DA: Veilguard is not a bad game, it is actually very pretty and the game is super fun to play. For a longtime player and fan of the series, when it comes to the lore and the many stories the franchise have told, it is very... thin? I mean, there is a lot of lore that has been ignored and not even mentioned or adressed, while other parts I felt could have had a much bigger role. There are plenty of posts online who goes further into these issues that I have the proper words for, but let's just say that Tevinter is tame in DA:V compared to what was told in earlier games/books/comics.

Storywise the game is fine, there is some odd choices in terms of how certain stories are told and how some scenes just suddenly ends and everyone seem to act like nothing happened. People say the writing is cringe/bad, but I'd say it has it good sides and bad sides. Most of the time I find the characters and stories fine, where some just seem a little unfinished and not as well polished as others. And before anyone get their panties in a twist; the stories that people seem to have an issue with is optional and you don't even need to pick the choices in the dialogue that apparently have caused some people to implode. :) Both the options for Rook was 2 seconds and you didn't even need to pick the option and the other one was just to skip the question in cutscene and it would just be a bunch of people talking about being decent towards each other and that's it!

In regards to the companions, I actually enjoyed pretty much all of them! Some I didn't bring along as much as I wanted to, so I felt like I didn't get to know them as well as others. I liked the idea that not everyone is on good terms with each other but tolerate ecah other's company because they have Rook in common, while others find common ground through the main story because they actually talk with each other. Often I find it that companions in games just exists for the sake of the MC and the banther is just happening as a thing when out and exploring and not just when they're hanging out in the main hub.

Combat is fun, I played as a mage and found the beginning a bit slow/boring, but once you get a few powers and abilities I could easily truck my way through most fights with the right team combo. My only issue is that targeting is a bit off and combat an feel a bit sluggish and not as polished as one hoped for, maybe its different if you play a melee character.

All in all, if oyu're new to Dragon Age and want to try the series, Veilguard isn't a bad choice, but then I'd recommend go through the older games in order to get the idea of who some of the cameos are and what the story/world is all about. Most of the lore and worldbuilding happened in Origins with the other games adding some flavor to it, meanwhile Veilguard is rather thin when it comes to adding or adressing much of the previous lore, so if you expect a lot of fantasy lore and storytelling you'll be disappointed.
Which reminds me that there has been a lot of complaints regarding the game not being as "dark fantasy" as its previous games - the game has plenty of gore and typical fantasy aspects, but any game that came after Origin is faaaaar from what it started as.
Let's not forget that DA2 was a very narrow game and was very linear in the way that most of the quests and story took place in very few places with little variety in their setup and that Inquisition had many open world maps, but most of the quests you could do were optional side quests and fetch quests that you had to do in order to level up and be able to survive the encounters in the main story questlines. Oh, and apparently everyone hates every part of Origin except the story.

What I am trying to say is that Veilguard fixes a lot of the complaints that were in Inquisition, just like Inquisition fixed a lot of the issues people had with DA2. Veilguard is, again, not a bad game, but it is basically the Mass Effect: Andromeda to the DA franchise. People hate on it for dumb reasons, but it is actually a decent game that could need some polishing and probably have a much more stable production process to avoid some of the issues that is in the game. It's a great icebreaker for those who wants to get into Dragon Age, but not sure if they want to throw themselves into Origins.(though not everyone likes the old type of RPG and prefer the type of combat Veilguard offers)

Also, yay for a character creator with actual hairstyles and not just five monobrows and ten baldspots!

DA: Veilguard is not a bad game, it is actually very pretty and the game is super fun to play. For a longtime player and fan of the series, when it comes to the lore and the many stories the franchise have told, it is very... thin? I mean, there is a lot of lore that has been ignored and not even mentioned or adressed, while other parts I felt could have had a much bigger role. There are plenty of posts online who goes further into these issues that I have the proper words for, but let's just say that Tevinter is tame in DA:V compared to what was told in earlier games/books/comics. Storywise the game is fine, there is some odd choices in terms of how certain stories are told and how some scenes just suddenly ends and everyone seem to act like nothing happened. People say the writing is cringe/bad, but I'd say it has it good sides and bad sides. Most of the time I find the characters and stories fine, where some just seem a little unfinished and not as well polished as others. And before anyone get their panties in a twist; the stories that people seem to have an issue with is optional and you don't even need to pick the choices in the dialogue that apparently have caused some people to implode. :) Both the options for Rook was 2 seconds and you didn't even need to pick the option and the other one was just to skip the question in cutscene and it would just be a bunch of people talking about being decent towards each other and that's it! In regards to the companions, I actually enjoyed pretty much all of them! Some I didn't bring along as much as I wanted to, so I felt like I didn't get to know them as well as others. I liked the idea that not everyone is on good terms with each other but tolerate ecah other's company because they have Rook in common, while others find common ground through the main story because they actually talk with each other. Often I find it that companions in games just exists for the sake of the MC and the banther is just happening as a thing when out and exploring and not just when they're hanging out in the main hub. Combat is fun, I played as a mage and found the beginning a bit slow/boring, but once you get a few powers and abilities I could easily truck my way through most fights with the right team combo. My only issue is that targeting is a bit off and combat an feel a bit sluggish and not as polished as one hoped for, maybe its different if you play a melee character. All in all, if oyu're new to Dragon Age and want to try the series, Veilguard isn't a bad choice, but then I'd recommend go through the older games in order to get the idea of who some of the cameos are and what the story/world is all about. Most of the lore and worldbuilding happened in Origins with the other games adding some flavor to it, meanwhile Veilguard is rather thin when it comes to adding or adressing much of the previous lore, so if you expect a lot of fantasy lore and storytelling you'll be disappointed. Which reminds me that there has been a lot of complaints regarding the game not being as "dark fantasy" as its previous games - the game has plenty of gore and typical fantasy aspects, but any game that came after Origin is faaaaar from what it started as. Let's not forget that DA2 was a very narrow game and was very linear in the way that most of the quests and story took place in very few places with little variety in their setup and that Inquisition had many open world maps, but most of the quests you could do were optional side quests and fetch quests that you had to do in order to level up and be able to survive the encounters in the main story questlines. Oh, and apparently everyone hates every part of Origin except the story. What I am trying to say is that Veilguard fixes a lot of the complaints that were in Inquisition, just like Inquisition fixed a lot of the issues people had with DA2. Veilguard is, again, not a bad game, but it is basically the Mass Effect: Andromeda to the DA franchise. People hate on it for dumb reasons, but it is actually a decent game that could need some polishing and probably have a much more stable production process to avoid some of the issues that is in the game. It's a great icebreaker for those who wants to get into Dragon Age, but not sure if they want to throw themselves into Origins.(though not everyone likes the old type of RPG and prefer the type of combat Veilguard offers) Also, yay for a character creator with actual hairstyles and not just five monobrows and ten baldspots!