Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a rare delicacy that needs to be thoroughly enjoyed and savored like a juicy Bronto steak. And baby, I’m taking it ALL in – from the vast, ghostly halls of The Grand Necropolis to the crystal blue waters of coastal Rivain, I’m tackling every side quest, every mission and every companion request this grand adventure throws my way. (I’m gonna be SUPER HONEST, I skipped a companion quest and that shit bit me in the ass so hard I’m never making that mistake again.)
That’s why, uh, after 60 hours I have yet to roll credits.
But even after 60 hours this game continues to impress me at every corner. I swear, every inch of The Veilguard has been meticulously gone through with a fine tooth comb to ensure every detail, location, every aspect of this game is relevant, meaningful and important. (CAN I GET A HALLELUJAH?! Hinterlands?! We don’t even know her!)
Now, I know some of y’all were…upset…that Dragon Age: The Veilguard doesn’t feature an open world. If you’re one of those folks, I’m pleased to say you can untwist your panties because The Veilguard’s locations and maps are HUGE. You can easily get lost just aimlessly wandering and taking in the sights and sounds, plus, venturing off the beaten path will reward you with lots of fun stuff like equipment upgrades, materials, valuables to sell, and of course, the random ravaged camp with dead bodies and codex entries. This is Dragon Age, after all.
As the story progresses these areas will change and become stuffed with new quests, new NPCs and new unlockable areas, so you’ll be coming back often and when you do you’ll be feelin’ rejuvenated. The Veilguard gets the biggest freakin’ gold star when it comes to keeping these areas fresh and exciting. Just, uh, watch out for any deep water during your exploration, yeah? I’ve never seen anyone sink as fast – nor flail as pathetically – as Rook.
(Heads-up: there are areas within each map that might seem impossible to reach, and this very well could be because you literally can’t get there until a narrative event is triggered. This can be frustrating so my advice is if you are truly stumped, it’s best to come back later.)
I’ll admit, I find the idea of opening my heart to a new cast of characters…intimidating? Daunting? Especially when I have so much nostalgia for those who came before. Well friends, the heart’s ability to love is clearly limitless because EVERY companion I’ve met in The Veilguard has me kicking my feet under my desk like a giddy teenager or a, erm, rabid kangaroo? Forget Solas and his dumbass plan to tear down The Veil, choosing which two companions to bring with me on missions is the biggest freakin’ threat to my sanity. But if I may make ONE teensy suggestion? If you’re planning on travelling somewhere with a lot of, uh, dead bodies, bring Emmrich for his necromantic insight, but please for the love of EVERYTHING also bring Taash for the hilarity. And that’s just part of the fun – playing around with all of these different personalities and seeing who vibes, who wants to tear each other’s heads off, and ultimately playing ~therapist~ (I have two naughty boys in my crew that need to learn to get along.)
Post mission, when you’re taking a breather at the Lighthouse, companions will often link up to talk to each other about something related to the current comings and goings. These “private” one-on-one interactions amongst themselves are ABSOLTUELY worth seeking out whenever possible – and by “seeking out” I mean they’re worth awkwardly eavesdropping on – as you’re seeing them interact outside of their time with Rook. I won’t lie, I feel like a creep sneakin’ around intruding on their convos like the nosy fool I am but I can’t help it! (Especially when they start flirting with each other!) Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s characters are easily, EASILY some of the most fleshed out characters I’ve seen in video games and, again, going back to that “fine tooth comb” analogy, I have yet to see a moment where a character says something that takes me out of the immersion.
AND GOOD GOD THE WAY SOME OF THE ROMANCE SCENES MADE ME SQUEAL AHHHH
Ahem. Moving on to something a bit more violent before I need a mop.
I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun with combat. I mean this HAS to be top five for me. This combat is meaty, and it’s visceral, it gets my blood freakin’ pumping, and I think that’s what she said? You gotta be strategic with The Veilguard’s combat – trust me, you’re not gonna get far by mashing the attack button against a group of Venatori or Darkspawn. Assigning combos (primers/detonators) will be your key to victory, and assigning skills to different companions so they mesh well (in a punchy type of way) is pretty fun. But yeah – combos. Whether you wanna pause the battle and use the radial menu or be a badass and pull that shit off in real time is up to you.
And while I’m not one who usually likes to get my ass kicked, I dig this combat so much that taking on optional bosses that are way, waaaay out of my league has become a favorite pastime of mine. (I’m not joking when I say my Oura monitoring ring has bitched at me on more than one occasion after taking on some rather…large adversaries.)
Upgrading your gear in order to increase its base stats and unlock its modifiers is pretty straightforward – you just gotta find duplicates of the specific gear you wanna upgrade, either at a vendor or while exploring. So, if you have an “Axe of Bootycheeks” just keep an eye out for anyone selling another “Axe of Bootycheeks” and cough up the money for it. Easy, eh?
You can also hit up the caretaker at The Lighthouse, who will upgrade and even enchant (“ENCHANTMENT!”) your gear for the low, low cost of the random junk you find while adventuring. What’s nice about this system is every piece of armor is tailored for a specific playstyle or elemental need, so in theory, all armor has the potential to become not only powerful, but a necessary asset. And hey, it’s fun to change up your armor from time to time. Variety is the spice of life and all that. Enchanting (“ENCHANTMENT!”) is a total breeze, and you have the ability to add or remove enchantments at no consequence. So play around with it!
Once I got my armor beefed out juuust how I liked it (mmm, beef) I got into the REAL nitty-gritty within my class skill tree and became an optimized slaying machine. (You can get a glimpse of the mage’s skill tree above, but I played as a warrior!) Between weapon/armor upgrades, enchantments, companion combos and this big ol’ skill tree there are TONS of options for creating unique builds that are customized and built for any situation. Granted, if you don’t wanna become too involved in *waves hand* all of this, you can probably lower the difficulty and cruise by. But I promise it’s fun, and you can respec at any time.
And because I get this question a lot: If you’re new to the world of Dragon Age, there’s a super duper handy in-game Library within the menu with lots of explanations on Dragon Age terminology as well as entries about the history of Thedas. Definitely take the time to check it out, although I will say organic in-game conversations do a decent job of giving you what you (generally) need to know. And on the flipside – for my hardcore Dragon Age brethren, especially those who have taken the time to read the books, the comics, the short stories – oh boy. You are in for a treat. And THAT is all I’ll say about that.
Other things I love: *RAPID FIRE GO DING DING DING*
- I love Rook. I just love my Rook so much. She’s so dang pretty, and funny, and witty, and I want to be her. But I kind of am her? So this is now weird.
- I love how the major dialogue choices give a VERY specific heads-up about the meaning and consequences of your words. No more accidentally romancing someone! I’m looking at you Garrus, you sexy space cricket!
- I love how the game is ALWAYS auto-saving and creating different save states before and after tough choices.
- I love it when Lucanis has rolled up sleeves
- I love it when Davrin.
I know, I know… I can’t call this a proper review as I haven’t rolled credits, but Maker strike me down, unless something dramatically goes sideways, Dragon Age: The Veilguard very well could end up as my game of the year for 2024.
Can I say the thing? I’m gonna say the thing:
BioWare is back, baby!