As far as RPG video games go, few have the same level of grimdark storytelling that Dragon Age does, particularly the first game. Even Dark Souls games pale in comparison to the messed-up things lurking in Dragon Age Origins. The tone certainly makes it unique from something like Skyrim or even older games like Neverwinter Nights.
There are times developer Bioware goes a little too far in establishing that tone. There should always be a purpose to dark moments, and using it for no reason cheapens the effect.
10 Jowan's Role In The Magi Origin Story Was Unnecessarily Grim
There's nothing wrong with going dark. It's what helped Dragon Age Origins make a name for itself. The entire game has a very dour feel to it, even giving it a horror feel at points.
Still, what was done with Jowan felt a little unnecessary, making him into a character who felt forced into becoming a villain. He was always put down, making him feel like he had to take up blood magic. If that wasn't enough, when he reveals his nature, the love of his life openly rejects him. Jowan's life felt like all valleys with no peaks.
9 Cairidin's Research Into Golemancy Was Pure Body Horror
As far as DLC goes, Golems of Amgarrak delivered where it needed to, and that was maintaining the dark tones of Dragon Age Origins. It could be argued it went even beyond that.
While exploring around the area, small creatures will skitter past, loud enough to be noticeable but too fast to get a proper glimpse of. That's all leading to the moment where these creatures are revealed to be made of dead dwarves, and not only that, they can bind together to create larger golems.
8 Hawke's Mom Rising To Her Feet In All That Remains Showed How Hopeless Hawke's Efforts Were
The game did a great job of subverting expectations, making the player think they will save their mother from the man who'd been kidnapping women in the city. After already losing your sibling, there was no way they'd take away your mother to.
During the confrontation with the necromancer, it's shown how wrong that assumption was. His creation rises to its feet, revealing that he shaved off Hawke's mother's face due to how much it resembled his lost love. It's the most disturbing scene in Dragon Age 2.
7 Meredith's Screams While Getting Petrified By The Red Lyrium
While Dragon Age 2 wasn't the best of games, Meredith was a fine villain. She was completely out of her mind in her zealotry, so steadfast in wiping away magic that she even began turning on her templars at the end.
Her refusal to stay down fed into that, getting to the point that the Red Lyrium consumed her, petrifying her in place. It felt a fitting end to the character, but that cry of pain before she lost control felt so real.
6 The Alienage Orphanage Haunted By Child Ghosts Is Genuinely Unsettling
The Alienage Orphanage may be one of the creepiest and genuinely unsettling locations in Dragon Age Origins. It's filled with the spirits of children who exude the pain and suffering that they felt.
It would be one thing if it were just ghosts present, but the unemotional way they recite the poetry about their lives is spine-tingling. It shows what husks they've become after what happened, tortured souls never able to rest.
5 The Demonic Cat Continued Dragon Age's Dark Way Of Treating Children
If you see a child in a Dragon Age game, there's little doubt that something unsettling is going to happen— and it's likely to involve demons. The orphanage is the creepiest instance, but the demonic cat is right up there.
It manipulated a young girl, playing to the girl's naïve and pure nature. What's worse, when the player can confront the problem, they are forced to choose between letting the demon go or trying their best to protect the girl.
4 The Poem Depicting Bonny Lynne's Fate Makes The Entire Village Of Haven Feel Creepy
Dragon Age loves its creepy poetry, and the Bonny Lynne poem is another example of that. When entering Haven, the Warden comes across a child who can be persuaded to talk about some rather disturbing things.
Chief among them is the human finger he possesses, one that presumably belongs to Bonny Lynne. It's a good way of giving the entire village of Haven a creepy feel, but Dragon Age's constant use of kids to do that is a little messed up.
3 The Hunter's View on the Mage-Templar War Was A Horrifying Read
There are times the written word can be more horrific than what's seen visually, especially in Inquisition, where the envelope wasn't pushed as much as it had in other entries in the series. The journal entry was on a hunter who watched a conflict between templars and the mages. It details the templars trying to take advantage of a group of refugees and mages showing up after, setting fire to everything.
What pushes it over the top is the hunter describing a templar removing his arm to violate a dying refugee, forcing him to shoot the templar in the head and watch the woman die.
2 The Torture Of Leliana Hit Hard For Those Who Had Played The Previous Games
The torture Leliana underwent during Inquisition was awful and one of the darker moments in the game. She underwent experimentations with the blight, forcing her once youthful and vibrant features to wither away, making her look more like a walking corpse.
That visual hits harder than any amount of blood and guts could. The fact she's become hardened emotionally, cold towards those she once held as friends make it even worse.
1 Everything About The Broodmother Is Over The Top
Without a doubt, the most disturbing thing in Dragon Age is the Broodmother, to a degree that is more than a little over the top. First off, the poem that Hespith creepily mutters to players as they make their way around the area was freaky and is the best example of Dragon Age using poetry in that manner.
Worst of all is that, in order to create broodmothers, women have to be forcefully violated by Darkspawn. It's not unlike Goblin Slayer, only here, the broodmothers end up cannibalizing each other.
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