Considered one of the great RPGs of the last generation, Bioware's dungeon crawler released to high praise when it hit shelves in 2008. With an old-school combat system and an emphasis on stats and loot, the game marked a departure from the action-oriented nature of the developer's other flagship series, the sci-fi epic Mass Effect. While the game is huge, full of content to explore and places of interest to conquer (even more if you pucker up for the substantial DLC expansions), the combat system and the stilted character interactions don't quite keep up with the ambition of the rest of the game. Although the action itself harkens back to classic PC RPGs, it's not the antiquated system that bring down Origins as an excellent game - it's just the fact that the cumbersome combat is nowhere near as intuitive or as satisfying as it should be. The action feels weightless and frustrating, making encounters with some of the more difficult enemies a chore to slog through. It would be fine if these sections could be bypassed or were minimised, but they take up a good chunk of the game, crippling an otherwise exceptionally ambitious title.
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
