A few years ago, if asked who made the best action role-playing games in the world, you would have said BioWare in a heartbeat. And rightly so, as the studio was once a true powerhouse in the genre. Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Knights of the Old Republic, all classics. But, as is the way with things, nothing can truly last forever. Duds like Mass Effect: Andromeda, Anthem and even, in some ways, Dragon Age: Inquisition turned a lot of fans off the BioWare brand. Enter, Dragon Age: The Veilguard – a return to a series which itself has seen more than a few ups and downs.
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A lot has happened in the time since their heyday and, later, fall from gaming esteem. Members of the team have come and gone. Gaming has changed in countless ways. And so, Dragon Age has had to evolve for better or worse.
A New Age
Dragon Age: The Veilguard follows Rook and Varric, who have been hunting Solas for about a year. They have also discovered that Solas is trying to carry out a ritual to destroy the Veil. This ritual will release two ancient elven gods tied to it – Elgar’nan, the god of vengeance, and Ghilan’nain, the goddess of navigation.
Although they stop the ritual, two creatures escape the Veil. The demonic pair unleash the terror of the Blight on the world, setting the stage for a most epic adventure.
Rook and Varric, along with a few new companions, must fight the dark spawn and reimprison the evil that was unleashed.
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It’s a solid foundation. Dragon Age: The Veilguard follows the tried-and-trusted RPG formula of exploring, gathering your allies and saving the day. There’s enough wiggle room to let you go off the beaten path, while the core tale stays a constant but not overbearing presence.
Dragon Pace
There are odd pacing issues in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. On occasion, the story builds and builds, putting real urgency on a matter, only for it to be done and dusted in a cut scene.
Sometimes you are forging intensely ahead on your mission, only for the pace to come to a screeching halt once you reach that goal. The writing of Dragon Age: The Veilguard also yo-yos a lot. From the, honestly, depressing first hours to the direction of the core tale. The tone moves all over the place.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard also feels extremely linear, thanks to a mostly linear mission structure. There just isn’t as much agency as I would have liked. The cast is also not particularly likeable. The character depth and development are just not on the level of past Dragon Age games or the crew of the Normandy.
Reasons to Care
Some of Dragon Age: The Veilguard‘s deficiencies might leave you not really caring about what’s happening. Depending on how you find the linearity, pacing and characters, this ambivalence may even extend to the more important moments. Or even when you actually do get to make a choice.
Cameos of past games’ characters are mostly just lip service, or blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments. And, given the rich history of the game, this is a bit of a disappointment. As great as it is to have them at all, they feel like they’re only there because a studio executive asked for it in some board meeting.
Reasons to Slay
Combat is handled fair a bit better. You have three classes to pick from; each with their own skill trees and three different specialisations.
This means you can grow your hero in some really interesting ways. On top of this, the game allows for interesting experiments with the different styles and classes. Dragon Age: The Veilguard genuinely makes a great go of giving players that freedom to sate their curiosity around builds.
The combat also feels grounded and weighty. Kicking enemies in the gut, or thrusting a sword into their chest – the moment-to-moment combat is very satisfying. You will have to learn the timing and placement required to land each weapon perfectly. And that’s before you bring in magic and your ultimate attack.
Veil Crew
During combat, companions are controlled by the game and not directly by you. This is a shame, given past entries in the series. This change means your companions are now mostly used as mere buffs and status effects. In fairness, they also detonators in chained attacks.
Beyond the disappointment of the computer-controlled companions, it’s actually a solid little tactical system that does its job well. There’s plenty of emergence and choice without overly complicating things.
Versus
Opponent AI, on the other hand, is a bit hit-and-miss. During the heat of battle, they only have eyes for you, which is a pain as well as breaking the immersion. However, overall, battle AI never feels cheap or unfair.
After the fighting is done, you get to looting. In the early game, the loot isn’t all that rewarding. But, after a few hours you will spend more time poring over the stats screen of your shiny new kit, hemming and hawing over the sickest kit. There is also a basic crafting system if you’re looking to forge that special something.
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Exploring the world is a mixed bag. Some areas are very linear, and lack any real diverging paths. The game’s areas also often lack the scale needed to make it feel like something that needs exploring.
That said, most areas are revisitable on side quests and the like. Revisiting areas can open up hidden layers to some environments. Stuff like puzzles and party member-specific areas, which usually net you some worthwhile goodies.
Art of the Dragon
Visually, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is detailed and varied, with a number of high-fantasy biospheres to do battle across. From busy market streets to the weathered ruins of what was once a mighty empire, Veilguard looks the part. However, there is a strange blur applied to image some times. It’s not horrible, just odd.
The soundtrack Dragon Age: The Veilguard is epic. The game is filled with adrenaline-fueled moments, especially in combat, that are scored to perfection. The voice acting is adequate, but some may not enjoy the performances. Admittedly, the writing doesn’t help.
Dust Age
It would be wrong for me to not mention the drama around Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Similar to Dustborn, there have been outcries from the community over the game’s handling of certain subjects. Dragon Age: The Veilguard could have been written better in places, and, at times, it feels forced.
Are there awkward moments in the mix seemingly shoehorned in just for the sake of the point? Yes. Do they hugely impact the game? No. Should they be handled better, given the calibre of the writing team on show? Yes.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard has its issues, but it’s also the best BioWare title we have had in the past ten years. It’s far from perfect, but there are green shoots to be found. The foundation has been laid for, dare I say it, something special. But, as it stands, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is just a decent action role-playing title with some flaws that you can take or leave.