Review - Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Developer: BioWare

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Available on: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC

Review console: Xbox Series X

It's been a long time coming. So much of Dragon Age has led up to this moment, the release of The Veilguard. I've waited 10 years for the day I would finally get to play the next installment in a beloved series. Next to Mass Effect, Dragon Age is my second favorite BioWare series of games. To be sure, I might be the slightest bit biased in my assessment of the game, but I still have plenty of criticisms to temper my love of Dragon Age and BioWare itself.

Plenty to talk about

I have to say, I would've had this review out sooner, but I decided to savor Dragon Age: The Veilguard. I did my best to play out as many of the side quests as I could while also exploring the different areas and checking out the scenery. I don't know when I'll get another BioWare game or Dragon Age game for that matter, so I wanted to take my time to really dig into it and the latest characters I would come to love. I am a fan, but that doesn't mean I didn't glaze over some flaws that made this experience slightly less shiny.

Incredible character customization

Now, one of the first things to note about Dragon Age: The Veilguard is it's character customization. There are some oddballs out there crying around about having too much customization, but this is probably one of the top 3 character customizers I've ever seen. Granted, I will note that I am not a fan of how the foreheads on the Qunari look a little too smooth, but I think that's just a general complaint most people have.

The character customization is full of incredible options. From different body types to facial features you can sculpt until satisfied, along with skin features that are becoming more common in character customization. I will note that I was not quite satisfied with the scarring options. I like to give my characters the most battle scarred up looks I can manage, and the scars tended to look a little too smooth for my enjoyment. However, I think I can forgive that for the hair customization in the Veilguard. The hair has individual strands and moves so smoothly, I had to take a moment to be mesmerized by the physics of it. It's as if BioWare heard people's complaints about the awful hair options in previous games and went all in to make sure they never hear that complaint again.

It took me a few hours, but by the time I finished customizing my first Rook, I was deeply satisfied with how they came out. Yes, they. I don't care what anyone says, my Rook is nonbinary and I am happy with it. Eat my socks if you want to complain about it.

Mass Effect, is that you?

Some changes have been made to Dragon Age's gameplay with the Veilguard. The first of which is the number of companions that accompany you on your adventures. The party has been reduced from 3 companions to 2. I fully understand the reasoning behind this after playing the game. It's more intimate and allows for a different way of controlling the characters. Much like in Mass Effect, you can direct your companions on who to attack and with what limited skills. The action is much more fluid than before and depends more on reflexively hitting those buttons to get through enemies.

I have heard from PC players that the gameplay seems to be much more geared towards controller players. While that's definitely a complaint that should be taken seriously, I am a controller player even on PC and had a fluid and great time playing. Turns out my reflexes are still going strong as I had to actively dodge and block hits throughout the game and strategize my reactions to enemies' attacks. I played a mage my first go-around, and it was the most fun I have ever had playing a mage in any Dragon Age game. I have typically avoided playing mage characters because they just weren't as fun to play with in previous installments.

Skilling up is one of those things I think Dragon Age: The Veilguard did really well. The skill tree is presented as a web of sorts with 3 different specializations to choose from. Skill points can be move around at any time without a cost attached which was fantastic for changing up my Rook to suit different enemies or allowing me to explore different styles of magic usage until I reached a set of abilities I was happy to play with. There's so much a mage can do that made playing around with the skill web worth it.

The map set up is much more like Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 respectively, with much less open-world exploration. There is still plenty of exploration to be had, but it's more focused and less huge in scale. The scenery along the maps is something to be deeply admired. Arlathan Forest was a magical and ethereal place. I wish we got a little more of Minrathous to explore, I was really looking forward to checking out more of Tevinter after seeing so much of the backwaters of Fereldan and Orlais for ten years. Still, I couldn't help but stop and look at at everything.

An RPG of epic proportions

Dragon Age, as an RPG, relies on its storytelling. From Varric's overarching narration of big moments in the games to cinematic scenes where pivotal moments are depicted that leave us ready for the next big quest. It has also relied on the stories that happen in-between the big stuff. The individual stories of the companions, their dreams, desires, fears and the things holding them back from being the heroes they need to be in the moment.

In the Veilguard, playing through companion quests isn't just about exploring the characters, it's about ensuring they have the strength needed to carry them through the final quests. By completing their companion quest arcs, they become Heroes of the Veilguard and that heroism can determine major points in the completion of the game. A nice little mechanic introduced in the Veilguard is that taking companions on quests builds their bond level and that bond level up gives skill points, encouraging us to take different companions around on different quests.

Every companion is likeable in their own ways and I really enjoyed getting to know them. Companions can be found around the lighthouse in different spots talking to each other and interacting with things and listening in on conversations is one interesting way to get to know them. However, I did miss being able to just approach them and start asking questions about them and their history and beliefs about Thedas as was available in previous installments. I often wanted to know the characters deeper.

The romances with the companions are adorable but feel very much like the early stages of a relationship and felt to me, at least, like they lacked some of the depth and intensity that previous games often had. That could also be made sense of with the fact that what's happening in Dragon Age is likely realistically happening in a very short amount of time.

Wrapping up the threads of an overarching story

The overarching story wraps of years of story in the making. Threads from previous games are pulled together to form a full picture of what has been hinted at. Those who paid attention to codexes may find themselves unsurprised by the revelations within the Veilguard. That is not to say that some things are left unsaid and unfulfilled. There's plenty that happened in previous games that isn't addressed or referred to at all in the Veilguard. It's still very much a travesty that there are really only 3 decision from Inquisition that the Veilguard asks about during character customization. However, I did feel a sense of satisfaction with how one particular decision made about the Inquisitor's history with Solas eventually plays out. I think my Inquisitor would be happy enough with the wrapping up of their story.

It did feel weird to see the few previous companion cameos we got without any major decision making affecting them, especially since those companions were romanceable options whose stories also play out differently based on decision made in the games. We probably could have done without them altogether with the way they were placed in the game.

I will say those who make it to the ending may find it to be one of the most epic conclusions to a Dragon Age game they've seen. It's a visually stunning series of battles and the peak of the conflict is rather glorious and difficult in its culmination. Companions do, indeed, die and it very much echoes Mass Effect 2's final mission. I genuinely loved it and it was an ending worthy of tale of fantasy, dragons and defeating gods.

So what's the verdict?

While I'm plenty happy with Dragon Age: The Veilguard as a Dragon Age fan, there are points where things are left wanting. I enjoyed the gameplay, loved the characters, was riveted by the overall main mission. However, I felt the companions lacked some depth not in that they weren't complicated people, but in that they could've use more digging into who they were as people before the Veilguard and who they were becoming as Heroes of the Veilguard. One last note: the Veilguard still has plenty of the darkness previous Dragon Age games had, but for some reason when devs throw a slight stylistic change and brighter colors on something it's suddenly considered less dark? Weird. Anyway, the game is great but not quite the must buy I want it to be. So with that said: