Dragon Age: The Veilguard on PS5
In the world of roleplaying games, the BioWare name has always been synonymous with delightful adventures that are enormous timesinks. That is, at least, true before the late 2010s, with the studio having to rehabilitate its reputation in the eyes of many of its fans following the likes of Anthem and Mass Effect: Andromeda. It is not an easy process, but in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the studio has put together an impressive return to form.
While it is not an instant classic, there are still plenty of significant elements in the RPG that have that BioWare magic of old. It all comes together in a satisfying package that is just so enjoyable to play, and that is not exactly easy to get right with the stakes at hand.
Eager heroes will be putting together a team of interesting characters, each with unique backstories and lore, all in the bid to stop the rise of ancient evils. Of course, it’s also personal, as the fan-favourite Solas is at the heart of things, and watching everything unfold is but one of the many delightful things about Dragon Age: The Veilguard. For longtime fans, the bonus is seeing locations and things referenced in the previous three games finally come to life; it feels almost as though BioWare knew what they were doing.
But without the right party members to draw players in and take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotion, it just wouldn’t feel right. Thankfully, this might be the best bunch of colourful characters put together for just this adventure. In terms of development and narrative, there really isn’t anyone that is just making up the numbers. All of the party members who sign up for Rook’s quest are stars in their own right.
The way the game introduces them into the conflict and slowly builds your relationship with them through missions and their side quests helps players connect with these allies. It doesn’t hurt that their arcs are significant in lore, rewards, and character development. You will see more of their personalities shine through, too, which transforms what could have been tedium into unmissable stories that need to be concluded. In comparison to the more straightforward overarching narrative, the story moments spent with your newfound friends most certainly reward your time.
Speaking of the story, Dragon Age: The Veilguard picks up after The Inquisition, albeit after a decade and much has happened since. It makes sense to have a clean slate somewhat, but the lack of true connection to prior events is something that stands out like a sore thumb. Choices you may have made in a past life as the Inquisitor have little significance for Rook and gang, even if the game lets you carry them over. More than a passing reference to Hawke would have been much welcomed, while the many heavy decisions that changed how previous stories unfolded could have been further explored here. Alas, it was not to be, even if the Inquisitor plays quite an essential role for this new outing.
At the very least, the destination is well worth the journey, even if you might not always see the hands of fate at play. The ending portions do a great job of piecing together your finale, drawn from the numerous decisions, big and small, that you have taken throughout the adventure, culminating in an ending that can be considered the best of the bunch. How conservative or aggressive you play matters, as does your choice of approaches and even sacrifices, and the ending delivers on all fronts as the ultimate celebration of everything you have done or not do.
But before you even get to that stage, you are going to be involved in combat aplenty in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, so it is a comfort to know that the mechanics are sound and improved from its predecessors. Although it is action-heavy and fast-paced, BioWare has made allowances for those of a more tactical mind, where the game can be paused for orders to be doled out to your chosen trio.
This allows specific combos to be pulled off, and with the varied status afflictions and primers, it enables you to approach each encounter differently, especially with different enemy types and weaknesses. Do you focus on armoured enemies or the ranged ones? And even then, you will have to deal with shields that are only weak to specific attacks. It makes for a fun dance, and gives you food for thought when putting together a party and developing Rook the way you want.
As a Rogue and eventually specialising as a Duelist, that meant I was always in the thick of battle, slicing and dicing the enemies to shreds. Having support from a tank is always helpful, but so is having ranged magical users that can further exploit enemies primed for detonation, all while I alternated between my dual blades and a bow. Being able to respec at any time also means experimenting to find your favourite ways of bringing the hurt, which is always a plus. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is not like the old games in this regard, but change can be for the better.
Perhaps the biggest bugbear of the combat system is that your party members are somewhat living independently of you. While you can activate their abilities and have them focus on an enemy, they are otherwise invulnerable and never in peril, making you the sole person who needs to survive. That can change how you approach encounters, and not necessarily in a good way. They benefit from the myriad customisation options for loot and skills, though, which is somewhat of a tradeoff.
The biggest highlights are the boss fights in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which turn things up several notches with not just increased enemy threat, but also the way attack patterns change and the enemy turns the tables on you in terms of status effects. It is never not fun trying to take down a High Dragon, especially one that is Blighted, but anything that is named is always fun to fight, and that’s no mean feat.
And everything is delivered with healthy amounts of cinematic flair. The art style might not be to everyone’s fancy, but the animations and set pieces are breathtaking and awe-inspiring most of the time. Add to that an enchanting score that never fails to punctuate moments in the best ways possible, and it is a treat for all the senses.
eWith so much history and frankly, baggage, Dragon Age: The Veilguard was always going to find it hard to please everyone. But what BioWare has done is put together an RPG that fits in well with the modern audience but still offers up many of the elements that make the studio such a stalwart in the genre. The exciting combat, a great cast of characters, excellent writing, and the visuals and audio combine to make this new entry almost unstoppable, like the Blight. There are no doubt still kinks to work out, but if this is the new Dragon Age, the future definitely looks brighter than ever before.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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Summary
Dragon Age: The Veilguard surpasses expectations, throwing off the baggage of the past and emerging as a shining beacon for the RPG genre in almost all the best ways.
