It’s arduous to speak about Dragon Age: The Veilguard with out addressing the proverbial elephant(s) within the room. BioWare has had some main stumbles with its previous few releases and it’s pure to have some reservations about their return to Thedas.
This sport has been preventing an uphill battle in its pre-release interval due to a questionable reveal trailer and a relentless marketing campaign from its detractors. It’s sufficient to make even the staunchest franchise fan uncertain.
Fortunately, after 63 hours of navigating Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s world, story, and RPG programs, I’m glad to say that any reservations I had concerning the sport have been completely destroyed. It’s not a flawless journey however the minor imperfections current don’t do an excessive amount of to detract from one in every of 2024’s greatest RPGs.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard screenshots & particulars
- Value: $59.99 US, £69.99 UK
- Developer: BioWare
- Launch date: October 31, 2024
- Platforms: PS5, Xbox Collection X|S, PC
- Reviewed on: PS5
The demons are within the particulars
What shocked me essentially the most about my prolonged first playthrough was how properly it struck a steadiness between rewarding longtime followers of the franchise and remaining accessible to newcomers. The sport is jam-packed with references to earlier video games within the collection for eagle-eyed enjoyers of Dragon Age lore however the narrative and setting are specified by a means that gives context for first-timers.
A giant a part of this comes from the choice to take gamers to the Tevinter Imperium within the northern reaches of Thedas. Inserting these acquainted with the world in an space that has been largely unexplored in earlier entries places veterans and journeymen on equal footing.
The story begins by straight following up the occasions from Dragon Age: Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC however a recap from a franchise staple will get anybody unfamiliar with that story on top of things. You’re Rook, a hiree of Varric who’s sizzling on the path of Solas (or the Dreadwolf for those who desire) in hopes of stopping a ritual that can devastate all the world.
Your makes an attempt to foil him consequence within the return of historic elven ‘gods’ Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain who’re a terrifying risk, even by Solas’ requirements. In true Dragon Age style, taking these two despots down requires the assemblage of a rag-tag band of companions who will change into the titular Veilguard.
What follows is an epic story of household and apocalyptic wrestle that manages to constantly increase the stakes. Many key narrative beats within the early and mid-game wouldn’t really feel misplaced because the climax to different RPGs however they’re simply tasters of what’s to come back.
After all, crucial think about how your journey because the participant character Rook progresses is the way you navigate the forging of bonds along with your (principally) new companions.
BioWare by way of DexertoGetting the band collectively
Dragon Age: The Veilguard gives one in every of BioWare’s most memorable casts but and for those who’re acquainted with among the developer’s extra beloved works, you realize what an enormous deal that assertion is.
All through the first questline, you’ll stack the Veilguard with seven distinct companions. Every has their very own background and points to resolve and you may select how a lot, or how little, you need to concentrate on them.
What makes this group so particular is that in my very own playthrough, I struggled to set anyone member of the group apart for the sake of one other. Whether or not it’s the possessed murderer Lucanis, the cynical personal investigator Neve, or the gentlemanly necromancer Emmrich, every of the Veilguard are remarkably fleshed out over the sport’s predominant story.
Whereas sure characters might really feel like they occupy pretty commonplace or stereotypical archetypes at first, for those who take the time to pursue their particular person questlines or have interaction in facet actions with them, nearly all of them reveal that there’s much more to them than you may surmise by way of an preliminary introduction.
The reward for investing the effort and time to discover and develop your relationship with the members of the Veilguard is twofold. You’ll be handled to some terrific character writing and add some new favorites to your roster of favourite online game characters, in addition to progressing every of them into formidable allies in fight.
BioWare by way of DexertoThe acquainted and the recent
Very similar to the sport’s narrative, Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s gameplay strikes an attention-grabbing equilibrium between the trimmings of its predecessors and a few daring new adjustments in route. The sport’s complete character creation choices have been mentioned to loss of life in preview protection together with our personal.
It’s a dramatic enchancment over Inquisition’s however crucial parts of this technique will ring a bell with longtime followers. Veilguard employs a system much like Dragon Age Origins and Inquisition to find out a backstory in your character.
Your race, class, and most significantly, your faction, will dictate your backstory. There are six factions to select from and all of them have a presence within the sport’s world. Every of your companions is tied to those factions not directly and your selection will affect your relationship with them and different characters who’re aligned with them.
Whereas this form of origin is well-trodden floor for these acquainted with Dragon Age, what follows is probably not. The Veilguard eschews the open worlds of its predecessors in favor of an open-zone type of play which will appear extra linear at first. As soon as the introductory missions are out of the way in which, nonetheless, you will see that your self crisscrossing the realm of Tevinter and regularly returning to areas to discover additional.
The place Dragon Age: The Veilguard departs essentially the most from what got here earlier than is in its fight and RPG programs. This can be worrying to followers of earlier video games preferring the extra strategically targeted fight of Origins and even the MMO-inspired fare of Inquisition.
BioWare by way of DexertoBringing explosions to a sword battle
The sport leans closely into an Motion RPG type of fight that depends closely on animations and reactions. This feels much better within the hand than it could look in footage.
There have been preliminary considerations that solely having 4 mappable expertise could also be extra limiting than Inquisition’s eight, nonetheless, this was in the end unfounded due to how impactful your base suite of fight mechanics is.
Gone are the times of investing ability factors in key defensive choices. The collection’ three basic courses (Warrior, Mage, and Rogue) all have innate defensive choices that take the type of dodges, parries, and within the Warrior and Mage’s case, a held guard.
In addition they all come immediately outfitted with a ranged assault choice, making Veilguard’s fight really feel instantly satisfying. There are sufficient choices from the start of your journey that the primary 6 hours of the sport don’t change into a tiresome grind to unlock sufficient expertise for a full package.
The sport’s ability timber are much more expansive than earlier choices and whereas you’ll unlock flashier mapped expertise to assist solidify your construct id, smaller nodes within the tree can assist flip fundamental skills like a parry or a ranged assault into highly effective fight choices that rival your mapped choices.
BioWare by way of DexertoThe technique of older titles just isn’t solely gone both. When you can’t swap to your companions, you may pause fight and go right into a tactical mode that permits you to govern their actions and goal enemies with expertise.
You should use this to benefit from a Primer and Detonator mechanic much like later Mass Impact titles or Anthem. Each your expertise and your companions will apply sure illnesses or Detonate others for large injury and different results relying on ability funding.
Every of your companions has their very own ability timber and you may increase their skills to deal extra injury to sure enemy varieties, change their elemental injury, improve Detonation injury, and extra. Buying ability factors for companions is finished by leveling up your bond with them by means of quests and an approval system throughout dialogue.
On this means, Dragon Age: The Veilguard manages to mix its stellar character-driven narrative, expansive RPG programs, and interesting fight mechanics right into a near-perfect bundle. So, why near-perfect?
Grinding my gear
The one gripe with how character development shakes out is the irritating gear system. The crafting mechanics are easy sufficient however can result in some exploration punishment.
In case you fail to discover the right areas – a few of that are solely obtainable throughout a single quest – chances are you’ll by no means be capable of make a desired piece of drugs viable.
BioWare by way of DexertoFinally, in case you are a fan of the Dragon Age franchise for its memorable characters and interesting storytelling, Dragon Age: The Veilguard ought to scratch an itch for you. In case you fell in love with the collection for its slower and extra strategic fight, the shift to this extra action-oriented type could also be a frustration.
If in case you have by no means touched the collection, the sport does a strong job of introducing gamers to the world of Thedas. In case you get pleasure from fantasy tales, expansive and immersive worlds, or tight reaction-based gameplay, you’ll discover one thing to get pleasure from right here.
The Verdict: 4/5 – Very Good
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a stellar achievement for BioWare that ends a decade-long dry spell. It tells among the best tales within the collection fuelled by a few of its most memorable characters. It needs to be famous that the developer’s famously common facial animations did rear their ugly head at some factors. Although, not sufficient to depend on a couple of hand.
Whereas the brand new motion fight might really feel international to some, they’ve been expertly crafted by the event group to offer satisfying moment-to-moment play. My playthrough was freed from any noticeable efficiency points or framerate drops.
BioWare has offered an immensely polished expertise and made a assured assertion that it might nonetheless present an distinctive single-player journey.