I've been re-playing Dragon Age: Origins and I was shocked how much things changed in writing in such a short period of time.
It's not the plot but the characters. Flemeth appears intelligent and commands respect without being a girl boss, even Morrigan does not appear as a girl boss despite her jabs at Alister - being voiced by Claudia Black does help.
It is also a lot grimmer, the 2 that die during the ritual to become wardens are made to be liked, the guy that was newly wed with a baby is killed by Duncan because he was afraid. The mages being turned tranquil or killed if they fail a test. You understand why but it is incredibly dark.
The writing is totally incompatible with what ever the DA: Vailguard is. in Origins we understand that killing an innocent father is ok in order to protect the world but in Vailguard it is a problem if you use the wrong pronouns?
I know all the woke leftist crap but did they ever read books or played games written before 2015?
As Woke as DA2 is, it still has the greatest mechanic in any of these party RPGs that I've never seen replicated.
Which is the Rivalry scale. As in, you can call your companions fucking idiots and not be forced to kowtow to their every bullshit whim to keep them happy or progress their personal quests. I don't have to choose companions based on my alignment or way I want to progress, but can pick ones that I enjoy personally or need the skills of.
It wasn't perfect, but it was such a huge game changer in terms of actual player freedom. Especially after Morrigan's fucking nonsense in the first game in terms of keeping her happy. The fact that every single game since hasn't replicated it shows how incompetent they are.
Also the accidental aesop of "there are no good mages, every single one will go into Blood Magic if they get a stubbed toe, the Tranquil Solution is the only safety from demons" in it still makes me laugh. Its just on the edge of when Woke was coming on that it was still capable of destroying its own platitudes. Like Anders literally bombing the church and killing the not-Pope (the only vaguely good person in the equation, if guilty of inaction and neutrality) just to force a Civil War after he failed to start a revolution is so on point with modern Leftism despite being older than most of their adulthood.
I disagree with the rivalry. Three's really not that many excuses for you as a warden to antagonize your companions because they don't really antagonize you. Dwarf is a dunkard sure but a kind soul, Sten is ruthless but understandably so, Morrigan is a bitch but throughout the game she learns to trust people (and you can tell her to fuck off in the end because you don't trust HER). Everyone else is very vanilla and have no reason to be antagonized.
The point isn't antagonizing them, its giving you the option to not have to completely agree with and compromise your own choices to make them happy. My character can be played as I want, with the choices I want to make, and I'm not actively gimping my companions and reducing my experience by doing so.
These types of games aren't about friends going on a merry stroll, its a major adventure full of politics and important decisions. I shouldn't be forced to spare the Rape Master 9000 because my only tank is a goody goody and will walk 10 steps backwards on his personal quest progression if I do. Its fine if he argues with me about it and I have to adequately defend my point of view, maybe even leaves if its a massive enough choice or repeated offense, but normally its just a binary "Morrigan Disapproves, go fuck yourself."
Especially as, as DA2 does actually quite well with it, often just blindly supporting and agreeing with them is the worst possible choice both for their growth and the world itself. The "rivalry" path is often telling them to cut their shit, get over themselves, and that "kill all templars/mages for existing" is not in fact a productive viewpoint right now.
But as it often happens, you are forced to baby them and tiptoe around their little hissy fits if you want to fully utilize them, as their "bonds" often lock both massive amounts of lore, completion of their arcs, and some form of mass power boost.