I can’t be normal aboutDragon Age, and my time withDragon Age: The Veilguardis just further proof of that. When given two weeks to review the game, the reasonable thing to do would be not to change my gaming habits too much and play it like I would any other title. It’s exactly what I would do for anything else, but it is not any other title and I am not reasonable. Instead, I gave into the obsession that has not been properly fed for nearly 10 years. That’s to say, I have 100 hours inDragon Age: The Veilguardand have beaten it three times.
My first playthrough was with a Qunari Mage who was aGrey Warden, the character I’ve had in my head sinceDragon Age: The Veilguardproperly revealed itself. I made all the choices I would naturally as if it were launch day, beating the game at 55 hours. My second playthrough (a Solavellan playthrough) was an Elven Rogue Veil Jumper, and as I would have naturally, I made all the opposite decisions with this character. I skipped any cutscenes I had already watched, watched the bigger decisions and unique content, and beat it for around 33 hours. Finally, my last character was a Human Warrior and Shadow Dragon. I have dubbed it the “Disaster” playthrough because I did nothing but main story missions and skipped everything else. I wanted to see what the worst possible outcome was, and true toDragon Age, it was heart-wrenching.
PS5 and presumably Xbox consoles have a severely restrictive 3-character limit. You cannot even access the character creator without deleting a character, and nothing could make me delete a Rook.
While BioWare has shown off plenty ofDragon Age: The Veilguard’s character creator, it bears repeating that it is fantastic. It’s pretty much the exact opposite ofDragon Age: Inquisition. It was normal to make an Inquisitor and instantly regret their appearance once the first cutscene played; for every single one of my Rooks, I was happier with how they turned out than I even expected. I did need to make some adjustments to my Rogue because I had somehow added scarring I didn’t intend to and wanted to make a single facial adjustment, but luckily, the Lighthouse has a handy dandy Mirror of Transformation available immediately after the prologue.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is Truly a Game of Choice and Consequence
The heart and soul of everyDragon Agegame comes down to its story, lore, and companions, and these remain the top billing ofDragon Age: The Veilguard. Fans already know thatDragon Age: The Veilguard’s storyrevolves around the titular group attempting to stop the two Blighted Elven Gods, Ghilan’nain and Elgar’nan, from destroying the world. Without going into spoilers, the delivery is very much like a sleight of hand, a card trick. The way the story plays with player perception, leading them to think about one thing while something else entirely develops, is a trick in storytelling befitting of the Dread Wolf. This doesn’t only apply to its main story, but its companion quests and faction quests as well.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Companions Are Lovable…If A Little Safe
Everycompanion has their own arc inDragon Age: The Veilguard, with their personal narratives developing through Conversations, Outings, and Quests. The former sees players join the companion in other parts of the world, sometimes alone or with friends, to get new insight into various events with that faction. Outings are more involved but typically remain focused on one key element of the companion’s development, and the Quests are the larger missions. Completing all of this is how companions earn the Hero of the Veilguard status, and each arc ends with a major choice related to that character.
These quests are not self-contained. A choice made in the main quest can come into play in the companion quests and vice versa; unique encounters can exist entirely based on these decisions. For example, based on who my Rogue romanced and a Conversation with a completely different party member, I saw unique dialogue that I didn’t see in my first playthrough. Based on other choices, both in companion missions and the main story, entire choices can be taken from the player because they’ve already set into motion a completely different series of events.Choices inDragon Age: The Veilguardare arguably not as far-reaching as past games, but they are far more systemic and far more intimate as a result. A good comparison, in terms of scale, is that the Inquisition was a major political organization and military power, and the choices reflected that. The Veilguard is more like a group of emergency responders, and the choices in the game reflect that.
Dragon Age: The Veilguarddoes a great job communicating when a companion has something to say, with it being marked on the map ofThe Lighthouseand their individual rooms being lit with lights. I miss “making the rounds” for each companion like I did inOriginsandInquisition, but I love knowing that they all have plenty of important things to say. I visited The Lighthouse after every single mission, and almost always at least one companion had a scene, at least until players hit the point that they began to wrap up everything before Act 3.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s companionsalso hold their own against any selection of companions from the past. Each of their personal stories is endearing, and each feels like a completely unique person. There is some repetition in terms of how their stories shake out, but not enough to harm the experience. Ultimately, I found myself loving the companions more than I did going in. Taash and Harding have always been at the top of my list and they still are, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Emmrich as a companion. I found myself caught off guard and intrigued by his story direction; given a lifetime, I never could have predicted it.
I even found myself liking Lucanis more, who has historically been at the “bottom” of my personal interests list just because his character archetype doesn’t gel with me. I’m the awkward one. But his story withthe Antivan Crowsand as an Abomination is unlike any Crow or Abomination seen in the franchise to date, selling his whole story to me. However, there is a simple problem here that harms the overall selection a little. There is no legitimate reason to hate or even dislike these companions, meaning they feel a little “safe.”
Solas is a good example of how a companion can cause debates among the community, in terms of whether they are a good person or not. Those debates inherently invite the realization that they are good characters because people can feel different ways about them.Dragon Agehas a history with this. I’m firmly in the “Anders did no wrong” camp, but he is a terrorist and people hate him. I get that. Sera, to this day, gets on my nerves and I’ll never forgive Blackwall for lying to me, but they are good characters with unique stories, prompting different interactions from the community. I know people who lovecompanions like Blackwalland Sera, and that’s great. I love companions I know people hate, and that’s great.
That doesn’t feel possible with the experience ofDragon Age: The Veilguard. Companions don’t really leave and it’s not really possible to make them dislike you as a leader. Getting a companion to disapprove of a choice inDragon Age: The Veilguardfeels hard to do, and it’s far and few between when it does happen, unlike previous games. And the “they know the stakes” argument doesn’t really work here because, at the time, the stakes were no higher than they were inDragon Age: Inquisition, where all of this was possible.
Another key pillar ofDragon Agecompanions is romance. I didn’t do one on my disaster playthrough, but I did complete one for my Mage and another one for my Rogue. I won’t say who to avoid spoilers, but they were polar opposites. The first was slow, more awkward than I expected, and ultimately heartwarming; the second was enough to make anyone blush in just a few flirts. There was an argument, which I didn’t expect. There was, uh, plenty of spice, whereas the other was tame in comparison.
The Veilguard Feels Like a Group of Emergency Responders
There is a game mechanic called “Allied Strength,” where players can see the strength of the Antivan Crows, the Grey Wardens, and all the variousfactions inDragon Age: The Veilguard. Completing region quests, as well as some main and companion quests, raises this strength across three ratings, and this has an impact on Act 3. My Mage and Rogue raised Allied Strength to its highest rating in every faction except one, while my Warrior raised none of them. This directly contributed to the devastation I witnessed in that playthrough, which honestly no mortal eyes should ever bear witness to.
Because The Veilguard is more emergency response than military power, they end up helping all the factions acrossNorthern Thedas. Not only do companions have personal arcs, but pretty much all the allies do as well. Major choices are tied to these factions, as they are with the companions, and it helps pull those systemic choices into the gameplay even more. How players engage with this “side content” and factions goes a long way in personalizing their character and fighting the Blight to End All Blights. Raising the strength of these factions does contribute to some odd pacing issues found inDragon Age: The Veilguard, but the exchange of pacing for meaningful content is a great one.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is an Emotional Roller Coaster
Ultimately, this means the narrative is told through how players engage with the content. It’s not fair to call anything inDragon Age: The Veilguarda side quest because choices are systemic too; everything ties into the next. The problem with this approach to storytelling is that it puts pacing entirely into the hands of players, and the game can, at times, feel lopsided as a result. For example, I didn’t realize right away with my Mage how impactful the faction quests would be. I spent most of Act 1 focused on the main quest and companion quests, meaning Act 2 was particularly overloaded with content for me to complete. On my Rogue, I balanced the content between the first two Acts, but it made Act 1 feel much stronger than Act 2. Some things can be done across both acts, which is good, but depending on how players engage with this content, their experiences will vary widely. There are pros and cons to this, of course, but I could see this con leading some players to bounce off the game in Act 2.
And, to be clear, Act 1 as a whole is stronger than Act 2. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but Act 2 is clearly a bridge between Act 1 and Act 3. Act 2 is all about preparing for Act 3, but the good news is that Act 3 absolutely pays off the highest highs and lowest lows of everything that comes before. Act 3 is prime BioWare storytelling, the best out of the studio sinceMass Effect 2’s final mission. I don’t think enough time has passed for me to say which is better, but it’s definitely in that conversation.
I’m not the most expressive person, especially when playing games. I feel it very deeply, just not outwardly—it’s just who I am. The most games tend to get out of me is the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme, butDragon Ageis different. The story and the cameos earned so many pops out of me that I thought I would lose my voice. I accidentally woke my wife up several times. I couldn’t control it. The story, especially Act 3, had me cussing, had me yelling, had me pausing the cutscene to process what exactly was going on. It turned me from the Leonardo DiCaprio meme into theReal Housewives of Beverly Hillsmeme where the woman is yelling at a cat. At one point, I found my mouth agape with my hand over it, which is a reaction I didn’t know I was capable of. Every game maker wants their art to make players feel something. It made me feel a lot of things.
For anyone curious, there are at least 4 major endings.
Solas has always been a contentious figure, which speaks highly to his characterization and role inDragon Agelore. Some fans love him, some fans hate him. That’s not going to change inDragon Age: The Veilguard, and both sets of fans are catered to. In fact, if you hate him, you will find even more reason to hate him, to want to kill him, to abhor him in ways you’ve never felt about a video game character. The weakest among you might even find a little sympathy for him. And the opposite is true. Ir abelas, Solavellans. You will find reasons to love him more, you will find reasons to love him less, you will find reasons for your heart to break even more, and you will feel a very special kind of pain.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is The First Game You Could Play for the Combat
I’ve always been firmly in the camp thatyou don’t playDragon Agefor its combat. Not only has it changed significantly from game to game, but each game made tons of compromises when it came to tactics and action.Dragon Age: Originsis a great tactical game, but other than picking targets, managing the party, and picking abilities, you mostly sit there and watch the Warden and others hit enemies.Dragon Age 2abandoned tactical elements for more action-oriented gameplay.Dragon Age: Inquisitionthen tried to bring action and tactics together in ways that were serviceable and fun, but were neither as tactically sound asDragon Age: Originsor as action-packed asDragon Age 2. Dragon Age: The Veilguardis the first game in the franchise where you could, in theory, play for the combat and be satisfied with that alone.
Dragon Age: The Veilguardis more action-packed thanDragon Age 2, and it excels in character builds and moment-to-moment tactics rather than the simple tactics and synergies found inOriginsandInquisition. I would expectDragon Age: The Veilguard’s build depth and build variety to be in aFromSoftware Souls game, not aDragon Agetitle. There are a lot of key elements that go into aVeilguardbuild, including not only how you engage with its action components, but also your gear (weapons, armor, rings, healing belt, amulet, and runes), skills, companions, and specialization. If players like a particular piece of gear, it can be upgraded throughout the game and even improved and enchanted through the Caretaker. That doesn’t mean a single new piece of gear is invaluable, it can absolutely be build-defining.
As a few examples, my Mage specialized as a Spellblade, and early on, I focused on being a pure Electricity-based Mage. I had a lot of fun with this, but it meant that I relied on my companions for other elemental coverage on top of everything else. I zipped and zapped over the field, getting in close with my Mageknife and Orb before bouncing out of combat, only using my staff as necessary. I eventually found an Orb that let me swap between Fire and Electricity damage through my Final Attack (the last attack in a chain) that gave me more coverage, and then I found a Mageknife that expanded my coverage from 2/3 to max, all while focused on my Fire and Electricity output. I used Runes in this build to make my coverage stronger, but based on what I equipped my companions with, I was also able to change how things like Detonations worked and how call-outs like “Attack My Target” worked. Instead of simply clicking on a target on the field and telling my companion to attack them, I could do that - and trigger an important effect. There’s not a single thing aboutDragon Age: The Veilguard’s combatthat cannot be tailored to your taste.
Meanwhile, my Rogue had similar get-in and get-out tactics, though I relied on my bow a little more than I did my staff. As I progressed through the game, I found this special weapon that consumed my arrows with each melee attack to increase its damage. I respecc’d with this to maximize my arrow regeneration to keep my attacks constantly strong, feeling very satisfied with the balance I had struck. But then I found an item that always kept my arrows maxed out, allowing me to keep the damage of this build but respec and add even more variety to it.
My Warrior then played completely differently. I relied on Perfect Defense to stay up close to my enemies, being able to parry attacks constantly and sending ranged attacks back at my enemies. Ranged enemies were the bane of my Mage’s existence and were annoying to deal with as my Rogue, but nothing compared to my Warrior. I could also use Perfect Defense to pop buffs that synergized well with my build and my companions, while increasing my potions and defenses to ensure that I could not be killed. All in all,Dragon Age: The Veilguardis a buildcrafter’s dream, but the beauty of it is that players can choose how they engage with these systems. If they don’t care about making a build, pretty much just picking whatever they wanted and what was strongest, the game absolutely supports that too.
Everything inDragon Age: The Veilguard’s combat can be modified, strategized around, and optimized to work in ways the player wants. There are a lot of buffs and obviously increased damage involved, but the sheer depth in everything is remarkable. The drawback to this is that there is a lot of very specific terminology players need to learn (Rally Party, Advantage, Quietus, Invulnerable, and Immovable—which are not the same thing—to name a few) and there is some degree of visual clutter constantly at play. However, players can choose to ignore the former if they so wish without being punished, and the UI can be tailored to some degree to make up for the clutter. The pros far outweigh the cons here. It ultimately feels like BioWare has managed to find combat that could work in current and futureDragon Agegames. I certainly wouldn’t be mad if this carried forward with some tweaks and improvements for future titles.
100 Hours In, Hundreds More to Go
There has been some concern thatDragon Age: The Veilguardwould be heavily geared toward newcomers. I cannot say what it’s like to experienceDragon Age: The Veilguardas someone new to the franchise, but it seems like it would be a fine entry point. What I can say, as someone who has mentally lived inThedas sinceDragon Age: Origins, is that my obsession has been satisfied…for now. That’s not in terms of gameplay because I have at least 5 more immediate playthroughs in me (my next character will be a Dwarven Lord of Fortune), but in terms of reveals, lore, story development, and all of that, I feel rewarded as a long-time fan.
Dragon Agehas always been a franchise where players feel some degree of ownership - of their characters, their companions, and their choices.Dragon Age: The Veilguardtakes that ownership to new heights, gamifying the very concept and giving players control based on how they choose to interact with the game. From its combat to its companions, from its main quests to its faction quests, from its choices to its final missions,Dragon Age: The Veilguardputs everything into its players' hands, the fate of Thedas included.
WHERE TO PLAY
Dragon Age: The Veilguardreleases October 31 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Game Rant was provided a PS5 code for the purposes of this review.
