Dragon Age: The Veilguard Review (PC)

Reviewing Dragon Age was a difficult one for me. As a long-time Dragon Age fan, I have loved the stories all the way back to Origins. The world of Thedas and the mysteries within have stuck with me in many ways over my years with the franchise. 

Origins, commonly recognized as the most-loved game of the series, gave fans such excitement when it released back in 2009. DA 2 is known for switching up the formula and moving in a different direction. Inquisition brought in a new age of stories and tried to balance the action and strategy formulas of its predecessors but filled the world a little too much for many fans’ liking. 

And then there is Veilguard, which feels like a new beginning for the franchise, but also what could be some finality. Fans waited ten years to get to this point. What feels like a new launch point for the franchise, although with some speculating it could be the last game for Dragon Age. Only time will tell ultimately, but I want to cover this review as thoroughly as possible. Let’s get into it. 

Sound but simple

Action with a dash of strategy is what is represented in The Veilguard combat. Battling dangerous enemies all across Thedas has never been so fun. Fighting a multitude of enemies has really been what impresses me the most with the game. Combat just seems to flow so well, with clear combat scenarios that give players both challenge and reward for overcoming the challenge. Several difficulties are offered to the player at the beginning of the playthrough, with the option of changing later down the line if players choose to do so. The game gives players different options when choosing abilities and class-based weapons and equipment. 

There are three different classes when starting the game. After you finish with the character creator, build crafting soon begins. Builds are plentiful in the game, with what I have found to be quite the variety of skills to fit everyone’s playstyles. There is no shortage of options and the path that you choose will affect how much damage and the type of damage your character does.

BioWare gives players a path that includes options that can increase stats, but also can give players different skills to perform while in combat. With ultimate abilities being toward the outer portions of the skill tree path, players will grab lots of stat increases and a few new abilities along the way. 

Pausing in mid-swing while enemies are crowding all around you is as easy as you can imagine, and from that pause menu, you can select action sequences for your character as well as your companions. Players can even synergize their actions to increase damage output by commanding companions’ abilities with either their own or their other companion to create massive damage dealing combinations.

Story and worldbuilding

Character development is one of the biggest key features of BioWare games. Or at least, BioWare of old. The BioWare formula seems to have differed from this with the most recent entry in the DA franchise. The main story beats are predictable, but still satisfying. Thirteen chapters, three acts and most of the time, I felt the story kept me going. Grand sections at the beginning and end of the game bookend what is a strong central storyline

What really stands out as a major difference though is the writing. Especially when talking about companion quests. I am not saying the companions are bad. There are definitely some companion characters that are interesting and have some good engaging plot points. Harding, for example, her character is interesting and brings some elements from Inquisition that will resonate with players of the old games. She gives us a sense of the old world, but also has one of the most interesting companion quest lines. However, the majority of companions in The Veilguard simply fall short of the solid benchmark of prior DA games. Conversations with companions tend to feel uninteresting and void of the bright spots that gain attention in most BioWare games. 

Dialogue lines are like a roller coaster ride, because you never really know what you are going to hear. Head scratching moments exist in this game with the dialogue, and there are some truly forced emotional scenes that don’t really fit into the time and place that BioWare fits them in. Deeply touching moments pop up out of the blue right after completing a quest or randomly while back at your base of operations – the Lighthouse. On top of that, the companionship is lackluster at its core. The companions players will meet along the way, just end up joining the team without a whole lot of conversation or contention to go with it. Players will find that if they just show up, companions will join their cause without any debate. Alright, let’s move on from the companion and writing topic.

The Veilguard’s goal is to save the world. Quite a common fantasy questline trope if I’ve ever heard one. The title really shines here. Helping the world one quest at a time may seem simple, but it is genuinely fun. I found myself enjoying the game more as I continued to go through it. More play time equaled more fun, at least in my experience. I felt the game rewarded me enough to keep going, and the payoff, while rarely in the form of great dialogue, had more to do with the gameplay loop and action combat that I would find myself in. As players move further into the game, they will develop their character’s skills. I like that the game lets you feel more powerful as you continue through. Increasing power in games can be something that is hard to master for developers, and I felt BioWare did a nice job balancing this in a positive way.

Summary

Essentially, playing this game was a little bit of an up and down type of experience. I loved it, and then next thing I knew I wouldn’t. Gameplay was so solid, I really enjoyed running around and exploring and fighting hordes of enemies. But then my companions would talk, and I would be right back to realizing I did not like them that much. A couple of the companions I really did enjoy – Harding, Lucanis, Emmrich all were pretty good. In my opinion, solid as these few companions are, there is not a standout performance or companion in this game. There is not one that everyone will love more than the others.

Our story, as leader of the Veilguard, will hit most major fantasy tropes along the way to saving the world. We meet with companions, having evil villains stand in our way, and battle blighted dragons. That all sounds well and good. Still, something feels left out. Is this the same BioWare, the BioWare responsible for the Mass Effect series and Dragon Age: Origins. Simply put; no it’s not. It is not the same development team. A lot of people that were responsible for those older games are long gone from BioWare. This game feels different from the others. Is that bad? No. Is it a good kind of different? No, not necessarily good either. Just different. Does this feel like BioWare is picking up where it left off? Not exactly where it left off. Reviewing this game was honestly a little confusing. Being excited for this title was easy, and then starting to play it, my excitement wavered a little bit. Once I got through the prologue, I felt myself enjoying it more. By the seven-hour mark, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to love this game.

The Veilguard is a new entry into an old series. A series that honestly has struggled to find its identity. Fans looking for this game to remind them of Origins will be sad when they play this. But make no mistake, this is a really good, fun game. I enjoyed the heck out of my experience here. And there is a lot of content in this game as well. The Veilguard is jam-packed with content, side quests, story, and lore drops galore. Sincerely, I think there is something for everyone in this game.