it about 30 hours in or so, then get distracted by something else. I think the open world bloat is likely the culprit. I didn't like the tone, I agree it felt very YA compared to the darker early stuff. However I liked a couple characters and the magic and combat felt great to me. I also admire the choice-driven variety, if only they made it darker, less cartoonish. I would play a remake of Origins if they could iron out some wrinkles. Seemed buggy, I think I cheated the end dragon using ballistas because it was so hard.

I did a big replay of the series earlier this year (DAO and Awakening on PS3 and then I broke the damn console trying to check if I had DLC for 2, so 2 was on PC lol), they hold up so so well. I love the first 3 DA games and even thoroughly enjoyed Veilguard, despite its many and varied problems. I may even have a DA tattoo.

Long story short, I'm a total nerd for Dragon Age and would kill for remasters, but 1 and 2 do look pretty good on PC in my opinion, so...

@wildcat_kickz
I do know what you mean, it just didn't bother me too much most of the time.
As I said, I enjoyed the tone, but it could have done with a bit more seriousness and darker humour at times.

I think where you are coming from is that the writers lacked any form of subtlety at times - though not all the time. If they wanted to include a message, they sometimes were very 'ham fisted' with how they wrote it in.
Though it did, as it normally does, infuriate me when some people kept referencing that 1 scene over and over to try and prove (or score) their point (admittedly it was dire though, because even the most well intentioned people put their foot in it from time to time).

Curiously (considering a certain authors views), I thought that Hogwarts Legacy (which is a particular favourite of mine), did a much better job of messaging. Subtle in the most part, with you having to piece together parts of peoples backgrounds from a number of sources.
The writers also often did a good job of making you care, rather than telling you you should.
Also, for a game which on the surface is quite tame, there are some seriously dark undertones in places as well.
The trouble being a few scenes are messed up because of voice actor direction in my opinion.

Take my money honestly. I'd happily pay for a trilogy, not that Inquisition needs much. Especially with the forthcoming PS3 store closure.

I am currently playing through Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

Beat number 1, a quarter of the way through number 2.

I would love to play through the Dragon Age’s with a face lift and some quality of life improvements!

@LookingCoolJoker yeah the combat was the best part and a huge step up from Inquisition. It was just everything else that was the problem!

It's a damn shame that a game as good as Dragon Age: Origins is banished to PS3/Xbox 360 era consoles. That's still one of the most memorable games I've ever played. I couldn't tell you anything about the story or characters in Veilguard. You could offer me $5000 to name ONE companion from Veilguard, and I wouldn't be able to do it...and I platinumed the game.

@Rich33 Yeah, it really does come down to bad writing. It's a "show, don't tell" situation. It just came across as bad fan-fiction, to me. As for "that scene," I did find it particularly groan-worthy, but I understand why it can be really frustrating when it's the only thing that anyone brings up. It's one of my examples of "real-world" problems just shoved into DA. "Non-binary" really shouldn't be a term that even exists in DA and a more skilled writer would have found a way to get that concept into the game without explicitly calling it that, but I digress.

As for Hogwarts, I really enjoyed that game too and thought they handled the similar topic quite well. The tone was also a healthy balance of dark and optimistic.

To me, the whole point of putting those kinds of stories and messages into fiction is to recontextualize it for a wider audience. It allows them to see the situation with "new eyes," so to speak, and gain empathy that they may not have had going in. By just pointing to it, rather than using allegory, those that aren't initially receptive to the concept just put their guard up.

In that respect, DA:V seemed like it was preaching to the choir, rather than attempting to grow the congregation.

@wildcat_kickz
As I say, I did really enjoy DAV as a whole - I looked past some of the bad writing (sad, because I think there was good writing in there too, even if it wasn't that deep).

Maybe it helped on my part that having found the previous games so forgettable - I went in without expectations. But I'm not sure how many who felt like I did about the previous games would have bought DAV.
At the same time, I can easily see how the tone shift could alienate long term fans.
Such is the problem with game series! Change things too much and people have issues - don't change them enough and people complain!

It did however get far too much bad 'press' (I use that phrase hesitantly given where the real hate was coming from), and was hard done by, based on 1 own goal.

Oh and I totally get what you mean by inclusion without labels being a good method.

@Rich33 I'm glad you enjoyed it, earnestly.

It did get a target on its back, but it's unfortunately the state of the internet, these days. The same is true for Hogwarts (though the mob came from the other side, in that case), Marathon, Intergalactic, etc.

The success and failure of games has become a sport to so many people and it's frankly just lame. People take genuine pleasure in robbing other people's joy.

@Hylian-Likely isn't that everything? I can't remember the last time video games or Hollywood made an actually interesting character. They keep having to rely on old characters made years ago. This is a realization I had recently watching Dune Prophecy and House of the Dragon, all the characters are so unlikeable you can't behind any of them which is stark(no pun intended) contrast to Game of Thrones where there were so many well written characters. 2020s writers suck these days

@ilyn here’s a person with my same take on Dragon Age. Part 1 is decent. Not great. But for some reason it gets hyped like it’s a classic. Part 2 is pure trash! Inquisition is one of my favorite games ever. And if 2 weren’t so terrible, Veilguard would be the worst Dragon Age.

@wildcat_kickz
"The same is true for Hogwarts (though the mob came from the other side, in that case)"

An excellent case of you shouldn't judge a book by its cover!
And just as little aside, I don't know if you have read the books, but I thought there was a nice little 'touch', when the devs allowed you to turn Expelliarmus - the authors ultimate hero do no harm spell, which held a special place in the lore as Harry used it, even when told off for doing so in dangerous situations - into a damaging curse!...
Allowing the use of Avada Kedavra wasn't enough...lol

This is such a shame. I read up on much of the lore of Thedas in preparation for Veilguard as especially on PlayStation the old games are pretty much inaccessible. On PC, I just don't like to play with mouse and keyboard and to get them to work well with a controller is pretty difficult. Maybe now on Series I'll play the backwards compatible versions included with EA Play. But some aspects have definitely not aged very well.

@Rich33 I also quite enjoyed Veilguard, and I even got the platinum for it. My main criticisms for it have to do with the fact that there isn't much story development or nuance to some of the characters (basically the whole game is Evanuris = bad for almost no reason than "they're blighted"), with how Tess in specific is written (I'm all for inclusivity, being part of the LGBTQ+ community myself, but it all felt very forced), and how repetitive the combat got. But the discourse online really was nasty back then (I don't even think the artstyle was that bad).

I literally loved DA 2 and never understood the hate it gets. Ok - they decided not to go open world. Boo hoo. The characters and the narrative of it were great and I loved the gameplay loop. Played it several times to see different outcomes of things.

Oh and the dialogue writing was literally great. The sarcasm Hawk could come out with. Compare that to literally anything in the two games since which all seems to have been sanitised to the point of total sterilisation for a generation of complete flannels who find the slightest thing ‘offensive’. How Rockstar are getting around that problem with a new GTA in this era of wet blanket nonsense, I have no idea!

@FreasurePlanten
I agree with most of your points - the exception being the combat which I found excellent, but I have wondered if style/class alters your mileage (as I said in a previous post I chose Spellblade).

I think its very fair to call some of the writing forced, unsubtle, ham fisted, cringeworthy etc, particularly (but not always) around Taash.
But that isn't unique to DAV. I think some writers just don't appreciate the value of inclusion / representation, without stereotyping, labels, or 'bright neon flashing lights'. They completely undervalue the feeling of normalcy.
Although I did appreciate the ability to romance every character (in the most part without labels) - is that real to life, no, but neither are games and their small choice pools etc, and games like Cyberpunk did this terribly in my opinion (full of stereotypes and bad options).

DAV in no way deserved the hate it got from some small minded people - there is, as you know, a big difference between hate, and genuine criticism (which at times it did deserve).

Like you, I had no problem with the art style.

I will just add in case anyone reads this and thinks otherwise, or thinks that I am saying something I am not, that I believe the other user I discussed this game with was being genuine, and had genuine criticisms.

@AhmadSumadi My main issue with DA:O is that the combat went for a heavy skill based system but then didn't allow for enough resources to really use them much. Auras costing energy also didn't help and overall It blunted the combat quite a bit and you spend a large portion of the game watching you character auto attack.

I would say we likely disagree on DA:V however as I did enjoy that because they made the combat fun to play and areas didn't outstay their welcome. Areas being to large was the biggest issue in DA:I as certain parts of the game (desert, hinterlands) were just a slog. It was a prime example of the bigger is better era despite the bigger areas having nothing of worth in them.

I personally rated them as DA:: O / DA: V > DA: I > DA2

@ilyn cannot agree more with your pointing out of Origins combat problems.
Also Stan died in every skirmish, no matter what items I gave him or how I allocated his points. Ogren was sooo sooo much better than him.

@ilyn oh, we don’t disagree much on Veilguard. They shifted the tone of the series and I find that to the a valid gripe. However, the other negative stuff that follows the game I think is pure nonsense.

Inquisition is one of my all time favorite games. Cassandra in Inquisition is my favorite female game character. I think Inquisition hit all the right notes. Combat, tone, characters, etc. There’re no Dragon Age characters who can top Cassandra, Sera, and Vivienne. That was my squad the whole game!

As far as ranking. I say Inquisition, Origins, Veilguard, and 2. Bur 2 is only ranked because it has to be.

DA2 is in the same boat as Fallout 4. Both get s**t on because they're compared to the previous game but they both have great characters and dialogue.