Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 550 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 392 out of 550
  2. Mixed: 135 out of 550
  3. Negative: 23 out of 550
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  1. Hochbichler
    Jun 21, 2022
    9
    Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening is a DLC of DA:O and its first and only true expansion, released in 2010. Now I like the idea of full scale expansions. Minor changes, no nonsense and a lot of new story content. Thats the way I like it. I always loved how Dragon Age goes deep into lore and the developers really thought things through. But one thing I never liked much was a mindless evilDragon Age: Origins - Awakening is a DLC of DA:O and its first and only true expansion, released in 2010. Now I like the idea of full scale expansions. Minor changes, no nonsense and a lot of new story content. Thats the way I like it. I always loved how Dragon Age goes deep into lore and the developers really thought things through. But one thing I never liked much was a mindless evil antagonist, or antagonist race, with which there is no reasoning, no understanding its motives etc. Such were the darkspawn in Origins. But Awakening rectifies that. You get the chance to understand the plight of the darkspawn. Or you can just slay them all as usual, of course, the choice is yours. There is one returning companion and five new ones. They are very good, but somehow they miss the synergy the Origin's companions have with each other. The story is interesting and full of tough decisions. Graphics, music, banter, weapons etc. is very similar to the DA:O as it should be for an expansion. No SJW politics present. One final disturbing thought: I have always found the Mother sexy, I wonder why that might be?

    Awakening is a very good expansion like DLC for the Dragon Age: Origins. Maybe it lacks a bit of that glamour or grandiosity of the main game, but still a great game. Final Verdict: 88 %    … Expand
  2. Eatt
    Jan 30, 2022
    6
    It was nice and wholesome to continue playing with your imported character. However, the story could not live up to the high bar set by base game.
  3. gotterpotter56
    Feb 14, 2021
    10
    Дополнение очень понравилось. В этом дополнении ты можешь узнать: что же случилось с Серым Стражем, после победы над Архидемоном.
  4. hazsch
    Jan 6, 2021
    7
    Awakening felt more like a mini direct sequel to Origins, and I was more than okay with that. However, as I got further in, it got seriously tedious. It's bloated with a bunch of side quests that don't really amount to much, though there are some fun ones in there. The new NPCs like Anders and Velanna were excellent additions, and the main plot was intriguing, if a bit disjointed. Or maybeAwakening felt more like a mini direct sequel to Origins, and I was more than okay with that. However, as I got further in, it got seriously tedious. It's bloated with a bunch of side quests that don't really amount to much, though there are some fun ones in there. The new NPCs like Anders and Velanna were excellent additions, and the main plot was intriguing, if a bit disjointed. Or maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention. Either way, it didn't really capture my interest as much as Origins did, which I suppose was to be expected.

    Still an excellent preface to DA2! Not to mention fascinating from a lore perspective.    … Expand
  5. Norleft
    Sep 4, 2020
    9
    Esta expansión la que lamentablemente se ve muy acelerada al final y en algunos aspectos repetitiva en mi opinión se ha convertido en mi edición final de Dragon Age Origins.

    Me ha gustado mucho, las mazmorras ya no son exageradamente largas, los personajes tienen secundarias las cuales no van a tomar casi todo tu tiempo y son más capaces de interactuar entre ellos. El combate es menos    Esta expansión la que lamentablemente se ve muy acelerada al final y en algunos aspectos repetitiva en mi opinión se ha convertido en mi edición final de Dragon Age Origins.

    Me ha gustado mucho, las mazmorras ya no son exageradamente largas, los personajes tienen secundarias las cuales no van a tomar casi todo tu tiempo y son más capaces de interactuar entre ellos. El combate es menos tedioso que el original, los enemigos son más difíciles pero no son unos sacos llenos de vida a los cuales te vas a tirar media hora para matar. Y en general es Dragon Age Origins muy mejorado para dar su final.

    Ninguno de los otros DLC´s me ha parecido lo suficientemente bueno como para pagarlo, de hecho algunos duran como mucho 5h si te tomas tu tiempo con secundarias y termina con un final el cual es importante para la trama pero el resto no es importante y es pura paja.

    La gente por lo que he visto se quejo mucho de este DLC, porque es "más de lo mismo" y es completamente cierto ya que ES UNA PUTA EXPANSIÓN, han mejorado aspectos, añadido nuevas mecánicas y se han centrado en la historia, se quedaron sin tiempo o sin pasta para hacer el final, si, pero tampoco veo este DLC como algo malo, lo veo como lo que hubiese sido Dragon Age Origins pulido.

    Te recomiendo mucho jugar este DLC si te gusto origins, ya que este es como una expansión y su trama es muy importante al parecer para los siguientes juegos y para enterarte del lore en si del mundo.    … Expand
  6. laertan
    Feb 7, 2020
    9
    Decent sequel of genius game. It was very atmospheric, story was great (sane darkspawns ftw!), skill system became slightly better, idea about manage your own keep and making decisions as a ruler is great one (and this decisions affects some of your quests). Companions didn't have enough dialogues for my taste, and game was a little bit short.
  7. BreezyEzy
    Oct 23, 2019
    8
    Very good continuation of the main game. But there are a few drawbacks that can spoil the mood. I, for example, all relations with the Ogren reset
  8. LordFarquad
    Jun 3, 2019
    10
    A great addition to the Origins. New characters, new locations, a good storyline. DLС is less than the game itself, but it's DLС. I like it. 10 out of 10.
  9. TheHosdadal
    Mar 8, 2019
    10
    Тот самый случай, когда дополнение вполне может конкурировать с основной игрой, хоть и не во всем.
    Как дополнению - 10/10.
    -
    «Можно убежать, но нельзя спрятаться» — где-то я это уже слышал. (c)
  10. Tomle1202
    Feb 3, 2019
    8
    Certain aspects of Awakening may feel a little bit underwhelming, but the expansion is a fun and enjoyable addition to the Dragon Age: Origins experience.
  11. Tilt1k
    Jan 29, 2019
    8
    Great expansion i bought it in bundle with original game so i dont really care about the price. Also some new interesting characters like Nathaniel and the decision in the end was great. I recommend this DLC by all means.
  12. SrPepe
    Jun 27, 2018
    7
    Ya jugado el DA2 y DAI, Awakening se siente bien y correcto, una gran expansión con 20 horas de juego. Sin embargo muchas de tus decisiones es verdad que no se ven reflejadas, hay muchas dudas.
  13. Claytality
    Aug 26, 2017
    9
    Great expansion! Adds more characters, classes, skills, levels, and equipment, allowing for even MORE customization. Rune crafting also enables more customization options.

    The story was interesting, but not amazing.

    Better than Origins in certain aspects, but still suffers from stupid AI and some bugs.

    Took about 20 hours, fun enough to play twice.
  14. Aeryx
    Mar 6, 2017
    8
    It has Ser Pounce-a-Lot. That's all you need to know. 10/10. Kidding aside, I have played this game many years ago and looking at DAII and Inquisition. Looking back, I wish this were just the sequel of Dragon Age Origins and the other two just didn't happen. If this were the case, less people would hate EA and Bioware today. Awakening is a worthy sequel but not as good as Origins. If likeIt has Ser Pounce-a-Lot. That's all you need to know. 10/10. Kidding aside, I have played this game many years ago and looking at DAII and Inquisition. Looking back, I wish this were just the sequel of Dragon Age Origins and the other two just didn't happen. If this were the case, less people would hate EA and Bioware today. Awakening is a worthy sequel but not as good as Origins. If like me, you romanced Leliana, you'd miss her so much and the characters here, while certainly interesting and better compared to most games, fall short of the original due to a reduced amount of conversations. Gameplay has been improved and the new skills are formidable. The keep building thing is also a plus and the quests are very good, especially the one against the spectral dragon or the politics and decision making that happen in your keep. Overall, a great expansion to an excellent game. Why and how EA went from this to DAII and Inquisition could only be blamed on the "consolification" of Dragon Age, which ruined and stripped-down so many things that made the original so great.… Expand
  15. malonkey1
    Apr 17, 2016
    4
    While mechanically decent (but far from groundbreaking or innovative), the characters were so unbearably flat in interactions for the most part that I couldn't bear to play long enough to learn any more about them.

    I can accept that with a darker, "edgier" game compared to past Bioware titles to date, they would seek to have more cynical, "adult" characters, but they were so miserably    While mechanically decent (but far from groundbreaking or innovative), the characters were so unbearably flat in interactions for the most part that I couldn't bear to play long enough to learn any more about them.

    I can accept that with a darker, "edgier" game compared to past Bioware titles to date, they would seek to have more cynical, "adult" characters, but they were so miserably sarcastic and annoying that any time they spoke, I wished desperately that you could just murder your companions. I've loved Bioware's games since I was a child, but never will I ever choose to pick up another Dragon Age game because of how terrible the companions were. It's rare when bad characterization can force my hand into giving a poor rating on its own, but that's just how bad it was.

    Deekin Scalesinger is bae.    … Expand
  16. Meredithe
    Jan 29, 2015
    9
    I have spent hours in this game - which is a good sign. I really like the story, characters & universe. The turn based combats are perfect. Time to thik and prepare your tactics.
  17. Orctownorc
    Aug 24, 2013
    7
    Dragon Age Awakenings represents Bioware at their best, and WORST. It has great writing (as always) but was built with the FATAL BIOWARE FLAW: This game is a dead-end. You get to the end and its a desert. There is nothing there. Nothing to do. You end up building a high level fantasy character and there is precisely NOWHERE you can take it. There is no follow up. This leads to anDragon Age Awakenings represents Bioware at their best, and WORST. It has great writing (as always) but was built with the FATAL BIOWARE FLAW: This game is a dead-end. You get to the end and its a desert. There is nothing there. Nothing to do. You end up building a high level fantasy character and there is precisely NOWHERE you can take it. There is no follow up. This leads to an incredible feeling of emptiness and pointlessness. I will re-write this review later and elaborate on some of the nice content in this game. Better if you buy it and enjoy it yourself. However be warned: Bioware is a company that is truly CLUELESS when it comes to building worlds and offering open adventures. Awakening will definitely wake you up for about 20 hours or so. But when it finishes its the abyss. Go back to sleep, because there is NOTHING else to do once you played it once. Since it is Bioware's own narrative-driven design that has players hanging out for their next fix, you would have figured they would have made DA2 good, and somehow let their passionate fans all stimulated by origins and Awakening fired up to 'get back to Thedas'. My God you would be wrong! This game is a spectacular DEAD END leading nowhere. It didn't even offer proper closure for DAO or make sense of any of the rancid DLC for Origins. Great writing in a FAILED franchise. Another episode of meandering, pointless, going nowhere rudderless 'adventures in Thedas'. Compare this to the professionalism of Blizzard who built Azeroth from the outset and allowed millions of gamers to write their own adventure, and explore a fantasy world for YEARS on end, and its clear, that Bioware has been an over-rated pack of amateurs, poorly lead, with little real understanding of gaming, and far too much smugness about their writing prowess. Pride comes before a fall. But you can't fall if you dont first rise. Fantasy RPG's require enduring world. So long as Bioware refuses to make those their games well end up like this one, a forgotten fragment of lost potential, remembered and loved by a few hard core fans, mocked by Orctowngrot who knows the true value of things. Who can tell you all WHY this game failed. Ingredient One: ENDURING WORLD. Good though Awakening is, this game is a very BLEAK and joyless experience when you get to the end. Its better to quit before you have to make the choice of Vigil's Keep or Amaranthine. Either way your options are expiring faster than a Genlock with AIDS.

    THE GROT REVIEW CRITERIA: After a long time writing reviews like an anus, think its time to set a few bad habits straight: Stop insulting designers. Show some respect for the design process and getting games in circulation. Hence (1) No Red scores. (2) Game scores as follows: Bad Game 5/10. Poor Game 6/10. Mediocre Game: 7/10. Good Game 8/10. Great game 9/10. Stella Game 10/10. To get 10/10 it must be a game that can be (theoretically) play-able for 1000+ hours. Not only great but near endless fun. Games may be bad or poor but making them should earn respect. Thus even the worst POS will still be a 5/10. 0/10 no longer exists in my vocabulary. Yellow is the new red. For the sake of accountability: you can reply if needed: Orctowngrot: Tim Rawlins: timtimjp@yahoo.com    … Expand
  18. SteamEnginator
    Aug 1, 2013
    6
    Watered down dlc for the real thing. Money situation is also thrown out of the window with bottomless enemy pockets. SteamEnginator
  19. braeden
    Jul 8, 2013
    7
    Dragon Age: Origins Awakening is a decent sequel for the original game. Basically, every aspect of this game is just fine, but not quite as good as in the original. Characters are weaker, plot is weaker and the level of polish just isn't quite there. Also, while some of the new classes and skills are useful, the skill system starts to become a mess with higher level characters havingDragon Age: Origins Awakening is a decent sequel for the original game. Basically, every aspect of this game is just fine, but not quite as good as in the original. Characters are weaker, plot is weaker and the level of polish just isn't quite there. Also, while some of the new classes and skills are useful, the skill system starts to become a mess with higher level characters having dozens of skills.

    One thing to mention is the subgame of managing your soldiers and keep. On several occasions, you are given options where you want to place your forces. You can also do some minor upgrades to your keep. In the end, however, it's left unclear how these choices affected to anything which wasn't very satisfying.

    The are also some problems with setting the tone/mood of the game. E.g. the joining ritual is near comical (In original game it was anything but). There's no feeling of desperation, like in first game and lots of stuff feel pretty lackadaisical. Awakening also contains lots of Bioware style sidequests, where you run around and gather some stuff without any relevance to anything.

    All in all, the game was still fun to play. It wasn't really anything too memorable like the original game, but it's worth buying if you get it cheap.    … Expand
  20. AlienSpaceBats
    Jul 6, 2013
    5
    Dull, repetitive, a chore. Poor coding in places (miss an item pick-up? You can not backtrack to retrieve it). Some nice ideas like Justice and the maintenance and upgrading of a keep, also very funny at times (Oghren), unfortunately, it's Dragon Age. Bleh.
  21. Kalfear
    May 18, 2013
    8
    I liked it
    Good sized expansion for its cost
    This should be the standard for all future DLC from EA/Bioware but this was a gem never to be repeated

    Thumbs up from me
  22. cossayos
    Nov 2, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The first small disappointment I had with Bioware. True, it's an addon to Origins, but the lack of depth that's now rapidly becoming Bioware canon is already there on the horizon of Awakening. Starts out with not having the option to interact with companions at will and have to wait upon the pleasure, continues with being taken by the hand when it comes to gifts, in case you're to stupid to figure it out by yourself and ends with a very short story. Enjoyable, but the mediocrity is already there and tries to pave the road for the later distasters under that brand.… Expand
  23. kane148
    Aug 13, 2012
    7
    I thought this was overall a good expansion to DA:O, although it felt very much like 'more of the same' with few improvements. The new skills and specializations are fun additions, and the ability to craft runes is handy--though both contribute to making Awakening much easier than Origins. Aside from that, the gameplay is essentially the same as the main game. The story is fairly good, andI thought this was overall a good expansion to DA:O, although it felt very much like 'more of the same' with few improvements. The new skills and specializations are fun additions, and the ability to craft runes is handy--though both contribute to making Awakening much easier than Origins. Aside from that, the gameplay is essentially the same as the main game. The story is fairly good, and leaves open interesting possibilities for future games. Unfortunately, the characters are less interesting in Awakening: most have potential but are simply underdeveloped due to the significantly reduced dialogue and lack of romances. The locations are a mixed bag: some are fairly good, while others are just more of the same (more Deep Roads, more elf-forest). If you liked DA:O, then you'll probably like this well enough, and given that you can get the two for $20 or less, there's no reason not to give Awakening a try.… Expand
  24. Welterweight426
    Jun 9, 2012
    8
    Its definately not bad. It just lacks some of what made Dragon Age Origins great. Its characters are pretty good (especially Justice, Nathaniel, and Anders). However, the lack of romances and the okay plot hold it back a bit. Now that you can get it for like 12 dollars at gamestop, you might as well go buy it.
  25. Lulgrim
    May 24, 2012
    5
    A lame and uninteresting expansion to a mediocre RPG. I didn't find Origins especially good, but decent enough to get the expansion in hopes of improvement. After playing Awakening I basically decided to see the Mass Effect series through and not buy any other BioWare games anymore. I guess that sums it up.
  26. Riddlefang
    Mar 20, 2012
    8
    Dragon Age: Origins: Awakening is great for an expansion. It provides many hours of additional content, but takes away some of the things I liked about Dragon Age: Origins. You can no longer talk to your companions whenever you want, and they aren't quite as interesting, but still it's a nice expansion pack, and definitely worth your money if you're a fan of the original game.
  27. EastonReviews
    Dec 25, 2011
    2
    I'll just keep hating on this series up until Dragon Age V: More Random Crap. After that, I'll give up. I can't recommend this series simply because of the terrible graphics gameplay, angles, and unnesisary gore. Don't judge a book by it's cover.
  28. Alex524
    Nov 18, 2011
    10
    it more like a direct sequel than DLC. the skills and specializations have increased in amount and there is so much to do that one could get sucked in all over again. definitely worth the money and then some.
  29. Lac3dHit
    Oct 30, 2011
    8
    I felt like I completed the expansion a little to easily but the story line was once again interesting and kept me involved. Something overall seems lacking but it may be just because Origins was so well done.
  30. syrik
    Sep 8, 2011
    0
    I LOVED origins. Loved it. I loved it so much as soon as I finished it I made a new character and played it again as something different. Then I got to Awakenings....wow, really? It took me three tries to get into it because of the BUGS ( OH MY GOD, SO MANY) and the HUGE story hole right in the beginning. I won't spoil too much, but....suddenly the secret Warden ceremony, remember that?I LOVED origins. Loved it. I loved it so much as soon as I finished it I made a new character and played it again as something different. Then I got to Awakenings....wow, really? It took me three tries to get into it because of the BUGS ( OH MY GOD, SO MANY) and the HUGE story hole right in the beginning. I won't spoil too much, but....suddenly the secret Warden ceremony, remember that? Well it's not so secret anymore and what a joke. I lost all faith in the story from that point and it does get worse. On my third attempt to get through this xpac during the quest in the forest there is a bug where you can lose all of your gear. It is deleted. I'm serious. In fact, now I'm angry about that again and gonna lower this score to 0, it was 3 because the graphics and new spells are good. But, the bugs, oh god the bugs.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Best PC Game of 2010
43
#43 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010
41
#41 Most Shared PC Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. VideoGamer
    80
    If Dragon Age didn't float your boat, neither will Awakening. Dragon Age enthusiasts, however, should consider it an essential purchase. It offers more of the same - no bad thing - in a great value package.
    Read full review
  2. 1UP
    83
    The characters and talents are almost enough to overlook the fact that the skills, which are where abilities like crafting and coercion reside, seem a bit uninspired.
    Read full review
  3. SpazioGames
    78
    Awakening is the biggest DLC Dragon Age Origins has ever seen. New lands, new weapons and new evils are the reasons to buy it for who loved the game, but same old graphics, the price and the classic gameplay won't make it more appealing for everyone else.
    Read full review
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