The Dragon Age role-playing game series returns after ten years, changed and even more straightforward. Although role-playing fans may be disappointed, the new action game is still not to be missed.
Publication date: 31 October 2024
Studio: BioWare
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Available: PC (tested), PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series
Players: 1
Age limit: K18
Game played for rating: 79 hours
Dragon Age -fans’ decade-long wait will be rewarded when the next part of the game series, Dragon Age: The Veilguardis finally here. The fantasy world of Thedas invites the players to it again, as the story of Solas, introduced in the previous part, is brought to a close in the atmosphere of the relevant apocalypse.
Somewhat similar nuances could be sensed even before the game’s official release, when there were ominous rumors about the game’s development. During ten years of production, Veilguard was delayed several times, restarted a couple of times and renamed just before release. For a large part of that time, the game was developed for multiplayer, until the online side was completely abandoned after the studio’s previous Anthem flopped.
You can feel the roots of the bumpy development in the final product, but instead of a garbage fire, it’s fortunately a quite successful title.
As long as you don’t expect a role-playing game from it.
Image: © BioWare
Not my Dragon Age
Dragon Age: The Veilguard differs from its predecessors in many respects, although the game series is known to have changed its form in some respects. Published in 2009 Origins was still a pure old-school role-playing game, but the later parts have leaned more firmly in the direction of the action genre. Veilguard actually abandons the role-playing roots completely and restarts the series as an almost pure action game, which is more similar to the new God of Wareja than its predecessors.
Therefore, it is not worth waiting for the role-playing experience characteristic of BioWare, and it takes time to assimilate this. When the initial shock is over, the next one is already waiting around the corner. The dark fantasy world of the game series is much more upbeat, colorful and the characters are more polished in the new version. In terms of themes, there are still darker shades, but especially the character design is more Disney – if the credits had mentioned as a character designer Tim BurtonI wouldn’t be surprised.
Together, these two changes make Dragon Age: The Veilguard a very different experience. In some parts, it even feels like a light restart of the series, and in that respect resembles someone who made a similar feat recently Final Fantasy 16:ta. The admittedly trendier format also appeals to a wider (and younger) audience, for which the game immediately became BioWare’s most popular game upon release.
As a big fan of the Dragon Age series and role-playing games in particular, the changes made are undoubtedly upsetting, although they are completely understandable and even expected. Their effects are also more widely seen in smaller things within the game. Some of these work better than others, some worse.
Despite all of this, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is still a good game.
Credit: © Electronic Arts
Preselected pieces
Storywise, the game continues Dragon Age: Inquisitionin events ten years later. Solas, revealed to be an ancient possessor god, has come to the end of the street and wants to destroy the shield he made between the physical world and the spirit world. This would lead to an influx of demons and, most likely, the destruction of the world, so the main character Rook and Varrick and Harding, who are familiar from the previous games, disagree a little on the matter.
In the search for consensus, a falling statue leads to another and the situation gets complicated, with which the world is destroyed not only by Solas, but also by the possessor gods Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain, which are many times worse than this one. Have fun.
Despite the ending part, the fact that Veilguard does not necessarily require knowledge of the previous games speaks against the reboot of the game series. Both new and old players are gently guided into the world and its new plot patterns, which could almost as well start with an almost empty table. Veterans of the game series still get plenty of extra spice to their activities by identifying the factors that connect things and people, so the knowledge is by no means wasted.
Those who dive deep into the Lore of the Dragon Age series can also expect to get much-needed answers, surprising twists and tantalizing explanations for secrets hinted at in previous games.
On the other hand, choices made earlier in the game series are not noted much, except for a few decisions made in Inquisition, which players can choose before starting the game. You don’t have to bother digging through old recordings. Like other BioWare games, Dragon Age is known for numerous choices and their cumulative effects, but in Veilguard these (too) have been reduced to a minimum – practically non-existent.
Image: © BioWare
Of course there are exceptions, but in practice the progress is very straightforward, like the rest of the game. It’s also pointless to look for a shade different from pure white in terms of morality. The player can mostly decide how to play the main character, but these always lead to the same outcome.
Despite the mood of the end of the world, the game also rarely feels that way. The previous gloom of the game series has been abandoned, and instead there is light dialogue between the characters. Unpleasant things still happen, of course, but everything can be solved with hoses. There is rarely any tension or edge in the atmosphere, which is reflected in the low stakes. There are really epic and touching moments in the game, but this would have been needed to a lesser extent between characters and choices.
Guaranteed BioWare quality
The writing is still, as is typical for BioWare, mostly successful – especially between the excellent and personable characters. There’s plenty of banter between the characters, and these vary depending on the pair of sleds that are included. The companions that go on the player’s journey thus feel alive, even to the extent that they may fall in love with each other as the game progresses. All this can be seen and heard as the journey unfolds, which is really hilarious to watch at best. And hilarity is perhaps the word that best describes Veilguard’s writing.
Still, the topics of the discussions vary widely and also cover heavier themes. Searching for one’s own identity, accepting death, and parenting are discussed through the partners, which are carefully and interestingly examined. I am happy to follow these story arcs until the end, and the characters also discuss these and other everyday chores with each other.
The group that is formed in Veilguard feels like a really united group.
Image: © BioWare
Outside of these, it’s pointless to look for traditional side characters to talk to, because in practice there are only merchants in cities and camps. The dialogue is almost entirely passive except for the occasional speaking of the partners, which is yet another example of the series abandoning its role-playing roots.
In addition, the script has quite a wide range of fluctuations, which makes you wince every time the high moments are repeatedly compared to the bottom mud. The problem is not so much the bad dialogue, but the fact that the dialogue is written so obviously for the player, not for the characters involved in the conversation. This breaks the immersion again and again, although it seemed to decrease significantly as the plot progressed.
Gods of War
Only remnants of the role-playing roots remain in the gameplay, which is pure action. The scene shot from behind the character is fast-paced, spectacular and mostly entertaining. The player now only controls his own character, but can utilize the range of abilities of the partner accompanying the pair, triggering even more effective joint moves.
Three different character classes add a lot of different abilities to the equation, but these don’t really affect the actual gameplay. In the end, the action feels very similar when playing as both a wizard and a warrior.
However, one can upgrade one’s own character using the ability tree, which represents the minor role-playing elements of Dragon Age: The Veilguard in terms of color-coded equipment. Each character class also has three specializations that unlock even more deadly abilities and bonuses. The character development, divided into 50 levels, is successful in every way and gives the player the opportunity to change and vary the play style throughout the game.
Power fantasy has succeeded so well that with the right equipment and abilities, the main character feels like an almost unstoppable killing machine towards the end of the game.
Credit: © Electronic Arts
However, the bigger problem of the action is the lack of different enemies. Although the chaining of combos and the use of different abilities remains enjoyable until the end, thanks to the responsive controls and spectacular action, the challenge itself quickly becomes repetitive. In the end, the number of unique enemy types is really small and the Field Planning does not stand out as exceptional, so the battles tend to become similar quite quickly. This also applies to boss battles.
In terms of difficulty, Veilguard’s definition of it is mostly enemies that turn into bullet mushrooms, which only emphasizes the repetitiveness of the action. Fortunately, the game offers a really wide range of customization options, with which you can customize the battle to your liking.
In terms of equipment, there will be both role-playing and loot mechanics familiar from many action games today, where colored items represent versions that are better than each other. However, there is no randomness in Veilguard, all weapons and shields offer certain predetermined bonuses to characters – a better rarity class only increases the number of bonuses and stats. Items also don’t drop from enemies, but can be bought from merchants or found in chests.
Credit: © Electronic Arts
Thedas beckons
The straightforwardness of the action (and the story) can also be seen in the field design. After huge open world games, the change is partly even welcome, although Veilguard goes a little too far in its pipeline. Or more precisely, there is not much else to do outside the tube. Cities, rough places like forests do offer corridors that the player can explore in the hope of chests and resources, but there’s no point in expecting anything else from there. Since there are no characters in the game capable of conversation, all the side paths, apart from the side quests, are mostly just collecting meaningless junk or roaming around the scenery.
Fortunately, however, the latter offers something to pat on the back of. Although one can have one’s opinion about the change in the general appearance of Veilguard, the game cannot be called ugly. Visually, the world of Dragon Age has never looked so beautiful, detailed and alive. Both the verdant elven forests of Arlathan and the oppressive undercity of Minrathous are breathtaking in their scenery, not to mention the great mausoleum of Nevarra or the golden sandy beaches of Rivain. The world also changes as the game progresses, which can be seen above all in the Lighthouse, which acts as a base.
For the first time in the history of Dragon Age games, the world now feels appropriately vast and epic.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a role-playing game in name, but if you get past that, what remains is a very high-quality action game. Although fans of the game series may have to swallow the straightforwardness of the gameplay, the high-quality writing characteristic of the studio and the personable characters are able to support the narrative until the end.
DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD
“Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a more straightforward action experience, but its personable characters and heart are still there.”
Source: muropaketti.com
