Последние обзоры StevieSmall999

The week The Veilguard finally dropped, I was practically buzzing with excitement. I’d booked time off work, prepared for the adventure, and made sure nothing would get in the way of diving deep into the world once again. I was determined to savor every moment of it.

I started by creating my character then went onto remaking my Inquisitor and confirmed my three import choices. Sword and Shield warrior, straight from the Wardens. The second that combat kicked in, I was hooked once more. Everything felt right. Every choice I made had weight again, shaping Thedas in a way that felt important. My Warden—my character—was still a huge part of the story, and that alone was enough to draw me back in.

The lore reveals had me gasping, the locations were gorgeous as always, and the companions were engaging, involved, and—just like in DA2—integral to the story. I couldn’t get enough. I blitzed through the story, my heart racing, only to be completely blindsided by Solas’s betrayal. I hated him at that moment—probably more than I’ve ever hated a character in a game. It stung. Badly. But the finale… Oh, the finale. It blew me away. It was the best ending I’d seen since the Mass Effect 2 suicide mission. The loss of one companion hit harder than I ever expected. I wasn’t prepared for it.

In that last act, I felt like BioWare had finally found their stride again. I had so many options at the end point, but my emotions were all over the place. I was so angry at Solas that I just wanted to take the straightforward solution and fight him right there. 65 hours in, I had finished my first playthrough. And naturally, I did what any Dragon Age fan would do—I went straight back in for round two.

This time, I played as a Qunari mage from the Lord of Fortune. The experience was different, but not in a way I’d hoped. The character felt less involved in the story, almost to the point of wondering why I was even there. Magic was fun, but the warrior felt so much more dynamic. I made opposite choices with the companions, but they felt just as disconnected as I did. They weren’t as integral this time. I lost a different companion in the finale, but by then, it didn’t feel as impactful. It was just part of the story. The romance options? Underwhelming, to be honest. 70 hours later, I finished that run, but I didn’t feel the same rush of excitement that came with the first playthrough.

So, naturally, I thought, "Let’s do this again!" This time, I created an Elven Crow Rogue. I was only 10 hours in when I realized something, this isn’t fun anymore and I haven't touched the game since December 4th. I hadn’t even realized it at first, but when I stopped, I felt a strange sense of loss.
What was supposed to be fun and exciting was starting to feel... hollow. Like the magic had been lost, and I wasn’t sure where to find it again.

Even now, as I sit here in January, trying to piece together what went “wrong”, I still don’t have a solid answer. I don’t think it’s one big issue—it’s the sum of so many small things that have piled up over time. The Veilguard didn’t just fail to live up to my expectations—it subtly eroded them, piece by piece.
For starters, I’ve been completely absorbed in God of War Ragnarok, a game my daughter gifted me for Christmas. I’m back to playing games, sure, but it’s not Dragon Age. I don’t feel the urge to return to Origins, 2, or Inquisition. Not because I don’t love them—but because, honestly, they don’t matter to Thedas anymore.

The world of Thedas now feels reduced to just The Veilguard and its three choices from Inquisition. Nothing else carries the same weight. It’s like everything that came before has been swept aside. I even got Tarot cards made for my Hero of Ferelden, my Champion of Kirkwall, and my Inquisitor. Those characters felt significant—part of something bigger. But Rook? Rook doesn’t inspire me the same way. The magic is gone. I don’t feel the need to immortalize Rook in any way.

Maybe that’s because Rook just didn’t have the same spark. The voice acting was so comically nice that it made Rook feel out of place. The rage I felt during Solas’s betrayal—my anger was palpable, but Rook felt like they were mildly inconvenienced by it all. It was like the character I had tried to build, the one I’d invested in emotionally, was suddenly made to feel like an extreme over-reaction. The decisions felt forced, out of sync with who Rook was supposed to be. It wasn’t just the voice acting that did this—it was the writing, the way they reduced the complexity of the character.

And that’s where I think things started to fall into place for me. The Veilguard feels like it’s built on half-measures and “good enough” decisions. The story is… underwhelming. Sure, the finale was incredible, but everything leading up to it felt hollow. The companions—something that Dragon Age is known for—are a shadow of what they used to be. Every companion has a recruitment mission you can’t possibly miss, and that’s where it feels forced. It feels unnatural, like it’s checking a box, rather than allowing the story to unfold organically. They could have been anyone, really. It’s like the characters didn’t have their own identities—they just existed to serve the narrative, rather than shape it.

Everything about the game felt obvious. The secret ending? I thought it was just a post-credits scene. The secret trophy in the wetlands came from areas I tried to explore on every previous visit, but never could. Now, it’s like Veilguard just hands it all to you. The magic of discovery and surprise? Gone. Romances? They feel like a checklist. BioWare game = romance options, tick. Betrayal in the story? Tick. Tragic loss? Tick. The spirit of Dragon Age was nowhere to be found.

And don’t even get me started on the spirits. What happened to them? They’re just blue people now. Where did that even come from? It’s lazy, it’s uninspired, and it just feels like Veilguard is running out of ideas. All these little details, the things that used to make Dragon Age stand out, have been reduced to lazy gimmicks and obvious choices.

So, I guess this review is really more for me than anything else. It’s a way of processing the grief I feel for a franchise that has been so important to me. The Veilguard didn’t just fall short—it somehow detracts from everything that came before it. It’s as if the legacy of Dragon Age has been tarnished, and I’m struggling to reconcile that with how I once felt about the series.

In the three weeks that I didn’t play a single video game, I found myself diving into other hobbies—and you know what? I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. This is bizarre, considering that I usually play around 40 hours a week. Gaming was my escape, my passion. It was me. But in those weeks without it, I realized how little I missed it. And that’s where the loss really hit me.

What happened? Where did the love for the development of Veilguard go? It felt like a tick-box exercise. Every piece of content, every decision, seemed to follow a formula—a formula meant to keep focus groups happy, not to tell a compelling story. There’s no real conflict, no tension between me and my companions—nothing like the snarky, witty banter of Vivienne, or the totally inappropriate charm of Isabella (whose reactions to everything were always so on point). Even Alistair, with his lovable awkwardness, has nothing to compare to in Veilguard. It’s like everything that made those characters so real is just… gone.

The only part of the game that really felt alive, that felt like it had any love behind it, was the finale. The ending was pure storytelling. It was raw, emotional, and it made me suffer in a way that only a great narrative can. But the rest of the game just didn’t live up to that. It was too polished, too safe—too much focus on pleasing everyone and not enough heart.

Usually I don't like or play Sandbox games.

But No Mans Sky is so much more than that, the story is descent and it is full of rich lore which you slowly uncover if you want to. The crafting system is simple if you don't want to get into it, but it deep and varied if you do, bases, food, upgrades people, UPGRADES.

It's hard to imagine this game when it came out having heard the backlash, but from my perspective, they have exceeded on what they set out to do now. This game is gorgeous, deep and thoroughly well thought out. I just prey they redux the rest of the Expeditions I missed, because I gotta get all the things.

Total War: WARHAMMER - Reinvented - 4.25/5