To preface, I played this game start to finish. ALL the way through. I did ALL the background quests, side quests, faction quests, companion quests, and damn near 100% of the map-based content. I didn't skip cutscenes and dialogues because I wanted to feel like a part of the story.

Do I recommend it as a sequel to the Dragon Age series? No.
Do I recommend this as a standalone game? Also, no.
Do I recommend this game period? Not really.


Let's start with the good:
- Combat is visceral, entertaining, and powerful. By far the best in the franchise and the big reason why I finished it out.
- Leveling mechanics are solid and reminiscent of Path of Exiles with available skill trees for each of the 3 classes.
- Items improve, meaning you can keep good stuff and tailor your kit to your specific playstyle.
- Companions, mechanically, and their abilities help to carry fights on and allow for powerful combination moves.
- Character generator is pretty great. Armours, while overdone at times, are cool.

And now, the bad:
- Armours are a bit over the top.
- I wish I could change colour sets for my gear myself, rather than having the same six faction-based colour schemes.
- The rest of the game. The writing, the dialog, the story, all of it.
- No, seriously, that's it.

To preface, none of my critiques stem from the buzzword hot topics like "Character Sexuality," "IRL Political Messages," etc. I genuinely don't care about those. My issues come from how awful the game was in every other regard.


The story plays out with no serious input from the player aside from what brand of good guy they want to play: Positive, Snarky, or Gruff, with occasional opportunities to delve into Whiny, Angsty, and Angry. The companions aren't believable and their storylines are "Rook! I need your help to kill XXX bad guy from my off-screen past that way I can succeed at saving the world!" While the main storyline suffers from being boring, horribly predictable, and untrue to the lore built up throughout the franchise.

The writing is an insult to the players, as though the writers are afraid the audience won't understand the "careful nuances" of the story unless they spell it out and say it out loud a dozen or more times. The issue is, there is NO nuance. It boils down to "Good Guys Good, Bad Guys Bad. Good Guys Stop Bad Guys." All of this leads to the same three-option ending from Mass Effect 3. I felt like I was being coddled and spoon-fed the plot lines every single time.

"Oh no! There's a traitor among our ranks! Who could it POSSIBLY be?! Is it: A) Your Trusted Companion Who Can Do No Wrong, B) Generic Faction NPC #35, or C) Stabby McBackStabber the Unscrupulous? Hmmmmmm, time to spend three hours doing side quests along seven parts of the story to find out who! *GASP!* It was Stabby McBackStabber the Unscrupulous the WHOLE TIME! How could we have POSSIBLY seen this coming?!"
The worst part is, that's not just *one* storyline, that's about half a dozen. For those going, "Oh yeah? Name them!"
1) Mayor of D'Mata's Crossing turns out to be the bad guy and, if you choose to release him, goes to the Venatori (unless you're a Warden)
2) The Crows Part One: Illario is a Stinker.
3) The Crows Part Two: Governor Ivenci is a Stinker.
4) Knight Commander Lenos is in league with the Venatori. More news at 11.
5) Gloom Howler turns out to be a Warden. Shocker.
6) Solas is a Stinker (option dependent)

Moreover, they sanitize *everything* from its moral greyness. In DA:O you link up with, among many other characters, a blatant human supremacist, an assassin with no moral scruples, a witch who killed men in the swamps, a Qunaari who confesses to having murdered an entire family because the Qun demanded, and a dwarf who... I mean. He's a Dwarf. My point is, there's plenty of "We have to put the differences aside here to fight the greater foe."

In Veilguard, none of that is true.

- The Necromancers (Mourn Watch) EXCLUSIVELY use willing spirits to ONLY reanimate the corpses of WILLING dead folks.
- The Crows perform absolutely NO murders during the story that are dubious, and don't seem to ever do it for money on-screen; in fact, the ONLY mention about their murder-for-hire business is a single sidebar dialog in the Lighthouse between Davrin and Lucanis, where Davrin brings it up and Lucanis finds an easy explanation for why it's OK.
- The Ancient Relic Thieves (Veiljumpers) aren't really "thieves," they're just there to protect the woods and LEARN from the archives. All that previous story stuff about Dalish Elves murdering Humans in the Arlathan Forest in order to protect themselves due to fears of the Trail of Tea-- Sorry, the Long March? Yeahhhh, we're gonna conveniently pretend that never happened.
- The "Ruthless Mercenary Treasurehunters" aren't so ruthless, for some reason. In fact, they explicitly hire a Dalish Chieftain to sort through the relics they find so they can "rightly return them" to the Dalish Elves instead of... Y'know, selling them for fat stacks like actual ruthless mercenaries would do.
- The Dwarves that we meet don't believe in losing caste, or if they do then it isn't religiously enforced and they couldn't really care less.
- Every paperboy and passerby in Minrathous knows where the Shadow Dragons' Headquarters is because they are THE worst "underground spy network" to EVER exist, but nothing bad ever comes of this (also Neve is awful and I wish she died from the Blight)


In closing, nothing about the writing, dialogue, or options therein make me feel invested into the story. It's cookie-cutter generic, it's dull, it isn't remotely thought provoking, and it's sloppily executed. But the combat is fun as hell, so I'll probably play again just for that reason.

P.S.: We stan Shield Toss, Ride or Die for Davrin & Assan.

As someone who has been playing Dragon Age ever since Origins was released and considers the series as one of his favorites, I feel that Dragon Age: The Veilguard was very much a mixed bag. It is a fun and entertaining game, but busy in their quest for winning the attention of new players, BioWare has not been able to capture the essence of the series very faithfully.

Having just finished the game, I’ll write down the different aspects I liked and disliked while they are still fresh in my memory.


1. Veilguard is easily the prettiest Dragon Age game, and that’s not just because it’s the newest and has the most updated graphics. I always felt that Origins was ahead of its time when it came to graphics and Inquisition was also a treat to look at. However, Inquisition had opted to go for a hyper-realistic aesthetic, while Veilguard goes for a very artistic look with gorgeous environments. I personally feel that is much more suitable for a fantasy game.

2. The combat of Veilguard can be hit or miss, but from what I have seen, the majority of players seem to love the fast pace. It can definitely feel more engaging and responsive than previous entries. The difficulty curve is very fair. I personally find it enjoyable enough, though it’s not my favorite. I prefer having an actual quickbar with a number of different abilities and not just be limited to only 3 at a time.

3. Veilguard lacks the kind of simple unimaginative fetch quests that often plague RPGs, which was a problem with Inquisition. Side quests are fewer but they are a lot more fleshed out, and often unlock new areas to explore. The companion and faction quests actually have an impact in the endgame, much like the loyalty quests of Mass Effect 2, and you would probably be penalized for ignoring them.

4. Just like any BioWare game the companions are, for the most part, very well written characters with a surprising amount of depth. From the trailers, I had expected to hate Emmrich but he ended up being one of the most wholesome companions BioWare had ever written. There has been a lot of criticism regarding Taash, but they also grow on you very soon. With their unique personalities and meaningful personal arcs, the companions are probably the most memorable part of the game.

5. The companions had excellent voice acting as well, as did most of the NPCs. Whether it’s Neve’s iconic drawl, Bellara’s fast, energetic speech, Emmrich’s warm, polite, properly enunciated words, or even Taash’s non-committal grunts, each actor really brought their character to life.

6. Since the maps are full of secrets and gathering loot is the main way of acquiring and updating new equipment, the exploration feels very rewarding. If you are a completionist like me, you will probably spend quite a bit of time figuring out hidden ways and puzzles that lead to the next chest, and when you do, it definitely feels worth it.


1. The writing of the game is extremely inconsistent. Some quests, especially those involving companions or factions, do feel very much like the old BioWare magic. Then you come across some dialog that seems like it was written by a teenage fanfiction author, especially during the first half of the game. Some dialog options made no sense. The witty options often sounded less humorous than the serious ones. Sometimes the usage of certain words feels anachronistic. I guess this was to be expected after letting go of your most experienced writers halfway through development.

2. While the animation overall is excellent, I had no idea what was wrong with Rook’s facial expressions. Often, even during serious discussions regarding death or loss, his face would break out in a smile. This was very unnerving.

3. Though BioWare has not actually broken any existing lore, they have been too liberal with it, which may cheapen the significance of some of the previous events. While the main storyline is more interesting than Inquisition, I feel like they tried to overcompensate with lore dumping and shock value. Veilguard gives you a LOT more information about the world, the Fade, and its history than all three previous games combined, and the worst part is that as players, you don’t find out these secrets organically like the previous games, but through ‘memories’ that you discover. This again seems like poor writing. I could do without a history lesson with a PowerPoint presentation in the middle of my game.

4. Veilguard is the least optimized game BioWare has ever made. Until now their PC releases were excellent. Mass Effect 2, 3, even Dragon Age Inquisition offered a great performance, but even if you exceed the recommended requirements of this game, you would run into FPS drops, stuttering, and graphical glitches, especially in crowded areas.

5. The Dragon Age series was being simplified ever since Origins. DA2 took away talents, Inquisition simplified skill trees and attributes, and Veilguard does away with the illusion entirely. It is now an action-RPG with a lot more focus on the action. You have less active companions, who have been reduced to background characters in combat, and you don’t even need to have a proper party with a tank and healer. BioWare seems to have bought into the myth that people want easier and simpler games, or that players don’t like to think too much. This is factually wrong, and honestly kind of insulting.

6. The lack of references from choices made in previous games was quite disappointing. Regular players would have been satisfied with some passing mentions and a few codex entries. These exist, but since the game doesn’t really import any choices, they feel very generic. What’s worse is that at times the game tries to subtly imply certain previous choices as canon while they continue to claim that a canon does not exist.

7. After the powerful last act, the epilogue was very disappointing. The ending slides just repeat what we already know, with no indication of how those decisions would change things in the world further down the line.


1. I felt somewhat disappointed that while the plot of Veilguard deals with an even bigger world ending threat, it doesn’t feel as epic as Inquisition. This has nothing to do with the maps being linear. Origins itself felt very epic, as did Mass Effect 2 and 3. There is just something inexplicable missing in this game that couldn’t make me care that much about the end of the world. The soundtrack definitely did not help in this regard.

2. I have heard the criticism that Veilguard is not as dark as the previous entries and the game has been ‘Disney-fied’. Both these allegations are false. In many ways, Veilguard is the darkest Dragon Age entry, and you will not come out of it emotionally unscathed.

3. Despite the claims that the game is too ‘woke’ (whatever that means), I have not seen much discussions about gender and sexuality outside one codex entry and a few personal quests for Taash, which might amount to 10 minutes of dialog in an easily 90 hour game. If that offends you too much, you may need some self-reflection. Thedas has always been a very progressive setting and Veilguard just continues that tradition.


The Veilguard is a good game. It has a lot of life. But I don’t know if it’s a great Dragon Age game. To me, it’s definitely the weakest in the series in terms of writing, but it is not without its own strengths. Much like the Dread Wolf himself, Veilguard tries to be a rebel, but I don’t know if the rebellion was necessary at all.

Veilguard makes me think that I should adjust my expectations for the future of the series and be ready for more unnecessary simplifications, because some executives somewhere in EA headquarters think that players want to think less and have more flashy action. I guess these are just the times we live in now.

Final verdict: 07 / 10

Obviously there are many conflicting and varied opinions on Veilguard. One recurring take I've seen is that someone will only enjoy the game if they are a "casual" Dragon Age fan. Well I've played all the games, and read (almost) all the books. I've loved the series for 10 years, and as it turns out, I really fu*king enjoyed Veilguard. There are many things I think the game did well, but I can also acknowledge the things it did poorly or just wrong (the demon and darkspawn redesigns were a disservice). I think enjoying it depends on what you value when playing a game and what you choose to focus on. It doesn't matter if you're a long time fan of the series or a casual one, maybe you'll like Veilguard, maybe you won't. None of the games in the series are perfect, or even the same for that matter. Before Veilguard the community was already divided with Origins elitists that despised Inquisition and vice versa. Each Dragon Age game has it's strengths and it's weaknesses. Of course Veilguard was going to feel like a further departure with 10 years having gone by (and no David Gaider).

The Story
If you love Dragon Age for it's lore, this game will not disappoint. However, if I were to use one word to describe the story, that would be inconsistent. Overall I really enjoyed it, but I found the execution lacking at many points. Some of the voice acting and writing was great... while other times unfortunate and cringy. Certain moments embodied the dark fantasy I love from the series, carrying weight and seriousness... while other times felt a little goodie goodie fairy tale fantasy. The game seemed to lack many branching decisions, but honestly most of the Dragon Age games do. The final act of the game though was phenomenal. It was well thought out with meaningful choices and was the best end to a game I've seen in quite some time. I wish your decisions from previous games had more of an impact on the story, but I can understand why this wasn't included. Despite the lack of carry through, the writers did well in navigating what was said about the world to not invalidate your world state. Also they did right by your Inquisitor.

Characters
Compared to previous games the companions lacked some complexity, but I ended up liking them more than I thought I would. In Veilguard more time was put into relationship building and their in world banter with one another, which I found really well done and a highlight of the game. The companion quest lines though were again.. inconsistent, with some being far better than others. Often they delivered in the lore department, but with mediocre writing. Rook though I adored quite frankly. My only issue with Rook was that your backstory and class did not play as big a part as it should have in conversation. There was also a lack of variety in how you could roleplay Rook, but I don't believe that was a bad thing. It very much felt like you were playing an already established character, like Hawke in DA2. I liked the factions, though I found they lacked depth and felt somewhat disjointed. With more time and attention they could have been far more fleshed out (however, the Grey Wardens fu*ked). If you've read Tevinter Nights, you'll get way more out of the factions. Most of the faction characters make an appearance throughout the short stories so it adds context and backstory missing from the game.

Gameplay
For me it was the best in the series. Combat is quick and streamlined, something the previous games lacked. It plays somewhat like the Witcher 3 or God of War. I played as a mage with the spellblade specialization- it basically plays like a magic rogue, allowing you to always be weaving through the thick of combat (which is unbelievably satisfying). Also I will never get tired of the mage's fade step dodge. The inventory system is clean and caters to the goblin mindset. There are no duplicates, picking up the same item you already have simply upgrades your existing one to the next rarity. Your companions all have their own dedicated items which saves so much time not needing to cross reference and switch items between characters. There is also no selling of items, only valuables you pick up while exploring. At first I was iffy about this but very quickly came to appreciate it. I also found the quest progression and level design of the game incredibly engaging. Quests are well paced and manageable, and the same can be said for the level design. A great attention to detail went into designing the levels. There's a lot of vertical movement throughout, and you're always rewarded for exploring. 100%ing the regions and collectibles never once felt like a chore or overly repetitive. As I've gotten older it's more difficult for games to hold my attention, but not once was this an issue in Veilguard. If you're looking to 100% it, you can expect to put around 80 hours into the game.

Special Mention - Aesthetics
The world looks beautiful. I got way too much use out of the in game photo mode. The character creator and hair physics? Cracked. Initially I was unimpressed with the change of art style. Though as I progressed through the game I was pleasantly surprised to find areas that had the same gritty dark fantasy aesthetic that I loved in the earlier games. The elven artifacts were a miss for me though, often looking cheap and too fantastical. Redesigning the demons and darkspawn was a mistake. Sure there was a story explanation for the change in darkspawn, but they didn't need to make them look bad (I'm begging modders to please do what I cannot)

If you're iffy about Veilguard, buy it on sale. I think it's worth playing through. Who knows, it may surprise you. Or at the very least, you can form your own opinions on it's merit.

PS: Don't install it on a HDD, I learned the hard way.

As many have said, it’s an average game, but a very-very bad Dragon Age.

It looks like Bioware needed to find money for a new Mass Effect or justify its existence, I don’t know. This game, developed in 2-3 years at most, has typical action patterns on the level of Assassins Creed, simple side quests, corridor locations, and sponge enemies.

Nothing to say about dialogues, lore, narrative - ChatGPT level, no depth (only GODS). Don’t like the new canon story either - why make up something new when the old one worked well?

What’s good - graphics, 2D art (as always), voice actors, only a couple of quests and some new companions/regions. If you just want to chill and push buttons sometimes - The Veilguard will be a decent decision.

But if you want to spend 40-50 hours and get rich lore/cool mechanics or just an interesting RPG - play Dragon Age: Origins / Inquisition, Baldur’s Gate 3, Planescape: Torment, Tyranny, you name it.

Below is my review after 100% finished game. Although I cannot recomment the the game as a new addition to the DA franchise, which are dark fantasy rpg games with heavy reliance on choice, I must say that I am not sorry that I played it as it is a decent 6/10 action adventure game situated in the DA/Thedas universe.

- The story:
The story is good, but it is hindered by bad writing, especially in the abyssimal first third of the game where everyone is cheery in situations where it is not appropriate and explaining everything to you like you are a child. All missions at that time feel off, noone is in a hurry, you take walks to buy food and other stuff, talk about insignificant things etc. It does get better afterwards, with the last third being the strongest. I especially enjoyed the missions related to the grey wardens and Solas. We also get to fight some dragons.
Thankfully, there are no fetch side quests. Some of the side quests are simply fighting, but this is still better than collecting shards and chasing goats like in DAI.

- No continuity from previous games:
The biggest player choices in the DA games would affect events across the games and Inquisition promised far reaching consequences with its war table and ordinary missions affecting multiple kingdoms and groups.
However, the DAV team decided to just cross out all of that and make some canon version of the events that suits them without any care for consistency with previous games and player choices in them.
The returning characters are simply different people under the same name – all of them have been changed to look very differently and, what is most important, they are not the same personality.

- The character design does not fit the setting:
some of the characters are too cartoonish (disney style) and with the voices to fit that cartoon look. This, combined with the cheery remarks, kills immersion in what should have been a dark medieval fantasy world at the brink of extinsion. Also, sometimes Rook and other characters smile when it does not fit the scene.

- Lack of choice and a world filtered of anything that can be considered morally gray or bad is the greatest problem of this game:
All factions are unrealistically good - good Crow assassins that never kill innocents, good Lords of Fortune looters who do not steal and have advisor to tell them to return culturally significant artefacts. Isabella, their leader and returning character who used to be free spirited, proud and charming, but also selfish, a thief and a liar – now makes push ups because she misgendered someone.
Your character Rook is almost predefined, you can select how they look and their faction, but you cannot actually shape their personality (and the overall story as well). When we select a faction, we are given an origin story - we have no choice in that story, we are always the good person who saved innocents. It would have been much better to get an origin story mission and make our own choices (or even select from several written ones in the character selection screen) - e.g. if I am crow, I may have chosen to be ruthless rather than benevolent savior. There are no faction specific missions for Rook as well, making him/her like a junior errand boy/girl for his/her companions's missions.
This lack of choice continues throughout the game. We have mostly cosmetic choices where we basically say the same thing, but with different tone. Even worse, the companions just call you, blurt out something that they need which results in a side mission and your character just automatically agrees. You cannot refuse a mission, you cannot kick out a character, you cannot even disagree with their view – you can only support them and say what the devs have decided.

- Interactions with characters and romance:
The interactions in the first third of the game are weakest again (collecting berries, talking to innanimate objects and other stupidities), but if you push through, then the stories and the characters themselves become much more interesting. I especially liked Emmrich and Bellara's stories.
Romance is mediocre and not a big part of the game overall. You have several scripted scenes mostly towards the end of the game and no special interactions (even ability to talk more with that character). Also, they have avoided any conflict when you try to romance several people - this is unrealistic and makes romances feel very meaningless. Early flirting with many characters is ok, but I reached with two characters a point where they express strong feelings, I locked in with one of them and the other never even acknowledged that, as if someone erased their memory and nothing happened.
Rook is largely ignored outside of the predefined cutscenes with companions. You see two of them talking, you come close, they finish their conversation and start looking at you silently like an imposter (they could at least greet you, better yet - include you). If you visit their room, they brush you off. You have no chance to talk to them, ask questions or anything. So I simply gave up and do not interact unless specifically called for.

- Diversity:
Bioware have always been on the forefront when it comes to diveristy and have created some of the best characters across ME and DA games. DAV is not much different, having mostly well fitting diverse characters. However, as there were some heated discussions on "wokeness" that could needlessly prevent someone from buying the game, I decided to pay special attention to that - these several scenes with Taash are very small part (maybe less than 1%) of the game and blown way out of proportion. For me, the biggest problem is that the character is written poorly as a teenager personality instead of a grown person, that the writers are using contemporary terms that do not fit and, as with everything else, that you do not have a choice on how to react.

- Gameplay
Although I do not like action style fighting and would have preferred tactical combat, this one is not too bad. It lacks any variety, however, and gets very repetitive. You basically click the same 2-3 buttons all the time.
They have basically destryed party combat - only two companions and they do not take damage and are immportal. If you are a warrior, you do not have a reason to jump and save your mage and, on the other hand, if you are the mage the enemies will still target mostly you.
The game is riddled with small puzzles everywhere - they are simple, but the sheer quantity is annoying, especially in the beginning when the maps feel like labyrinths where you solve many puzzles to find a way to move forward. Once you unlock more locations and teleports it is not so bad.

Crafting and equipment:
You can no longer craft, but only upgrade and enchant equipment. While this is not such a big issue for me, the fact that the equipment is tied to a specific character is. I can have multiple perfect rings or armour and I cannot equip it on my companions. I have to search for ones that are labeled for them.

After finishing the game I just learned how can you customize your Inquisition character why there is no importing save data from the previous game!? sadly so many people have missed it :(

I've been a Dragon Age fan for fourteen years. I have played 80 hours of Veilguard at the time of review.

Veilguard is a 4/10 game.

There's nothing wrong with the plot points of the story - the true catastrophe lies in the script. Where Dragon Age once pushed boundaries and was unafraid to feature negativity, both in its subject matter and its characters, it has now been sanitised. The characters all act as if they have HR looming over their shoulder, ready to sanction them if they step out of line or say something the rest of the cast disagree with. Gone are the days of complex dynamics like the one between Fenris, Merrill, and Anders, or between Morrigan and Alistair, or between Vivienne and Solas. These are the times of the yes-men.

The lack of imported worldstates hamstrings this game. It's funny that this is the game that was supposed to be named after Solas because it is actually very soulless. The removal of imported worldstates is a giant middle finger to everyone who played the series all the way through from the very beginning. Imported Worldstates were the ONLY thing BioWare RPGs had over other games in the genre - the sole innovation the studio has come up with in the last twenty years - and now they're gone, and all we're left with is that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dialogue wheel that never says what it means.

If the person who wrote the "Humorous" dialogue options for Rook reads this, please DM me - I'm happy to pay for some comedy classes, because Jesus Christ, you're in urgent need.

The craziest thing is that the combat is actually great. It's genuinely fantastic, and that's what horrifies me the most, because I've found myself thinking that the dreaded live service version of this game that the studio was originally going for might've actually been the better game.

I was going to give the game a 5/10 and call it average, but I realised a 5/10 game wouldn't infuriate me this much. I wouldn't be this annoyed and this disappointed.

This is the most disappointing game I have ever played.

I am recommending this game on the strength of its gameplay and astounding art direction. The plot writing was excellent, and the dialogue was not.

I nearly uninstalled and refunded the game in the first 5 hours due to the terribly paced tutorial and "tell, don't show" problem.

There was a moment in the first 5 hours where you go to a town which has recently been destroyed, and the art direction speaks volumes: fresh fruit overturned on the ground, not a soul in sight - it had striking, moving atmosphere and just as I was trying to take it in and look around, my companions behind me started shouting, more or less, THIS VILLAGE WAS A GOOD PLACE BUT NOW IT'S BAD. SOMETHING VERY RECENT HAPPENED TO MAKE IT BAD. Yes. I know. I have eyes. I would much rather have had them simply hiss in reaction to the disturbing sight - be affected by it to contribute to the atmosphere - than tell me word for word what I am supposed to take from the scene as a viewer.

This problem mostly goes away further into the game.

The writing is STRUCTURALLY very good. The main quests are incredibly well paced, no side quest feels superfluous. Companion quests are relevant to them, to their (very interesting) faction, and to their personal development. The choices you make during their quests feel significant. Environments were varied and stunning, and there were plenty of quality of life touches like making it clear when a choice has a major effect, like locking in a romance or changing the world state. Choices about the plot matter a lot. This is fundamental, so I am glad they nailed it.

The game is at its best when it takes itself seriously. There were moments in the game where I felt like I was reliving some of the deep, intense moments from Origins, only fresh, and ten times more beautiful. Combined with the combat system, I truly felt like a skilled battle archer taking down some of the harder enemies with quick timing and well-aimed headshots.

The dialogue from your protagonist, Rook, is abysmal. I wish my own protagonist were unable to speak. They have the air of a coworker who thinks they are funny. It was painful. The "hardass" option is the only one which half-reliably avoids making a poorly timed joke, and it isn't really hardass, it's just directly moving the conversation forward.

The dialogue from companions, while only sometimes cringeworthy, lacks emotional depth. There are moments which should, structurally, have emotional depth, but the characters struggles were never consequential, or have significant interpersonal conflict. Conflicts were resolved too easily, people agreed with compromise too readily. Lucanis never acted like a man who was tortured, for example, and Spite was too easily appeased. Bellara never fails at something from overworking or lashes out in grief. They expressed an emotion, they talk it out, it's resolved. It's too clean. It lacks gravitas.

The very talented voice actors do a lot with a little.

This game has much stronger group cohesion than Inquisition, and it's clear they made a point to cultivate it. It works. I appreciate that the efforts you take throughout the plot which focus on mending and repairing cultures, people, and places culminate in your ability to focus on repair and forward progress in the ending. The plot demonstrates the theme this way, through every quest cumulatively.

Despite this, it felt like an after school special at times. It veers into therapy speak, which took me out of the setting. The world itself was sanitized this way, too - Tevinter doesn't seem to have slaves anywhere? The Crows are all friendly batman vigilantes and not people who traffic children from brothels and torture them as training? At least the blight is still horrible. And characters other than Rook pull out their occasional marvel movie quips as well, undermining the tone and sounding unpleasantly like chatGPT.

The romances don't seem to add much. An extra line or two of dialogue, and a scene near the end of the game. I wish it resonated more than it did. The protagonist was a big problem here, where tone is so crucial. The intimacy didn't hit because it didn't feel earned, and I could not avoid my Rook having the personality of a goofball camp counselor. If I clicked the "I like messes" button, I should have to tie my love interest up like he's Bhaalspawn.

At the end of the day, the gameplay, plot structure, and art carried it enough that it was something I looked forward to sitting down with for a few hours every day. They did some series-long plot points real justice, and the only flaw is the inconsistency of tone. The dialogue is so bad it hurt, but I think it's worth enduring. It's too much to hope Bioware puts this back in the oven and releases a big patch that redoes all the dialogue, but if they did, it would be a nearly perfect game.

If you are expecting a Role Playing Game where your decisions can influence the story, this is not it. This is a linear action game in the Dragon Age universe. I have nothing against action games, I actually enjoy them very much but that is not what this game was marketed as.

Combat is fun. As a spellblade mage I enjoyed the gameplay quite a bit. Enemy variation gets a little stale by the end of the game though.

Companions in the game are inconsequential. I enjoyed some of the companions' stories but some of them were just a grind to finish their quest line. They are highlighted buttons to press in the combat. Dialogue is sometimes fun, sometimes torture.

I see no replay value since the choices don't really change the story significantly, other than the choice at the end of the game. As a person that finished the previous games multiple times it is a little disappointing.

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