Shack Chat: What's your favorite BioWare game?

BioWare has been developing games for decades, with some of the most universally enjoyed titles under its belt. With the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, we got to thinking about all the other games in the company’s backlog and which ones standout as our absolute favorites. Join us, as we take a stroll down memory lane. Be sure to let us know your favorites as well!

Question: What’s your favorite BioWare game?

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Jedi Knight

I am certainly envisioning some backlash from folks reading that and going, "Ozzie, surely you mean Knights of the Old Republic." To those people, I'm going to say, I said what I said. That's because, to my great shame, I haven't actually played Knights of the Old Republic all the way through. Instead, I've spent hours playing BioWare's MMORPG, The Old Republic, which is still kicking today, even if BioWare Austin has since left the project in the capable hands of Broadsword Online Games.

While I had problems with some of the moment-to-moment gameplay, I can't deny that BioWare didn't make the most of the opportunities given to it. The team was bascially given a clean slate in an era of Star Wars that no other media touches. It's not a strict slave to the continuity of what's happening in the movie or television space. BioWare was free to tell its own stories and it told some great ones of the Jedi and Sith at their peak. It's an era of Star Wars that remains a fascinating one to visit.

Jade Empire - TJ Denzer, Way of the Typing Fist

Jade Empire will always and forever have a place in my heart because I don’t think there’s anything quite like it. And by that I mean a straight-up martial arts RPG about martial arts and mostly martial arts. I always thought it was dope as heck that you could study one style, become versed in in and then discover a few more. A good variety of enemies also made sure that you had to use those techniques effectively, whether you were into the fast and swift styles or the hefty and hard-hitting styles.

I don’t fully understand why no one has really done anything like Jade Empire on the level that BioWare did it (to my knowledge anyways). It was truly something awesome.

Baldur’s Gate - Asif Khan, CEO/EIC/EIEIO

Let me take you back to the year 1998. Video game developers had been trying to recreate the magic of tabletop D&D for over a decade. BioWare developed an impressive new level of CRPG design with Baldur’s Gate featuring an expansive world. It felt like a city.

Looking at the studio’s vast track record of game releases, it is clear that the team is capable of making solid role playing games, but Baldur’s Gate opened the door for so many of the more modern and very popular franchises like Dragon Age and Mass Effect.

It’s interesting to see Baldur’s Gate 3’s success echo the sentiment for the first installment of the series.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Bill Lavoy, Mayor of Mystery Lake

I almost picked Anthem by default because I haven’t played, or can’t remember playing, any other BioWare games. I own a bunch, including all the Mass Effect games, but I’ve never touched them. I haven’t played Veilguard either, but I’m choosing it because I’ve seen gameplay, heard from TJ Denzer that it’s pretty, and can’t bring myself to pick Anthem.

Mass Effect - Sam Chandler, Approves of this message

There’s something about the beginning of the Mass Effect saga that has stuck with me throughout all these years. It’s this sense of a universe brimming with potential, with so many unique ways it could go, all of it steeped in lore and ideas begging to be explored. I also love the music in this game, even the atmospheric tones of navigating the map and choosing where to go next. Maybe it’s time for another playthrough.

Mass Effect - Donovan Erskine, Commander

I completely missed the Mass Effect games when they originally released, so the remaster was a perfect opportunity for me to go back. After playing through 1 and 2 (sorry, I was a bit burned out by the time I got to 3), I was extremely impressed with the story. I know that 2 is the most critically acclaimed of the trilogy, but the original really resonated with me. It beautifully introduces the world and sets the stage for an awesome journey. The blueprint for how to start a franchise.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Steve Tyminski, Jedi Mind Tricks!

What is my favorite BioWare game? I have only played a select few of the BioWare games. I remember having an original Xbox and some of my friends were talking about Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. I was always slightly interested in the Star Wars that would come out but never went out of my way to grab one. I remember getting the game and I think I had the player’s guide as well. I thought it was really cool to be able to play as a Star Wars character and really make my own story. I’m giving honorable mention to Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. It was a DS Sonic the Hedgehog RPG. Sonic doesn’t get that treatment too often and because The Dark Brotherhood bombed, I doubt he’ll get the RPG treatment too many more times. I don’t have many BioWare games to work off of for this question but I’m going with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

There you have it, quite a diverse set of answers! It’s wild to think that a studio is able to have hits in some of the biggest genres of storytelling, science fiction and fantasy. How about you, what is your absolute favorite BioWare game?

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.