I could not stop thinking as I eagerly cut, blasted, courted, plundered, and explored the breathtaking and captivating world of Dragon Age: The Veilguard: “Wait, BioWare built this? BioWare in 2024? I was not convinced these former masters of the roleplaying game craft could create a game like this anymore, especially since Anthem was a complete failure and was followed by Dragon Age: Inquisition and Mass Effect: Andromeda, both of which were just passably good in retrospect. But in more ways than one, assembling my group of fascinating and lovable friends to save the world seemed like reuniting the old band.
The entire North of Thedas is covered by this quest, which takes you from the shores of Rivain to the desolate Anderfels as you try to stop the emergence of a dangerous and ancient evil. As a devoted series fan, it was exciting to visit so many of the locations I had only read about in a journal entry back in 2009. And BioWare has us approach that investigation in a targeted and organized manner.
One of the first things that caught my attention was Veilguard’s level design, which more than anything else brought to mind the classic Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The smooth, winding hallways with just enough hidden corners to explore are deftly integrated, demonstrating how a BioWare-style role-playing game benefits greatly and loses very little by forgoing the concept of a completely open environment. (The exceptions to that rule are a few of Minrathous’s steeper areas, which can be quite difficult to traverse.) From the bleak heights of Kal-Sharok to the bizarre, floating elven ruins in Arlathan Forest, the environment painting is truly astounding.
Additionally, I thought the character designs were excellent. The clothes and armor are amazing. As I always do, I spent over an hour with the character creator and came out with a version of Rook, our main character, who always made me happy when she was in the frame. I think the hair in this video game is among the most attractive I have ever seen.
The fighting style of Veilguard is an improvement over Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition.
Despite all of that visual beauty, I managed to get a steady 60 frames per second at 4K on my RTX 4070 Super with DLSS set to maximum performance, which often did not have a significant impact on the visual quality. The only time this did not apply was in the late game, when there may be so many spell effects occurring simultaneously that I would lose frames and find it hard to discern what was truly happening.
But despite the crackle and sparks, Veilguard’s fighting is unquestionably an improvement over Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition. The more strategic approach of Dragon Age: Origins or Baldur’s Gate 3 has always been my preference, but that ship sailed so long ago for this studio that not even the Evanuris can recall what it looked like. Accordingly, this highly action-oriented combat system is quite good for what it is! BioWare has given the fast-paced style their whole attention and made it so good that I like it. Additionally, as in Mass Effect, the ability to pause to give instructions to party members still allows more tactical players like me to survey the battlefield and plan our next course of action. However, using a gamepad feels far more comfortable than using a mouse and keyboard.
I fashioned Rook as a Spellblade, a mid-ranged melee hybrid mage, in my 100-hour, nearly flawless, and almost compulsively thorough game. After I had earned all of my main tools, I truly enjoyed the play style. It is a great time that rewards accurate timing and strategic target prioritizing. I had a great time dancing with a dagger through a lightning storm I produced, dashing out of danger and then back in for a deadly hit. I can relate to this Dragon Age, even though it is not the tactical Dragon Age of my childhood.
Boss fights are undoubtedly the highlights of fighting, providing an incredibly fulfilling challenge even with the normal difficulty. Even if regular mob battles with Darkspawn or Venatori cultists finally became monotonous after more than ninety hours, facing a High Dragon always made me feel energized because I had to pay close attention to attack patterns and be quick-witted.
Your entire team consists of interesting, memorable, and likable people.
This may be the most BioWare game ever developed, as a BioWare role-playing game is primarily about your friends, or the people you met along the journey. In addition to having unique, likable, distinctive, and complicated people from all around Thedas, the entire team is portrayed as the protagonists of their tale. Veilguard lacks the traditional side quests, such as “Help Bingo Bongo find some nug grease,” but I do not miss them because each companion now has a full-length heroic arc with twists, turns, a personal enemy, significant character development, and a moment of triumph that is more appropriate for a protagonist than a sidekick. The writers seem to have taken Mass Effect 2’s loyalty missions and turned them into seven minigames. One of them connects to almost every side quest, thus it is impossible to feel like you are just performing busy work.
There are seven Veilguard members, thus it seems impossible to choose one to discuss. I truly want to state that these are all my favorites. However, he must be my choice for this play as I had a fulfilling relationship with the stoic Grey Warden, Davrin, and became the mother of his fledgling griffon friend, Assan. I shall wash Thedas away in a wave of fire if that little guy ever gets hurt. Another fun take on the typical edgy goth death mage clichés is the Vincent Price-inspired gentleman necromancer, Emmerich.
Being non-binary myself, I can say that Veilguard has some of the most realistic depictions of coming to terms with gender issues and navigating your family’s response to them that I have yet to see in a game, even though the developers have asked us not to reveal who I am referring to here. I do not feel like I am being catered to or like I am getting an after-school special. I was not surprised to learn that the author of this character is non-binary, and it is handled rather nicely.
The overarching framework of the greater plot, which is threatening the world in the background while we pursue all of these more individualized objectives, is not all that remarkable. To combat certain malevolent gods who are attempting to harm people with their tentacles, we must band together a few tribes. The main element that adds interest to it, though, is Solas, the elf god of deception and disobedience, also known as the Dread Wolf, who lurks in the background and leaves me wondering if he is an ally or an enemy.
Verdict
Unquestionably deserving of its position in the RPG canon, Dragon Age: The Veilguard revitalizes and revitalizes a legendary series that faltered through its middle years. I never thought I would be saying this before I was taken on this voyage, but the next Mass Effect is going to have a very difficult act to follow. This victorious dragon soars on the wings of enjoyable action combat, a fantastic cast of allies with expansive story arcs of their own, excellent cinematics, and poignant, nuanced character writing. It goes all out in a fast-paced tour of Northern Thedas, culminating in a fantastic finale that is based on incredibly difficult decisions and outcomes. At least it has to end well if there is not another Dragon Age.
