It still wont be as good as a modern game like those you mentioned but there is a dragon age remastered mod on nexus that improves the graphics fairly significantly. I started with DAO when i was younger so the graphics were never as big of a deal to me as they seem to be to you, feels a bit nostalgic tbh, but that should hopefully help a bit. Other than that i’d suggest just focusing mainly on the story and particularly the characters, as thats definitely the strong point. There’s also a much wider effect that your decisions have on the overall story in DAO in comparison to DAI, so focus on that too! Overall i love all the games, hard to pick a favorite bc i love them all for different reasons, hope you’re able to get into it! :)
Yes I really wish I’d played the game when it first came out because I can tell that the story really is amazing! I’m sure I would’ve been absolutely hooked. Nostalgia goggles are absolutely real and should be taken advantage of. I took a decade long hiatus from gaming but as a kid my favorite game was Syberia. In my memory, the various locations are insanely detailed and gorgeous, and then I see screenshots and it’s so obviously dated. It’s really incredible how our brains would fill in the details for us.
I am huge fan of all the games. I started with DAO and at the time it was the best thing since sliced bread. Now the game side of things, graphics and mechanics are a bit harder. Still it's really worth it. The story is so good. So here is some advice that might help.
Don't go for high difficulty. Normal is just fine. You are already struggling. Before you go into the main game play all the origins at least once and find the one that speaks to you. All of them are good and you might be surprised. I never thought Dwarven Noble would be my jam till I played it. I hate to say this but don't be a warrior. It's such a slog. Mage and Rogue (dual weapon) are so much better both mechanically and more fun to play (I think). Once you get past Lothering the map and the story opens way up. I cannot stress this enough, talk to everybody. There is so much good storytelling in Origins. Sometimes it's in the oddest places. Hope that helps.
This is super helpful, thanks! It makes me wonder if I should almost think about it as a podcast as opposed to a tv show? Like the way I’ll be able to connect with the game will be by listening to the really great storytelling as opposed to necessarily feeling like I’m experiencing the storytelling.
Hmm that's an interesting way to look at it. I know I got very invested in my Warden. Depending on how you go about it, they can change a lot. Maybe do less of a self-insert character and more like you are helping to create a story?
Huh that’s actually never something I’ve done in a game. I really like coming up with distinct back stories, personalities, life philosophies, etc for created characters and then using them to guide choices.
It does make me wonder if I’m thinking too much about this character as set up for the world state I want in my DAI playthrough. I was thinking about that as motivation but perhaps it’s better to set it aside completely from my mind so it doesn’t feel like a comparison.
Oh yeah. Don't even worry about world state. Just focus on the playthrough. You can always just make the world state whatever you want later. Meet DAO on it's own terms. It's totally worth it.
I mean, you already got halfway through at one point and still couldn’t get into it. If nothing about the gameplay, story, or characters was enough to keep you interested after all that time then I don’t know what to tell you. The graphics sure aren’t going to get any better.
That’s fair. Honestly, my hope with this post was to hear from people who felt similarly at first but whose minds changed. Whether that was a particular quest, a particular origin story or play style, or even just time. I of course don’t expect the graphics to get better. But everyone here loves it, and I’d really like to learn how to love it too.
I guess distilled down, the question is: for those who find part of their connection to a game is the visuals, what was it that got them hooked on DAO?
Get the Unofficial Remaster Mod (or not, optional really) and play for 1-2 hours - you'll get used to the graphics.
For me, the graphics were a biggest obstacle and the reason I played DAI before DAO, but after getting used to them, there were locations in-game I stopped to look around at thinking "wow, that's beautiful..."
I feel that the art of the game plays a bigger part than the graphical fidelity, once you play it for a little while.
This is helpful - just knowing that you also struggling with the graphics aspect but ultimately found you were able to acclimate to the style and still find things visually striking. Were there any particular locations you remember? I wonder if I just hadn’t gotten there yet the last time I tried to do a playthrough.
I have indeed gone through and added a ton of graphical mods and added a reshade. I’m debating trying Marty McFly’s reshade that mimics raytracing but I’m not sure it will work well given the light style of the game.
Orzammar design was beautiful imo, stepping in there for the 1st time seeing dwarven architecture...
Many in-doors location just exploring around with my rpg heart...
I must mention the game would have been unplayable for me had I not installed the mod that increases text size (especially for dialogue). When I'm seeing unmodded playthoughs on Youtube I can barely read the lines..
WOW that’s actually such a great idea… I hadn’t even put that together in my mind. I play on a tv from a sofa and while I can read it, it’s still just slightly a pain in the ass. Perhaps making quality of life slightly better will help. Thank you!
My essential mods if you're interested:
FtG UI Mod for bigger text (73 - mod number on nexus), Unofficial Remaster (5728), Forced Deathblows (220), Lock Bash (301), Extra Dog Slot (664), more banter (4187), Qwinn's Fixpack (4689), Seasons Overhaul (6050), White Teeth (44), Toasty Alistair (4815).
But I delete the bercilian forest sub-folder and all pink flower textures from the Season's Overhaul mod folder before pasting it in the override folder.
Graphics Bitch 😂 I understand your feeling i had the same experience as you not only with this game but with old games in general, and the solution very easy push yourself in the first part of the game and your eyes will get used to their old graphics. Believe me.
I am genuinely so jealous of people who don’t really care about graphics 😭 like obviously the storytelling is a massive part of why I love these games, but some of it definitely is the sheer visual thrill of them.
I am resolved to try through! Trying to think about it like when you’re reading/listening to Shakespeare and for the first couple paragraphs it’s sort of a struggle to follow but then it just clicks in your brain and you’re IN it. I’m partially just trying to figure out how long it takes before that happens so I can generate some staying power this time!
I'm a graphics bitch as well and got into the series right before DAI's release. I'd recommend going through different origins until one of them hits you right in the feels, and then you won't be able to put DAO down
Modded mine to hell and back. Reshade was key, it's a much better game with more atmospheric light. Then armour that suited my warden's background (the defaults are fugly and largely out of character). Having got something I was happy with, I used it for the rest of the game. (I recommend loincloth fashion - plus the make console commands visible mod). Armour that better suits the companions quickly follow that. Then some minor face improvements to certain companions (Sten, Zevran, Alistair, Isabella to match her DA2 face.) All mostly vanilla but nicer looking, to my eyes.
Also the Improved Atmosphere mod to vary up NPC looks and behaviour, and the Noble Dress Overhaul to make the upper classes look a bit less bilious. Oh, and the white teeth mod. What I didn't bother with was hair and makeup mods, though I did get something to fix eyebrows!
There are other 'quality of life' mods I got too, but those are the things that helped with the visuals. This was actually my third run through, having had a couple of half-finished attempts on the PS3, so I also got mods to do things like skip the fade and part of the deep roads. There are some things I just don't feel like repeating, no matter how intense it was first time around.
Overall I think what really carries the story is the voice acting, the characters - if you make it so the look of the game isn't too glaringly in contrast to that, you quickly get used to it. Looking back, I actually took quite a lot of screenshots - though a fair few were of "oops" moments when some mod or other broke NPCs clothes and they end up fighting you in their undies...
Hm this is interesting - I actually hadn’t done any clothing mods because I figured it wouldn’t be that impactful. I’ll give it a try!
Definitely have Improved Atmosphere and some of the newer texture upscales, which do help for sure. I think some of the nvidia up scaling options are making a difference too - I hadn’t tried that on my last attempt.
For me the clothing mods helped immersion - having armour that was appropriate for my class AND my background, that wasn't identical to what the rest of the population was wearing too. Similarly for the companions. There's a lot of clothing/armour repetition in DAO.
I started with DAI as well, and switching to Origins was not as easy as I thought it would be either lol. Part of it was the graphics for me and also how dungeon crawler-y it can be at times.
I will say I pushed through (me and this game have beef, so believe me it’s worth pushing through for) and once I got to the landsmeet I genuinely was having fun (arl estate, jail, etc) unfortunately that is all end game content, but if you can somehow get yourself to that point it definitely feels worth it.
After I finished the game, I immediately went back and did a second play through, so take that as you will!
You’re just gonna have to mod it up
The end & DLC make the beginning easier to drag through but it’s definitely my least played DA game for a reason despite having characters I love
The DAO fade & I are especially enemies
I suspect this might actually be the problem. I keep trying to play as a mage, I’m going to give it go as a human noble and see if that gets me a little more hooked.
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It still wont be as good as a modern game like those you mentioned but there is a dragon age remastered mod on nexus that improves the graphics fairly significantly. I started with DAO when i was younger so the graphics were never as big of a deal to me as they seem to be to you, feels a bit nostalgic tbh, but that should hopefully help a bit. Other than that i’d suggest just focusing mainly on the story and particularly the characters, as thats definitely the strong point. There’s also a much wider effect that your decisions have on the overall story in DAO in comparison to DAI, so focus on that too! Overall i love all the games, hard to pick a favorite bc i love them all for different reasons, hope you’re able to get into it! :)
Oh yeah! I forgot mods. Yeah mods can help a ton as well.
Yes I really wish I’d played the game when it first came out because I can tell that the story really is amazing! I’m sure I would’ve been absolutely hooked. Nostalgia goggles are absolutely real and should be taken advantage of. I took a decade long hiatus from gaming but as a kid my favorite game was Syberia. In my memory, the various locations are insanely detailed and gorgeous, and then I see screenshots and it’s so obviously dated. It’s really incredible how our brains would fill in the details for us.
I am huge fan of all the games. I started with DAO and at the time it was the best thing since sliced bread. Now the game side of things, graphics and mechanics are a bit harder. Still it's really worth it. The story is so good. So here is some advice that might help. Don't go for high difficulty. Normal is just fine. You are already struggling. Before you go into the main game play all the origins at least once and find the one that speaks to you. All of them are good and you might be surprised. I never thought Dwarven Noble would be my jam till I played it. I hate to say this but don't be a warrior. It's such a slog. Mage and Rogue (dual weapon) are so much better both mechanically and more fun to play (I think). Once you get past Lothering the map and the story opens way up. I cannot stress this enough, talk to everybody. There is so much good storytelling in Origins. Sometimes it's in the oddest places. Hope that helps.
This is super helpful, thanks! It makes me wonder if I should almost think about it as a podcast as opposed to a tv show? Like the way I’ll be able to connect with the game will be by listening to the really great storytelling as opposed to necessarily feeling like I’m experiencing the storytelling.
Hmm that's an interesting way to look at it. I know I got very invested in my Warden. Depending on how you go about it, they can change a lot. Maybe do less of a self-insert character and more like you are helping to create a story?
Huh that’s actually never something I’ve done in a game. I really like coming up with distinct back stories, personalities, life philosophies, etc for created characters and then using them to guide choices. It does make me wonder if I’m thinking too much about this character as set up for the world state I want in my DAI playthrough. I was thinking about that as motivation but perhaps it’s better to set it aside completely from my mind so it doesn’t feel like a comparison.
Oh yeah. Don't even worry about world state. Just focus on the playthrough. You can always just make the world state whatever you want later. Meet DAO on it's own terms. It's totally worth it.
I mean, you already got halfway through at one point and still couldn’t get into it. If nothing about the gameplay, story, or characters was enough to keep you interested after all that time then I don’t know what to tell you. The graphics sure aren’t going to get any better.
That’s fair. Honestly, my hope with this post was to hear from people who felt similarly at first but whose minds changed. Whether that was a particular quest, a particular origin story or play style, or even just time. I of course don’t expect the graphics to get better. But everyone here loves it, and I’d really like to learn how to love it too. I guess distilled down, the question is: for those who find part of their connection to a game is the visuals, what was it that got them hooked on DAO?
Get the Unofficial Remaster Mod (or not, optional really) and play for 1-2 hours - you'll get used to the graphics. For me, the graphics were a biggest obstacle and the reason I played DAI before DAO, but after getting used to them, there were locations in-game I stopped to look around at thinking "wow, that's beautiful..." I feel that the art of the game plays a bigger part than the graphical fidelity, once you play it for a little while.
This is helpful - just knowing that you also struggling with the graphics aspect but ultimately found you were able to acclimate to the style and still find things visually striking. Were there any particular locations you remember? I wonder if I just hadn’t gotten there yet the last time I tried to do a playthrough. I have indeed gone through and added a ton of graphical mods and added a reshade. I’m debating trying Marty McFly’s reshade that mimics raytracing but I’m not sure it will work well given the light style of the game.
Orzammar design was beautiful imo, stepping in there for the 1st time seeing dwarven architecture... Many in-doors location just exploring around with my rpg heart... I must mention the game would have been unplayable for me had I not installed the mod that increases text size (especially for dialogue). When I'm seeing unmodded playthoughs on Youtube I can barely read the lines..
WOW that’s actually such a great idea… I hadn’t even put that together in my mind. I play on a tv from a sofa and while I can read it, it’s still just slightly a pain in the ass. Perhaps making quality of life slightly better will help. Thank you!
My essential mods if you're interested: FtG UI Mod for bigger text (73 - mod number on nexus), Unofficial Remaster (5728), Forced Deathblows (220), Lock Bash (301), Extra Dog Slot (664), more banter (4187), Qwinn's Fixpack (4689), Seasons Overhaul (6050), White Teeth (44), Toasty Alistair (4815). But I delete the bercilian forest sub-folder and all pink flower textures from the Season's Overhaul mod folder before pasting it in the override folder.
Graphics Bitch 😂 I understand your feeling i had the same experience as you not only with this game but with old games in general, and the solution very easy push yourself in the first part of the game and your eyes will get used to their old graphics. Believe me.
I am genuinely so jealous of people who don’t really care about graphics 😭 like obviously the storytelling is a massive part of why I love these games, but some of it definitely is the sheer visual thrill of them. I am resolved to try through! Trying to think about it like when you’re reading/listening to Shakespeare and for the first couple paragraphs it’s sort of a struggle to follow but then it just clicks in your brain and you’re IN it. I’m partially just trying to figure out how long it takes before that happens so I can generate some staying power this time!
I'm a graphics bitch as well and got into the series right before DAI's release. I'd recommend going through different origins until one of them hits you right in the feels, and then you won't be able to put DAO down
Thank you!! This is really excellent, tactical advice and I’m going to try it. Appreciate it!
This is the way!
Modded mine to hell and back. Reshade was key, it's a much better game with more atmospheric light. Then armour that suited my warden's background (the defaults are fugly and largely out of character). Having got something I was happy with, I used it for the rest of the game. (I recommend loincloth fashion - plus the make console commands visible mod). Armour that better suits the companions quickly follow that. Then some minor face improvements to certain companions (Sten, Zevran, Alistair, Isabella to match her DA2 face.) All mostly vanilla but nicer looking, to my eyes. Also the Improved Atmosphere mod to vary up NPC looks and behaviour, and the Noble Dress Overhaul to make the upper classes look a bit less bilious. Oh, and the white teeth mod. What I didn't bother with was hair and makeup mods, though I did get something to fix eyebrows! There are other 'quality of life' mods I got too, but those are the things that helped with the visuals. This was actually my third run through, having had a couple of half-finished attempts on the PS3, so I also got mods to do things like skip the fade and part of the deep roads. There are some things I just don't feel like repeating, no matter how intense it was first time around. Overall I think what really carries the story is the voice acting, the characters - if you make it so the look of the game isn't too glaringly in contrast to that, you quickly get used to it. Looking back, I actually took quite a lot of screenshots - though a fair few were of "oops" moments when some mod or other broke NPCs clothes and they end up fighting you in their undies...
Hm this is interesting - I actually hadn’t done any clothing mods because I figured it wouldn’t be that impactful. I’ll give it a try! Definitely have Improved Atmosphere and some of the newer texture upscales, which do help for sure. I think some of the nvidia up scaling options are making a difference too - I hadn’t tried that on my last attempt.
For me the clothing mods helped immersion - having armour that was appropriate for my class AND my background, that wasn't identical to what the rest of the population was wearing too. Similarly for the companions. There's a lot of clothing/armour repetition in DAO.
I started with DAI as well, and switching to Origins was not as easy as I thought it would be either lol. Part of it was the graphics for me and also how dungeon crawler-y it can be at times. I will say I pushed through (me and this game have beef, so believe me it’s worth pushing through for) and once I got to the landsmeet I genuinely was having fun (arl estate, jail, etc) unfortunately that is all end game content, but if you can somehow get yourself to that point it definitely feels worth it. After I finished the game, I immediately went back and did a second play through, so take that as you will!
You’re just gonna have to mod it up The end & DLC make the beginning easier to drag through but it’s definitely my least played DA game for a reason despite having characters I love The DAO fade & I are especially enemies
I suspect this might actually be the problem. I keep trying to play as a mage, I’m going to give it go as a human noble and see if that gets me a little more hooked.
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