We recently wrote that "Outriders" is the most divisive game as of 2021, but we don't think it can match "Dragon Age 2". While we liked the game very much, with 94% of reviews saying it had "the best combat in RPG history" and perhaps the best "storytelling" in gaming history, a great many Dragon Age fans were somewhat cool overall.

As I said, pros and cons.

One person who has very high praise for Dragon Age 2 is, unsurprisingly, the game's lead writer, David Gaider; Gaider is the author of "Baldur's Gate 2," "Neverwinter Nights," "Knights of the Old Republic In a recent Twitter post, Gaider, who is also the screenwriter for "Baldur's Gate 2," "Neverwinter Nights," "Dragon Age: Origins" and "Inquisition," and "Anthem," was generous in his praise for the work of the writing team on the game.

"'DA2' was a project that my writing team had their full attention on and they wrote like the wind. Second draft. Pfft. Plot Review.

"I was so proud of what everyone accomplished in such a short period of time. I didn't think this was possible."

"DA2, however, is where the goalposts kept moving. Things kept getting cut while we were working. His boss fight was cut and we didn't have time to fix the plot. It was a true WTF moment.

Gaider describes Dragon Age 2 as "a great game hidden under a mountain of compromises, corners cut, and tight deadlines," and admits that for many gamers it is a challenge to get past. But he also suggested that under the circumstances it was almost an inevitable outcome.

"On the one hand, DA2 existed to fill a hole in the release schedule. More time was never in the cards; DA2 was originally planned as an expansion," he tweeted." On the other hand, if there had been more time, would we have started doing things like iterating ourselves into second best / mediocrity," he tweeted.

"To add, I am by no means against repetition. Iteration is good and necessary; the problem BioWare often had was that we didn't know when to stop. Like goldfish, we filled the space we were given by constantly repeating what was "good enough.""[15

For fun, he lists several things he would like to include in a Snyder-Cutt-style redo of the game. These include restoring the plot points in Act III to make the build-up to the clash between the mages and Templars feel less abrupt, and Orsinio's final battle, which does not necessarily turn him against the player. It would also include a romance with Varick, an endgame choice between the two, and an opening expansion that would give players the opportunity to spend time with Bethany and Carver before the darkspawn attack.

"I would have removed that thing about Meredith getting an idol. Forced to do so because she needed to become "super powerful" in Red Lilium for the final battle," he tweeted. But being "crazy" took away the legitimacy of her argument of being a mage/templar. I hated it.

And this.

The planned Exalted March expansion was cancelled because of the move to the Frostbite Engine, creative director Mike Laidlaw explained in 2017: Laidlaw said that if BioWare had not made Exalted March and trying to migrate to Frostbite at the same time, he said, "both would have suffered greatly."

Not surprised that EA thinks Dragon Age 2 is an "embarrassing red-headed stepchild," Gaider stressed that the extended cut will never actually happen. He also noted that "in many ways, DA2 was as good as bad for how it was made." Nevertheless, it is fun to see what might have been, even if there are nuances of sadness: for Geider, thinking about this work is "enough to give a sober person pause.

Geider left BioWare in 2016 after 17 years with the company. In 2019, he co-founded a new entity in Australia called Summerfall Studios, which is currently working on an "adventure musical" called "Chorus."

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