So.. after reading through the thread about Dragon Age: Origins, I've been half convinced to get the game, and yet now I'm faced with another problem: the fact that DA:O is a team-based RPG is what's holding me back from getting the game. Now, I have no doubt that it's a good game from all the positive feedback I saw but I haven't actually played many RPGs on PC and since I'm a solo player at heart.. part of me is hesitant to get it.

To go into more details, the only RPGs I've played are Fable: The Lost Chapters, Oblivion and of course Skyrim and I'm very certain I had played Hexen though it was so long ago I barely remember it. Most of the games I have these days are not RPGs and are fairly old, but they don't involve companions (save for one, but I've been playing it since I was a kid) and the reason why I dislike having a companion is because I have to watch out for them, level and gear them up, among other things. More than anything I feel as if they would just get in my way and give me a hard time, along with how they might attack when I'm not ready or simply be a bother to me.. I've seen people complaining about Cicero in Skyrim for not being useful the times I've peered in there.

Basically I'm not used to any kind of companion because I grew up with games where it's just me, and then when it comes to games like TES I simply don't bother to try to find any because I'm happier without them.. I've also only played one game from Bioware so I don't know anything about Mass Effect, Baldur's Gate or Dragon Age.


With all that said.. would a solo gamer like me enjoy DA:O, or should I just find another RPG?

You're wondering if rainbow sherbet tastes good and all you've been eating the entire time is chocolate ice cream. Team-based RPGs like Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age can add interesting new dynamics you'll be hard-pressed to find in solo RPGs, but there's really only one way to find out if you enjoy their flavor.

As a person who also loves solo RPGs I HIGHLY recommend http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8h0E8SSjJE.

Dark Souls will also handle your desire for companions as well if you so choose.The game is mostly meant to be played solo, but you can ask others for help (both in game and other players).

But I also agree with Xetirox where you should try a lot of things to see how you like them. If you want a really good solo/semi-co-op RPG though, I would suggest Dark Souls.

DA:O is a lot better than BG when it comes to parties, IMO. Pathfinding is one of the reasons, but so are the game mechanics. I still encourage you to try it out

I, personally, love having companions with me. If done right, it adds so much to the story and lets you get immersed in the game so much more. Especially with DA:O. These guys aren't like Skyrim companions, they actually have some interesting [censored] to say most of the time. I still think Allistar is one of the best NPC's ever. I've never been bored when getting into a conversation with him.

Companions can kind of make or brake the story for me. If the character developers svck at writing them, they just get me irritated at the game and I don't really wanna play it anymore, or I'll just avoid companions if I can. But if written correctly, I love it. I'd prefer if more game developers could write halfway decent companions. It adds so much.

Hmm, this is interesting.

For me, the majority of RPGs I've played over the years have been party-based. I still consider them "solo" games, because they're not multiplayer - it's just me. I can understand the annoyance with secondary characters getting in the way..... I certainly hate using companions in the Bethesda games. And I remember the original Fallout 1, where your companions would do all sorts of stupid things. On the other hand, I've really liked a good number of party-based games.

(Note that even party-based games can be divided - in some of them, you run all the characters, so they don't get in your way... they're all you. In others, you just run your main guy, and the rest do their own thing. Sometimes with some guidance, of course.)

Managing a party in the more action-y games can get annoying (since so much is happening at once). But it wasn't too bad in DA:O, since you can pause and give orders to your other guys.


Not sure what to say, really - you might like it, you might not. But until you try, it's hard to say. I will say that most party-based games are nothing like having an idiot companion in Fallout 3 or Skyrim.

DA:O is a very fun game so yeah, I think you will enjoy it. And most of the time you don't really need to bother with your party members anyway, they act reasonably well during combat without you giving them orders or controlling them. A guy I know was hesitant a few years ago to play the original Mass Effect for the same reason, but I kept insisting, and then it quickly became one of his favorite games

Yeah, I don't really like the BG party system. The main thing is that there's too much inventory micro management going on, which gets dull rather fast when you have 6 separate inventories to work with.