Dragon Age: The Veilguard review

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As a seasoned Dragon Age fanatic, hailing from the frozen lands of Ferelden, I must say that Dragon Age: The Veilguard has left me utterly spellbound! This latest addition to the franchise is an ode to BioWare’s masterful storytelling and world-building.

Before diving into Dragon Age: The Veilguard, it’s important to acknowledge my initial doubts given the gap since Dragon Age: Inquisition and the experiences with Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem in between. However, after engaging with Rook, Varric, and the team, I can confidently say that The Veilguard brings a familiar BioWare feel – like they’ve found their way back home.

As a dedicated fan, I must admit that while the narrative and character development in this new release are commendable, there are a few aspects that seem somewhat incongruous. The freshness of the writing team is palpable, with the storyline being robust and characters well-fleshed out. However, some dialogues, scenarios, and responses from certain characters like Neve, Taash, and especially Rook, strike me as if they were penned in 2024 rather than fitting the era of the game. Characters such as Lucanis, with his baroque brogue, deliver lines flawlessly, but it’s the modern vernacular used by others that sometimes feels out of sync.

Just as anticipated from BioWare, Dragon Age: The Veilguard delivers an engaging narrative and a visually captivating experience. The action sequences seamlessly blend with and out of cutscenes, consistently placing your character, Rook, at the heart of it all. Employed by series veteran Varric to prevent Solas, the Dread Wolf, from executing a ritual that could devastate the Fade (alongside half of Thedas), Rook is a completely customizable protagonist. You have the freedom to select race, gender, and class from among Fighter, Rogue, or Mage, with each option branching out into nine specializations later on. Additionally, you’ll need to pick a backstory from one of the seven primary factions, such as the Grey Wardens, the necromantic Mourn Watchers, and the enigmatic Antivan Crows (my personal preference being Rogue).

Each of these backgrounds affects how certain quests will play out and how certain characters will see you. As each of your companions belongs to one of the factions, this can also affect how they act and respond around you, having an influence on relationships, romance, and how they perform in a fight. It’s nothing “new” in 2024, but the way these relationships interweave across the non-linear, optional parts of the narrative is still impressive. You can also adjust the world state to reflect how you left it in Inquisition, even influencing the appearance of certain cameos who pop up throughout the story. What begins fairly simply is soon a race against two ancient Elven Blight gods, and it’s a conflict that involves people in all corners of Thedas.

In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the choice of characters plays a significant role. You should ideally unlock all companions within the initial few hours of gameplay. Once unlocked, you get to decide who joins you for most quests and storylines. Each character has unique combat styles, though some spells and abilities may share similarities. For instance, multiple characters might possess a healing spell, so you won’t always feel compelled to bring the one that specializes in keeping you alive. Some abilities are categorized as Primers, while others are Detonators, making it crucial to understand the sequence in which your allies should activate their skills for survival.

Beyond this, it’s worth noting that the characters possess rich layers and intriguing personality traits. For instance, Harding and Bellara share ideals of kindness, but Harding bears the scars of past experiences, while Bellara remains optimistic and untainted. Similarly, Davrin and Taash, the group’s powerhouses, have contrasting histories that shape their conflicts. The duo of Emmrich and Neve, your principal magic-wielders, are an intriguing pair – Emmrich is a charismatic old Necromancer, while Neve is a resourceful private investigator for the Shadow Dragon faction. Lastly, Lucanis, who I find particularly fascinating, is a demon-possessed warrior who relies on copious amounts of coffee to keep himself awake and his passenger in check.

As a gamer, I deeply appreciate titles that prioritize immersive narratives, where my interactions with the characters, whether in groups or individually, play a pivotal role. These exchanges not only propel the plot forward but also provide glimpses into their pasts, offering opportunities to bestow gifts, align or challenge their beliefs, and most importantly, foster genuine emotions towards each of them and their roles within this world. Sadly, such games that balance compelling storytelling with exhilarating gameplay seem to be dwindling in number nowadays.

In the Lighthouse, an old, dilapidated fortress concealed within the Fade, you’ll devote significant time. Here, you’ll interact with specific characters to advance the plot, alter your persona, unearth secrets, and leverage the Eluvian network for traveling to various semi-open-world zones through the Crossroads. Each zone offers its own set of quests and ancillary activities. However, they can also be thoroughly explored to solve puzzles and discover concealed treasures. BioWare tends not to leave unexplored territory, so if there’s a place you can access, a ledge you can leap to, or a secret door you can open, there’s usually something valuable there waiting for you.

As a gamer, I find the loot in this game color-coded, with the potential for improvement either by chatting up an NPC at the Lighthouse or snagging another identical item. Duplicates don’t pile up in my inventory but instead enhance their counterparts, climbing through the colors from grey, green, and blue to purple and gold. With each upgrade, more bonuses kick into gear, while rare red-coded items are usually insanely powerful but come with drawbacks that make me think twice before using them. The Veilguard showers us with loot, not just for Rook but for our companions as well. Gear, weapons, trinkets, and keepsakes all boost stats, increase my potion count and the number of revives I can take before needing to reload a save, or simply adjust and alter elemental damage and resistance.

In this game, the usual rules for damaging elements like Fire, Chill, Shock, and Necrotic (poison) apply. Additionally, you can inflict Primers such as Weakened, Sundered, and Overwhelmed, which can be triggered by specific skills or abilities. You’ll also receive a dagger that can be adorned with three Runes on a cooldown, enhancing your character or party temporarily. The diverse skill trees enable you to invest points in upgrading Rook’s abilities, and your companions have smaller, yet similar trees. Respeccing them is free as well, allowing for experimentation within your class.

In The Veilguard game, the action-packed adventures and character interactions make it shine, yet the combat system is equally impressive. The Rogue, swift as lightning with dual blades, can specialize in long-range combat or crowd control. Alternatively, the Fighter can prioritize survivability or damage output, maintaining threat to keep enemies engaged, while the Mage skillfully combines status ailments for continuous lethality and area-of-effect damage. Each character possesses unique traversal abilities; Neve freezes switches, Davrin summons his griffon to eliminate Blight boils and clear paths. Though Rook can manage on his own with a dagger, utilizing the characters strengthens their relationships.

Sometimes, the overlapping dialogues can disrupt the game’s immersion. Your team members may engage in conversations with Rook, but if these are interrupted by combat or other dialogue, they restart the entire interaction. In crowded areas, this repetition can become frustrating very quickly because there’s always something happening. This issue applies to combat as well, and some of the boss fights, especially optional ones against Darkspawn Champions, take place in confined spaces, making it hard to see what’s going on or get a chance to catch your breath or think. Also, you may find yourself struggling with the camera controls from time to time.


 

In The Dragon Age: Veilguard, the game vividly portrays the enchanting, intricate landscapes of Thedas, much as you’d come to expect from this series. Unlike its predecessors, it features a less somber art style, with characters less often bloodied after battles. However, it remains undeniably Dragon Age in its armor, weapon, and enemy design. There’s a certain maturity to it, even though it’s filled with subtle references and nods to past games and other related media.

Even though there were minor visual flaws, suboptimal sound design, and occasional camera hiccups, Dragon Age: Veilguard offers a fantastic gaming experience overall. You can choose between fast-paced action or leisurely exploration, with numerous side missions and optional activities to keep you engaged. The narrative excels in the areas that matter, continuing the franchise’s classic themes of secretive guilds, darkspawn, noble heroes, and power-hungry mages. These themes are skillfully updated to resonate more effectively than not. Spending hours discovering different biomes with my companions and seeking out rare loot made time fly, and I can’t wait to start over and make new choices for another thrilling adventure.

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2024-10-28 18:16