Image via EA
After nearly a decade of waiting, we are finally back in a world torn apart by Blight, dangerous magic, and powers much bigger than any of the heroes trying to save it. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is here to answer questions left as a cliffhanger during Inquisition, but this is not the Dragon Age of the 2000s and 2010s, and changes to complete with similar titles have altered the experience fans are familiar with.
Set after Inquisition, these third title in the series sees players take on the role of “Rook”, a young, spirited character recruited to help locate and fight Solas. Rook is battle weary, and has much to learn. However, none of it will be easy with Elven Gods making a mess everywhere they go.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a visual masterpiece. The detailed, stylized graphics create a world that you want to fall into. Combat is interesting and complex, as it encourages players to utilize the skills of their party. However, there are a few places where the vast world feels a bit lacking, and that can be troubling for a game upholding the legacy of its franchise.
Key Details
- Publisher: EA
- Developer: BioWare
- Platforms: PC via Steam, EA App, and Epic Game Store/ Xbox X|S/ PlayStation 5
- Price: $59.99+
- Copy Provided for Review: Yes
A World So Beautiful It Will Nuke Your PC
When I say Dragon Age: The Veilguard is beautiful, I don’t mean “it’s nice for an RPG”. This game is a visual masterpiece. From the second you step into the city, a mixture of high-quality graphics and stylized colors bring the world to life.
I’ve always struggled with Dragon Age‘s love of the “gritty” look. The first three games are bleak, brownish, and generally play into the Skyrim effect so many major RPGs trip into.
Veilguard actually creates a style that is unique. When I first saw it in the trailers, I was worried it was going to look too much like a Fortnite knockoff, but those trailers didn’t do justice to the stunning art direction the game offers. Everything from tree leaves to facial expressions creates immersion, and makes playing a delight.
Every time Never smiles or laughs, a heart breaks. Her face is so expressive it’s completely captivating.
How About Some Dungeons with Your Dungeons
Unfortunately, we haven’t completely dodged BioWare’s need to incorporate mainstream mechanics. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is not the fairly open experience of past games. In fact, exploration is limited to maps that string players along via a quest marker.
The basic premise goes: get a quest, follow the marker through a linear map, go from mini area to mini area, fight monsters, pick up loot, beat boss. It’s very odd to have a game that focuses so much on dungeon crawling in a series that has always offered quite a bit of freedom.
Additionally, the puzzles in these linear dungeons aren’t particularly difficult, and become frustratingly repetitive after a few quests. Every time you see a Power Crystal after quest three, you’ll just roll your eyes and check behind the nearest boulder because it won’t be much more hidden than that.
Thankfully, combat is interesting, if a bit overcomplicated at times. Dragon Age: The Veilguard makes use of skill trees, with Rook’s being the most complex. Abilities can be unlocked that deal enormous damage, while characters can team up to throw combos.
I thought I’d be frustrated with the inability to control characters besides Rook, but after realizing how difficult the fights are, I am very grateful not to be keeping track of multiple HP bars. In fact, as far as I’ve seen, you might be on death’s door, but Neve and Harding over there beating the Darkspawn aren’t even breaking a sweat. I blame Rook for being the “kid” of the group.
This brings us to my biggest issue with combat in the game. Limited health potions. When getting started, Rook can only hold three at a time, and extras can’t be bought or crafted. This means you can only get them from the green pots scattered around the map – and there aren’t all that many of them.
Why, BioWare. Why would you do this? In the age of crafting menus, shop fronts, and expansive inventories, why would anyone use a hyper-limited potion system? I have gotten so angry so many times, because the final boss of a mission would do some sort of stupid non-block mega combo and I’d have to spam use all three potions at once to keep from dying – only to get KO’d by a Darkspawn bonking me on the head from behind after I’ve been dropped to 1 HP.
While a few of the Party members can learn healing abilities, the charge for those abilities is so slow it’s not reliable. Additionally, using the ability charge for a heal makes it so you can’t use ability attacks, which can just drag out your demise.
I hate this mechanic enormously, and wish the developers had given us the ability to just buy and equip our potions.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Story Is Breathtaking
I won’t say anything about the specifics of the plot, but Dragon Age: The Veilguard‘s best quality is it’s narrative. Right from the start, you know that every choice you make as Rook has weight. From who you bring with you on missions to how you direct your team, nothing is without consequence.
Every chapter strings the player along, keeping you engaged even when the dungeons and dull puzzles start to ware on your patience. The narrative of this game makes it – even saves it at points -, and presents a story I was hungry to keep getting more of.
Characters are complex. You won’t find any tropes here. Every person on the Veilguard team is interesting and layered, providing rich conversations and interesting personality quirks that can clash with other NPCs and even how you might be playing your Rook.
Additionally, the voice acting is absolutely brilliant, making every conversation and cutscene organic and attention-grabbing.
Choice is everything in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. I don’t know that I’ve played too many RPGs where conversations and choices have carried so much weight when it comes to the final outcome. The only game that I think trumps it is Baldur’s Gate 3.
Final Score – 9/10
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the narrative-driven answer to ten years of waiting. While the combat and world exploration are definitely different from previous titles, it isn’t bad. What it lacks in downtime opportunities, it makes up for in spades with narrative and character depth.
If you are a Dragon Age fan, this is a must-play. The twists and turns are unexpected, and you can truly shape the world with Rook’s influence. The story will have you by the heart, and it will not disappoint. Just be sure to look behind those rocks for those Power Crystal puzzles so you can get to that next sweet cutscene.
**Bonus Action was provided with a Steam code of Dragon Age: The Veilguard for the purpose of this review**
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