9 Must-Play Games Like Dragon Age

At first glance, BioWare’s Dragon Age franchise appears to be a standard fantasy epic filled with warring factions, apocalyptic prophecies, and, naturally, ferocious beasts. Yet, dive into any installment in the series—beginning ideally with Origins—and you will quickly discover its true beating heart: the unforgettable companions you traverse the abyss with.

The moral dilemmas presented throughout Dragon Age are brilliantly convoluted. Companions develop genuine emotional bonds or bitter rivalries with your Warden or Inquisitor; romance can dramatically alter high-stakes missions; and seemingly trivial choices made in the opening hours can drastically reshape the political landscape during monumental turning points. Whether you are craving more of that signature chemistry featuring witty banter and branching loyalty quests, or you simply want to experience a similar dynamic transposed into a different setting—such as an interstellar crew instead of a medieval adventuring party—here are nine exceptional titles to queue up next.

9

Divinity: Original Sin 1 & 2

Image: Larian Studios

Why you’ll love it if you enjoy Dragon Age: An exceptionally written cast, deeply tactical combat, and Larian Studios’ signature whimsical touch.

Where to play: PS4, PS5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

Though a millennium separates the eras of Divinity: Original Sin and its phenomenal sequel, both games task you with shielding the fantasy realm of Rivellon from volatile magical corruption known as Source and otherworldly abominations spilling forth from the Void. Fortunately, you do not shoulder this burden alone. Each adventure lets you assemble a roster of intrepid travelers who spend nearly as much time bickering with one another as they do slaying monsters.

This interpersonal friction within both titles—most notably in Divinity: Original Sin 2—makes the characters the primary catalyst for endless replayability. Naturally, you will spend your time unraveling murder mysteries or orchestrating prison breaks, but those are merely framework details. Just wait until you cross paths with Sebille; you will either become inseparable allies or bitter enemies before the ink on your introduction dries.

8

Neverwinter Nights (Enhanced Edition)

Image: Aspyr Media

Why you’ll love it if you enjoy Dragon Age: A seminal 2002 classic that helped pioneer the modern RPG standard for realistic companions and branching narratives.

Where to play: Windows PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X

Long before Dragon Age established its legacy, BioWare released Neverwinter Nights, a foundational masterpiece that directly paved the way for Ferelden’s adventures. The story commences as a lethal contagion known as the Wailing Death sweeps relentlessly through the metropolis of Neverwinter. Confined to quarantine, you must graduate from the local academy and assist Lady Aribeth in formulating a cure. Citizens are panicking, civil unrest is boiling over, and absolute pandemonium reigns behind the locked gates of the city.

Given that Neverwinter Nights is over two decades old, certain mechanics show their age, but it remains an essential pilgrimage for any Dragon Age enthusiast seeking a heavy dose of pure nostalgia.

7

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

Image: Owlcat Games Ltd

Why you’ll love it if you enjoy Dragon Age: Offers comparable companion depth and strategic, tactical combat tailor-made for micro-managers.

Where to play: Windows PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch

In Owlcat Games’ Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, you venture deep into uncharted space—specifically the Koronus Expanse. Although the sci-fi frontier contrasts with Dragon Age‘s terrestrial fantasy landscapes, the overarching perils your party confronts bear a striking resemblance. You must navigate a volatile succession crisis to secure your legacy within the esteemed Von Valancius dynasty. Much like the Blight and the relentless spawn of the Darkspawn in Dragon Age, Rogue Trader forces you to weather pervasive cosmic corruption—manifested here as Warp mutations and Chaos—while constantly watching your back for sudden betrayals.

Fans of BioWare’s masterclass will instantly appreciate the familiar origin-based character building system, though the deliberate, turn-based combat mechanics will provide a refreshing shift in momentum.

6

Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn

Image: Beamdog/BioWare via Polygon

Why you’ll love it if you enjoy Dragon Age: Prepare yourself for brilliantly taxing narrative dilemmas lurking around every corner.

Where to play: PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

Welcome to Baldur’s Gate 2, where you promptly find yourself imprisoned inside a subterranean laboratory. As Gorion’s Ward and a child of the murder deity Bhaal, you are being subjected to gruesome experiments by a cruel wizard named Jon Irenicus. Your immediate objective is simple: break out, rescue your captured childhood companion Imoen, and seek a safe place to recuperate—assuming, of course, nothing catastrophic disrupts those plans.

In Baldur’s Gate 2, much like the Dragon Age saga, you steadily uncover the secrets of a vast world while discerning who is truly worthy of your trust in pursuit of a goal that is simultaneously intensely personal and globally catastrophic. Oh, and did we mention there are vampires?

This legendary title represents another golden-age BioWare project conceived before the studio transitioned away from Dungeons & Dragons rulesets, ensuring it shares the exact same creative DNA. (As a side note: if you love Dragon Age and have somehow overlooked Baldur’s Gate 3, rectify that immediately.)

5

Mass Effect (Legendary Edition)

Graphic: Polygon | Source images: BioWare, EA, Manfred Bauman

Why you’ll love it if you enjoy Dragon Age: It utilizes BioWare’s signature choice-driven architecture and squad dynamic—just swap out broadswords for assault rifles.

Where to play: PS4, PS5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

Both Mass Effect and Dragon Age are crowning achievements in BioWare’s pedigree of character-driven storytelling and squad tactics. In both franchises, your decisions ripple across the narrative, save files carry meaningful weight into subsequent entries, and you maintain a central hub—be it a rustic campsite or a sleek starship—to debrief with your crew.

That is largely where the similarities diverge. In Mass Effect, you step into the boots of Commander Shepard aboard a state-of-the-art exploratory vessel tasked with investigating an alien artifact on a distant human colony. Naturally, things go catastrophically awry almost immediately, plunging you headfirst into interstellar warfare. Fortunately, you have a stellar crew watching your back; trading sarcastic barbs with the brooding Turian vagabond Garrus Vakarian easily ranks among the greatest highlights in gaming history.

4

Pathfinder: Kingmaker

Owlcat Games

Why you’ll love it if you enjoy Dragon Age: Combines intricate party-based tactical combat with grand-scale governance and kingdom building.

Where to play: PS4, PS5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

If the sophisticated political machinations of Dragon Age: Origins were what hooked you, Pathfinder: Kingmaker delivers that exact thrill in spades, layered with even deeper simulation mechanics. The journey begins when Lady Jamandi Alordi recruits your band of adventurers to venture into the lawless Stolen Lands and eliminate a bandit warlord known as the Stag Lord. Succeed, and you will be granted the charter to establish your very own barony; fail, and… well, it is best not to dwell on that outcome.

While the experience extends far beyond routine municipal administration—involving malicious fey incursions and ancient curses that threaten your realm—ruling justly and maintaining your barony’s prosperity is a core narrative pillar. Best of all for veterans of Ferelden, the combat utilizes real-time-with-pause mechanics that will instantly feel like coming home.

3

GreedFall

Spiders/Focus Home Interactive

Why you’ll love it if you enjoy Dragon Age: Features fiercely territorial factions and deeply nuanced companions set against a colonial-era backdrop brimming with political intrigue.

Where to play: Windows PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X

Possessing a slightly smaller budget and a few rougher edges, GreedFall captures the authentic spirit of Dragon Age through its real-time combat, consequence-driven world, and robust companion bonding mechanics. Rather than battling an encroaching Blight, your mission in GreedFall is to save the Old Continent from a wasting plague known as the Malichor. As a diplomat and Legate, you journey to a secluded, uncharted island to find a cure. However, you are far from the only party interested in the island’s secrets. As competing colonial powers—including the zealous religious nation of Thélème and the scholarly Bridge Alliance—clash over territory, your mandate is deceptively straightforward: safeguard the island, unearth the remedy, and avert total political catastrophe. Sounds simple enough, right?

2

Solasta: Crown of the Magister

Credit: Tactical Adventures

Why you’ll love it if you enjoy Dragon Age: A mechanically dense, deeply tactical experience akin to running Dragon Age through an authentic tabletop Dungeons & Dragons rulebook.

Where to play: PS5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

As Solasta: Crown of the Magister commences, your party of four adventurers is dispatched to investigate the treacherous Badlands—a perilous region crawling with monsters. Along the way, you unearth the titular Crown of the Magister, a legendary artifact that might just hold the key to saving your realm.

Fans who fell in love with Dragon Age strictly for its intimate character writing might find Solasta a bit lean in comparison, as storytelling takes a backseat to crunchy turn-based encounters, inventory management, and maximizing class abilities.

Fortunately, developers are placing a much heavier emphasis on narrative for the sequel currently in development, so keep this franchise on your radar.

1

Dragon’s Dogma 1 & 2

Why you’ll love it if you enjoy Dragon Age: While it lacks traditional party management—relying instead on customizable AI-driven Pawns rather than fully realized companions—it shares the same dark fantasy atmosphere and robust class progression systems.

Where to play: PS4, PS5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

A gargantuan dragon descends upon the quiet fishing village of Cassardis. When you bravely step forward to defend your home, the beast rips out your heart, devours it, and leaves you for dead. Roll credits? Not quite. You awaken as the Arisen, inextricably bound to the dragon’s fate, forced to track it down and reclaim your stolen organ. Good luck!

Mechanically, Dragon’s Dogma operates vastly differently from Dragon Age, yet it establishes a parallel mood and thematic tone. You won’t find deep, branching conversational arcs with your Pawns, but what you will find is an abundance of majestic beasts to slay. If your primary motivation for playing Dragon Age was the titular creatures, you will adore Dragon’s Dogma—there is no overstating just how many dragons populate this world.

BioWare utilized Dragon Age to help establish a golden era of roleplaying games where narrative scope and companion relationships thrive on an epic scale, all while maintaining a quintessential focus on tactical progression. Whether you prefer cleansing corrupted continents of ancient plagues or carving out your own feudal empire, there is a captivating adventure here waiting to be conquered. And replayed. And replayed again as a ruthless tyrant, just for the thrill of it.