Justin Carter
After revitalizing Mass Effect with a remastered collection of the first three games and handing off Star Wars: The Old Republic to a separate studio, BioWare’s now putting its full weight behind its other big franchise, Dragon Age. Over the years, it’s been a question of if (and in what way) BioWare would return to the world of Thedas, even as it’d continuously reaffirm a new entry was in development. As such, it was all the more surprising when Dragon Age: The Veilguard got a full reveal and information rollout over the summer, and even more when the game staked a release date for October 31.
io9 recently attended an event that provided press and content creators five hours of Veilguard playtime. During that, we got a good feel for how it plays and its general structure that’ll inform the rest of the game. To immediately echo early buzz from over the summer, the combat is very impressive. Previous entries landed on different points of the “action-RPG” spectrum, and Veilguard leans toward the more immediate end, like with 2011’s Dragon Age II. This is best exemplified in the Rogue class, which features basic light and heavy attacks, and a lot of dodge and parry. Having spent the most time as a Rogue, a good parry goes a long way, and it immediately felt easy to grab within minutes while also having room to grow with subclasses built around dueling, explosives, and long-range archery.
That snappy, immediate sensation is spread across the other two classes (Warrior and Mage), but in different ways. As a Warrior, slashing at enemies with my sword and then performing a shield bash (or throwing it around) carries a different weight to it than a Rogue’s daggers. Likewise, the Mage felt like a glass cannon that made being right in the thick of it a risky proposition, but potentially worth it for those who get a good feel for the magic subclasses and how to take advantage of them during mid and close-range scraps.
If you’ve seen gameplay videos, you know it’s also influenced by Mass Effect: our new protagonist Rook rolls with two Companions (previous games gave you three), and instead of switching between party members, you pull up a wheel to use their abilities on a specific enemy or area. As in Mass Effect, it’s very satisfying to chain powers together for combos, and when those skills are on cooldown, Rook still feels formidable enough to get the job done. (If you’re not paying attention to the UI, don’t worry; Companions will vocally call out when they’re ready to use an ability.) The fights all felt very Dragon Age, just in a snappier, crunchier way; Rogue and Warrior mains may find more challenge in bumping the difficulty up from the standard once they’ve settled into a solid rhythm, just to add some more teeth.
Veilguard also borrows Mass Effect’s structure and world design. Whereas Dragon Age: Inquisition had players roam large, open environments, Rook and party use the Eluvian network of magical mirrors (which let you fast travel between regions) to go from region to region during their journey. Each area’s size will vary, and during our playtime, we got to experience several, including the Crossroads (a separate dimension that’s also a way-station between Eluvians), the Arlathan forest, and the Antivan port-city Treviso. The team’s hub, the Lighthouse, is big enough to warrant exploration, but not so big you’ll find yourself getting lost in it; conversely, Treviso is a decent-sized city that feels designed with immersion in mind. Unhoused people and musicians hang around busier areas asking for money (I gave them money when I saw them, just to do it), and the ziplines help add some extra flavor to an already flavorful place.
But when you’re not exploring, you’re embarking on missions to figure out how to stop a pair of evil Elven gods. This being so early in the game, our playtime involved recruiting several Companions to help us in this endeavor. The latter is where Veilguard will feel most familiar to longtime BioWare fans, particularly those who’ve played Mass Effect 2: to recruit assassin Lucanis Dellamorte, Rook has to rescue him from an underwater prison, then help him finish up a lingering contract. Another tasks you with finding Bellara, a Veil Jumper Mage who agrees to come along once you help her find and fix a broken Archive Spirit.
In these missions, you get a good idea of how the specific Companion you’re seeking out gels with your group on multiple levels. Combat-wise, they each have their own specific element and way they can help turn the tide that players will figure out over time. Outside of combat, they also have an environmental ability, like Bellara tinkering with magical artifacts that can lead to new areas or loot. (Luckily, a Companion doesn’t need to be in the party for their ability to be used.)
As actual characters, they’ll inevitably gain more depth over the course of the game, but the time spent with them was promising. My Rook was part of the Shadow Dragons, so it was nice to see him connect with the Mage detective Neve early on over their shared allegiance, and I enjoyed how well everyone bounces off each other in conversations. (In one Treviso side quest, Lucanis and dragon hunter Taash have a fun back-and-forth.) It’s just as well, too, since it seems like those conversations will have a lot of weight behind them: after choosing a conversation option (or making a BioWare-standard tough decision), on-screen text said an NPC would remember Rook’s actions. Nearly all the studio’s games have kept score, but presenting it so matter-of-factly reinforces that there’ll be some consequence to come when all is said and done, and in ways that’ll probably catch players completely by surprise.
For me, the most surprising thing about Veilguard is how much confidence it exuded throughout the five hours spent with it. It didn’t peacock around like nine years hadn’t passed, and it didn’t try to exist as some kind of apology for the franchise being off the grid (at least, game-wise) for so long. BioWare’s newest title is very self-assured, and it might have the goods it thinks it does. We’ll find out for sure when Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases on Halloween for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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