Can the new Dragon Age stand on its own

For years, the next entry in the Dragon Age franchise has had much conversation surrounding it. Fans have been riding a roller coaster of sorts with good news followed with bad and all manner of rumors and speculation. Everyone is wondering, will Dragon Age: The Veilguard be good, will it be bad, will it be awful?

After the trailer released during the Xbox Summer Showcase, the discussion centered around fans’ displeasure with how the trailer looked. The problem with the trailer wasn’t so much the graphics or style; fans’ anger was more directed at the tone of the trailer. It seemed like BioWare was advertising a hero shooter game… which is a problem for many fans because that is not the vibe of a Dragon Age game. It seemed, at that moment, that BioWare had lost control of the narrative. I mean, have they even played a Dragon Age game?

Fast-forward three days later to the gameplay reveal from BioWare that showed off about 20 minutes of action — general consensus from fans and media seemed to change a bit. More positive feelings about the game seemed to surface. The gameplay reveal trailer struck at the hopes and dreams of fans, even if the conservatives were still not swayed.

One of the more positive drops of information comes from Mark Darrah, former executive producer at BioWare. In a video on Game Informer’s YouTube channel. Mark talks about the way the team at BioWare is “putting the characters first, building the game around those character moments, around those characters.” Mark seems to be talking the talk that Origins fans want to hear.

The Game Informer video includes not just Mark Darrah, but also two other project leads: Corinne Busche and John Epler, as well. Throughout the video, the three project leads are saying the right things for Dragon Age fans new and old alike. Like it or not, Dragon Age: The Veilguard has a lot riding on it.

Brief History of BioWare

BioWare has been a studio seemingly on the brink of being shuttered or sold. A large reason for this is its releases of Mass Effect Andromeda and Dragon Age Inquisition. Andromeda was a complete mess of a game. Upon its release the reviews bashed the game, and it has never seemed to recover. Inquisition on the other hand, had middling reviews of its own and struggled to capture the magic that the previous Dragon Age entries exuded.

After those releases, if we throw in the release of Anthem which seemed to have some promise but never was able to fully realize that promise. Bioware released Anthem on February 22, 2019. The last update for the game was released on February 25, 2020, almost exactly one year later. Anthem had no legs, the gameplay was solid but BioWare/EA never gave it a chance to continue. Since that time, BioWare has been quiet. Periodically sending out an update or two for Dragon Age, but mostly just working quietly. Staying out of a spotlight, might be just what this team needs.

Mark Darrah and Casey Hudson (general manager) left Bioware in 2020. However, Mark Darrah was welcomed back to BioWare earlier this year. Simply having Mark back as an advisor, or whatever his true role is, is extremely important for this game. Mark Darrah was executive producer during a dominant time for BioWare. He knows what success looks like for a studio that has brought us gamers so many great experiences over the years. Some truly masterful games for the RPG genre were born during Mark Darrah’s time at BioWare. There might be some hope that he could impact this new game, in a meaningful way.

Now, it would be irresponsible to think that Darrah could single handedly change the course of this game in less than a year. But BioWare adding him back into the fold shows that leadership at the studio may be steering the game in the right direction. Let’s assume that this isn’t an emergency attempt at a course correct for The Veilguard, but rather an adjustment to finish the game off with some serious polish. Mark Darrah being back on the team could potentially be the continuation of something great.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard has a lot to live up to. Dragon Age is an older franchise, and a fan favorite in many ways. The first game, Origins, released back in 2009 and continued what would be thought of as the golden years for the studio. Back in an age where both Mass Effect and Dragon Age games were hitting every couple of years and both franchises were thriving. Not to mention the fact that these RPG, story heavy franchises were following the widely acclaimed masterpieces that were the Star Wars KOTOR games (Knights of the Old Republic). This was the period of time where BioWare could do no wrong. Everyone, fans and media alike loved what the studio was doing.

Opinion time

The Veilguard will be successful on the back of the Dragon Age brand name. But will it be a good game? Trailers have shown us gameplay, and a few story elements in bits and pieces. Right now we don’t have a lot to go on. Although the gameplay segment was long and seemed to impress the majority of viewers, there are still big question marks on the game’s details. How RPG of a role playing game will it be? Will there be major choice and consequence in the game? What will the character development look like? How will side quests function? Will they be more of a story development feature similar to Origins? Or will they be more direct and fetch-quest in nature, like what was introduced in Inquisition?

Positives

From watching the gameplay reveal and things I have heard about the game, there are several pieces that stand out to me as real positives for the game. First off the voice acting in the game seems to be on point. Solid voice acting, and from what I can tell there are voices that don’t sound familiar to me, which is nice to hear. Secondly, the magic is on display, and I mean the literal magic that the characters use. Seems to me the tech has caught up to what the studio has wanted to show for a long time. Previous entries have talked at length about magic, but this game looks like it could show us more than just talk about it. Thirdly, combat looks fun and engaging. Combat appears to be action heavy which could be good or bad depending on the style a person is looking for in a game, which we will discuss in a minute. The combat looks to provide memorable fights and the game will undoubtedly provide many skills to choose from as players progress through the game.

Some question marks

Having talked about the positives, let’s discuss some question marks that I have for the game. I said combat looks engaging, but what role will strategy play within the combat. Both before and during a fight, strategy in Dragon Age Origins played a big role in the outcome. It seems unclear to me how strategy intensive this game will be, and may be a clear negative to some fans if strategy is lacking. The biggest question mark for me, is the game gives off actions adventure vibes. Keeping in mind we have only seen a snippet of early game, but action adventure is not what I am looking for from a Dragon Age title. I want classic RPG story-telling, and choices that matter and are impactful in the game. Ultimately, time will tell us the answers to these questions. I personally cannot wait to get my hands on the game and see for myself.

Conclusion

Let’s face it, most of us long for the days when we were totally engrossed in a video game that we couldn’t put the controller down. We recall the days when the story of a game transported us to a new world, absorbing us in a tale that made us forget our troubles. Many fans were satiated with last year’s hit game, Baldur’s Gate 3, which is arguably a masterpiece in itself. In many ways, I hope that the new chapter in Dragon Age hits on many of the same pieces that Baldurs’ Gate did last year. Hopefully, this is the year of continuation for great RPGs.

There is no guarantee that Dragon Age: The Veilguard will answer the call. No guarantee that a smash hit is on the way. But I choose to believe that BioWare will strike again, and they will strike this fall, when The Veilguard releases.