At the end of 2009, BioWare released the firstDragon Agegame,Dragon Age: Origins, to widespread critical acclaim.Dragon Age: Originslaid the groundwork for the largerDragon Agefranchise, which would grow to include novels, an animated Netflix series, comics, various spin-offs, and, of course, direct sequels. While the latest entry in the long-running series failed to meet commercial expectations, theDragon Agefranchise has fairly consistently enjoyed critical success.
End-year awards have historically treated BioWare well, and for good reason. While the studio has put out the occasional critical flop, likeMass Effect: Andromedaand thesoon-to-be-shut-downAnthem, most of its work has been praised by fans and critics alike. Indeed,Dragon Age: The Veilguardjust earned a Game of the Year award itself, adding to the franchise’s impressive trophy case.
WithDragon Age: The Veilguardwinning its own Game of the Year award, some may be wondering about all the other major awards the franchise has earned over the years. Note that this is not a comprehensive list of every single award that theDragon Agefranchise has won.
These lists do not include awards doled out by individual outlets, but the franchise has taken home plenty of those as well.
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Originsis considered by many fans to be the best game in the series, and its excellence was recognized by both the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (now known as the DICE Awards) and the Spike Video Game Awards (the precursor to the modern day Game Awards hosted by Geoff Keighley). AIAS awardedDragon Age: OriginsBest Role-Playing Game of the Year, while the Spike Video Game Awards gave it Best PC Game and Best RPG.Dragon Age: Originsmanaged to defeat the likes ofDemon’s SoulsandBorderlandsin the Best RPG category, while it bested heavy hitters likeLeft 4 Dead 2andThe Sims 3in for Best PC Game.
Fans have been calling for aDragon Age: Originsremaster or remakefor years, since many think its graphics are a little outdated by today’s standards, but the game itself is still incredible.Dragon Age: Originshas players experiencing six distinct origin stories depending on what class and race combo they choose, though every character ultimately finds themselves wrapped up in the Grey Warden’s struggle against the Blight.Dragon Age: Originsfeatures memorable companions, shocking story developments, and an engaging combat system that rewards tactical thinking. It’s a remarkable game that has stood the test of time and certainly deserves the accolades it’s earned.
Dragon Age 2
After BioWare hit it out of the park withDragon Age: Origins, it followed it up withDragon Age 2,considered by many to be the black sheep of the franchise. Unlike its predecessor,Dragon Age 2did not win any major gaming awards. It still earned mostly positive reviews, though, and it found itself nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.
Dragon Age 2is the story of Hawkeas he or she flees the Blight, arriving at Kirkwall and rising through the city’s ranks.Dragon Age 2features its fair share of important player choices and memorable companions, but it featured some major drawbacks that likely kept it from getting as much recognition as its predecessor. WhereasDragon Age: Originswas a grand adventure spanning a variety of exciting locations,Dragon Age 2is confined almost entirely to Kirkwall, with many dungeons looking very similar. The narrative framework of having Varric recount the game’s events also hurt the sense of urgency that the first game had.Dragon Age 2is not a bad game by any means, but it’s not surprising that it didn’t win any major game awards.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
The peak of theDragon Agefranchise’s award-winning ways came with 2014’sDragon Age: Inquisition. That year,Inquisition won Game of the Yearand Best RPG from The Game Awards, as well as Game of the Year and Role-Playing Game of the Year from the DICE Awards.Inquisitionalso took home the Game of the Year awards from SXSW Gaming Awards and the 2014 NAVGTR Awards. At The Game Awards that year,InquisitionbeatBayonetta 2,Dark Souls 2,Hearthstone, andMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordorto take home the top prize.
After the slight misstep that wasDragon Age 2,Inquisitionwas a huge return to form for theDragon Agefranchise while simultaneously moving it forward in some significant ways. While Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game were released,Inquisitiontook full advantage of the horsepower behind the PS4 and Xbox One consoles to deliver the best-lookingDragon Agegame up to that point. It also revamped the gameplay by giving playerslarge open worlds to explore, as opposed to the more linear level design employed by previous entries. 2014 is generally considered one of the industry’s weaker years when it comes to new game releases, so it’s hard to say ifInquisitionwould have won if put up against games from other years, but it’s one of BioWare’s best-selling games for a reason.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Dragon Age: The Veilguard was nominated for Best Game or Interactive Work at the Hugo Awards, but that is still pending at the time of this writing.
So far,Dragon Age: The Veilguardhas picked up three notable awards. It earned Outstanding Video Game from the 36th GLAAD Media Awards, and more recently, it picked up the nods for Game of the Year and Best LGBTQ+ Character at the Gayming Awards. The Best LGBTQ+ Character award was forDragon Age: The Veilguardprotagonist Rook, whose personality and sexuality are ultimately up to the player to decide.
Released in 2024,Dragon Age: The Veilguardearned mostly positive reviews, but still fell short of the heights reached byOriginsandInquisition.The Veilguardserves as a finale of sorts to the overarching narrative and features brand-new characters along with many returning fan favorites.The Veilguard’s combat is explosive and fun, and the game is easily the most visually-impressive game in the series to date. There was some criticism aimed at the narrative and dialogue, butThe Veilguardis still an engaging action-RPG with a ton of content.
