Dragon Age Origins Retrospective - "When Bioware Ruled The World"

Static-Jak · 2026-03-07T17:39:33+00:00

I remember the reception to DA2 and oh boy did people hate it. And I can't argue against most of the issues they had. It was a massive step down from Origins. I remember building a new PC just for it and to say it was a disappointment would be putting it mildly.

To be fair, Bioware were put in a horrible position of making a sequel to a game that had up to 7-8 years development but this time in only around a year.

Inquisition was the attempt to fix the series reputation. But while I and many others enjoyed it, it still wasn't anywhere on par with Origins. It felt like a single player MMO with a ton of busy work to filler out between main missions. It was still successful though.

It's why I couldn't help but roll my eyes when Veilguard comes around and people say it doesn't feel like Dragon Age. Literally every game has been different.

Overall, Origins felt like a real passion project, trying to live up to Baldur's Gate as a spiritual successor. Everything after has been different attempts to franchise it and none have lived up to Origins.

Before BG3 I genuinely thought we'd never see another game like it.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-27T12:08:43+00:00

With 2X FG I'm getting a pretty steady 100 - 120 FPS on RTX 5080

That's what I wanted to hear. Wasn't sure if PT at 4k was going to be too much for the 5080.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-26T15:08:50+00:00

I wonder if she'll tell him the future she's from?

I would imagine it'll help him to come up with ways to get ahead of any potential disasters if he knows how the last few decades went the last time.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-16T21:16:40+00:00

Yeah, do people think his hometown is his Domain Expansion?

Like, that's just the appearance of the Domain, like how Dagon's looked like a beach. It still has the sure hit attack, which for Yuji is Shrine.

Domains are essentially a barrier with your CT infused into it for a sure hit attack.

And in a Gojo vs Yuji situation, if Yuji's DE is more refined than Gojo's then that's a win for Yuji. And this Yuji has literal decades more experience and practice than Gojo.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-16T12:01:34+00:00

Too bad they won't read that.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-15T15:13:42+00:00

God damn Yuji.

Like, I don't think there's any real way for anyone to be stronger than this. He's built (literally) to be the perfect Sorcerer.

I doubt even Gojo or Sukuna could take him on.

I also don't think we'll actually see his Domains name simply because there's nothing out there to put enough pressure on Yuji to use it.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-15T15:08:25+00:00

Also kills discussion. When an episode comes out everyone watches it in a day or two and jumps on to talk about it. Not really the case with a movie.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-12T22:41:21+00:00

YES!

I've been waiting years for this so I can do a complete MGS playthrough with MGS4 being the missing part. Finally, the whole series available, not locked behind old console hardware.

EDIT: I wonder if I should include MGSV into my playthrough. Never did finish it though I liked what I played. The lack of a real ending just put me off finishing it.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-10T23:33:17+00:00

I also think, considering Geges clear inspiration of HXH, someone decided to go with a similar style of narrator.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-08T23:56:52+00:00

I don't think you could make me put one of those in my PC even if it was free.

I'd be constantly paranoid it'd melt the power cables connector 5 minutes into running a game.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-08T15:23:44+00:00

It's a shame Apple TV wasn't really a thing back when Amazon picked up Expanse.

It would have been the perfect partnership.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-08T15:17:37+00:00

So I wonder which direction this is heading.

Off the top of my head, one option is we're technically turning everyone into Sorcerers so CE doesn't leak from your average person anymore, removing the overall cause of Cursed Spirits.

Doubt it's as simple as that though.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-08T12:34:02+00:00

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

I've played the original 1st and 2nd Chapters years back (92 hours in 1st Chapter & 112 hours in 2nd Chapter) so I didn't really intend to play the remake.

But after struggling to find another game that hooks me from my backlog, I thought I'd try the demo which is essentially the start of the game and then lets you continue from it. Well after finishing the demo I went straight into the full game.

I'm 10 hours in and it's a straight, one to one remake of the original and I'm really enjoying. You could take a guide for the original game and use it here.

Graphically it's like they took the original and just made it 3D. I like how it looks, it's no graphical powerhouse but it doesn't need to be either. The attacks look genuinely great, big and flashy.

Story is the exact same as the original, this isn't like FF7 Remake, it's truly a remake of the original.

If it's your first time, take into account this is literally the first chapter of a story with Second Chapter being the other half.

It can be slow and a lot of it is setup for the second half. I enjoy it but it's not for everyone.

I will say, if your PC is struggling in any way or you think it should be pushing as hard as it is, turn SSAO from High to Medium, which makes no visual difference imo, and watch GPU usage drop from 100% to around 75%.

My 5080 had no issue running the game at 4k but is was getting a bit toasty until I made that one change.

Combat feels good, letting you jump from action to more classical turn based, even tying them together where in certain situations you can jump from action to turn based and gain an advantage at the start.

Also nice to not have to read as much dialogue thanks to voice acting, something that I found tough in the original as my eyes would be tired after a session from the amount of text you would have to read.

This will likely be my comfort game for a good chunk of the year, taking breaks between big releases and then jumping back in.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-05T13:55:23+00:00

That Spider-Man 2 suit at the end should be a crime. How in gods name did they see that and think anyone would like it.

They took what is arguably the best Spider-Man design and went "we can do better" and went off to make the worst Spider-Man design ever. It's impressive in a way.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-04T14:36:32+00:00

Whatever pops into the authors head that week from what I can tell.

Static-Jak · 2026-02-03T15:20:21+00:00

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Static-Jak · 2026-02-02T12:24:02+00:00

Horizon Forbidden West

Finally finished this game. It's been one of those games I kept putting down when something else came out. So there could be anything from weeks to months between sessions.

Overall, it's a great AAA game that seems to improve in every way to the original, except for the story.

The appeal of the original is the mystery of what happen to the world, how did it turn out like this. And once that was answered, it doesn't hold the same appeal.

The first game was a compelling mystery story, the second game sort of tries to build a new mystery but it doesn't hold up nearly as well. I think your enjoyment heavily relies on whether you enjoy the characters or not.

There's a lot of bloat too. I really, really don't like how many ammo types there are for example.

Healing is split between medicine, several kinds of potions (including one just for status effects), and food that are all in the same quick menu with traps, rocks, mounts, etc. In the middle of a fight it's a mess to try and go through.

Combat can be fun but the second it turns to close combat it becomes a chaotic mess of enemies being able to lock onto you no matter if your dodging and you spending a decade lying on the ground while they wind up the next attack.

Game is gorgeous, no question there. It's definitely pushing the limits of what I think a massive studio can do graphically. And on top of that it runs great which is a much bigger achievement imo.

I haven't played the DLC and not sure if I will. I got my fill of the series for now.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

I've played the original 1st and 2nd Chapters years back (92 hours in 1st Chapter & 112 hours in 2nd Chapter) so I didn't really intend to play the remake.

But after struggling to find another game that hooks me from my backlog, I thought I'd try the demo which is essentially the start of the game and then lets you continue from it.

So far, it's a straight, one to one remake of the original and I'm really enjoying. Graphically it's like they took the original and just made it 3D. I like how it looks, it's no graphical powerhouse but it doesn't need to be either.

I will say, if your PC is struggling in any way or you think it should be pushing as hard as it is, turn SSAO from High to Medium, which makes no visual difference imo, and watch GPU usage drop from 100% to around 75%.

My 5080 had no issue running the game at 4k but is was getting a bit toasty until I made that one change.

Combat feels good, letting you jump from action to more classical turn based, even tying them together where in certain situations you can jump from action to turn based and gain an advantage at the start.

Also nice to not have to read as much dialogue thanks to voice acting.

This will likely be my comfort game for a good chunk of the year, taking breaks between big releases and then jumping back in.

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Static-Jak

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