REVIEW: ‘Dragon Age: The Veilguard’ Combines Powerful Writing And The Franchise’s Best Combat (PC)

Read our interview with Bioware developers Matt Rhodes and Francois Chaput about Dragon Age The Veilguard.

After very nearly a decade, developer BioWare has revisited Thedas in its newest release, Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The fantasy world was last playable in Dragon Age: Inquisition, but its latest outings are somewhat lacking. Thankfully, the latest entry in the EA-published franchise is a fantastic return to form, with the robust world-building and masterful writing that fans have come to expect from the veteran studio, with the bonus of fun and fluid combat to keep things exciting. Simply put, Dragon Age The Veilguard was worth the wait.

When an attempt to save the world from the Dread Wolf goes sideways, the situation somehow becomes more dire. Instead of successfully stopping the Dread Wolf’s ritual, the party inadvertently unleashes a pair of evil gods with designs to corrupt and conquer the world. Though these events occur within the game’s opening sequence, they let loose the threads that players must follow to discover their new companions, settings and the factions that will help and hinder them in their quest. True to form for BioWare, players will be presented with choices that can affect all of these aspects of the game and more.

Before players can make their first narrative decision, they’ll need to create their hero. While most of their available options are purely cosmetic, others, like lineage, background, and class, all provide tethers to link their avatar, known as Rook, to the world within Dragon Age The Veilguard. Playing as a mage from the Veil Jumpers, for instance, allows your character to identify differently than a warrior from the Lords of Fortune.

Since these lore decisions build your character’s background, they can’t be changed after the initial character creation process, but all of the cosmetic options can be altered virtually anytime. For the roleplayers out there, this creates an additional opportunity to reflect on your Rook’s journey, such as with longer hair, new scars, or other changes.

After character creation and the opening sequence, players are transported to their temporary hub during their quest, The Lighthouse, where they and their allies can rest between missions. This mystical setting sets the tone for the rest of the game, with gorgeous visuals, thoughtful conversations, and even hidden puzzles to solve scattered throughout. Though it starts out somewhat barren, it grows and changes as the game progresses, almost feeling like a character on its own. Most notably, these changes occur when characters joining the party set up shop in their own remote corners of the floating haven.

Players start with enough characters for a full three-person party, Rook included, but that’s not nearly enough to stop a pair of gods. Eventually, you’ll have seven companions to choose from, each with their own particular strengths and skills with which to set up combos and some emotional baggage to boot. While your own skills may affect who you decide to bring along, at the normal difficulty, combat is forgiving enough to allow you to pick companions solely based on lore, romance, or any other reasons you may have.

Once players set out into the world, they’ll notice that Inquisition’s open-world zones are gone. Instead, Dragon Age The Veilguard’s settings are smaller, more deliberately designed areas, such as the ruins in Arlathan Forest or the streets and rooftops of Treviso. You won’t be skipping across mountain tops, but these settings are no less breathtaking than anything found in previous Dragon Age games.

Ultimately, these settings cut out the empty spaces associated with an open world but preserve the sheer density of rewards. Through quests, puzzles, or simple exploration, players will discover gear for themselves or their allies, cosmetics that can be applied freely, or resources for upgrading their gear. Each visit to one of these locations can unearth a new shortcut, ruins to explore, or side quests, and running back and forth makes them more familiar with each visit. Most settings are also linked to one of the many factions you’ll be helping and, through them, your companions.

It’s this connectivity that makes Thedas feel alive in Dragon Age The Veilguard. Your decisions affect your companions directly, but even the side quests and other aid you provide are reflected in the factions throughout the world. They aren’t isolated or static groups, either. While the Antivan Crows make their home in Treviso, you’ll often find lore or quests that see them crossing paths with other groups, such as the Lords of Fortune, working toward a common goal. Helping them helps your companions, who gain skill points when they level, which is achieved both through combat and by strengthening your bond with them. Every quest, conversation, or something as innocuous as a trip to Minrathous contributes to saving the world, which makes every little diversion worth the time and effort.

As mentioned, you’ll often find gear as a result of exploration or completing quests, and thanks to a new inventory system, any piece of gear can be useful. Gone are the ill-fitting helmets and suits of armor from previous entries, and in their place are gorgeous outfits and weapons to match. You cannot sell them, but you also won’t want to because finding the same piece of gear makes it better, unlocking new passive abilities that escalate in effectiveness. You can also use materials found in the world to upgrade it, directly boosting the stats it provides. In this way, you can keep a particularly effective piece of gear and strengthen it over the course of the game.

Further, gear provides passive abilities tailored to your class, so even a mage or rogue can wear heavy armor and make use of it, depending on how they’re built. With the ability to reallocate your skill points any time outside of combat, players are encouraged to experiment with their builds. This makes finding new weapons or armor especially exciting since it could provide an ability that inspires you to rework your skills.

One particular mage dagger encourages players to forsake the staff entirely, a playstyle that is supported by the lower third of the skill map. Even your allies can benefit from new gear, with abilities that support their handful of skills. Though they have fewer potential armors, each companion’s gear is unique to them, allowing for some extremely stylish bespoke outfits.

This versatility is invaluable in keeping combat fresh, in addition to rotating what companions you bring along for each outing. Combat has never been more fun or engaging, with the ability to dodge or counter-attacks, unleash powerful and gorgeous abilities, and utilize your allies’ powers to create opportunities for heavy damage. That said, combat tends to fall into a routine once you’ve discovered a certain playstyle, whether it’s due to your gear, your skills, or just your preferences.

There’s little reason to deviate from your most devastating combos when you’ve started a fight, save for a minor adjustment to destroy an enemy’s barrier or armor, which require ranged or heavy attacks, respectively. It’s possible to brute force their health bar down with a barrage of abilities, but this combat philosophy is just an extension of the core game’s mechanics. It would be simple to ignore side quests and your companions’ storylines, but you get more out of it by engaging with these technically non-essential components.

Dragon Age The Veilguard presents plenty of decisions for players to make, from the very first aspect of character creation to the final choices in the story. When it comes to influencing the story, and especially the ending, there should be a balance between choosing your paths and earning them, and this is where the game excels.

Many of the choices players make affect more than just one aspect of the story, causing a domino effect that can result in a story that is different in dozens of smaller aspects, as well as a few more notable ones. While one of your companions may feel slighted based on one decision, their immediate reaction isn’t the only consequence; in the same way, you would carry a painful memory, so too do your companions form a complete picture of you and your relationship. This also applies to the positive choices you’ll make, where proving yourself trustworthy means they may seek your aid or counsel somewhere down the line.

This web of consequences doesn’t just apply to your companions. Side quests where you help the Mourn Watch can open further opportunities to help them, earning you new gear, areas to explore or simply strengthening the necromantic faction for battles to come. It bears repeating that many of these engagements aren’t strictly necessary but the sum of your choices can affect you and your team in many little ways, making your relationship with the world feel more organic, if somewhat precarious.

People who played Dragon Age Inquisition may be disappointed by how few decisions from past games affect the state of the world, but as this entry takes place much further north than previous entries, it makes sense that only the biggest decisions would have an effect. Thankfully, long-time fans of the series have plenty to look forward to, with appearances from some familiar faces and lore with far-reaching implications.

Of course, all the riveting combat and plethora of side quests would feel meaningless without strong writing to weave them into the story, and appropriately enough, this is the strongest aspect of Dragon Age The Veilguard. Your companions feel like real people with beliefs, motivations, and fears. The cities and faction camps feature the hustle and bustle of characters trying to attend to their duties or live their lives, even in the face of an impending apocalypse. This is supported by stellar voice acting performances across the main and supporting cast, but the actor who voices Taash especially deserves recognition for the powerful portrayal of the Qunari warrior.

One of Dragon Age The Veilguard’s key themes is regret, which appears in nearly every aspect of the story. The main quest, your companions’ stories, and even many of the side quests result from regrets, whether over past actions, a lack of action, or even regarding personal identity. Even the main premise for The Veilguard feels like the result of an untold story that ended in failure, motivating the responsible party to fix their mistakes and save the world. It makes many characters instantly relatable since regrets can come in many forms, some more severe than others.

Several of the decisions that players are presented with have unintended consequences, instilling regret that helps to reinforce the bonds with the rest of the party. It may be simple or easy to create scenarios where you empathize with your companions and fix their problems for them, but BioWare goes above and beyond to portray their plotlines with care. Instead of dragging them along on a quest or two to fix a strained relationship with a family member, you’re given the opportunity to support them and give them the strength to grow and resolve their problems. Most of the time this still culminates in a battle, but they feel more satisfying and cathartic when the emotional stakes are handled this well.

Aside from the quests you’ll partake in, there are hundreds of lore entries to fill in details about the world, as well as plenty of smaller conversations between your companions. Instead of remaining in their own rooms waiting for you to speak with them, they’ll occasionally wander around the Lighthouse or pair off, and seeking them out can result in some profound or downright amusing conversations, like comparing their worst jobs or exploring a budding romance.

Dragon Age The Veilguard gives insight into the mundane details, such as who shouldn’t be allowed to cook for the group or having to make a second, meat-free entree for Emmrich because he’s a vegetarian. Even your first set of companion quests are quieter, combat-free errands that give you a better sense of who your new allies are when they’re not slinging fireballs and decapitating demons. These superfluous tidbits of information are details painted with a smaller brush; we have the broad strokes, but these provide a clearer picture of the people you’re fighting alongside.

Dragon Age The Veilguard is a massive new world full of thoughtful stories, epic battles, and beautiful visuals to accompany them. This round of companions is among the most interesting, thoughtful, and downright charismatic, and adventuring with them made for an unforgettable journey. With so much in store and with so many decisions to make, your first one should be to play it as soon as you can.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases October 31, 2024 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.