Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024, Windows) Review

CARE BEARS NOW

Also for: Playstation 5, Xbox Series

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I'm angry to report that Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the fourth game in this venerated franchise, is mid as hell. Those idiots in executive decided they should rope in two crowds by mixing the fantasy universe of Dragon Age with superhero storytelling. The result? A colossal fiasco that saw the game director leave Bioware, followed by a sacking of the entire writing crew. And us fans were left to see the series potentially die with a whimper.

In The Veilguard, this once mature, clever and exciting franchise has been reduced to juvenile entertainment. Designed to appeal to Marvel-brains, it abandons all nuance and complexity for lighthearted banter, flashy combat and a straightforward good-versus-evil conflict. Bioware RPG:s have always revolved around well-written companions and an engaging storyline. The Veilguard instead has annoying, boring and stereotypical sidekicks who constantly need a shoulder to cry on or they'll let you down when it matters the most.

The overarching story isn't bad, but it progresses very sporadically. After a major mishap in the opening chapter, the two ancient elven gods Elger'nan and Ghilan'nain escape their eternal prison behind the Veil (a barrier between reality and the dream realm called the Fade). Now they wage war on all of Thedas, enslaving people and unleashing a new blight, including two new archdemons.

From your base at a lighthouse inside the Fade you, in the role of Rook, must travel the entire Tevinter imperium and recruit the Veilguard, a diverse bunch of specialists/superheroes. Together you must aid all the scattered factions of the world; grey wardens, Antivan crows, the captial of Minrathous, veil jumpers, etc., and end the gods' tyranny. This starts to drag, as each faction's demands start to mount. 

The companions come from all walks of Tevinter life; a scout, a detective mage, a veil jumper, a dragon hunter, a necromancer, an assassin and a grey warden. Between missions you all convene in the lighthouse. Here you can upgrade your gear, catch up on the latest, bond with them and flirt your heart out. Since every companion is pansexual, there are no limits, except you can only pick one. (Which is a shame, an orgy would've been nice(joke).)

A poor decision was to depict all of them, and all other side characters, in an awkward semi-cartoony art style designed to emphasize the playful tone. Their heads are too big. They look kinda plastic. The facial options for the character creator might be the best I've seen, but no matter your effort, Rook will still have that CGI-movie artifice to them. Elves and qunari look particularly ridiculous, like humans with huge ear prosthetics or fake horns. Their racial features, established by the two previous games, are gone for some inexplicable reason. You can't convince me Davrin, the elven grey warden, doesn't look like a low-effort cosplayer:

Solas, a great companion from the last game, is back and plays an important part in the story. Exactly how I cannot reveal for spoiler reasons (in case you haven't played Dragon Age: Inquisition), but he is the shining light of this entry. A clever, manipulative, pragmatic character of dubious alingment, you meet him repeatedly in the Fade to report and get advice. The questline regarding his backstory is the only interesting side content in the game.

It's perplexing that he remains so well-written, when all other characters are so mediocre or even downright bad. It implies that going mainstream was a conscious decision from higher-ups. How can they totally change the tone in the fourth entry of a semi-ongoing storyline and expect to get away with it?

That's not to say all is bad. I started out engaged, and whenever the main story took center stage I got re-engaged. The new action combat has taken a lot of inspiration from God of War and works surprisingly well, perhaps strengthened by the fact I chose a fun class to play, a rogue archer. I must say, however, that it doesn't evolve much throughout the game. The skill tree is extensive, but few skills matter. Functionally, they're all mostly interchangeable, which makes the (thankfully) free re-speccing kinda redundant.

In combat, your companions are also interchangeable. Their abilites are mostly differently colored magical attacks or healing spells. I like the way you can chain some of their abilities to create devastating effect. But their contributions are limited. They cannot die, and mostly function as an extra attack now and then. They also talk incessantly, warning against incoming attacks and calling out enemy reinforcements. 

A lack of enemy variety doesn't help. They come in a few different standard types, with appearances changing depending on location. Undead, humanoid factions, darkspawn, brigands, all have the same tiers of footsoldier, spellslingers, archers and hulks. A few unique bosses exist, and they are generally the best by far. I fought seven dragons throughout (IIRC), and the first couple were really engaging, but I quickly realized they all play out exactly the same way. I beat the last one using the same methods as I did for the first.

That's an issue for the game at large. It has no concept of moderation. Everything is bloated and repetitive. Enemies have huge health pools, they respawn at the same locations, forcing you to fight them endlessly as the questlines start to utilize every map too much. Every ability is viable in every situation, so you just use the most efficient ones repeatedly.

The same goes for dialogue. Everything has to be blurted out; the feelings, the facts, the story beats. Since everything is told outright, nothing is left for the player to feel or deduce. Some characters theoretically have good subplots, but the predictable way they play out makes me indifferent. They all have cartoony, corrupt villains with evil end goals, and the same goes for the disappointing duo of main villains. Much like Mass Effect 2, the final main mission can end in a lot of tragedy depending on your choices, but unlike that old masterpiece, The Veilguard cannot make me care for the outcome because of the poor writing that led up to it.

Here's just one typical example right out of the game. My party approaches a dark, sinister village by boat. We dock, but no-one is in sight. The music gets ominous. There's tension in the air. Anything can happen. This prompts my companions to blurt out all clichés in one fell swoop, totally ruining the mood and making me groan:

"This place is usually bustling with activity this time of day!"

"Something's happened."

"It's quiet."

"Too quiet."

Their constant, quippy banter wore me down over time, even as the game tried to pick me up with its stellar presentation. The audiovisual experience is kinda bombastic. The world is divided into several distinct maps you travel between. They all are unique and pretty. Spectacular vistas and detailed surroundings make the world feel alive and inhabited, with a rich history. Ancient buildings line your path throughout the game, often crumbling because of the unstable condition of the veil and reality itself. Fade-touched debris float in mid-air, like explosions stuck in suspended animation. Magic is in the air.

But it's no fun to explore. I mentioned before that the combat is inspired by God of War. Unfortunately, the same goes for the linear level design. Every map is a tangle of corridors with insipid puzzles requiring you to pop blight boils or place crystals in obvious slots. The cities are the worst with weird logistics everywhere. They feel like video game levels, which breaks the immersion of exploring a fantasy world.

You might follow a wide street to a dead end, with a portcullis five meters up the wall, and on the other side the road goes on. How the hell is anyone gonna ride a cart up there? You often have to travel by zipline for no particular reason, or through shops, or over rooftops and balconies, or through homes. It makes no sense and is disorienting. You have to do it time and time again, since the myriad of sidequests and companion storylines recycle these maps.

Loot is everywhere; gold, crafting materials and lore documents hidden in full view. You might spend dozens of hours reading ancient history or companion correspondance. Chests with rare armor and weapons lie at odd places, like rooftops or in the middle of a forest. You switch between gear constantly, without a particular build in mind because the number gains and losses all reach some sort of equilibrium. Your new bow might add 100 fire damage, but you lose 50 stagger and bleed build-up. Who cares what color the damage numbers display?

The bombardment of quests feel like distractions rather than part of something bigger. The world's about to end. Where's the existential angst? Why is Davrin's picnic is so urgent? Can't Taash determine her gender identity after we've defeated the gods? Can't Emmrich evolve into lichdom a little later? Where's the grit, where's the darkness? Why do the companions quarrel over how many books to bring on a picnic, or the way that Neve, the detective, dresses to emphasize her femininity? Why can't I disagree with anyone, why can't I tell them off when they annoy me?

Simply put, Dragon Age: The Veilguard wears me down. It's impossible to care for anything. Visuals and sound are of the highest order, but it's a flashy reflection on a flat surface. Behind all the pomp and circumstance there's only emptiness. The voice acting is good, but the dialogue is bad. The world is pretty, but boring to explore. The combat is responsive, but tedious. Consequently, I felt no meaningful interaction with the game over my 80+ hour playthrough. In their desire to appeal to everyone, Bioware lost the plot.