Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Review
“Torn” is the word that comes to mind as I muse about Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
It is without question a fantastic game, and certainly a return to form for Bioware after many years of not being at their best, *cough* Anthem *cough*. In simple terms, The Veilguard is a great action RPG, beautifully made. However, I have a persistant and niggling issue that I can’t shift. It’s that the the game is not made for me and my generation of gamers, as its all a bit….well, “Nice”. Most notably in terms of the main character “Rook” and the accompaning cast. They are all missing the emotional depth and frankly rancour, to make them engaging characters worth caring about over a 30hr+ adventure.
The Veilguard follows on from 2014s Dragon Age: Inquisition. Our protagonist, “Rook”, teams up with new friends and some previous members of “The Inquisition”, to stop the Elven Wizard, Solas. He is looking to smash a magical barrier between the real world and a hidden magic realm full of bad stuff. All to do what he thinks is right, consequences be damned. I won’t dive too far into the story, cos spoilers! But anyone who has played Mass Effect 2 or any other games built around, “I’m putting a team together….” will have the basic gist.
We’re putting a team together…
Before collecting team mates from all over the Dragon Age continent of Thedas, like any good RPG, character creation needed to take place. The Veilguards character creator is fantastic. In particular the clever ‘sliding scale’ system, of choosing three heads or body shapes, and moving between the tri-axis of these shapes to find what you want. Then fine tuning can also occur. It’s not Cyberpunk level detail, but very user friendly. Then when the physical stuff is done, a faction and backstory can be chosen.
I created a female “Rook”. A dark, moody, Elven rogue-assassin from the Antivan Crows. Badly scared and blind in one eye from a run in with a death spawn a few years back. But as I took Rook out into the world, and started talking to people, my “role-play” in this RPG began to fall over.
Like many Bioware games that have come before, Mass Effect, Jade Empire, Kotor and obviously Dragon Age: Origins etc… how you converse with your teammates and the NPCs in the world, allows for the “role-play” to occur. In the proven Mass Effect style, the conversation wheel is the decision-making tool. With ‘positive’, ‘joking’ and ‘hostile’ prompts present for almost all interactions. But as I mentioned in the intro, the actual difference found in these choices is not meaningful and often feels inert.
I listened to a Podcast recently and one guest put it well, and to paraphrase them, they said. “Its like Bioware took sand-paper to all the conversations, so there are no “sharp edges”. The difference between the “Positive” and “Hostile” conversation choices are largely indistinguishable. So, to get back to my “Rook”, who in my mind, was going to channel some serious “Renegade Fem-Shep” vibes. She was unavoidably friendly to all and generally unconfrontational at every turn. NOT what I wanted.
Dragon Age for the gentler times
One interaction in particular sticks with me. Rook was confronting a bolshy, self-important head of the Grey Wardens. He belittled my gal, basically giving her, her pedigree. So “Renegade Mode” was what I wanted! There was a “Hostile” option which read as though Rook would spit some venom back and call him an Idiot. I chose said option and Rook furrowed her brow and proceeded carry out weak willed pleading for him to listen. Not swearing, no “Idiot” slurs like the option said! Then the scene played out, with Rook being saved from a confrontation by a 3rd party. Out of curiosity, I Reloaded the save and playing it “nicely”, but it was revealed that it all played out exactly the same.
What I wanted was for my “Rook” to have given him a serve, and tell him to get fucked! But no…as stated, the sharp edges that have been sanded away.
All conversation interactions are either nice, inert or at best they have a wiff of “I’m a tad miffed” to them. Sure, later on this Head Warden gets a punch in the face, but even that is only accompanied by quips and mild language to show frustration. There is no heat, no reality of the stress these characters are under considering what’s on the line. Its all very PG13, mild mannered and meek. This is not just with NPCs, but with Rooks teammates too.
I decided my Rook didn’t like her teammate, “Harding”, the Dwarven Archer. So, at every turn I used the “Hostile” conversation wheel choices and Rook would smile and show compassion and mild passive aggression. Instead of telling her to harden up and get on with the job without all the hallibaging like Fem-Shep would have. I couldn’t play the role of “Boss-Bitch”, not even a little bit. I’m not looking for some evil dictator, but just some aggression, sternness, a bit of “We are not here to fuck spiders, enough with the pleasantries you wimps”. But no, it’s all a bit….kind. But maybe in 2024, that’s OK? The world has enough nasty in it I guess.
Very little Risk, not a lot of Reward
So, the conversations and team interactions offer little meaning and next to zero conflict to look forward to, or manage. But thankfully every other part of the game is excellent. Combat is very action heavy, with melee attacks supplemented by powers and abilities. The Primer and Detonator idea, which was in Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem has been repurposed too. This takes the form of setting up a target up with one ability and if the correct follow-up ability is used, its some of the best damage in the game. This idea lends itself to a level of team building and build crafting to get the most out of combat.
Combat is curious actually, as I quickly found the whole thing far too easy on Normal. Thankfully, a quick play with custom settings made all the enemies into aggressive, glass canons. While also upping the potential damage they could do to me, essentially making me two hits from death. This meant I could easily clear the battlefield, but only if I moved, dodged and parried to survive long enough to do so. Without these changes, I fear it would all become very rinse and repeat and just dull after 30hrs.
Levelling and skill tree design is super approachable. A brilliant decision is that at any stage, I could refund Rook or the teams skill points and rebuild their skill tree. This became even more important after 20hrs, as some of the gear and items being picked up could be the hub of a new build. Be it poison, time-slow or fire, opportunities to play around with. There are no restrictions to experimenting to see what’s fun, or what works.
Once all the build crafting was done though, in the heat of battle, I needed to pay zero attention to what my Team was doing in combat. Except for using quick access wheel, to launch whatever Primer and Detonator was going to work, it all just happened. There was not a lot of planning or strategy inside of combat though. Before battle just making sure we all had good gear equipped and that teamates could either Prime or Detonate each others powers was the main thing. I cared little for them during a fights. They can’t even be downed or be injured! Once again, its very approachable, but makes it all a bit easy…..again there are no “sharp-edges”.
The various areas of Thedas are gorgeous, and I mean stunning.
The lighting and environment design is great, with huge variation of biomes. The stories being told both in environmental hints and endless easy to digest lore scrolls or notes are great. I also love that this is not an “Open-World”, in the traditional sense. Each area is a series of open corridors or interconnected arenas, riddled with little nooks and pathways that can be found, if one wants to have a snoop around. In that way, it feels more crafted, but also not looking to waste my time. If I find a wee path…there will be something to be found. A puzzle, a chest an item, something will be my reward for curiosty.
I don’t like the art style. It is beautiful, don’t get me wrong though. I just don’t like the stylised Fortnight/Wayfinder/Cartoon design choice, in particular for the characters. It feeds into my feeling of this game not really being for me. This is exacerbated when combined with the already discussed inert or whimsical conversation trees, and the “overly-approachable” combat. It makes me feel this whole endeavour is in reality, aimed at my gamer-generation replacements. An R13 audience, who are the next-generation of Bioware fans.
Interestingly, the Dragon Age: The Veilguard podcast radio-drama, Vows and Vengeance, which is the prequel to the game. Is this! It has Mature Audience content warnings dues to all the swear words, yelling, pain, arguments and violence, portrayed within. What was in this 8 part series…is what should have been in the game. Some meaningful ups and downs in tone and attitude.
The voices actors for the game and podcast all cross over, which was excellent. The voices of each team mate, script aside, are diverse and well delivered. My only gripe there is actually my Rook. The female Rooks two choices of voice just don’t fit, in my mind. One is an twenty-something Orange County, Aamerican. Who would be gossiping about boys at a pool party. The other is a 40 year old Bar-Maid from Manchester. Neither of them felt like a good fit. Granted, subjective as hell, but there you have it.
My little gripes aside, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is still an excellent game.
I do wish Bioware had been a bit less “safe” and actually had some heated, emotional moments and relationship turmoil within the cast of characters. They are diverse and interesting, but they never move past being a nice group of colleagues, with some passive agressive “meh” in the mix.
The Veilguard is still a must buy for any ARPG fan and certainly anyone who has missed the world of the Bioware of old. This is a great Hack and Slash adventure for all the family.
