Dragon Age: The Veilguard

After a decade since Dragon Age: Inquisition graced our screens, fans had been eagerly awaiting the next chapter in the beloved series. With setbacks from previous titles, Dragon Age: Veilguard felt like a critical comeback for BioWare, and I can confidently say it lives up to the hype.

Set ten years post-Inquisition, the game introduces players to fresh locales within the rich tapestry of Thedas. You assume the role of Rook, and the character creator offers diverse options to craft your hero-from elves to dwarves, and even other human factions. The narrative centers on Rook's quest to thwart Solas, the elven trickster god Fen'Harel, from unleashing chaos upon the world by destroying the Veil. Without delving too deep into spoilers, the storyline is compelling and intriguing right from the start.

Kicking off with the character creator, I found myself spending an indulgent amount of time fine-tuning my hero. Contrary to the backlash seen online, I appreciated the option to choose they/them pronouns. It's a modern and inclusive feature that can enrich character depth. The fact that so many people have taken issue with this optional aspect is frustrating. It's disheartening to see such disdain for something that simply allows more players to see themselves represented in the game. Isn't that what roleplaying games are all about?

The game plunges you immediately into the action. You're thrown into the chaos caused by disruptions in the Fade, and the sense of urgency to confront the blight is palpable. The emphasis on action is evident; players can take two companions into battle while exploring the sprawling environments. Expect plenty of combat encounters, as approximately 85% of the gameplay revolves around exhilarating battles against hordes of enemies or formidable bosses, each requiring tactical thinking and quick reflexes.

While the fast-paced combat is mostly enjoyable, pacing can sometimes suffer due to respawning enemies that feel more like annoyances rather than challenges. Battling significant foes can stretch on for nearly 30 minutes-though intense, it's satisfying to emerge victorious. The game also includes some puzzles, though they take a backseat to the frenetic action and quest completion.

Veilguard's side quests are integrated well within the main narrative, often introduced through interactions with your party at the home base. I found the companion quests-to help deepen relationships-engaging, though they begin with simpler tasks and evolve into more meaningful missions that sometimes lead to climactic boss battles. These personal stories add weight to your interactions and are worth pursuing for the character development they provide.

BioWare once again demonstrates its prowess in crafting memorable characters. While it may not reach the heights of Mass Effect or Dragon Age: Origins, the camaraderie among the crew felt authentic, and I found myself caring for their fates. Individual character arcs were compelling, with some companions standing out as particularly engaging, which is to be expected in a rich narrative like this.

The gameplay loop kept me intact, with adrenaline-pumping battles that had me on the edge of my seat. There were moments where my stubbornness led me to face bosses far above my level, but the challenge made eventual victories rewarding.

Voice acting is top-notch; Bellaria's character resonated deeply with me, her portrayal capturing a blend of humanity and vulnerability. The musical score enhances the atmosphere beautifully, complementing the emotional beats throughout the story.

Graphically, the game manages to impress, even if some areas lean towards a slightly cartoonish aesthetic. It may not break new ground visually, but it delivers a vibrant and engaging world nonetheless.

In my 60 hours with Veilguard, I rarely spent time aimlessly wandering-the game structures exploration efficiently, guiding you with markers that indicate quest objectives. While it lacks the open-world vibe of titles like The Witcher 3, the expansive locales invite limited exploration.

What stands out in Veilguard compared to its predecessor is the absence of unnecessary padding. The pacing is tight, and each quest feels pertinent to the evolving story rather than filler content-a welcomed improvement over Inquisition.

In conclusion, Dragon Age: Veilguard is a triumphant return for BioWare, revitalizing the franchise with a strong narrative, engaging characters, and exhilarating gameplay. Despite the online backlash regarding certain character options, which I find utterly misguided, the game delivers an experience that speaks to the diversity of players. I would give it an 8.5/10, proving that while the journey may have been long, it was worth the wait. Here's to hoping future entries continue to embrace inclusivity and storytelling excellence!

I've been playing these games since the beginning and have loved every single installment. They're right up there with some of the best in the genre, thanks to their uniqueness. Dragon Age has always been dark, gritty, realistic, and believable, with characters that feel relatable. For those who didn't know, one of the many inspirations for this series was A Song of Ice and Fire, and you can feel that influence in the earlier games.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard, though, has none of what made its predecessors great. It's goofy, light-hearted, bright, and at times too cartoony. Does that mean the game is as bad as people say it is? Absolutely not. Believe it or not, this is a good game. It has major issues (which I'll get into), but overall, it's a solid experience.

The combat is decent, for the most part. Yes, it can get repetitive, especially since you're limited in the number of abilities you can use. I don't have major complaints here-it's not as fluid as Inquisition or Dragon Age 2, but it's fine.

The Good:

Polish The Veilguard is well-made in terms of technical achievements. It runs beautifully, with only minor frame drops. I played this on a 7900 XT, and it was smooth sailing with barely a hiccup. Which is rare in today's gaming landscape.

Voice Acting The voice acting is impressive, and most actors do a great job. The standouts, of course, are Solas, Varric, and Lucanis, but the whole cast does solid work overall.

Length This isn't a short game, thankfully. The main story runs around 40 hours, and with the side stories and character arcs, it easily stretches to 100+ hours. For a game of this size, it's worth the price tag.

Graphics The game looks stunning at times, especially the environmental textures. The shadows and lighting are remarkable, and there were many moments that left me catching my breath.

Cinematics The cinematics are by far the game's biggest strength. They're often spectacular and would have been even more impressive if paired with a better-written game. The large battle scenes are particularly well-shot and create some truly epic moments.

The Bad:

Writing While the story is good and has its moments, the writing... not so much. The dialogue is downright awful at times, verging on cartoony and high-school cringe. If you've seen those scenes making the rounds online, yes, they're just as bad in-game. Now, not all of it is terrible, there are stand-out moments, mainly with Solas, but I'd say around 70% of this game is poorly written. Those cringe scenes? Somehow, they're even worse when you're actually playing through them.

Characters This one hurts. The Dragon Age series has always been renowned for its characters, some of the best in gaming. Bioware used to put other studios to shame with how well they crafted characters like Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana, Cassandra, Varric, and Sten (to name just a few). Here? The Veilguard has a small handful of compelling characters, but overall, it falls flat. Neve, Harding, and Lucanis are intriguing, but everyone else? Bland and boring. Even worse, you can't interact with your companions freely, no getting to know their backstories or personalities outside of scripted moments. This is infuriating, and it should have been a slam dunk. Oh, and they also wasted the Inquisitor in this game. My female elf Inquisitor who romanced Solas had exactly one meaningful moment. That's it. The rest of the time, she's practically a background extra. Thanks, Bioware for wasting one of my favourite video game protagonists.

Level Design The level design is, frankly, terrible. Every area feels slapped together without much thought. Some cities even have areas you can only reach via...ziplines. Yes, you read that right. Ziplines. You have to swing between buildings to get anywhere. It's completely immersion-breaking. Say what you want, but I loved Dragon Age: Inquisition's world; it felt big, grand, and worthy of exploration. Here, the areas feel like cramped puzzle maps.

Puzzles The puzzles...oh, the puzzles. It's not that they're difficult or interesting, they're just lazy and repetitive. You'll be doing the same mindless puzzles repeatedly, and they're so simple that it feels like the developers think we're all dim-witted.

Music When I heard Hans Zimmer was on board, I was excited. But the score? Disappointing. It's not as dark as Origins or Dragon Age 2, and it's nowhere near the epic masterpiece that Inquisition's music was. Replacing Trevor Morris was a huge mistake.

Only Three Choices This is a glaring issue and almost made me skip the game entirely. Dragon Age is built on choices with real consequences, choices that carry over from one game to the next. Here? Only three choices carry over, and they're all from Inquisition. So, everything you did in the other games? Utterly pointless. Sure, some argue that "the story is set far away," but this game deals with world-ending events involving Blights, demons, and Red Lyrium. The Grey Warden, Alistair, Hawke-they should be here. Leaving them out was a slap in the face. If we get another game (fingers crossed, no spoilers here), they better bring back those choices. That's non-negotiable.

Rook This one bothers me more than it should, but Rook, your protagonist, isn't "your" character. Most of Rook's dialogue is scripted, and you can't shape their personality. Unlike past games where you could make your protagonist your own, The Veilguard doesn't give you that honour.

This review is long, but there's so much to say. In the end, The Veilguard doesn't deserve the Dragon Age title. It's more like a weird parody at times and would fit better in the Fable series (and if you haven't played those, they're brilliant). Weak characters, clunky dialogue, poor design, and sloppy writing drag this game down. It's a shame because somewhere underneath all this, there's potential for something amazing.

6/10.

Dragon Age has always been my absolute favorite game franchise due to the character development and the story. I always felt like you really got to know your companions, which were rich and diverse characters. However, Veilguard was a huge disappointment for me. The characters were shallow, unrealistic, and 1 dimensional. I feel like each character had one defining personality trait and that's all they get. Rook's conversations were also so disappointing and sometimes just embarrassingly bad. IMO dragon age spent so much time on looks and mechanics that they forgot what was most important which was the story and the relationships.

If you see this game as more of a stand-alone continuation in the series, it's actually pretty good.

The positives

• the story at first feels boring, but the further you come into the game, the more compelling it is
• some of the lore will blow your mind with revelations of what's actually been going on
• Combat mechanics are a lot better than previous games.

• Maps feels open-world despite being "restrictive" like in Dragon Age 2, because there is so much to explore
• The Dragon Age 2 dialogue wheel is back, so you can make a "purple" Rook (iykyk)
• your choices shapes the world and the characters around you
• The Character Creator is AMAZING
• Every level is breathtaking in its own way and you absolutely should take a moment to look around and take in the details. The level designs are amazing.

• Photomode so you can take pictures of the scenery, with adjustable sliders to get the pictures how you want (you can also abuse it to look around for solutions to puzzles)
• at first I wasn't interested in the companions, found all of them annoying despite Lucanis. Get to know them and they're actually pretty compelling.

• They walk around and have a life without you and conversations you can overhear at base. They develop their own relationships between one another
• NPCs feel alive, and as if they actually have a head on their shoulder
• Great character designs
• Cameos of previous characters you would not think would appear
• you can pet every cat and dog you come across
• Companions' rooms evolve as you progress the game
• You can costumize what your outfit should look like when you explore, and are not bound by what armor you are wearing
• puzzles are easy to figure out if you look around

Negatives

• No import of previous choices in previous games, and they feel abandoned. Only the Inquisitor and their love interest, and whether they believe solas is able to be saved or not, has meaning
• No mention of ex. What happened to Blackwall
• you have to get used to the female rook voices (for me at least)
• Inquisition and Trespasser made Solas seem like he was going to be the Big Bad, but he is no such thing in this (as far as i have played with my 27 hours as of writing this)
• some cutscenes seem a bit useless, especially since the same thing will be explained by a certain someone literally minutes later
• you cannot walk up and start random conversations with your companions like in previous games, and pester them with questions about their lives
• they dont seem all that happy about gifts, and is only a "oh thanks :)" and nothing more. At least they display them.

• some chests are LITERALLY impossible to get to, no matter how much parkour you perform, or abuse photomode to find the solution
• There are still bugs here and there, like in cutscenes where characters dont show up

This is all what I could think of at the top of my head, both good and bad, but you should give it a try.

On its own, this isn't a bad game, not a great game but certainly not a bad game. Theres lots in there, it looks pretty, the fighting can be fun at times. Theres a very enjoyable story with some brilliant lore, that has obviously been planned since Origins, 15 years ago. Some of the voice performances are excellent (mainly the returning cast members) But this game isn't on its own, or rather it shouldn't be. Its Dragon Age 4 - it stands on the shoulders of the previous 3 games. DA: O and DA: I are two of the best games Ive ever played. Massive, gritty, detailed, epic and intricate stories where the effect of every choice you made rippled through the story and into the following games, with characters, relationships and storylines that players became highly invested in. Combat was epic and strategic; the crafting was a subgame in itself - even the bard in the tavern racked up hundreds of hours of players stopping what they were doing just to listen to her. That depth is missing from veilguard, its like a lightweight episode or a DLC. Inquisition won game of the year and was considered by players and critics alike as a masterpiece, Veilguard is its sequel and follows on from the MASSIVE cliffhanger/plot twist from the end of Inquisition. So what does Veilguard improve on from Inquisition? Nothing Im afraid, (well, actually I think I prefer the talent system in veilguard, but that's a very small difference) I know veilguard went through development hell, following on from Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem, EA's influence at bioware has undoubtably been disastrous. Unfortunately, many of the main staff behind ME and DA have left and their absence is noticeable in veilguard.

Again, this is a decent game in its own right, but as the sequel to Inquisition, the game I've been waiting for, for a decade - its ultimately disappointing.