After playing nearly seven hours of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I have a LOT to say. So strap in friends, we’re going back to Thedas!
The first thing we got to mess around with was the character creator. This is by far the most expansive character creator we’ve seen in Dragon Age, and it’s something the development team told me they’re incredibly proud of. And rightfully so! I spent 30 minutes creating my Rook, but as many of you know, that’s nowhere near enough time. But even so, she looked SO GOOD in-game. The way her hair billowed and flowed like something out of a Pantene PRO-V commercial, it was *chef’s kiss*
So, what does Dragon Age look like in 2024? This is a question I was dying to have answered, and good news – If you’re a longtime fan, there’s a lot to anchor you back into Thedas.
It is so cool to visit locations we’ve only read about, such as the Tevinter capital Minrathous, with its gothic architecture and neon lights, the eerily beautiful Arlathan Forest, Treviso, a port city in Antiva – which is currently finding itself in a…situation – and, of course, Weiss-haupt Fortress, the headquarters of The Grey Wardens. Strolling around, speaking to vendors, eavesdropping on conversations, finding secrets, hell, just EXISTING in these locations for the first time was such a high.
Before I get too ahead of myself, it’s worth noting that BioWare HAS said you don’t need to play previous Dragon Age games to understand Dragon Age: The Veilguard. While snooping around the menus I found an amazing codex full of helpful information as well as an awesome glossary, and, if you’re down for a little prep homework, I would highly recommend reading Tevinter Nights and listening to Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance.
Iconic locations aside, what would a Dragon Age – hell, a BioWare game – be without choice and consequence? Can I say the cliche things that stakes have never been higher? Because hot damn, The Veilguard RUBS DECISIONS IN YOUR FACE. Choosing a companion to tag along on a mission very well could lead to their beautiful mugs being bruised, split, bloody and beat to shit. Even in the cutscenes! And that is just a minor example. A major example – and I’ll keep this spoiler free – is there came a point when I had to choose between saving one of two major cities. I sat at my demo station for Maker knows how long, listing out all of the reasons why I should save one over the other, and the city I DIDN’T SAVE…well, let’s just say I’m still losing sleep over it.
My point is, just after a short time, Dragon Age managed to slap me across the face with a whopper of a choice and I cared DEEPLY about my decision. While this is only one example, it does bode well for player agency, but maybe not so much for our, y’know, sanity.
Of course you won’t be saving Thedas all alone. Rook has several companions at their side, each with their own stories, goals and personal motivations – hopefully none of which includes betrayal – and I’m excited by the variety of factions in our group. We got folks from the Mourn Watch? Lords of Fortune? The Shadow Dragons? Hell yeah. And these characters are CHARMING AF. Don’t be so quick to pre-determine your favorites – all it took was a smirk and rolled-up sleeves from Lucanis and I was smitten. That’s Daddy Lucanis now.
Buuut if I had one critique from my time with The Veilguard, it’s that sometimes, during non crucial scenes, facial animations don’t always match the pitch and tones of certain characters when they talk, especially for our girl Bellara. She’s a very excited and animated character, and there are times it looks like babygirl has had too much Botox.
I had the most 1 on 1 time with my companions at The Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is HQ for The Veilguard, and between objectives you’ll find party members getting up to a number of shenanigans. Maybe they’ll be chillin’ in their room, or having a convo with another party member…or maybe they’ll be engaged in something else with another party member? Wink wink. You can think of the Lighthouse as this mysterious and powerful place – I found codex entries, secrets, puzzles and some fascinating lore. As my demo progressed I saw The Lighthouse evolve, offer more services, and become more detailed and decorated, including the companion’s living quarters. I even encountered an option to decorate, so THAT is pretty freakin’ exciting, although I think the feature was turned off.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is not an open world game – a decision I’m happy with – but I often forgot it wasn’t. The Arlathan Forest, for example, was gorgeous, full of waterfalls, overgrown ruins, calm rivers – there was always something for me to look at, which created the feeling of being inside a huge, sprawling map. Exploration was often rewarded, with the discovery of crafting materials, different gear, gold and hidden secrets. But, of course, you’re gonna run into some bad guys as well.
Darkspawn – our lovely tainted friends – are BACK and with a…curious new design. Darkspawn are menacing, but a staple of Thedas, and I gotta admit – it was good to see them back – even if they wanna, you know, destroy everyone and everything. Which is hilarious because I think they look more cute than menacing these days, but I digress.
When it comes to combat there are three classes to choose from, Warrior, Mage and Rogue. I stuck to Warrior during the entirety of my demo, which allowed me to get pretty damn good at the warriors abilities, and by the end of the day I was kicking Darkspawn ass left and right. I won’t go too far into the weeds here, but the general gist is Warriors generate rage by striking enemies. You spend this rage to use abilities, and abilities – both yours AND your companions – can be quick-slotted for real-time use. Or, if things are getting intense, you can pull up the ability wheel, which pauses the battle and allows you to carefully plan combos, select specific targets and more.
As a warrior, I was able to throw my freakin’ shield at enemies, kick dudes off ledges, jump from high points and stab stuff from above, I had badass ultimate moves, and with the push of a button I could instantly swap my sword and shield for a beastly two handed heavy weapon. I mean, this is some of my favorite RPG warrior gameplay ever. I LOVED the warrior combat. It was hectic, exciting, visceral, and got my blood pumping.
At the end of the day I’m not envious of the position the Dragon Age team is in – how do you innovate upon and – hopefully – improve a franchise that is so loved by so many, especially after almost 10 years? That is a monumental task, buuuut – I’m very optimistic that THIS, friends, is the Dragon Age title we’ve been hoping for. And look, it’s going to be impossible to please everyone, as this series has changed SO much since Origins released in 2009, but, from what I’ve seen, it feels as if it’s keeping the best parts of what makes Dragon Age, Dragon Age, while also adding the right modern touches. I’m hopeful and optimistic, and I gotta say, I’m more excited than a nug in a mud pit to play more.