Looking for a game that plays and looks like Dragon Age? I’ve got you covered! As a big fan of the classic RPG genre, I have created a list of modern games that are similar to the franchise. This list is based on the following factors which I believe defines Dragon Age:
- Party of several controllable characters with unique strengths.
- Focus on story-telling campaign with a lot of NPC interactions.
- Story is fluid and can change depending on decisions you make.
- Real time action with live fights (as opposed to being turn-based).
- Optional pause function that allows for easier strategizing in fights.
- Standard RPG elements like growing stronger and finding better gear.
Top List of Dragon Age Like Games
Below is my top list of Dragon Age like games that I have thoroughly enjoyed playing myself. Some of them are almost identical to the core concept of the Dragon Age franchise, while others are little bit different.
- Baldur’s Gate 3 – The Polished Version of Dragon Age
- Pathfinder: Kingmaker – The Hardcode Version of Dragon Age
- Divinity Original Sin 2 – The Most Popular Dragon Age Like Game
- Pillars of Eternity 2 – Dragon Age With Island Exploration and Boat Combat
- Wasteland 3 – The Real-Life Version of Dragon Age
- Solasta: Crown of the Magister
- Tyranny
- Zoria: Age of Shattering Prologue – Free Demo to Play
Baldur’s Gate 3 – The Polished Version of Dragon Age
- Release date: 2020 (early access)
- Steam ranking: 9/10 (37,000+ reviews)
- Steam price: €59.99 (buy here)
- Campaign length: 20 hours
- Campaign + extras: 41 hours
- Completing everything: 63 hours
- Online co-op: Up to 4 players
While utilizing a turn-based combat system, I’ll say that Baldur’s Gate 3 is everything that made Dragon Age great and more. It’s a top-quality game in every aspect, even though it is still in early access.
You play as a party of 4 characters. There are 8 races to choose from with their own traits and 7 classes with their own unique abilities. Graphics are outstanding and character customization is all you can wish for – it’s very comprehensive.
The combat is highly strategic and based on the ruleset of Dungeons and Dragons. In other words, you’ll find unpredictable dice rolls in combat determining things like damage. You must know that the game can be pretty hard unless you use certain exploits.
Huge freedom of choice adds to the experience of this Dragon Age like game. You can ambush a group of enemies, sneak past them or simply walk up to them and try talking things out. The world is very much alive and affected by the choices you make.
While the main story is great, several characters also have their own stories which I’m sure you’ll be enchanted by. Dialogue interactions are detailed and the beautiful graphics allow for facial expressions and reactions to be clearly viewed, creating a strong connection with all characters.
If you like Dragon Age and don’t mind the price, Baldur’s Gate 3 is in my opinion a must buy.
Pathfinder: Kingmaker – The Hardcode Version of Dragon Age
- Release date: 2018
- Steam ranking: 7/10 (17,000+ reviews)
- Steam price: €8.99 (buy here)
- Campaign length: 77 hours
- Campaign + extras: 123 hours
- Completing everything: 184 hours
- Online co-op: No
Pathfinder Kingmaker is a lot like Dragon Age, but in a much more advanced form. This game is not for the casual player, but speaks more to the hardcore gamer. This is one reason to why you’ll find mixed reviews about it. In addition to being quite difficult, Pathfinder Kingmaker can be very overwhelming with its enormous amount of content.
You can choose from 9 races and 16 classes. Each class comes with 3 archetypes, increasing the already many options to build your character with different feats and skills. There are also 7 prestige classes. The variety is insane, to say the least.
There are 12 companions in total while up to 6 characters can be in your party at any given point. Combat is highly strategic and challenging. It’s well worth taking your time building your characters the best way possible. Saving often will also spare you from frustration. You can choose to play in fully turn based action or real time action with pause just like Dragon Age.
In terms of content, Pathfinder does not only have the longest campaign on my list of Dragon Age like games. There are just as many hours of side quests to keep you busy. How you deal with quests and encounters have a real effect on future events. Dialogues have a ton of decisions and they matter throughout the entire game.
Pathfinder’s fantasy story with magic and monsters is absolutely fantastic, but it may be hard remembering the many people you meet. There is so much to do in this game and you will get sidetracked. While camp management in-between battles are one thing, ruling your own kingdom is another. You construct building and research stuff which will eventually give you gear and help you in battle.
If you’re looking for a never-ending rabbit hole to explore in a game that plays like Dragon Age, this is the one to grab. Also look out for its sequel that is releasing on the 2nd of September – Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous.
Divinity Original Sin 2 – The Most Popular Dragon Age Like Game
- Release date: 2017
- Steam ranking: 10/10 (107,000+ reviews)
- Steam price: €17.99 (buy here)
- Campaign length: 57 hours
- Campaign + extras: 98 hours
- Completing everything: 143 hours
- Online co-op: Up to 4 players
Looking at the Steam rankings and reviews alone, it’s very clear that Divinity Original Sin 2 is game that no RPG fan is let down by. It’s by far the most popular on my list of Dragon Age like games and it has every right to be. For what it delivers, the price is a bargain. It’s created by the same people as Baldur’s Gate 3.
The game has turn based combat as opposed to Dragon Age’s live action with pause. However, amazing is not a strong enough word to describe its incredibility. Encounters are challenging and highly strategic. Someone referred to its battles as taking your mind to the gym and I agree.
Up to 4 characters can form a party and online co-op is supported. There are 5 races to choose from and 14 different classes with their own strengths and weaknesses. You’ll find more than 220 skills and it’s possible to learn them all.
In terms of the story, I love it. Without spoiling too much, it’s a captivating one that revolves around the moral dilemma of you being a sorcerer. Are you good or bad? Well, that’s a complicated question to answer and the journey that the story will take you on. Apart from the main quest, each character in your party has its own dedicated quest line.
Just like Dragon Age, the dialogues in the game are deep and you’ll genuinely care about all of the choices you make. These have a great effect on the story through the game.
Pillars of Eternity 2 – Dragon Age With Island Exploration and Boat Combat
- Release date: 2018
- Steam ranking: 9/10 (8900+ reviews)
- Steam price: €19.99 (buy here)
- Campaign length: 42 hours
- Campaign + extras: 60 hours
- Completing everything: 90 hours
- Online co-op: No
Pillars of Eternity 2 plays a lot like Dragon Age. You can choose from 6 races and 11 classes which come with 60 – 100 active and passive abilities. Character creation is deep and complex. A total of 7 companions can be recruited to your party which is made up of 5 people at most.
The game features live action with pause just like Dragon Age, but also have an optional setting for turn based combat. Simple fights can be dealt with quickly, while tougher ones will require strategizing. The depth of combat has little limits to it as a ton of options and mechanics are available.
Making Pillars of Eternity 2 a unique game from Dragon Age is its fantasy theme which has been mixed with piracy. This game revolves around island exploration where you travel by boat across vast seas.
This set-up adds another unique element to the game; boat to boat combat. This is purely turn-based action where strategy revolves around positioning your vessel correctly. Unless you just board the enemy boat of course and fight like you usually would.
While environments are detailed and beautiful to look at, it should be noted that the visual experience isn’t as immersive as Dragon Age. You don’t get up front with characters upon interaction. However, the game’s non-linear story and dialogue writing is really good. The choices you make will have a big impact on your journey to the end of the game.
Along with the main story line, there’s a ton of stuff do and get caught up in, in terms of side quests. If you like Dragon Age, I’m certain you will have a great time with Pillars of Eternity 2 as well.
Wasteland 3 – The Real-Life Version of Dragon Age
- Release date: 2020
- Steam ranking: 9/10 (8000+ reviews)
- Steam price: €29.99 (buy here)
- Campaign length: 36 hours
- Campaign + extras: 49 hours
- Completing everything: 69 hours
- Online co-op: 2 players
Set in a post-nuclear apocalyptic Colorado, Dragon Age and Wasteland 3 are easily distinguished by their themes. Instead of being fantasy based, Wasteland 3’s environments look like reality while enemies are human beings. Weapons include upgradable flame throwers, machine guns, grenades and sniper rifles. They require ammo which can be scarce in the beginning of the game.
The combat is fully turn based and not as strategic as Dragon Age. To me, this is the biggest downside of the game. Other than that, Wasteland 3 is a quality CRPG experience much like Dragon Age and the graphics are very pleasing.
Character customization includes 7 different attributes that affect several types of stats. Then you have over 20 skills and 90 perks belonging to these skills. There are up to 25 abilities to be unlocked. You can recruit up to 8 companions, while a total of 6 people can be in a party at once.
Particularly great about Wasteland 3 is its story, many meaningful choices and voice acting. Every dialogue in the game is voice acted, and every interaction and problem come with several ways to be solved. With the decisions you make, unique events will unfold further down the road. Each playthrough is unique.
The story begins with an offer from the current ruler of Colorado. He wants you to arrest his children who are conspiring against him; a torturing psychopath, a computer nerd and a merciless warrior. From there, you go on a journey where you decide between factions to aid, or, if you rather just rule Colorado yourself.
You can be the good guy or the bad guy. Whatever you choose, it’s a pleasure watching the reactions of the people you meet, which are based on the actions you have taken in the game.
Solasta: Crown of the Magister
- Release date: 2021
- Steam ranking: 9/10 (5800+ reviews)
- Steam price: €31.99 (buy here)
- Campaign length: 35 hours
- Campaign + extras: 49 hours
- Completing everything: 64 hours
- Online co-op: No
Solasta: Crown of the Magister certainly doesn’t play like Dragon Age as well as the previously mentioned games on my list. However, it may still be worth checking out. Afterall, there are many similarities in the gameplay, even if dialogue choices are blend and the combat will be a big change for some players.
The combat is turn based and a representation of the 5.1 ruleset in Dungeons and Dragons. This is a lot more complicated than Dragon Age and people who aren’t experienced with D&D at all might have trouble getting into it. I do, however, personally like its complexity. But it makes the game difficult and it’s definitely not for everyone.
Created by a small game studio, the story, graphics and voice acting aren’t on the same level of quality as Dragon Age. Especially character models look odd compared to environments and monsters. The story is liner and isn’t as captivating. The choices you make do not have any real impact on the game.
On a more positive note, the character progression is very satisfying. It feels like every level comes with something meaningful. There are 130 spells in total and 18 class skills that make you better at things such as sneaking, pickpocketing and misleading people. There are 5 races to play and 6 classes, while a party is made up of 4 characters.
While no online co-op is available, the game comes with a dungeon maker where players are able to create their own dungeons and share them online. To me, this is definitely a plus point that adds to its replayability.
Is Solasta worth its current price? If you have no other Dragon Age like game to play and are getting anxious, then probably so. If not, I would say wait until you can get a hold of it for a cheaper price. With that said, I much enjoyed playing through this game.
Tyranny
- Release date: 2016
- Steam ranking: 9/10 (7500+ reviews)
- Steam price: €7.49 (buy here)
- Campaign length: 20 hours
- Campaign + extras: 33 hours
- Completing everything: 46 hours
- Online co-op: No
While sharing a lot of similarities with Dragon Age, Tyranny is best described as a low-budget alternative. The story is rather short and the overall gameplay lacks in complexity. Enemy types are few, which can make combat feel a bit repetitive, while character building is fairly simple to start with.
However, for its low price, there are a lot of things to love. Just like Dragon Age, the combat is real time action with pause. There are 6 companions to recruit and a ton of actions to use. You’ll find talents, spells, combo abilities, artifact abilities and reputation abilities – all in all more than 450.
In Tyranny, you play as the bad guy where you work for a Tyrant who is close to ruling the world by annihilating all resistance. Your journey begins at the front lines where you have to settle a conflict between two generals who hate each other. From there, the story will be whatever you make of it.
This game is very none-linear and meant to be replayed several times. The story will change depending on factions you decide to side with and who you betray, ignore or despise. Dialogues are well written and it’s very easy to follow the story thanks to highlightable text. This conveniently explains certain terms as they appear in dialogues.
If you like the idea of playing as the bad guy, I would say the story alone is interesting enough to justify the price of Tyranny.
Zoria: Age of Shattering Prologue – Free Demo to Play
- Release date: 2020
- Steam ranking: 9/10 (350+ reviews)
- Steam price: free (get here)
- Campaign length: –
- Campaign + extras: –
- Completing everything: 3 hours
- Online co-op: No
This may not be the game you want to get a hold of now as it only exists as a 3-hour long demo. The full game is to be released later this year. However, it’s included on my list of Dragon Age like games because it looks very promising. It’s being developed by an Indie studio known as Tiny Trinket Games.
Zoria Age of Shattering is a story-driven CRPG just like Dragon Age. It comes with a turn-based combat as opposed to real time action with pause. For only being a demo, enemy variety is really good. The game also seems to be quite challenging. Not only in combat, but in terms of story progression too; like finding items and figuring out what to do with them.
The graphics are definitely a highlight. They’re looking very polished and what I really enjoyed while playing the demo is that dungeons aren’t flat. They have stair cases that allow you to move up and down. Lots of loot and free exploration is also a plus.
While it’s difficult saying too much about the game right now, I would say that a bland story is the biggest concern. One shouldn’t expect this game to be on par with Dragon Age, Baldur’s Gate and Divinity though as it’s developed only by a small studio.
