Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition

I've played this game over and over and over. Got a copy from my old friend years ago, modded it, fucked it up so much with my mods, bought it on steam, played it vanilla, played it again with mods. Over and over and over. It touches a part of my soul. 11/10 I'd recommend.

This game Old as it is still was fun to play and almost made me cry, the lore and gameplay chiefs kiss

I love Dragon Age Origins, but this steam port is one of the most annoyingly broken games that EA has for sale, in 14 hours of playtime, I spent probably an extra 3-4 hours just trying to fix things that where supposedly "included" in the game.
If you don't download a patch that makes the game available to use 4 gb of vram, then you literally will not get past the bridge in Ostagar.
Want to enjoy the dlc that the game is advertised as being sold included, you need to go manually download them all yourself. get in game only too realize that the dlc you downloaded still aren't working, and learn that its a common issue that the manual downloads EA provides are missing files that you then need to also download to make the dlc even function.
I cannot recommend this port, its broken as it is right now, unless you're willing to put in work to fix it yourself, in which case you'll have yourself a great game.

Do not buy this on Steam, it constantly crashes and then said I have an unsupported graphics card (for a 25 year old game). I bought this on steam for the ease of use and installation but if I have to go to forums and external sites to get it running properly I would not have paid for it on this platform. Buyer beware...

This is a defective and unsupported videogame, the game won't run unless you download something external and that's it, and every time you open the game you have to select how many CPU cores the game should use because otherwise the crap will explode, simply buy it on some other platform or skip to another more recent game in the series.

Damn, BioWare indeed went through entire charachter arc of Teyrn Loghain. Just as funny as sad.
What a great company it was. R.I.P.

Role-Playing Freedom

Behind the Times

Poor support and maintenance

Tedious Enemy Encounters

Recommendations

Would it really hurt them to patch this to make it work on modern systems without so much troubleshooting....

I have tried 4GB Patch, different .exe files, Qwinn's patch, Vulkan downloads etc etc and I can't get it to work. I have 8 hours in a playthrough before it dediced not to let me load into new areas. Disappointing.

One of the best RPGs and easily one of my top ten games of all time, the writing and voice acting are peak. the game has darker tones and complex story lines that many modern games fail to handle properly even today. I'd also like to acknowledge the fact that everything you hear is biased to some degree which incentives you to come to your own conclusions about the world you're exploring.

Definitely among the top of my list of favorite games!


WORLD DESIGN:
DA:O is from a time when RPG's aren't also trying so hard to be bloated open-world games. It's level design offers just enough to give you a sense of adventure without huge empty areas to artificially pad playtime like in most recent RPG's. This allows for a more balanced pacing between experiencing the game's story and exploration. The world itself is oozing with atmosphere. From Ostagar to The circle of Magi and from Denerim to the Deep Roads, every place in this game is designed to be unique, beautiful, and interesting. (I admit that the Fade and the deeproads sections, as gorgeous as they are, can be tiresome after the first play-though...so there's that.)

STORY
The over-arching story is simple and not that open ended. BUT! There are so many fun role-playing decisions from as early as the character creation menu up until the end of the story. This ensures that each play-through is different and nuanced offering tons of replay value. You may always be the hero of Ferelden by the end. Question is, what kind of hero will you be? Will you be a saint, a kind hero who tries help to everyone? Or will you be a an malicious person who hurts others but happens to defeat a great threat and therefore save the day, a hero in name only? Your actions throughout the game will decide.

COMPANIONS:
Probably one of the most memorable and my fav group of companions in all of DA (even Bioware) games. Maybe even my fav companions in all of gaming. They're fun to engage with and have depth. They feel like real people thanks to the phenomenal voice work and competent writing. The banter system is peak too. Also, there is a believable reason why my PC is suddenly the leader of the group established early on.

COMBAT:
Combat may be janky, outdated even, but the party tactics, an improvement from Baldur's gate before it imho, is engaging to play with. The implementaion of this mechanic is among the things that really sets DAO apart from the other DA games for me. In DA2 I never needed it and it was so janky and barely even there in DAI that I just gave up on using it.

Though it's an older game and the graphics are outdated it's still a fun game to play around with. There are plenty of quests to do and and lots of lore and challenges to uncover. I tend to use a controller but this game has pushed me in the direction of keyboard and mouse, which is fine with me. I think anyone with a bit of nostalgia will enjoy diving into this classic game.

I first played DAO back when it released, on the PS3. It was like no other fantasy game I'd played, with a rich origins story and companion interaction- as well as romances- that were developed and unique. I'd never cared about the people in a game so much as I did with Origins. Of course, I replayed it several times, then got it for PC, modded it heavily, and so on. While playing BG3, I was reminded of Origins in terms of its writing, and after the rather disappointing Veilguard game, decided to get a Steam copy and see how Origins was today. It's still utterly wonderful, with writing, companions, and player freedom that are outstanding even today. Your choices really do matter. In terms of technical stuff, you will almost certainly need to mod it, but fortunately there are many well-proven and well-known ways around it. You'll want to get the modded .exe file and 4GB patch, and there are some good QOL fixes on a well-populated Nexus page. You will probably also need to "trick" the game into thinking you have a 32-bit PC. The game runs well enough *outside* of Denerim and Orzammar- the infamous memory leak issues mean you might need to lower your graphics to medium or even low in these places to avoid CTD issues. It's less easy to mod and stable than, say Morrowind, but it's another great older game that you can still enjoy today, especially if you enjoy quality writing, lore, and anything approaching Divinity or BG3.

Do you all remember when Bioware used to be a legendary game development company that puts out banger games after banger games like the Mass Effect and KOTOR games??? Yeah, me too. ANYWAY! Dragon Age: Origins. Thank you to my dear friend, BobbyBurst, for gifting me Dragon Age: Veilguard because it has given me a good excuse to play the Dragon Age games again. Origins is one of my most favorite RPGs that I played a ton of on my Xbox (and my PS3 but I actually never finished the game on that system). For a game that came out in 2009, it still holds up well. The game still looks good, the story's amazing, the characters well-written and loved (not you, Loghain), and so much lore from the Codices! All of your companions that you meet along the way is one of the things that makes Origins amazing. The banters between them are just great especially the ones involving Alistair. I love that man. Such a goober. This is also the version of the game that I got to experience all the DLCs as on the Xbox, I could only play Awakening. They are good! If you want to experience what Origins has to fully offer along with the choices you make affecting the rest of the games, I recommend you play the DLCs. Except the Darkspawn one. That one is just a "What If" DLC so it doesn't really add much to the main story, and I skipped it. The order of the DLCs you want to play is Awakening, Golem of Amgarrak, and Witch Hunt. Awakening will be the longest DLC as it adds a bunch of new stuff like companions. Golem and Witch Hunt are pretty short as I was able to get through Golem within an hour and a half and Witch Hunt roughly around the same time. Bioware stated they would never make DLCs as long as Awakening again, and they indeed kept their word. Oh yeah, I just remembered, there is a DLC for Leliana. It's okay. I mean if you want more backstory on Leliana, I recommend you play but if you don't care, another safe to skip DLC. There is also the Soldier's Peak and Return to Ostagar DLCs. Both are also okay too and are great to do if you want the extra XPs and Gears plus some more lore and resolution of giving a certain character a proper funeral. Despite all the praise I give the game, Origins does have its issues. One of the main ones is that if you want have a good experience with the game not plagued by crashes, you need to mod this game along with doing some steps to get the DLCs to appear despite this being the Ultimate Edition. I recommend going to the "Guides" section of Origins and find two people, G the Glamorous and Dreams. The two guides made by these wonderful folks is what you need to get the game fully working and going. I noticed when I play Origins, the game will eventually start to stutter and drop in frames. Granted, it is probably because I play as a mage and decide to throw all my AoE spells as soon as any battle starts but anyway, the best way to fix it is to save your game and restart Origins should this issue occur and it will occur throughout your playthrough. The combat in this game is okay. It is not bad by any means but it does get repetitive by the end as once you find your favorite ability combo, you will stick with that for the rest of the game. Origins is also one of those games where I honestly just recommend playing on Easy or install a mod that stops friendly fire from happening on Normal because I do not know why friendly fire is a thing on Normal. Dragon Age 2 does it where it only happens on the hardest difficulty. In Origins, it is either Easy or install a mod for Normal as it really makes combat more annoying than it needs to be when Wynne or Morrigan or even you the player uses a spell or another ability that hurts, knocks down, freezes, etc everyone. Another reason to just stick to Easy as this game has moment where the difficulty spikes for really no reason which can take you out of the experience. Actually, the difficulty may suddenly spike even on easy. The game is weird in that aspect. Overall, Dragon Age: Origins is still a very amazing game that I recommend to anyone that enjoys RPGs and want to get into the series so they can prepare for Veilguard. I know I am!!! I am excited and dreading to play Veilguard! 9/10!!! The mod where you can bring your Mabari Doggy Pet with you even with a full party is VERY NECESSARY!!!

Do not purchase this game on Steam, due to ever advancing tech in graphics cards, the game is reaching a point where it can no longer recognise the capabilities of certain graphics devices, when this happens, the game tries to revert its settings to the next best thing it can find which is often your onboard graphics settings on your motherboard, this leads to the game constantly crashing and corrupting save files. simply put, if you are running a newer graphics card, this game is not likely for you and you'd be flushing $6-$30 down the drain

RPG classic experience in its prime! Only now had a chance to finish it and it is time well-spent. True masterpiece I highly recommend.

Buggy mess on windows 10 PC GOG version is 100% better DLC also works without any outside work.

Great game, just awful port.

I can't get the game to work. If I alt tab out it will crash the game. If i start combat, it will crash the game. If I exit a menu, guess what? It crashes the game.

I'm still at the beginning stages of the game and the story is pretty good so far. The main downside is that it crashes constantly (even after downloading the 4gb patch) and makes it difficult to enjoy the game

A great game, ABSOLUTELY BROKEN and unplayable. This game has a lot of bugs that were never fixed back in the day, which can sometimes be worked around, but the stability just not there. This game will freeze and crash to desktop frequently. Any savedgames close to those crashes risk being corrupted. Quicksaving overwrites the same file so eventually, you'll end up with hours of progress lost.

This could easily be patched to the same standard as the GOG.com version. Buy your copy there and avoid it until it's fixed here.

This should be taken down.

Game keeps crashing so I can't even get through the beginning of the game. :(

Game constantly crashes at random times.They are not updating it to play with modern operating systems. its unplayable. i would not buy it

It took nearly 2.5 hours to get this thing playable and only slightly modernized. I do not recommend purchasing this unless it's *PERPETUALLY* on sale. I dont mean there were graphics problems, I dont mean there were memory leaks - I mean you outright CANNOT even open the game regardless of your hardware because the game has been abandoned (obviously) and will not function unless you use mods and 3rd party software.

Granted, it looks gorgeous and plays well after downloading 15+ programs or mods just to be able to open the damn thing, but the effort to make it work is enough to turn 90% of the renewed player base away.

You need to do a shit ton of work on your own to get this running properly.
The devs have not supported this game to run on modern hardware even though it's literally the most popular game in the series. Shame on EA and Bioware.
The game itself is good but I'd pirate a version with everything already figured out or get it on GOG where the launcher has been patched and the DLCs are figured out. Don't buy the steam version.

This game does nothing but crash. I can`t play it. IMO if steam sells it in modern day, then it should be able to be played by a modern computer Or it should have a disclaimer in the specs page saying that if you have a modern PC it will not work out of the box and it must be modded. If steam/Bioware sells a product, they should stand by it.

get it on GOG instead, it's in the preservation program.
this version is forgotten and unsupported, it will be a pain the bottoms to get it run properly on modern systems and even then it may crash

Good dialogue, good story, and amazing atmosphere it has setup with how grim things are. Overall an 8/10
I'd give it a 9 if it wasn't for the fact that it crashes at times and I have to manually install other DLC items that I paid for

Fantastic game but this port is absolute trash. The game continually crashes even after turning off auto-save, putting game in windowed, and mod fix. Very disappointed, yet another reminder of EA slowly suffocating BioWare...

Game crashes randomly and it's tiring saving after every single little thing knowing its going to crash again. Also there is no controller support even though the console versions obviously support controller. It's a shame because the actual game was enjoyable if it didn't crash randomly.

This version of Dragon Age Origins should not be sold for money and at this point it's basically just an easy scam by EA to make some quick money off of a dead unsupported product.

I don't want to waste too much time talking about the game itself; if you're familiar with BioWare RPGs you should more or less know what to expect: The game has all the hallmarks of a good BioWare RPG, and it's topped off with an interesting and unique combat system called Tactics that makes for strategic and hectic combat encounters. As per usual with BioWare games, the game contains different ways to play your character and interact with the story which makes it great fun... in theory.

In theory? Yes, in theory, because in practice this PC port of Dragon Age is one of the most unstable products I've played on this platform and it will crash frequently, if not every other minute (worst case scenario). I've heard that the GOG version runs better (meaning: it comes with all the community patches and hacks out of the box), but regardless it's a disgrace that EA allows its classic games to rot like this, especially in light of the recent new Dragon Age game coming out; It should be on Steam with proper support out of the box or not be on here at all, in my opinion.

I should also note that regardless of the fixes you apply, the game will always remain unstable and prone to crashing; It's never a question of "if" it crashes, but rather "when". A determined person with a lot of patience could probably play through this, but the point I'm trying to make with this review is that they shouldn't have to be.

Always beware of old games like this on Steam; Many of them haven't seen support in years, if at all, and are not worth your headaches. Check for reviews like my own if you're not sure.

I would love for this game to receive a proper PC remaster, but knowing EA this will probably never happen.

i have loved this game for over ten years and play each of them every year, but Origins is virtually unplayable on PC via Steam and GamePass. console is the best way to play Origins nowadays.
on a side note - i love you Alistair <3

The game seems amazing but I'm crashing every 30 mins its horrific. I'm using one core and a patch that is recommended to download but that doesn't seem to fix it anymore. The textures of the people are fine but when I Switch from Ostegar to the wilds for example a big blur is on my screen. I can't find any information on what else I can try I'm pretty sure the game is just completely broken and unplayable unless you want to crash every 30 mins.

Negative review only because I came across so many crashes when I got to Ostagar and a few before it.
The game itself I remember really enjoying when I first got it on console so shame this PC version has these issues :(

Until I can actually play the game Don't buy unless it's on sale
Can't play without it crashing and that suck's because I really want to play origins(especially after veil guard, Good god we need's this game more than ever)and I personally never had a chance to play it and trying to play it on PC But it kept constantly crashing i can't recommend if I can't even log on it, this game right now is unplayable but if for some reason they fix the game It's 100% worth the time and the money.

Even with mods this game is extremely prone to crashing to desktop, and you run the risk of your save corrupting. It happened to me twice, so yeah.

Also fuck you Bioware/EA for making me pay full price for Veilguard only to have it on sale so soon after release.

I am sure the game is lovely, but it is simply UNPLAYABLE on Steam. Even with unofficial patches and mods I cannot get it to run. It is absolutely scandalous that Steam dares to sell a game this broken.

Dragon Age: Origins is old. Why release an Ultimate Edition with enhanced graphics that only runs when you turn the graphics completely down to prevent crashes? Why pretend you optimized this game for modern computers when you obviously didn't?

I tried to get a refund but was refused because I played longer than two hours. I explained the only reason I have six hours on this game is because I tried to fix this unplayable mess. I spent hours going in and out of the game to fix areas that were not working or graphics that were not loading. And my reward for not being an insta-Karen and returning the game? No refund.

So, lesson's learned:
1. ALWAYS read online whether a game you plan on buying actually works.
2. Just return it if it doesn't, because if you try to fix it yourself they'll use it against you.

Don't buy the Steam version. It's busted. Buy the version on GOG. It's unacceptable that it's being sold in this state.

Despite all the bugs, clunkiness the game stuck to me, to the point where I wanted to complete DLCs and see what it has more to offer a really nice treat and it proves that ever increasing graphic fidelity is not the answer.

This is the REAl dragon age experience, only problem was a simple fix. A patch from nexus mods is required to play past the prologue without lots of crashing.

The only good Dragon Age. And boy is it good. Great characters and impeccable writing. Choices feel like they matter and the story promts investment. I have played this game 10+ times on both PC and Xbox, even years later I can still discover new things here and there.

There are many reasons why everyone loves this game: it's big, it has a great script, a great story, great characters, and the story has completely different outcomes depending on your actions. It's a cornerstone for every RPG that came after it.

cant even play the thing its broken. and before anyone says to just alter the files that is not what i paid for.

Back when games were made out of passion, not a product. we were gifted with gems like this. DA:O stands as one of the last true BioWare masterpieces, created before the departure of magician developers.

This is a game of consequences, particularly when it comes to assembling your party. You can easily miss out on characters like Sten and Leliana if you're rushing or make a mistake. This design encourages players to explore thoroughly, rather than just sticking to the main quest. I recall playing this game in 2011 and realizing too late that I had missed these characters, with no way to recruit them afterward.

It wasn’t about a scenic open world. It was the deeper elements, the music and the feel of the whole setting. Many comments talk about how these aspects made you feel like it was you and your team against the world and desperate odds, and they’re right.

Is it happiness? Is it pain? What is this feeling? This is a game that matures with you as you progress. They don't make them like they used to.

I saw a lot of reviews about how the game doesn't run in modern systems, but I installed it and it ran natively and without any issues on my steam deck. I didn't even have to login to Origin or any other client.

Dragon Age: Origins remains a masterpiece in 2024, with a world that hooks you right from the beginning. It adds its' own unique twists to classic fantasy tropes, creating an experience that feels truly original.

Yes, the visuals are dated by modern standards, but the game’s incredible writing more than makes up for it (And if the graphics really bother you, mods are your friend!). The cast is phenomenal, with every companion offering their own charm and depth. Add in the "Origins" feature, which lets you start the game from different character perspectives, and you have a recipe for endless replayability. It’s thrilling to see how each character tackles challenges in their own way.

The mechanics hold up remarkably well, and combat remains engaging—whether it’s strategizing in real-time battles or luring enemies into cleverly set traps. Exploration strikes a perfect balance, never feeling like a chore. And the darker, grittier atmosphere gives the game a unique tone compared to its sequels, Dragon Age II and Inquisition.

If you’ve somehow missed this gem, it’s absolutely worth diving into in 2024 and beyond. You might need a patch to get it running smoothly, but this information has been readily available for years—so don’t let that deter you. Dragon Age: Origins is a classic for a reason, and it still deserves your attention. I would recommend it 10x if only Steam let me.

10/10 game but the steam version is so broken you can't play without the 4GB patch, not sure about the game from the EA launcher but from what I've heard this game is broken everywhere unless you have a physical copy for xbox 360.

Downside of the 4gb patch is that you can't log into DA keep and work on the tapestry or import your choices to Dragon Age 2, but at least it makes the game playable.

I've tried any number of guides and fixes and patches and still I cannot go more than a few hours without the whole thing crashing down and keeping me from making anymore progress. I wouldn't say I'm very computer-savvy, but I know enough to know that if I have to take so many convoluted steps just to make the thing work then it isn't worth the effort.

One of the best RPG's I've ever played.

Dark Fantasy is the best type of fantasy, and this one does not shy away from being grim.

Where most franchises get better with each sequel
This franchise does the exact opposite where the peak is with the origins

Probably BioWare's last true CRPG. Real-time with pause combat, companions loaded with dialogue, backstories, and personal quests, and just enough lack of hand-holding to make you think for a second or two.

Playing this again in 2024 allows me to see some things a bit more clearly now: 1) The graphics were never really great. Lots of browns and grays here. 2) Party AI is not great, and a FFXII-level gambit system would have been ideal, rather than the barebones format they used here. 3) There is probably too much combat in this game, without enough variation in the types of enemies they throw at you. The game will drag towards the end because you're just fighting so much, but many of the fights are inconsequential.

However, the good still shines through. Complex characters, rich world-lore, and a variety of ways to build your character, both in terms of combat choices and backstories (Origins), is all still really great.

I love the game so far. Super fun! But It's crashing A LOT. You need to save once every 15mins or you wont progress.