Final Word on Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Earlier this month, I did a first impression post about Bioware’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard. I went into the game hopeful, but realistic enough to know I would probably be let down. After all, today’s Bioware is a far cry from the Bioware that gave us the original Dragon Age games, not to mention one of my all-time favorite game series, Mass Effect. Still, I held out hope that the game wouldn’t be as bad as some of the early reviewers were letting on. Let me just say it wasn’t that bad but it certianly wasn’t as good as it could have been.

Bioware started off on the wrong foot with a number of fans by changing the look and feel of the game from its predecessors. The early games were dark fantasy and looked it. This new one? Well, let’s just say it doesn’t fit the mold. But that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad game. But it does mean the game needs to go the extra mile to satisfy long-time fans of the series.

An extra mile they didn’t go.

Let’s start with the positives.

The game is long enough to make it worth the money. Especially if, like me, you didn’t buy the game but only paid for the month of access to most of the games on the EA/Bioware platform. There is also enough when it comes to missions, side missions, etc., to satisfy folks who like trying for 100% completion. But that’s about it.

Don’t get me wrong. The game doesn’t fall to the levels of Mass Effect: Andromeda right after its release. But, damn, it has problems.

Starting with the writing, which includes one of the most cringy scenes I’ve played in a long time. Seeing a Qunari warrior struggle to tell mama dearest that they are non-binary had me shaking my head. I don’t care if the characters are binary/non-binary/queer/straight/whatever. In the past, Bioware’s writers have included characters of different sexual orientations but their revelation and backstory have been part of the story. But this wasn’t something that moved the story forward. It felt awkward and forced.

The romances seemed mild compared to what we’ve had in other Bioware games and at least in the playthrough I finished lacked the humor and/or intensity of some of the Mass Effect or earlier Dragon Age games.

There are some characters from Inquistion—and earlier—that make appearances in the game. Varrick is recognizable. Harding has changed but you could almost write that off as her having aged 10 years (the time that passed in-game between Inquisition and Veilguard). But Dorian looks nothing like I remembered and I wouldn’t have known him if he wasn’t named.

Worse, all the care you took to build your world state in the previous games, all the decisions you made, mean nothing in this game. Nothing is imported. Instead, when you create your Veilguard character, you have the chance to “build” your Inquisitor and backstory. Sorry, but that doesn’t win any points with me.

Bottom line, this game reminded me a lot of Andromeda. There are good and not so good parts. The real problem is it was billed as a Dragon Age game and it really didn’t feel like one, especially with the decline in writing and the change in visuals.

More than that, it has fans of Mass Effect worried about what EA/Bioware will do with regard to ME 5 (or whatever they’ll call it) when it finally comes out. Will all those decisions we made during ME1-3 be thrown out the door? What about the ending? Will our choice about how we ended ME3 be imported or will Bioware decide what the “canon” ending is? Remember, that could end up killing off not just characters we liked (Edie) but entire species.

So what’s my recommendation?

If you want to give the game a try but don’t want to pay full-price, either do like I did and join their “club” for a month and try it out. Or wait for it to go on sale. Whatever you do, remember this as well. Unlike the other games in the series, they have already said there will be no DLC. So, unless you want to play the game using different character classes and species, or try romancing different characters, there really isn’t much reason to play it through more than once.

EA/Bioware says there will be no DLC so they can focus on the new ME game. But is that really the case or are they taking this stance because they promised a DLC in Andromeda that would answer the Quarian ark question but never delivered? Is it because the company has managed to avoid hitting a game out of the park for so long it’s forgotten what success looks and feels like?

Did I enjoy Veilgaurd? More than I didn’t. But it didn’t resonate with me the way the other games did. It certainly didn’t hit me the way ME2 did.

I guess, if I had to give it a ranking, I’d say it is a 5 out of 10, maybe a 6. But not really any higher. There are too many issues with the story itself. The lack of dlc is disappointing. Oh, without going into spoiler territory too much, there is also a secret ending that could point to the future of the franchise but it’s a secret ending. So the powers that be can say it was never meant to raise hopes if this turns out to be the last DA game.

At least Inquisition’s final dlc ended with a bang that set up this game. Not so here.

EA and Bioware dropped too many balls for my liking. Took too much liberty with past storylines and characters. For a game that has had a decade since the last game’s release to develop, it is comes in at “meh”.