Dragon Age: Absolution - Everything You Need To Know

Netflix adapted the "Dragon Age" series of games for its new show, "Dragon Age: Absolution." The "Dragon Age" games take place on the fictional continent of Thedas and follows the Grey Wardens — warriors who face off against the evil Darkspawn, who emerge from their subterranean habitat during an event called "the Blight." The Darkspawn work to awaken an ancient dragon called the Archdemon, which controls all evil beings (via Giant Bomb). The games deal with the political fallout and the rebuilding of the demon-ravaged lands in Thedas. Humans and humanoids must learn to coexist in these lands, and peace is often fraught with battles and hostile takeovers in between. Dark magic, demons, and more come into play in each of the games.

"Dragon Age: Origins," the first game in the series, is one of the best-reviewed games of all time — it's no wonder Netflix scooped up the property to make a show. The anime dropped on Netflix on December 9. Here's everything you need to know about "Dragon Age: Absolution."

According to Netflix Geeked, "Dragon Age: Absolution" is set in the Tevinter Imperium: An ancient human empire from in-game lore that has only ever been mentioned by name in the "Dragon Age" franchise. Exploring the Tevinter Imperium — the oldest of the human nations on the continent of Thedas — will show the interactions of humans, elves, mages, knights, Qunari, Red Templars, and demons from "Dragon Age" history, introducing new characters to expand the lore (per Deadline).

"Dragon Age: Absolution's" official logline reads, "This is Miriam's Story...When a heist against the most powerful man in Tevinter goes south, an elven mercenary named Miriam (Kimberly Brooks) is forced into a desperate fight for survival. Now, to save herself and her friends, Miriam will have to confront the tragic past she's spent a lifetime trying to escape."

The voice cast of "Dragon Age: Absolution" includes Kimberly Brooks as Miriam, Matthew Mercer as Fairbanks, Sumalee Montano as Hira, Phil LaMarr as Roland, Josh Keaton as Rezaren, Ashly Burch as Qwydion, Keston John as Lacklon, and Zehra Fazal as Tassia. All voice actors are veterans in the business and have extensive resumes working on some of the biggest projects in anime and other animated projects.

The "Dragon Age: Absolution" series is produced by Red Dog Culture House, the South Korean studio behind another Netflix-produced video game adaptation, "The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf," from 2021. Red Dog Culture House also worked with Netflix on the 2021 animated series "Centaurworld," and on a 2019 episode of "Love, Death, and Robots," titled "Good Hunting" (via IMDb).

Mairghread Scott is the showrunner for "Dragon Age: Absolution." She has previously worked on several shows in the "Transformers" and Marvel canons. She wrote on her official website, "I serve as the head writer and showrunner, with staff writers, Mae Catt and Tim Sheridan. It is beautifully animated by Red Dog Culture House with a stellar cast and crew! The show tells a new story set in the world of BioWare's amazing 'Dragon Age' video games."

Netflix has rated "Dragon Age: Absolution" TV-MA for language and violence, meaning it's suitable for mature audiences only. All six episodes of the anime fall into this category, and at the start of each episode, there will be a rating warning in the top left corner of the screen, which details what mature themes are present. Most anime on the streamer also have the same TV-MA rating, but those appropriate for children will display the TV-Y7 rating.

The streamer also classifies "Dragon Age: Absolution" into the ensemble, fantasy anime, and rousing categories. 

"Dragon Age: Absolution" currently has a 100% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences aren't as thrilled with it. Its current audience score is a dismal 47%, with some of the biggest complaints saying it's too different than the source material. It's not easy making a video game adaptation these days, so the criticisms from viewers who played the game don't come as much of a surprise.

Over on IMDb, "Dragon Age: Absolution" has a better score from viewers, sitting at 6.7 out of 10. Episode 5 seems to be the most loved of the six, with at 7.6 rating from viewers, while the worst is the pilot, with a 6.7 rating.