To say the world of Dragon Age is special to me, would be an understatement. I played DA:Origins for the first time now 4 years ago and that experience led me to the rest of the series, and finally to Veilguard: a game that while it's quite far from its origin, regardless of it's many issues, is a wonderful ending to this series.


The DA series is a pillar of the RPG genre.
DA:O stands the test of time and even 10 years later. It's a game that set the standard and is still looked up to by the market, from Cyberpunk 2077 lying about their origins being at that level to Baldur's Gate 3 taking direct inspiration for the dialogue style and the camp mechanic.
Setting such a high standard can be a double-edged blade, and in Biowares' fashion, much like for the Mass Effect series, things are good, yet not as much going forward.
DA2 and Inquisition move away from elements that made Origins so special. Inquisition especially suffers from a troubled development that started as an MMO. Many unfortunate choices made their way into the final product; like the War Table missions requiring real-world time to complete, and in general a rather poor usage of the Frostbite Engine due to time constraints, like the new "open world maps" not being able to stream fast enough, leading the devs to fake the sprinting of the horse[www.thegamer.com] and removing it from players altogether.

No other DA reached the peak that was Origins, yet they all kept building this amazing world thoughtfully, regardless of the issues the package it came in might have.


Veilguard starts again as an MMO in its development but was saved with less junk from that time, with the only notable remnant being the fact that our main character, nicknamed Rook, is not some sort of chosen one, but just the right guy for the job.
The formula returns closer to Bioware's origins, ditching the open world for a more linear interconnected map a-la Dark Souls. Smaller, mission-related maps make a welcome return, much like in DA:O. This allows us to explore a greater variety of locations across Thedas again, all brought to life through the game's amazing art direction.
Exploration evolves in a way I am particularly biased towards, with a Tomb Raider-esque platforming direction; this was great for my character who had a background as a tomb raider himself. This is alongside logic puzzles that much like recent God of Wars, offer variations of them, but can be a bit simple.
The gameplay takes a more action approach, with a very enjoyable, although as often is the case repetitive, combat system. All classes have three specializations, each focusing on a specific facet of it.
Gone is the ability to directly control our companions, replaced by a simple ability wheel to command them. A fair trade-off for the combat style, imho, but still something I wish was kept.
Loot is visually stunning, and randomized except in unique chests, and is kept interesting by a system that merges identical items to raise the rarity and level of it. Trying new things is easier than ever, and hunting chests never got old for me.


These games have often touched a multitude of subjects in each entry, always adding to it, but rarely giving conclusive answers.
The more I learned, the more I appreciated the title change, as I feel "Dreadwolf" would have centered it too much on one character that is already crucial to the entire story.
Veilguard, speaks of everything and brings all to a close thoughtfully. The biggest answers, given during a side mission of all places, shocked me and offered a completely new point of view on the events of all the games.

I know it's again not a perfect package. Would I have wished for the fourth DA to be exactly this? No, but I wouldn't have wished for DA 2 and Inquisition to be like they are either.
What Veilguard definitely does well is story and world-building and it brings everything to a close amazingly, regardless of how far from what a Dragon Age should be it is.
The ending of this game, especially, is what Mass Effect fans always wished for: a great finale that changes based on your choices, bonds, and actions, closing what the series has been about up to this point, showing how deeply interconnected everything was, leaving room for a potential sequel.


The companions are one of the best parts of any Bioware game, yet, even DA:O, wasn't perfect. While yes, Alistair and Morrigan are peak writing and could rival even against modern games, they do because the other's shortcomings help them shine. In Inquisition, I felt there were no companions at that level tbh, and ended up struggling until the end to find who I'd like to romance.
Even newer masterworks like BG3 have that one interaction that could have been written better, or one companion that falls short like Wyll, whose promising start and deep ties to the story were smoke and mirrors to a rather simple and on-rails personal arc.

Veilguard has issues, I won't deny it, but they have grown out of proportion in the online conversation. The game can be a little eccentric with its character writing, sometimes lacking nuance.
Overall I personally enjoyed the companions, especially getting attached to Davrin, Neve, and Harding, but Tash in particular felt the most out of place.

DA is no stranger to queer topics, and as a queer man, I recognize representation is important. I didn’t let the infamous cutscene of someone misgendering them and apologizing with push-ups influence my opinion; I kept an open mind and focused on understanding the character, and I ended up tolerating her.
I felt she lacked depth, and didn't truly grow from the events of the story, and her personal arc. They came across more as a checklist rather than a fully fleshed-out character. That said, I just left her behind and took with me companions I enjoyed.


For once this year, a PC game has come out with no optimization issues whatsoever, with a lengthy, but useful shader compilation, without DRM, and supporting a well-optimized, complete Ray Tracing feature set.
Especially impressive is the hair strand technology, which makes any hairstyle level up with amazing physics and extreme definition.
Reconstruction techniques are implemented correctly, and DLSS especially seems to be trained really well; it shines alongside Dynamic Resolution Scaling to keep a constant framerate.

Shout out to the Character Creator, amazing in its options, inclusivity, and implementation. I managed to create and fine-tune both a stunning Rook, and a faithful to my original Inquisitor. The previous game world state must be set in the CC, not imported from the Keep or save files. Bioware said they plan to revisit unused choices in the future.
I'm sad the conversation around the CC, much like for Starfield, was focused heavily on the character creator being too inclusive and woke because of top-surgery scars and pronouns.
Funnily, BG3 and CP77, also had many inclusivity options, but didn't get many complaints about it since the conversation was mostly about the genital options.
Wish they added them here too, I guess? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


In the end, I left this game emotional and heavy-hearted, knowing one of my favorite series had just ended. Not what I wanted, but happy I got it.
I am already missing its world. I can only hope that this is but a first step that paves the way for a new DA, even closer to its roots, to be greenlit.
Or a Remake, I'd take that too.

7.8/10

To say the world of Dragon Age is special to me, would be an understatement. I played DA:Origins for the first time now 4 years ago and that experience led me to the rest of the series, and finally to Veilguard: a game that while it's quite far from its [i]origin[/i], regardless of it's many issues, is a wonderful ending to this series. [h1]Nailed on First Try.[/h1] The DA series is a pillar of the RPG genre. DA:O stands the test of time and even 10 years later. It's a game that set the standard and is still looked up to by the market, from Cyberpunk 2077 lying about their origins being at that level to Baldur's Gate 3 taking direct inspiration for the dialogue style and the camp mechanic. Setting such a high standard can be a double-edged blade, and in Biowares' fashion, much like for the Mass Effect series, things are good, yet not as much going forward. DA2 and Inquisition move away from elements that made Origins so special. Inquisition especially suffers from a troubled development that started as an MMO. Many unfortunate choices made their way into the final product; like the War Table missions requiring real-world time to complete, and in general a rather poor usage of the Frostbite Engine due to time constraints, like the new "open world maps" not being able to stream fast enough, leading the devs to [url=https://www.thegamer.com/dragon-age-inquisition-horses-faked-sprinting/]fake the sprinting of the horse[/url] and removing it from players altogether. No other DA reached the peak that was Origins, yet they all kept building this amazing world thoughtfully, regardless of the issues the package it came in might have. [h1]Bounce-back, but far from its [i]Origins.[/i][/h1] Veilguard starts again as an MMO in its development but was saved with less junk from that time, with the only notable remnant being the fact that our main character, nicknamed Rook, is not some sort of chosen one, but just the right guy for the job. The formula returns closer to Bioware's [i]origins[/i], ditching the open world for a more linear interconnected map a-la Dark Souls. Smaller, mission-related maps make a welcome return, much like in DA:O. This allows us to explore a greater variety of locations across Thedas again, all brought to life through the game's amazing art direction. [b]Exploration[/b] evolves in a way I am particularly biased towards, with a Tomb Raider-esque platforming direction; this was great for my character who had a background as a tomb raider himself. This is alongside logic puzzles that much like recent God of Wars, offer variations of them, but can be a bit simple. The [b]gameplay[/b] takes a more action approach, with a very enjoyable, although as often is the case repetitive, combat system. All classes have three specializations, each focusing on a specific facet of it. Gone is the ability to directly control our companions, replaced by a simple ability wheel to command them. A fair trade-off for the combat style, imho, but still something I wish was kept. [b]Loot[/b] is visually stunning, and randomized except in unique chests, and is kept interesting by a system that merges identical items to raise the rarity and level of it. Trying new things is easier than ever, and hunting chests never got old for me. [h1]Not all about the Dreadwolf.[/h1] These games have often touched a multitude of subjects in each entry, always adding to it, but rarely giving conclusive answers. The more I learned, the more I appreciated the title change, as I feel "Dreadwolf" would have centered it too much on one character that is already crucial to the entire story. Veilguard, speaks of everything and brings all to a close thoughtfully. The biggest answers, given during a side mission of all places, shocked me and offered a completely new point of view on the events of all the games. I know it's again not a perfect package. Would I have wished for the fourth DA to be exactly this? No, but I wouldn't have wished for DA 2 and Inquisition to be like they are either. [b]What Veilguard definitely does well is story and world-building[/b] and it brings everything to a close amazingly, regardless of how far from what a Dragon Age should be it is. The ending of this game, especially, is what Mass Effect fans always wished for: a [b]great finale[/b] that changes based on your choices, bonds, and actions, closing what the series has been about up to this point, showing how deeply interconnected everything was, leaving room for a potential sequel. [h1]A peak stands tall, only because of the valley below.[/h1] The companions are one of the best parts of any Bioware game, yet, even DA:O, wasn't perfect. While yes, Alistair and Morrigan are peak writing and could rival even against modern games, they do because the other's shortcomings help them shine. In Inquisition, I felt there were no companions at that level tbh, and ended up struggling until the end to find who I'd like to romance. Even newer masterworks like BG3 have that one interaction that could have been written better, or one companion that falls short like [spoiler]Wyll[/spoiler], whose promising start and deep ties to the story were smoke and mirrors to a rather simple and on-rails personal arc. Veilguard has issues, I won't deny it, but they have grown out of proportion in the online conversation. The game can be a little eccentric with its character writing, sometimes lacking nuance. Overall I personally enjoyed the companions, especially getting attached to Davrin, Neve, and Harding, but Tash in particular felt the most out of place. DA is no stranger to queer topics, and as a queer man, I recognize representation is important. I didn’t let the infamous cutscene of someone misgendering them and apologizing with push-ups influence my opinion; I kept an open mind and focused on understanding the character, and I ended up tolerating her. I felt she lacked [i]depth[/i], and didn't truly [i]grow[/i] from the events of the story, and her personal arc. They came across more as a checklist rather than a fully fleshed-out character. That said, I just left her behind and took with me companions I enjoyed. [h1][url=http://youtu.be/OjawnIC81nE&t=63s]"Yeah, It's Unreal", no it's not.[/url][/h1] For once this year, a PC game has come out with no optimization issues whatsoever, with a lengthy, but useful shader compilation, without DRM, and supporting a well-optimized, complete Ray Tracing feature set. Especially impressive is the hair strand technology, which makes any hairstyle level up with amazing physics and extreme definition. Reconstruction techniques are implemented correctly, and DLSS especially seems to be trained really well; it shines alongside Dynamic Resolution Scaling to keep a constant framerate. Shout out to the Character Creator, amazing in its options, inclusivity, and implementation. I managed to create and fine-tune both a stunning Rook, and a faithful to my original Inquisitor. The previous game world state must be set in the CC, not imported from the Keep or save files. Bioware said they plan to revisit unused choices in the future. I'm sad the conversation around the CC, much like for Starfield, was focused heavily on the character creator being [i]too[/i] inclusive and woke because of top-surgery scars and pronouns. Funnily, BG3 and CP77, also had many inclusivity options, but didn't get many complaints about it since the conversation was mostly about the genital options. Wish they added them here too, I guess? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ [h1]Holding space; Hope.[/h1] In the end, I left this game emotional and heavy-hearted, knowing one of my favorite series had just ended. Not what I wanted, but happy I got it. I am already missing its world. I can only hope that this is but a first step that paves the way for a new DA, even closer to its roots, to be greenlit. Or a Remake, I'd take that too. [b]7.8/10[/b]