tldr; if you are a long-term fan STAY AWAY, don't let this game ruin your Thedas too. And if you're new here, there are better RPGs out there, this is NOT worth your money or time. Lots of "meh"s.

Dragon Age: Veilguard – where the franchise's legacy goes to die... If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if a Dragon Age game had all the depth of a kiddie pool, this is your answer. Sure, it’s an action RPG, but if you’re hoping for something even remotely close to what made Dragon Age great, prepare to be let down.

Let’s start with the lore—because who doesn’t love a good betrayal? The game completely erases everything that made the Dragon Age universe interesting. Racial tensions? Gone. You can still play as elves and Qunari, but don’t worry, their history and struggle won’t be weighing you down. Slavery? Meh, doesn’t matter anymore. The deep complexities of a world where elves are oppressed and Qunari are locked in centuries of war? Apparently, those were just too complicated for this Disney game, so we’ll just toss them out the window. Pick your race, get a tiny bit of unique dialogue and move on.

Gone are the days when your decisions in previous Dragon Age games actually mattered. The impact of past choices? Sorry not here. The world of Veilguard feels so disconnected —like it’s trying to be a Dragon Age game but not really bothering to remember what came before it. Decisions you made in 1, 2 AND Inquisition —where the MAIN VILLAIN of Veilguard came from? Well, forget about them, because none of that is relevant now. The game’s world-building is just a vague outline of the Dragon Age universe with no respect for the rich history of the series.

And let’s not forget the dialogue system. It’s basically a choose-your-own-adventure but none of the choices matter. You get a dialogue wheel that lets you pick responses that have absolutely nothing to do with what your character actually says. It’s a masterclass in not letting you make meaningful choices. Oh, and the voice acting? Think of it like a motivational speaker giving a TED talk—flat, lifeless, and completely lacking in emotional depth. The banter between companions? Let’s just say you’ll be begging for a little awkward silence after the 50th pep talk with toxic positivity.

The pacing is... something. Act 2 is a marathon of side content, designed to grind you down until you start questioning all your life choices. You’ll feel like you’re playing a game made by someone who’s read a book about RPGs but never actually played one. You’ll hear your companions repeat what you just saw in case your brain stopped working for five seconds. It’s as if the developers thought, “What if the player is too dumb to remember what just happened? Let’s remind them every two minutes!” WE MUST DEFEAT THE ANCIENT ELVEN GODS ELGAR'NAN AND GHILAN'NAIN!!!

Veilguard tries so desperately to be all things to all people, but ends up pleasing no one. It sacrifices the depth and complexity that made Dragon Age special in an attempt to be more accessible. It borrows elements from action games like God of War —but somehow doesn’t do any of them nearly as well— and hopes that’s enough to satisfy Dragon Age fans. Spoiler alert: it’s not.

The game’s a confused mess of half-baked ideas, watered-down lore, and combat that doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. Enemies are too spongy, characters are too one dimensional, writing is horrible. I could go on and on... Maybe a small group of people will enjoy it but for anyone who has any attachment to the Dragon Age franchise, this game is a sad, sad shadow of what used to be.

One thing up front: not liking the game has NOTHING to do with it being "too woke".

DA Veilguard took everything that made the Dragon Age series so interesting and fascinating - the conflict, the moral greyness, the choices that have consequences, the romances, the interactions with companions - and, well, deleted them.

Yes, you have companions and there are interactions with them, but you can never interact with them by yourself (no going to talk to someone like in DAI). The romances are minimal, there's extremely little content.
The Player Character is a hand-for-hire without any personal stakes in what is happening. There is no real roleplaying aspect - you can be nice, nice-with-a-joke or stern-nice. You can never disagree with someone or tell them they're wrong. And: you have a companion from your faction that is ALWAYS more important than you for that faction. Your character doesn't really matter to the story.

But most importantly, the story has been filed down to absolute shallowness. It’s pumped so full of flavour without substance, all edges have been smoothed over until there’s nothing left of conflict and friction and ANYTHING that could be a tiny bit controversial that it feels… hollow. There are factions that are utterly useless and have zero content, and others that SHOULD have content are ignored (Lords of Fortune vs. Dwarves. Seriously. KAL-SHIROK?! Why wasn't that a faction?!?). There are such interesting story bits in side quests and companion quests, but none have consequences, none have depth (looking at dwarven magic, a Forgotten One, rogue Qunari, a demon possession, political upheaval in Tevinter...).

Nothing from the old games matters. The more lore you know, the harder it is to play this game. They completely erase Thedas from the map in LETTERS your character may or may not read. Finally we see Tevinter - except we see nothing of Tevinter or even hints of what we know of the land. No slavery, no blood magic - except for the faceless bad Venatori, of course. Finally we see the Crows - except we see nothing of what Zevran fought against and tried to dismantle. Instead we have a benevolent mafia (???). Finally, we see Dalish that are actually adept at handling their story - and then they kick that around with a conversation where they speculate that maybe humans were right to treat them like they did.

There's more, but this is long already. The game is visually beautiful and the lore we get of Solas and Mythal etc. is awesome. The fights are fun (if you don't mind that the same enemies respawn every time you walk around a corner). But if you're looking for an RPG, Veilguard is not the game for you. If you're looking to deepen you experience of Dragon Age, Veilguard is not the game for you. I really wanted to love this game. Instead, I'm so massively annoyed and disappointed by it I won't be replaying it.

Before I offer my review of this product, I like to share a bit of my history with this franchise. In late 2019 I became a more consistent computer game player as I had more time than I did when I was younger. I found and played through “Dragon Age: Origins” and all DLC material available. I simply fell in love with the compelling, captivating, and immersive story; the lore; the companions; the choices; the consequences of my actions…! It was a journey that brough back memories of playing the tabletop first edition of advanced dungeons and dragons with my buddies some 40 years earlier! With an insatiable appetite, I immediately continued my exploration of Thedas by completing all the content for Dragon Age 2 (DA2) and Inquisition (DAI). I spend hours and hours getting to know more and more about Thedas and its people, places, politics, and plights. So, with eager anticipation, I waited ten long years for the next installment of the Dragon Age story…

The following are my thoughts, observations, and opinions of this next installment…

The game’s character creator is run-of-the-mill. I was not a big fan of all the options and the art style of my character. Upon completion, I felt my rook looked a bit cartoony, disproportional, and too clean/neat.

Upon completion of my character and starting the game, I felt like I got air dropped into the world of Minrathous’ action without much context as to why I was there. Although I was familiar with Varic Tethras from my DA2 and DAI characters, but as the player character, I could not help but wonder, how do Varic and I (Rook) know each other? How did we meet and why exactly am I here? In other words, what was my back story and how did come to be here? In addition, the more I played the more apparent it became that my character Rook really was not the main protagonist. My character really did not have any reason to be in this role. I mean, other than a quick few lines from a codex entry and some throw away lines mixed into a ton of meaningless dialog indicating your Rook in the main protagonist, there is no tangle reason why your character should even really give a rip about what is happening.

As for the music, I thought Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe’s composition was out of place and bit too futuristic for the overall setting. At certain times I got the impression I was playing a bit more of a sci-fi genre than a dark fantasy RPG with the music. In short, I would say the music did not help with my immersion into the game very well at all.

I choose the lowest difficulty level to fully concentrate on the story and it is here where I the most problems. For starters, I found the story to be weak, inept, and quite amateurish! It is clear the story writer(s) for this game were inexperienced and unskilled as they did not stay true to or respect the history and lore associated with the franchise. For instance, my previous choices from all the previous adventures were simply ignored or frivolously disregarded with a brush of a codex entry or throw away comment by a companion or NPC. Really? Is it not this feature that made BioWare such a great studio back so long ago?

Next, the dialog is more modern day and juvenile. It was as though it was written by a complete novice or second-grader. I expected much better from folks who are supposed to be professional game / dialog writers. For instance, the world of Thedas is in danger of being destroyed and the dialog from your party members is pollyannish at best. Their dialog is one of complete optimism and no urgency about the grim things that are happening. If I disagreed with the comment(s) of a companion or NPC, I did not truly have the option of saying something different or down-right ugly.

And if that was not enough, the identity politics dialog was completely immersion breaking, ham-fisted, and utterly offensive. The writing and interchange by your party members is utterly inconsistent with the established lore and times. Again, in previous DA stories, these types of topics were well written, presented with care, and within the context of the place or society within Thedas!

In addition to the story, the combat – for me - was a weak, demure, and tedious especially as the game went on. The enemy types are too few and damage sponges. By the end of this train wreck of a game, I did not want to engage in any of the combat because it was just a rinse and repeat from a task lazily done and created. Other, true DA titles not only had dark, gritty villains, monsters, darkspawn, and demons that appeared utterly menacing and fearful, but were each unique, varied with their own attack sequences and patterns. I found this part of the game to be completely void of creative talent and understanding of the previous adventures and lore.

As for what BioWare and EA did well on this title…

First, the environmental settings were extremely well done. The non-executive, front-line programmers and developers who worked on this aspect of the game are highly commended for creating an environment consistent to the original concept art and lore of the Dragon Age franchise. It is certainly evident these folks poured their passion into this aspect of the game. Very well done!

Second, BioWare / EA certainly “rooked” me into believing this piece of work was a “return to form” for the franchise. This so-called “return to form” is an utter lie. It is now apparent that the gaming media is a lap-dog to studios and publishers. The $80 price tag for the deluxe edition was a scam and simply a money grab.

Third, the “veil” of was kept over this piece of work until it was too late to get a refund. The further I got into this title in name only, the worse it got and I found myself not enjoying anything about it at all!

And lastly, they succeeded in firmly raising my “guard” for any other products they may release in the future. In other words, I have absolutely no faith that BioWare or EA will be able to deliver a quality Mass Effect game that is true to its lore and that is not riddled with bad writing and identity politics.

Given the monetary resources available to BioWare via EA, this game does not live up to a AAA game studio title at all! I would not recommend this game at all. It is not in-line with the other games within this franchise. If someone does decide to buy and play this title, I would suggest paying only $5-$10 USD.

Rating: 0/5