Contains Minor Spoilers
While a newcomer to the Dragon Age series, I enjoy RPGs and their ability to bring you into the world and feel connected to the characters and conflicts. Like many, I do not have a large amount of free time to dedicate to these stories, so I need to be pulled in right away to be able to warrant spending my time towards games with a long estimated play time.
What’s the best way to quickly pull people into an RPG?
A satisfactory character creator.
CHARACTER CREATION
The quality of customization is extremely high. I am impressed with how free everything is to edit on your character. Most features, from nostrils to larynx width, can be adjusted to exactly what you want. There are several different hairstyles to choose from, and they all look beautiful. The hair tech for the game is the best I’ve seen, even compared to hyperrealistic art styles. I am typically disappointed with the curly hair options, but Dragon Age: The Veilguard did not disappoint.
The art style reminds me of a modded version of the Sims 4, which might not sound like a positive comment at first, but the style looks very appealing in-game during combat and cinematic sequences. All the characters, including those not in the main cast, have an interesting design and stand out.
The characters in the character creator had a bobblehead look, though. I spent much time adjusting my character’s shoulder width to fix that. However, that was not an issue when playing the game. Everyone was proportionate in-game, and my character looked like she belonged in the world.
I ran an elf mage with the Veil Jumpers background. My character had the benefit of having a previous relationship with some of those in the Veil Jumpers faction, a group of explorers of ancient elven ruins. Since I was an elf, I felt my Rook had a special connection to this backstory and some specific plot-relevant lore in the main storyline.
GAMEPLAY
I played the game on an easier difficulty, called Keeper, to accommodate my lack of playing these types of games. I could quickly see how the enemies could be sponges for taking damage. While I am not up for a challenge, those who are would enjoy the various skill ratings your campaign can be in. From nightmare to even custom, the ability to enjoy a curated system is there.
Despite there being only three classes, the combat still felt dynamic, and with the skill tree being so expansive, I can see room for a ton of replayability. The playstyles evolve greatly depending on your decisions within your skill tree.
Playing a mage was a blast. I loved watching the animations between inputs. The combat felt fluid, and getting into a grove of when to press the right button was not challenging. I appreciated the momentary pause in the gameplay loop when deciding what my companions should do. Pulling up the wheel to select their moves froze time in the game, which allowed me time to think.
Some people might not be thrilled with not playing the companions, but I see how it could create too much chaos on the screen to comprehend what was happening. As someone who has a difficult time getting used to gameplay mechanics, I enjoyed the system.
THE STORY
Bioware has a smart gameplay system, but as a newcomer to the series, I was intrigued by where the story would take you. The game showcases a colorful cast of companions that all have their own intriguing stories to explore.
The set pieces for the world are all beautiful. The immersive backgrounds and skyboxes made it easy to get absorbed into the story. I would go into photo mode to observe the surroundings without the UI. I also enjoyed the visuals of the villains, as Bioware played with an uncanny valley style for the antagonists.
With there being several games in the series, I expected the game to have an expansive world, but I did not expect the character writing to be so solid. During my playthrough, I could feel myself getting attached to these characters.
What is most enjoyable about the companions is how they communicate with each other. The cast do feel like they have real friendships. This is partially because the characters can romance each other, but the creators also prioritized group conversations. They could bounce ideas off each other which felt natural.
It was a shame that Act One was spent bringing the cast together and didn’t give them more time to interact right off the bat. This caused Act One to drag towards the end.
The pacing is decent. It has a solid start. It was engaging to figure out the steps your character will take to solve the main issue. Act One did lead into a much slower Act Two. It allowed you time to build these relationships, which is great, but it also highlighted some clunkier dialogue.
The dialogue is well done, and I enjoyed their interactions. It only fell flat in the side storylines. It felt like I would sometimes be given options that did not correlate with what my character said. The facial animations for Rook also tended to have a side smirk for most of their dialogue, to the point where it would pull me out of the conversation.
The game’s pacing improved with a wonderful and detailed Act Three. Bioware showed its strengths with excellent dialogue and choices that led to a satisfying ending. Your choices have a lot of impact, especially since you risk your character’s friends dying in a potentially gruesome way. There were twists that I did not expect towards the end that were handled well.
IS THE GAME WORTH PLAYING, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S YOUR FIRST DRAGON AGE EXPERIENCE?
Yes.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard was a delight to play and had much room for replayability. While I did miss some context as a new player, I never felt confused. Your playable character from the previous game, Dragon Age: Inquisition, can interact with the world. As a returning player, I am sure this would be an exciting dynamic part of the game. For me, it just felt like any other NPC with extensive lore.
I recommend this game to those who are lovers of story-driven RPGs. I rate it an 8/10 and implore those to consider getting it if they have the means or when it comes on sale if they are interested in a fun story with serious undertones.
