How Dragon Age: The Veilguard Reinvented RPGs and Saved BioWare

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard is not only the return of BioWare but a sign that the world of RPGs is evolving, let's find out how in our review

A lot was on BioWare's shoulders on the day of the launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard because this title is not only the continuation of a franchise that had been dormant for 10 years, but has quickly become synonymous, in the minds of historical fans of the series, with the redemption of the iconic software house after the slip-up of Mass Effect Andromeda and the disaster of Anthem.

After more than 60 hours in the company of Rook (our playable character), his seven supporting characters (all wooable), and the villains of this chapter, we can say that Bioware has managed to bring out its role-playing spirit even evolving the concept of role-playing video games.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard began life as a live service project several years ago, which eventually transitioned into a monumental single-player experience filled with side activities. What the game was, however, is evident as you progress : the explorable maps are designed to be returned to, the primary and secondary mission activities take you back to places you've already visited, and the entire game revolves around a main hub where you have your room and side characters to chat with.

The other live service scar of Veilguard is its lack of customization of the plot which, regardless of the player's choices, is directed in a very specific direction. There are no permanent removals of companions, blocked areas or narrative threads and missions that become inaccessible. Your choices have consequences that, however, are never definitive , they could make some objectives easier or more complex to achieve, but nothing you might regret.

You will be the judge of whether this choice is a corruption of what BioWare has done in the past or whether it is a solution for those who are afraid of making the wrong choice and fear having to start the game over because they have forever barred themselves from a path they wanted to follow. We had the feeling, playing Veilguard, of always being free to choose precisely because there could be no dramatic consequences to our actions. We really can't give a verdict on this design choice in a positive or negative sense: this is why we say that RPGs have evolved with Veilguard, you will decide whether for the better or not.

Putting aside the role-playing side for a moment, the other aspect of this game that made us enjoy was the combat. The comfortable and effective balance between real time and strategy is one of the highest points of the experience. This Dragon Age is a third-person action game that, however, can be frozen at any time to manage your group of adventurers, direct them towards a particular enemy or use their (and our) special abilities. This mix, combined with the immortality of the companions, is a recipe that works, is fun and makes the fights adrenaline-filled and never too cumbersome.

The trigger (a status applied to an enemy) and detonator (an activated ability) system is intuitive to learn and fits well into the scheme of light and heavy attacks, parries (even perfect ones) and the aforementioned abilities. There are sequences to respect , cooldowns to manage and synergies to build in an experience that, above all, works.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard, then, has chosen a decidedly atypical recipe for everything that concerns the aesthetic side of the game and here you will only have to watch a few trailers to understand if it is to your liking or not. The style is not that of the previous chapters, indeed, it is colorful and saturated with a strange overlapping of references not only to classic fantasy, but also to several of its subgenres that could turn up the nose of some.

Here too we appreciated the tones, the colors, the customizations, the atmospheres and the contrasts of this game, aware of their discontinuity with the past and their potential for the future. The quality is there, it is undeniable, the target audience, however, is not that of the veterans of the series or super fans of role-playing games. This time too you will have to decide for yourself whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

BioWare has overcome its missteps of recent years with Dragon Age: The Veilguard . The experience we had in our hands is solid, deep, fun and capable of moving. The work that went into it is evident and the choices made in the design phase have a significant impact on how the finished product leaves those who have experienced it at the end of its story. If you loved the Dragon Ages of the past, we recommend you try it with the awareness that discontinuity is the master. If you love role-playing games in general, even here you might be able to squeeze a lot of fun from this work because its formula has something to say, but you might not like it.

If you love third-person action , however, you can't help but give this title a chance because you will find yourself with the most profound exponent of the genre in terms of options and variables. And what if BioWare, with Veilguard, had created the perfect gateway to the hardest and purest role-playing world? Only the test of time will be able to give us an answer.