Dragon Age 2 response surprised BioWare
But fan passion is "better than apathy".
BioWare has admitted surprise at just how polarised fan response was to its recent RPG sequel Dragon Age II.
David Gaider, the game's writer, told Gamasutra that the developer expected not everyone would immediately take to its vision, but it didn't expect quite such a wide range of opinion on the game.
"If there's anything that's surprising, it's just how polarised some of the reaction has been," he said. "There's a lot of love for Dragon Age among our fans, and that love can translate into passion."
Gaider looked at the positives, claiming he'd rather elicit some response from gamers rather than none at all, and pledged that BioWare would take all feedback on board.
"In my opinion, that's better than apathy, even if it forces you to filter out the extremes. However, the criticism should not be dismissed as simple nostalgia. There are fans who felt disappointed... and there's a feeling [on our team] that we want to improve from the groundwork we've laid down.
"At the end of the day, Dragon Age can't be everything to everyone – so we simply have to pick a direction and make it the best experience we can."
Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead awarded the game a solid 8/10 back in March.
"For all the ideas that don't quite take flight, for all the design decisions that feel restrictive rather than liberating, when the credits rolled I was already itching to devote another 40-odd hours to reliving it all again," read his Dragon Age II review.
The latest DLC pack, Dragon Age II: Legacy, goes live this week and was reviewed earlier today.