5 Greatest BioWare Games To Experience After The Studio’s Sudden Closure
There are countless stories players can tell about their experience with a BioWare game, from unforgettable characters to incredible story moments driven by personal choices. BioWare’s wealth of RPG titles reflects a long history of stellar, personalized adventures, with even the disappointing nature of their recent projects not tarnishing the reputation of their most acclaimed projects. Unfortunately, the closure of this development group means we won’t get another BioWare game to enjoy, but that shouldn’t stop players from going back to seeing why this studio became so celebrated.
Players who grew up with BioWare’s games already know how big of a loss the studio’s closure is following their announcement of stopped services on October 21, 2026. Over 400 employees at BioWare were laid off by Electronic Arts (EA), only two months after they finalized their $55 billion buyout to the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) and Affinity Partners. BioWare was working on a new Mass Effect, which was promptly cancelled with the studio’s shuttering, getting rid of any potential for the game to correct criticisms from Mass Effect: Andromeda.
5. Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Most players will tell you that the Mass Effect series is BioWare’s magnum opus, and it’s easy to see why. The first two games in this series are among the best RPG experiences you can ask for, with extremely interesting narratives and meaningful choices that can take the story in a variety of directions based on your decisions. From the final suicide mission of Mass Effect 2 to the multiple Paragon/Renegade routes in all three mainline trilogy games, every part of these titles are unique to the person playing them.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition includes all three of the original BioWare games, telling the story of Commander Shepard and their crew across a trilogy. At first, it starts as an investigation into the unknown, before becoming a galaxy-spanning battle for the fate of the everyone. What makes this game special is how deep the relationships between characters go, with choices in the first Mass Effect carrying over to Mass Effect 2 and eventually to Mass Effect 3. The game doesn’t canonize or “reset” your decisions, but rather honors them while giving you even greater options to make new ways as you progress.
While we won’t get Mass Effect 5 now, it’s worth experiencing the first three games, especially if you haven’t played them at all. At their best, they are incredibly detailed sci-fi experiences that are drenched in innovative lore about different planets, species, and cultures that make up a whole universe. From forming romances with particular crewmates to hitting reporters in the face, there’s enough packed into each Mass Effect game to keep you invested for dozens upon dozens of hours, even if the earlier games are somewhat dated in the gameplay department.
4. Dragon Age: Origins
While games like Dragon Age: Inquisition are also celebrated titles in BioWare’s library, Dragon Age: Origins is often considered the best in the fantasy RPG series. Before sequels shifted the franchise into a more generic, watered down formula, Dragon Age: Origins delivered a compelling narrative set in a world that reacted to whatever direction your character went. The dark fantasy setting of Thedas is far from Mass Effect‘s neon-soaked sci-fi, instead trading lasers and spaceships for gritty, grounded landscapes packed with magical evils at every turn.
The world of Dragon Age: Origins starts to change from the moment you pick your background, with characters have unique origin stories based on their cultural backgrounds (such as being a Human, Dwarf, Elf, etc.). The social and economic plights of different peoples are highlighted right away in your adventure, reflecting this game’s fearlessness in showing you how everyone in the world is impacted by the smallest choices. Throughout your journey, you’ll be asked to take sides in moral conflicts, often without a right or wrong answer. This can determine the lives of many people, change the course of kingdoms, and ultimately effect what ending you get.
As far as gameplay goes, Dragon Age: Origins is as detailed as the best CRPGs, with modern titles like Baldur’s Gate 3 likely owing some influence to BioWare’s design. Party-based real-time combat requires good positioning and tactics to win tough battles, with combinations of magic and steel demanding careful coordination between characters. Much like BG3, the companions of Dragon Age: Origins are quite memorable, acting independently of your choices most of the time. Unlike even a game like Mass Effect, Dragon Age characters are multi-layered, having the capacity to betray you, berate you, or fall in love with you based on in-game approval ratings.
All the characters in Dragon Age: Origins feel like their own people, with personal arcs that aren’t just optional side quests. Party members can abandon you if they don’t agree with your choices, or even plan your downfall in secret. The world of Dragon Age: Origins also adopts this premise, having just as many reactive moments as your party members do. Societal prejudice and religious zeal can turn locations into delicate land mines to navigate even without fighting, adding a level of immersion most RPGs only dream they can reach.
3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was incredibly bold for its time, marking one of the first games set in the vast Star Wars universe without connecting to any of the movies. Instead, this game is set thousands of years before the first cannon events of the films, completely separating it from any lore that would bog it down. What BioWare creates in its place is a totally fresh take on Star Wars as a whole, with familiar conflicts, but unrecognizable characters whose depth and variety challenge even the best figures from the franchise.
Playing through Knights of the Old Republic is a fight against dated systems, but the gameplay of this title is an interesting blend of real-time combat and turn-based mechanics. Being able to wield a lightsaber and travel to different Star Wars planets is already appealing enough, but it’s the subtle systems of this game that will leave you impressed. For example, much like Mass Effect, there is a morality system in this RPG that allows your character to be pulled to the Light Side or Dark Side as your journey continues. Certain powers through The Force are only available on either side, turning your role-playing choices into direct gameplay benefits.
This applies to your party as well, with you able to turn any character you meet to the Light or Dark Side too. There are many memorable faces in Knights of the Old Republic, including one tied to a spoiler so monumental it rivals Darth Vader’s revelation in The Empire Strikes Back. Being able to slowly learn what it takes to become a powerful figure in the galaxy far, far away in an era unlike anything else in Star Wars easily makes this game one that fans constantly think about when they reference BioWare.
2. Jade Empire
BioWare clearly has strong story telling traits, but one of my favorite stories they’ve ever told is the one from Jade Empire. On its surface, this game is a story about defeating an evil emperor by learning martial arts, but there is far more to this underrated title than you’d expect. The narrative of Jade Empire has some pretty big twists and turns, but even before you reach any big surprises, the gameplay of this title is a great reason to give it a try too. Much like the upcoming Phantom Blade Zero, Jade Empire is inspired by mythology and Wuxia style marital arts cinema, blending distinct world building choices with a retro/future aesthetic.
There are machines and robots in Jade Empire combined with classical temples, palaces, spirits, and cultural touchstones you’d see in a Chinese martial arts movie. This mix of steampunk and Wuxia manifests well, but the true highlight of this game is the combat. As you’d expect from a martial arts driven game, the fighting in Jade Empire is special, with four different fighting styles you can learn and master. Real-time combat offers exciting variety, creating a game similar to Godhand or Devil May Cry with its action, where a combination between combos, dodging, and controlling crowds with chained attacks define an exciting adventure.
1. Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
It’s easy to forget that the 2000 CRPG Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn was handled by BioWare, marking another digital translation of the iconic Dungeons and Dragons tabletop game. This game was a profound evolution of D&D being moved to a digital format, providing not just an original story and characters for players, but also giving them the framework to craft their own just like they would in the TTRPG. Taking lessons from Planescape: Torment, this isn’t a game defined by combat encounters, but rather the larger design surrounding what those battles represent.
Before Baldur’s Gate 3 popularized how D&D battles could be designed as puzzles rather than straightforward brawls, BG2 was doing so in style. This game has super memorable party companion characters, who have deep stories and reactive moments that can cause them to leave your group if they don’t agree with your choices. While the gameplay itself is certainly dated, the design of levels and character interactions sets up an approach BioWare would stick to in almost all of their future games.
Exploring dungeons and tackling quests are integral to this game, but that generalized structure gave developers more room to expand the story and characters to make this RPG feel more immersive. The level of detail in this game is the blueprint to what players would see in Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic years later, with attention to personal choices being put as a cornerstone of anyone’s journey. In many ways, BioWare developed its style through what it created with Baldur’s Gate 2, which remains a great game to return to for hardcore RPG fans.
What is your favorite BioWare game you love to go back to? Let us know in the comments below!