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Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

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While it seems almost unfair to Bioware to start as para-textually as I'm about to do here, it's almost inevitable to draw parallels to the legendary studio's latest line-up of releases and the precarious situation they undoubtedly find themselves in due to their quality and reception.

In most people's eyes, Dragon Age, and more specifically Dragon Age: Inquisition, is the studio's last really good game, and it's a decade old. Mass Effect: Andromeda and especially Anthem have marked controversial milestones since then, and what's more, countless veterans, from Mark Darrah to Mike Laidlaw, and even Casey Hudson, have left the company amidst a storm of accusations of poor working conditions, especially during the development of Anthem.

In other words, the pressure is on, it's showtime, it's now or never, and if Bioware cannot demonstrate with Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Mass Effect 4 (whenever it arrives) that they still "have it", then it's hard to see EA, who also have a notorious habit of shutting down studios that can't continually prove their financial worth, continue to pound the studio's drum, if you will.

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard

It sounds bleak, even dystopian, but for me personally, writing this review is not a sad day. I've spent over 35 hours in the company of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and have to admit that this is one of the better RPGs of the year, even if many will not find the underlying DNA that made the first chapter of the series such a hit. Even now, before launch, the game is controversial, and it's not just undeserved but downright silly, depending on which obscure corner of the internet (or just your average YouTube comment section) you visit. We'll get to the bottom of exactly what objections this hivemind has to the game, but until then, let's stick to the basics.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a sequel to Dragon Age: Inquisition, even if you don't directly control your personal Inquisitor from that game. Solas, The Dreadwolf, is still on the mission he quite shockingly and surprisingly put forward to the player at the end of Inquisition (spoilers - sorry - but the whole game is pretty much one big spoiler). The plan is to tear apart the so-called "Veil" that separates the established world from pure Fade magic, thereby re-establishing the elves as a dominant force. You are Rook, a new character that you naturally mould yourself, and you have a myriad of tools to do this. Yes, some seem to be upset that the character creator allows for a "they/them" attitude, but they may have missed the whole point of such a tool, which is that it allows you to customise your character. Gender understanding and cheekbone shaping is really just the beginning though, because there are far more meaningful settings here, such as your background, your motivations as a character and what critical situation has shaped parts of your personality. You even get to recreate your Inquisitor and determine how this character reacted to Solas' plan in the previous game. Yes, of course we've seen deeper, but Bioware are flexing their muscles here, and it's a huge relief to see such a central focus on narrative right from the start.

Like Inquisition, Bioware has repeatedly emphasised that it's not just about the individual characters, but how they come together to form The Veilguard. It's your brotherhood, your entourage, your friends, and they even become friends with each other throughout the game. It's a very believable development that really raises the bar for other games. No doubt there are strands of dialogue and personal relationships that are less impressive than others, but from Harding to Neve, from Taash to Lucanis, Bioware has focused on quality over quantity here, and as the game progresses you get that close, invested relationship with these characters that the game's previous triumphs have used as a direct hallmark and even trademark. You have your classic "approves" or "disapproves", but the dialogue system actually allows for further immersion, and as you make decisions you open up later for increased introspection both in yourself and the other characters as they react to events, conversations and character traits. Again; we've seen deeper, Dragon Age isn't suddenly a Disco Elysium-like RPG character depth, but it's Bioware at their best.

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Dragon Age: The VeilguardDragon Age: The Veilguard

Some characters land better than others, as has always been the case in these character-based RPG narratives, and a character like Bellare Lutare's persistent attempts to be quirky come close to crushing the immersion at times, but overall the storytelling is top notch, and well-written, most importantly.

There is more good news in the structure itself. Dragon Age: The Veilguard ditches the artificial, pointless transition to an open world filled with all those awkward question marks on an endless map of tedious busywork that has become one of the major turn-offs of giant RPGs. Instead, we get several relatively open zones that offer little distractions here and there, but are broadly designed to demand the whole concept of the hero's journey. In other words, this game is linear, and that has huge, positive consequences for the narrative flow and the more organised arenas Bioware has managed to create. This game oozes aesthetic excess, and not only that; these play-spaces are functional and intricate but never without being frustrating. There's a bit more interaction missing in these environments, though. Bioware has some solid mechanics they fall back on, but I generally missed some minigames, some life. But then again, this is usually a feature of large open worlds like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which masterfully manages to blend the linear and the open. I fundamentally respect Bioware for ditching one in favour of the other, and although Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a big, sprawling role-playing game, it also appears trimmed and focused.

In many ways, the game's two-part design is very reminiscent of the God of War games; where there are a series of knotty crossroads where you continually return with new abilities, Metroidvania-style, and explore their little corners, but where most of the time you find yourself in linear, curated single-player paths with set pieces, cutscenes and organised pacing, In fact, Veilguard shares DNA with Kratos' last two adventures in more ways than one, and that leads us to something slightly different...

So what about those controversies? Well, let's get the ball rolling. All reviews are subjective from end-to-end, and your personal take on Dragon Age: The Veilguard's core design elements will vary, but as far as I can tell, there are few, if not some, who lament the gradual exit from the more isometrically rooted strategic gameplay model to something more action orientated, and to some extent the visual style.

Let's start with the combat system. Dragon Age: The Veilguard consists of many of the same core mechanical and structural components as its predecessors, but remixes them in such a way that it's a little more action orientated. It doesn't deviate to the extent that we're talking hack n' slash, and the game retains both the team structure consisting of both yourself and two companions that you can give specific orders to on the battlefield, but that same battlefield is more dynamic, more responsive and, for some, less Dragon Age. You can always pause the battle, get an overview and give specific orders, or initiate a chain of abilities that complement each other, but it's all more snappy and these battles are generally not designed for the player to spend too long in stasis. It's challenging, yes, but probably not quite as tactically deep, and that has been unappetising for some from the start. Thankfully, this new gameplay model is far from half-heartedly implemented, and from the physical weight of each battle to your range of abilities, this is clearly the Dragon Age game that feels best to play.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

While I can see the core appeal of the strategic, isometric overview that Origins provided (I completed the whole thing with my brother back in the day), I'm also sympathetic to this transition to something a little more tactile, responsive and kinetic. Veilguard utilises Frostbite, which has caused problems for pretty much every studio other than creator DICE, but here it's both a matter of really responsive physics that make every action with your character a satisfying expression, and also just rock solid encounter design. The enemies are always exciting to fight, your weapons always feel good to use. Does that mean this is some kind of "Dragon Age for dummies?" Maybe, but if so I must be a dummy.

I have a few more specific criticisms here, though. The boss battles are grand enough, and thanks to great set piece design and often brilliant music, it's not as bad as it could have been, but these battles lack a little phasing, a little versatility, a little energy. It's the typical don't-stand-in-the-fire setup we know. But beyond that, the range of abilities across the four character classes is pretty overwhelming, and with each class further able to go in a few fairly distinct directions, there are plenty of buildcraft options here that more than make up for the "lack" of more strategic combat scenarios.

And then there's the whole issue of the game's visual style. You can probably find hot takes on Bioware's bold, almost cartoonish art style here, which forgoes some of the granular graphical realism we've come to expect from AAA game productions in favour of a more stylised look. I'm sure there will be well-respected reviewers who will disagree, but for the most part I thought Veilguard looked downright striking, and not only that, I welcome the abandonment of this insistent, frustrating and mildly old-fashioned search for meaningless graphic detail that makes all games look the same. No, it's not like Veilguard is an arthouse project created solely via claymation, but the stylised look allows Bioware to lean further into exciting colours, challenging contrasts and more... well, fantasy. It also means that the grey, brutal industrial minimalism gives way to something that many feel doesn't appeal to them. I understand that, and I'm not saying those opinions are wrong, but for me Veilguard was beautiful to look at from start to finish. And there's something we should get out of the way anyway. Veilguard has a distinct, stylised look, but at the same time Bioware should have ensured a slightly higher level when it comes to facial animations specifically. It's particularly bad for your own Rook character, but in general, these slightly stiff animations become a hindrance in emotionally charged scenes where there is a clear dramaturgical emphasis. It's not a dealbreaker, because usually a good script carries the scenes, and it's not exactly because two wax figures are trying to create empathy - no, it's just a little distracting that these animations are "subpar", so to speak.

Dragon Age: The VeilguardDragon Age: The Veilguard

And while we're at it, there are bits and pieces here and there that lack a bit of refinement. The gear you continuously pick up isn't nearly as interesting as the abilities your Skill Tree offers, and the whole so-called "itemisation" model falls apart as the game progresses - which is fine, but a shame in an RPG where the quest for loot that changes your play style in meaningful ways doesn't really exist. At least not from what I can see. And the game's map is far from comprehensive enough to show how solidly many of the more open spaces are constructed, which means that much of the responsibility for navigation falls back on you. But at least that in itself is an incentive to explore.

Broadly speaking, Bioware is back, and while they're not reinventing the wheel here, they've made exactly the game we wanted them to make. An exclusively single-player RPG that is narratively anchored, far more linear, with all the content tailored and organised by skilled designers and without all the "bloat" that many have criticised Starfield for consisting of. What you have here is lean and mean, and it puts Bioware on an exciting trajectory where it's finally possible to see light at the end of the very dark tunnel they've been in for a long, long while. It's not a perfect RPG, but it's... pretty damn good, to say the least.

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08 Gamereactor UK
8 / 10
+
Great group of characters. Magnificent setting. Solid storytelling. Nice transition to action-orientated combat system. Wonderfully linear.
-
Poor facial animations. Bad itemisation. Lacks some depth, especially in gear and crafting.
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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