When it comes to RPGs, two of the leading franchises are without a doubt Dragon Age and The Witcher, both of which have three main titles to their name, as well as various spin-offs. These series have been very successful when it comes to critics and fans, and have even won awards for their work.

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Though both Dragon Age and The Witcher fall into the same gaming category, these two franchises vary in their execution of the genre and offer up different experiences to players. Both series are well worth playing, especially if you're a massive RPG fan, but there are some things that one does better than the other.

10 Dragon Age: Companions

Dragon Age Origins

One thing that makes the Dragon Age franchise stand out from other RPGs is its inclusion of companions. This allows players to custom-build their party with the roles they want, as well as allowing you to change it up for certain situations, such as utilizing a party of only long-range DPS for a flying boss.

Additionally, this myriad of additional characters all have their own stories to tell, offering up unique side-quest options and some hilarious banter between comrades as you go about your adventuring business. This is something that The Witcher series doesn't offer, most likely because Geralt is a lone wolf.

9 The Witcher: Monsters

As fantasy RPGs, both Dragon Age and The Witcher series offer up fantastical beasts and monsters to defeat. However, The Witcher not only has more detailed, and usually more grotesque, monsters, but the stories behind them are more fleshed out.

For example, a lot of the monsters within The Witcher world are based on folklore and legend, meaning that players get to take on fabled beasts that stay true to the lore surrounding them. For example, the banshees wail and appear as the ghosts of deceased women. Additionally, while taking inspiration from the stories of old, The Witcher still puts a fresh spin on things, evident from its more authentic design of the griffin monster with its longer, bird-like neck.

8 Dragon Age: Customization

Dragon Age Inquisition character creation

Dragon Age's character customization is something that has featured in all the games, but has naturally become better with each new installment, offering up even more races and customization options. This allows players to truly make the hero their own, choosing not only what they look and sound like, but also their role within the game and sometimes even their social standing.

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With a set character such as Geralt of Rivia, it's obvious why The Witcher can't offer this to the same degree, though the game does its best in allowing you to change Geralt's hair. While Geralt is a pretty awesome guy, one has to give it to Dragon Age on this one for letting players live the dream of putting themselves in the game.

7 The Witcher: Mature Content

Both franchises are rated M for their content, but one is definitely more comfortable in this realm than the other. Both Dragon Age and The Witcher feature romance options and naturally, steamy scenes follow. Both games seem to openly embrace partial nudity.

But mature content goes beyond nudity; it covers language and story content, and The Witcher is definitely the braver of the two when it comes to this. It uses darker storylines, like the botchling side quest. The game additionally uses coarse language more often and with more vigor. You'll find no "Maker's breath!" exclamations here.

6 Dragon Age: Lore

Part of what makes a game so engrossing is the world and story that it presents to the player. The better the environment and plot, the more invested the player becomes, and ultimately, the more they will enjoy the game. A big part of this is the lore of the world that the game is set in, and the Dragon Age series has that in spades.

One of the most impressive feats of Dragon Age history is how each game tackles various lore and issues: the Blight, red lyrium, and the Breach. Once you reach Dragon Age: Inquisition, you realize how all three are connected, with red lyrium being infected by the Blight, and Corypheus (who caused the Breach) being one of the reasons for the Blight beginning.

5 The Witcher: Side Quests

Side quests are a big part of RPGs and though some are simple fetch or escort quests to fill the void, others are little gems of interest that provide the player with intriguing side stories or information on lore. Both Dragon Age and The Witcher have some great examples of superb side quest material, but The Witcher always feels like it has more love to give when it comes to these optional tasks.

The Witcher's side quests generally hold more interesting focal points for the player, often adding new layers to the main story with their additional narratives and making the overall experience more in-depth.

4 Dragon Age: Soundtrack

While Netflix's adaptation of The Witcher gave us the earworm of "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher...", the music within the games was not as memorable. That's not to say the soundtrack wasn't good, but when compared to that of Dragon Age: Inquisition, you have to give the edge to the latter title.

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Not only was the soundtrack of Inquisition highly praised by critics and fans alike, but the game also included several songs sung by a bard NPC in the tavern. These bard songs became such fan favorites that BioWare made the music sheets available for a limited time to download for free.

3 The Witcher: Convergence of Characters

A clever feature that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt utilized within its game is that the player controls more than one character, alternating between Geralt and Ciri. As the player progresses with both characters, their two storylines converge, and finally Geralt and Ciri are reunited.

This is a great way to build the plot. Additionally, it builds anticipation and momentum, maintaining a sense of urgency as players attempt to get the two narratives to meet.

2 Dragon Age: Consequences

When it comes to decision-making in games, there are always consequences. The Dragon Age franchise is a master of decision-making, from small choices to larger overall plot points that fork down one of two paths ⁠— the choice is yours as the player.

These choices not only affect the storyline and events of the game but echo in the sequels also. For example, depending on what the player did in Dragon Age: Origins and who survived will later affect both Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition.

1 The Witcher: Mini-Games

When you're in the middle of adventuring, especially in a large open-world RPG, you sometimes want to kick back and relax from the normal grind of the main story scenario. A great way that games achieve this is by adding in side-quests and mini-games. And when it comes to mini-games, The Witcher is king.

While Dragon Age offers some small mini-games like mount racing, The Witcher created a mini-game so good that it became a stand-alone game in its own right ⁠— Gwent. This addictive card game is played with two people, with each taking the role of an army as they battle against one another for victory.

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