Dragon Age: Origins

Play it on: PS3, Xbox 360, Windows (Steam Deck: YMMV)
Current goal: Return to a beloved classic and see if it holds up
Buy it from: Best Buy

On a recent night, I was contemplating all the current games I have yet to finish that I could potentially play this weekend and trying to figure out which one I was feeling the most when an impulse came to me out of nowhere: Perhaps, with The Veilguard on the horizon, I should return to the game that kicked off BioWare’s swords-and-sorcery series and see if it still works its magic on me. So I went rummaging through my Steam library and installed 2009’s Dragon Age: Origins on my PC, where it now waits for me to dive back in come Saturday.

I think I’m just excited about fantasy role-playing games in general right now, what with the D&D campaign I run for some friends delivering lots of great moments lately, and the details coming out about the upcoming revisions to D&D’s core rulebooks getting me stoked for the game’s future. Of course, you might be thinking that if I’ve got D&D on the brain right now, I should immerse myself back in Baldur’s Gate 3, but for whatever reason, right now it’s Thedas that’s calling to me. Will I find it spellbinding when I actually dive in, or will the 15 years since Origins’ release quickly have me opting for something a little more contemporary? There’s only one way to find out! — Carolyn Petit