We received the opportunity to play through the long-awaited Dragon Age: The Veilguard ahead of its release and we’re here to tell you all about it.
It’s been a long ten years since Dragon Age fans were able to visit Thedas with Dragon Age: Inquisition. At last we can return with the arrival of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, an all new adventure provides everything long time fans love about the series and more.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Developed By: Bioware, EA
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, PCs
Release Date: October 31, 2024
It’s important to note for the purpose of this review I’m reviewing Dragon Age: The Veilguard strictly on its own merits and not how it connects (or doesn’t connect) to the previous entries in the series.
For this review, I played the game on the Playstation 5 on Storyteller, the equivalent of Easy Mode.
The Story
Dragon Age: The Veilguard takes place in the wake of Dragon Age: Inquisition, when Solas was revealed to be the elven god Fen’Harel, aka The Dread Wolf. Solas has made it plain at the beginning of the story that his goal is to tear down the Veil that keeps the ancient elven gods out of Thedas. Naturally, Rook, the character the player assumes control of, is recruited to help stop Solas from doing this, but as always in the world of Dragon Age, things aren’t nearly as straightforward as they appear to be.
It turns out that Solas’ plot was just the tip of the iceberg and Rook is soon thrust deep into a plot that threatens the entire world with destruction if they fail. High stakes indeed, but one would expect nothing less in a Dragon Age game. As per usual, Rook must recruit allies and companions across the land to set things right once and for all.
The Gameplay
The best words I can use to describe the gameplay in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is “smooth” and “flowing.” Once the game’s introduction is over, Rook (and the player) are flung into a story that takes off at a quick pace and honestly, as of this writing, doesn’t really slow down. The general flow of gameplay is: go on quest, pursue the objectives, which include puzzles and waves of combat, finish the quest, possibly gain a companion, return to the hub, repeat. It’s a fairly satisfying gameplay loop, as each quest tends to take the player someplace new, and there’s little to no sense of repetition that would risk making the story boring. However, this steady pace is also a bit draining and I explain why below:
Unlike Dragon Age: Inquisition, there isn’t really a chance to just explore the game world to see what secrets it may be hiding. Or if there is such an opportunity, it doesn’t come until later in the story. This leads to the one thing about this game I actually don’t like: every time I turn aside to try and explore the game’s central hub area, an icon will eventually pop up to remind me that certain quests have a time limit on them and will not wait for me. I have mixed feelings about this feature. On the one hand, I can appreciate the game wanting to foster a sense of urgency by putting a real time element on the quests. On the other hand, it is nice to occasionally take a break from the story and just explore. The world of Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the most detailed yet, and it’s irritating to find something interesting only to be reminded that this quest really needs to get done.
Customization Galore
The customization options in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is everything we were promised and more. When I first opened the game and reached character creation, I perused the options and realized I could easily spend hours doing nothing but customize my character to the exact specifications I wanted. It is no exaggeration to say you could make your character look just like yourself if you were willing to take the time to make it so. I was also pleased to see non-binary options included for Rook, not just with gender identity pronouns but in their appearance options as well.
Then there’s all the armor options that can be unlocked in the game, not just for Rook but for their companions as well. It’s a lot of fun to open the menu and customize how each companion looks, which in turn carries over to combat and cut scenes. Feel free to to play around with this as the game goes on, there are a ton of options to choose from.
Decisions, Decisions
As is customary with Dragon Age games, there are innumerable decisions to be made throughout the game regarding conversations, decisions regarding quests, and decisions to be made regarding the companions Rook acquires throughout the game. To avoid spoilers, these decisions will not be discussed specifically, but know that the choices the player makes throughout the game will have consequences. Sometimes the consequence is small, and sometimes the ramifications aren’t seen until later. But try not to overthink the choices being made, remember you can always choose another option in a future play through.
Exploration is Your Friend
As with most games of this genre, exploration will quickly become your best friend as you play through the story. Not only is the game world filled with materials for improving armor and weapons, there are also scrolls to be collected to fill in the game’s codex of lore. Furthermore, occasionally solving a puzzle to continue on a quest requires thoroughly exploring an area to locate the solution. There are also treasure chests filled with armor and weapons that can be used to upgrade what the player is using. Be sure to regularly upgrade the character’s weapons whenever you get the chance, it helps with combat a lot.
Use the Combos During Combat
Combat in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is mostly what you would expect it to be, but there are some new additions that have been made. For instance, if Rook has the Warrior class, there is the option to throw their shield as a ranged weapon during combat, something that will also come in handy in solving a few puzzles along the way. After some trial and error I found this to be an excellent way to stop an enemy magic user from sending an attack my way. Don’t feel obliged to choose this class because of that however, each class has its own set of benefits in combat.
There are also skill combinations that will come in very handy especially during boss fights. While they look overwhelming at first, it doesn’t take much experimentation to learn combinations that will pack a huge punch against certain enemies. Even on an easier setting, some of the enemies in this game are not to be taken lightly.
A Story Worth Telling
Given we’ve been waiting ten long years for another trip to Thedas, I can state with complete honesty that Dragon Age: The Veilguard was not only worth the wait, it’s easily one of the best games to come out in 2024. Seriously, this game needs to be included in any discussion for Game of the Year. Give the story a chance to play out, it’s one that deserves to be told.
