None of the points in your article couldn't be applied to any Bioware game of the last 6 years.
Right.
- Instead of starting you off as a mighty Chosen One, you played the role of a convict with a very short life expectancy in a world where nearly every living thing could kill you in two hits
- Factions played a large role in the game, but instead of blessing a local faction with your attention, you had to convince a faction of your choice that you’re worthy and work your way up the ladder
- Somehow PB managed to conjure a living & breathing world which became an instantly recognizable trademark
- The first half of the game (until the faction choice) was amazingly non-linear and full of choices and multiple solutions, which were still a rarity in 2001.
Which Bioware game of the last 6 years do these points describe? I didn't play Andromeda or Inquisition, but Bioware's been peddling heroic fantasy from day one. Their games are about wish fulfillment: do you want to be a mighty hero, a total badass, the best of the best? Do you want to be sexually attractive to every member of your team, men, women, aliens, bullheaded dudes? Do you want to save the world, nay, the universe? In such games the universe revolves around the player and you don't have to prove shit to anyone or follow anyone's rules.
Gothic and Elex are pretty much the opposite in terms of design and I'm surprised you can't see that.