Dragon Age: The Veilguard (DA4)

[AWS260]

(Davrin and Lucanis are meh)

how dare you say that about my sweet buddy Davrin

[Skinypupy]

(Davrin and Lucanis are meh)

how dare you say that about my sweet buddy Davrin

Assan, yes. Davrin, no.

All the same it does make me a bit sad that this isn't really a role playing game.

Yeah, I have definitely noticed that outside of a few very obvious spots, there really isn't much of a difference with the responses. Not nearly as much of obvious "Good", "Neutral", or "Asshole" responses to every dialog. I almost always find myself choosing the middle option, typically because they're genuinely funny and the Rook voice actor does an excellent job with his delivery.

[AWS260]

Yeah, I have definitely noticed that outside of a few very obvious spots, there really isn't much of a difference with the responses. Not nearly as much of obvious "Good", "Neutral", or "Asshole" responses to every dialog. I almost always find myself choosing the middle option, typically because they're genuinely funny and the Rook voice actor does an excellent job with his delivery.

I read a good comment, I think on Qt3, making the point that Rook is a strong leader with good people skills. Your dialogue choices shape how she leads, but she's never going to be a jerk. It limits the role-playing aspect, in that you can't mold her character as you please, but I still find it satisfying. My Rook tends to be more of a firm leader, but she'll be funny or encouraging when it suits the moment.

I definitely like this better than Mass Effect's paragon/asshole personality system, which used the same conversation wheel but felt gamey in a way that took me out of the world.

[Max Peck]

My working theory is that Evil Rook has no place on the Sacred Timeline, so Renslayer and Mobius pruned all those narrative branches.

Alternatively, Varric simply wouldn't have recruited an Evil/Renegade Rook in the first place.

[AWS260]

My Rook.

[Skinypupy]

I went on a tear today, finishing six (seven?) of the seven available companion quests. They are remarkably well written, exciting, tense, and just awesome (Manfred, you beautiful soul).

Oddly, two of the quests (Neve’s and Lucanis’) both finished with the “Veilguard Hero” status and the cool armor, but the small quest with the wrap-up dialog that unlocks the achievement hasn’t triggered for either of them. It’s rather annoying.

Speaking of annoying, there’s one area (Rivain Cliffs) that I simply cannot figure out where the hell to complete the side quests. There’s a big search area with all sorts of ladders and stairs and I can’t find whatever doo-dad the game wants me to find. Frustrating.

[AWS260]

Speaking of annoying, there’s one area (Rivain Cliffs) that I simply cannot figure out where the hell to complete the side quests. There’s a big search area with all sorts of ladders and stairs and I can’t find whatever doo-dad the game wants me to find. Frustrating.

Which quest? There were a couple in that region that gave me trouble.

[Skinypupy]

All done. Max level (50), wrapped it up just under 52 hours. Finished everyone's companion quests, romanced Neve, and completed all the zone quests except for Rivain Cliffs. I just ended up annoyed with those quests and skipped them.

A few thoughts:
- I would put Veilguard just very slightly below Inquisition as my favorite Dragon Age game. It tells a remarkable story, has a FANTASTIC ending, and builds on the established world and lore in really interesting ways. The only reason I would put it slightly lower is because there isn't really much reason to replay it. Outside of a couple story choices and who you romance, about 95% of the game would be exactly the same on a second playthrough. Bioware did away with an "evil" playthrough this time around, which I actually think was a good choice as it made the entire story much more engaging. However, it does mean there wouldn't be nearly as much replay value. This will likely be the only DA game I don't play through multiple times.
- I quite enjoyed the new action combat. It always felt chunky and impactful with interesting skill combos and moves, and you definitely felt much stronger as the game progressed. I did play on Story and never felt particularly challenged, but I was never bored either. If you want top-down strategic combat, you'll hate this.
- This game took quite a bit longer than previous DA games to really "click". At the 10 hour mark, I wasn't even really sure if I liked it, tbh. Part of it was getting the hang of zone exploration and figuring out how the mission and quest structure work. But the larger issue is that the story starts really slowly. There's a lot to take in during the first few acts and it doesn't all really start coming together (for me, anyways) until you get 10-15 hours in. Once it does click though, it really clicks and was brilliant the rest of the way.
- What started as a fairly lackluster group of characters ended up as one of my favorites. The stories they explore are varied and interesting, and the personal growth and bonding they all go through is truly a fun journey. There's small moments that are so touching (Taash "courting" Harding with...cheese) to go along with the big emotional punches. I'm fairly convinced that a number of reviewers who knocked the game for it's writing didn't actually play past the first 10'ish hours, as the character development, story pace, and writing improve significantly at that point. Also, Dude Rook's voice actor does a really excellent job, which definitely helps the storytelling aspect.
- Note that there is one character whose journey is all about coming to terms with their gender identity (a story which I though was extremely well done). This has apparently angered the usual "anti-woke" chuds, so take user reviews with a massive truckload of salt...there's a lot of criticism of the game that really has little to do with the actual game itself.
- There's lots of cameos here from previous games. I had actually forgotten about several of the previous party members who showed up until I read a couple summaries. Was fun to notice characters after that reminder.
- Again, I can't say enough about how awesome the ending was. My only gripe was that

Spoiler:

apparently at least one party member has to sacrifice themselves against Ghilan'nain. Mine ended up as Harding, which really, really stung.

- Speaking of characters

Spoiler:

the reveal about Varric's death was a serious gut punch as well. He and Morrigan have been my favorite characters throughout the DA series and while they handled his role extremely well, it still sucked to see him go

Overall, this game was a solid A, bordering on A+. Unless something comes out of the blue over the next month, it'll easily be my GOTY. After a somewhat slow start, I thoroughly enjoyed this game.

[Scoop20906]

I’m about 20 hours into Dragon Age: Veilguard (I’ve almost filled out my team) and wanted to share my impressions so far. I remember reading that the producer of Baldur’s Gate 3 said he loved Veilguard and praised Bioware for finally deciding what they want Dragon Age to be. After playing, I realized I agree with that sentiment.

Dragon Age: Origins was an incredible old-school RPG, full of replayability and branching storylines—a true masterpiece. But one unique feature of Origins was the specific backstories (the titular "Origins") for the Hero of Ferelden. While it added depth, it also meant sacrificing some of the RPG freedom that comes with a completely customizable main character. In classic RPGs, you shape your character entirely, from their stats to their morality (good, evil, or even chaotic). Giving a defined backstory inherently limits some of that freedom.

With Dragon Age 2, Bioware pivoted sharply toward narrative-driven storytelling, creating a more focused and personal experience. You were Hawke, and while you had many choices, they were all woven into a tightly controlled storyline. I loved Dragon Age 2, but I remember there was significant backlash over the shift away from traditional RPG elements.

Then came Dragon Age: Inquisition, which tried to blend player agency with an open-world experience. Bioware introduced a sprawling world map, allowing players to explore zones and progress the story in a non-linear order. While the game had a backstory and branching elements, the main narrative often felt overshadowed by the need to give players freedom in the open world. The endless side quests and busywork diluted the core story—so much so that it felt like Corypheus, the main antagonist, disappeared midway through the game, binge-watching Netflix while you ran errands.

This brings me to Dragon Age: Veilguard. It feels like Bioware is returning to the Dragon Age 2 formula: a focused, tight story with some player choices but less emphasis on traditional RPG elements. Instead, the game prioritizes telling an engaging story, which I think is a smart move.

I do agree with Skinypupy that the early game is the weakest part, but now that I’ve unlocked more companions and started doing their quests, the game is picking up momentum. I’m also getting into the groove with combat, and I absolutely love the simplified weapon and armor management—no more tedious inventory shuffling! The skill tree design is also reminiscent of Dragon Age 2, which I appreciate.

In summary, I think Bioware is on the right track with Veilguard. If I had one suggestion, it would be to bring back more of the meaningful branching choices we saw in Dragon Age 2. For now, though, I’m hooked and looking forward to see what happens next in the game.

Spoiler:

I am just about to recruit Emmrich and Taash.

[Skinypupy]

With Dragon Age 2, Bioware pivoted sharply toward narrative-driven storytelling, creating a more focused and personal experience. You were Hawke, and while you had many choices, they were all woven into a tightly controlled storyline. I loved Dragon Age 2, but I remember there was significant backlash over the shift away from traditional RPG elements.

I remember most of DA2 backlash being from small, cramped areas that were reused over and over again, causing the game to feel very same-y throughout.

While Veilguard does focus on smaller zones (as opposed to the open world of Inquisition), each zone is good sized and varied, with a ton of nooks and crannies to explore and secrets to uncover. They did a good job of balancing the fun of exploration with smaller zones.

It also helps that the game is gorgeous. There were several instances where I would simply stop and take in the stunning views of cityscapes, snowy mountain peaks, or creepy catacombs. It ramps up to 11 near the end, with some sequences that had my jaw on the floor. One of my favorites was:

Spoiler:

Ascending the Blight tower ruins while Solas' giant wolf form and Elgar'nan's Archdemon battled, crashing through the walls into the middle of your fights against Darkspawn and flying through the background. It was truly a spectacle to behold.

[AWS260]

One of my favorites was:

Spoiler:

Ascending the Blight tower ruins while Solas' giant wolf form and Elgar'nan's Archdemon battled, crashing through the walls into the middle of your fights against Darkspawn and flying through the background. It was truly a spectacle to behold.

I just finished the game and that was awesome. Also

Spoiler:

Harding! What a hero.

[Skinypupy]

Also

Spoiler:

Harding! What a hero.

I read that it can be

Spoiler:

Either Harding or Davrin who makes the sacrifice. While Davrin wouldn’t have had nearly the emotional impact (seriously…losing Harding was crushing), I would be very interested to see what happens to Assan in the aftermath.

I also wish they would have added some ways to carry over decisions and/or characters from DA:I. After playing through that game multiple times, it was really weird to have the

Spoiler:

Inquisitor

show up as a completely different person than the one I had used. Granted, there were some minor story beats that would have made that tricky, such as

Spoiler:

the Inquisitor and Solas being romantically linked

but I think they could have gotten around that, as it didn’t have a huge impact on the story.

[AWS260]

After playing through that game multiple times, it was really weird to have the

Spoiler:

Inquisitor

show up as a completely different person than the one I had used.

Spoiler:

I designed the Inquisitor based on my extremely hazy memories from playing DA:I. Looking back on my posts in our DA:I thread, it turns out that my memory was even worse than I thought: while I remembered her as a human woman, my Inquisitor was actually a male dwarf. Oops. In my defense, one of my criticisms in that thread was "unlike the NPCs, the main character is a cipher."

Another takeaway that I posted in that thread: "Scout Harding is the best." She sure was.

[gbasden]

I grabbed this while I was in gaming doldrums. I love the story, and the voice acting is fantastic. I love the setting. The combat, unfortunately, leaves me cold as I thought it would. There's not much in the way of strategy or tactics. Why do I need to use my bow when there's a blue health bar and my swords don't work? They needed a rock paper scissors mechanism, I guess. Maybe it gets better over time, but right now I'm mostly playing through to advance the story. Which is excellent, for sure.