Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Today we’re talking about Dragon Age II. The sequel to one of the best CRPGs ever made is famous for being incredibly disappointing, but also for being the product of some of the worst crunch that BioWare, and maybe any game studio, ever had to endure. The game was created to fill a revenue gap for their publisher, Electronic Arts, and it feels like it in many ways. However, it still has a lot of features not found in any other BioWare RPG, as well as some of the best character writing that the studio has ever produced.
The game has many problems, from boring, grindy combat and endlessly reused dungeon spaces with maps that give the game away, to a lack of variety in locations and combat that was too dumbed down to appeal to the hardcore CRPG audience. However, despite all that, there is still a lot to love. Dragon Age 2 reveals its story over a long period of time and gives us more opportunities to develop relationships with our companions than the previous game. It also has a much more focused story, tackling two features unique to the Thedas setting: the Qunari, and the plight of the mages and the Templars.
So let’s jump in and start dissecting all these interesting pieces. Of course, we’ll have to do some complaining along the way, but maybe we can see that, for all its faults, Dragon Age 2 is still something of a gem in its own way.
-------------------------------------------------- Chapters-----------------------------------------------------
00:00 Start
06:37 Development
22:23 Setup: An unreliable narrator.
26:58 Character creation
40:25 SPOILER WARNING
45:15 Act 1
48:47 Engine Upgrades
55:13 Family is complicated
01:02:17 Merrill
01:10:30 Recycling
01:18:43 Fenris and Anders
01:34:14 Talent trees
01:38:52 Isabela and Aveline
01:52:42 Sebastian
02:00:09 Varric
02:07:47 Qunari
02:14:51 Saarebas
02:22:07 Act 2
02:28:41 Demands of the Qun
02:37:01 Hostile invasion.
02:46:42 Combat
02:54:47 Act 3
03:09:32 Mages Vs Templars
03:18:49 The last boss problem
03:25:19 Conclusion
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Tip me a coffee here
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Today we’re talking about Dragon Age II. The sequel to one of the best CRPGs ever made is famous for being incredibly disappointing, but also for being the product of some of the worst crunch that BioWare, and maybe any game studio, ever had to endure. The game was created to fill a revenue gap for their publisher, Electronic Arts, and it feels like it in many ways. However, it still has a lot of features not found in any other BioWare RPG, as well as some of the best character writing that the studio has ever produced.
The game has many problems, from boring, grindy combat and endlessly reused dungeon spaces with maps that give the game away, to a lack of variety in locations and combat that was too dumbed down to appeal to the hardcore CRPG audience. However, despite all that, there is still a lot to love. Dragon Age 2 reveals its story over a long period of time and gives us more opportunities to develop relationships with our companions than the previous game. It also has a much more focused story, tackling two features unique to the Thedas setting: the Qunari, and the plight of the mages and the Templars.
So let’s jump in and start dissecting all these interesting pieces. Of course, we’ll have to do some complaining along the way, but maybe we can see that, for all its faults, Dragon Age 2 is still something of a gem in its own way.
-------------------------------------------------- Chapters-----------------------------------------------------
00:00 Start
06:37 Development
22:23 Setup: An unreliable narrator.
26:58 Character creation
40:25 SPOILER WARNING
45:15 Act 1
48:47 Engine Upgrades
55:13 Family is complicated
01:02:17 Merrill
01:10:30 Recycling
01:18:43 Fenris and Anders
01:34:14 Talent trees
01:38:52 Isabela and Aveline
01:52:42 Sebastian
02:00:09 Varric
02:07:47 Qunari
02:14:51 Saarebas
02:22:07 Act 2
02:28:41 Demands of the Qun
02:37:01 Hostile invasion.
02:46:42 Combat
02:54:47 Act 3
03:09:32 Mages Vs Templars
03:18:49 The last boss problem
03:25:19 Conclusion
--------------------------------Super awesome Socials for cool people -------------------------------
Support me on Patreon and help me make this my full time job
patreon.com/Arkham666
All the hottest takes on coca cola are here
https://bsky.app/profile/arkham666.bsky.social
My Facebook page that a few people follow
facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077425298397
Instagram (I sort of use this sometimes)
instagram.com/samblenderart
Tip me a coffee here
ko-fi.com/arkham666
Commissions at artstation
artstation.com/the_rotton_core
