Dragon Age: The Veilguard PS5 Review. Since the release of Dragon Age: Inquisition, BioWare has had a rough time finding its footing and adapting to the ever-changing landscape of RPGs. With two significant fumbles from a commercial standpoint with Anthem and Mass Effect: Andromeda, BioWare has returned to the Dragon Age franchise after ten years. Fortunately, this decision is both a glorious return for not only the series, but the studio as a whole.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard PS5 Review
A Story Ten Years In The Making
Dragon Age: The Veilguard takes place ten years after the events of the Inquisition, with Varric on the heels of Solas for betraying the Inquisition. Varric and his new ally Rook track Solas down, where he begins his ritual of opening the Fade to save the world in his eyes. After an intense encounter, Solas’s plan is thwarted by Rook, but it’s not sunshine and rainbows, as interfering with such a powerful spell has unleashed two Elven gods that Solas had sealed away.
As the story unfolds, we learn that Solas sealed these evil gods before and was trying to move them to a different prison in the Fade, as the one he sealed them away in was beginning to weaken. Of course, this was at the cost of thousands of lives at the hands of demons unleashed by Solas opening the Fade.
Rook is your custom-created character. Once again, you can choose your race from Human, Dwarven, Elvan, or Quinari. Though the character creator is expansive, it’s not on the same level as Baldur’s Gate 3. You’re still free to create someone unique to you. You can also craft the “Hero” of the Inquisition and select specific story moments that transpired. You can’t carry over your save from Inquisition, but you can at least decide critical moments of that story.
A Varied Cast Of Heroes
Though the story is mainly about Rook gathering allies to stop these Elven Gods, Solas plays a significant role. Most of it revolves around Solas and his rebellion against his breather Gods. A lot goes into the story in Veilguard, and learning about Solas’s past is one of the most intriguing aspects of the game.
There are even missions where we relive the moments of Solas’s rebellion and battle with his brethren. The Veilguard, much like the Inquisition, is composed of warriors from all corners of Thedas—a Qunari dragon hunter, a Necromancer, and, of course, the ever-popular Gray Warden.
The party this time around is unique and entertaining. Emmrich the Necromancer is my favorite; he reminds me of Raul Julia’s Gomez Addams from the Addams Family film. He’s also accompanied by a skeleton assistant who acts more like a butler, always seen carrying around a tray of tea.
Each character’s unique personality allows them to mesh with each other. Even the characters who don’t necessarily get along find ways to interact. The game’s fantastic writing, which ranges from emotional and heartwarming moments to comedic ones, helps bring the Veilguard to life.
Great Writing Plays Like An Epic Tolkien Story
Is it my favorite set of party members through four Dragon Age games? Not necessarily, but each game had those few members you loved more than others, and Veilguard is no exception.
You’ll run into some cameos from the franchise, including past party members, but they don’t have as much impact as hoped. It’s sad to see how some of the more liked characters in the franchise end up inconsequential to the story.
This can also be said about Origins and Dragon Age 2. As much as people want these games to matter to the overall story of Veilguard, they bring very little from their story. If you want to get into the franchise, Inquisition is your starting point, as it’s the only thing that truly matters in the grand scheme of things.
Actions Have Consequences
For those wondering, your decisions in Veilguard play a considerable role and have significant consequences for Thedas and your party. I had to decide which city to save when two came under attack simultaneously. Your party takes sides, but two of my members hailed from each city. My decision would lead to a city being overrun by the Blight and the other saved.
This changed the entire landscape of the city and caused a party member to leave the Veilguard for a considerable amount of time. But the consequences didn’t end there. When they eventually returned to my party, they became “Hardend.”
This stopped them from using support abilities to help the party, and they became less trusting of me and my decisions, making it harder to build a bond with them.
Decorating A Base Is Always Fun
Your base of operations is the Lighthouse—an old base used by Solas and his companions during his rebellion. The Lighthouse is in the Fade and features some gravity-defying buildings floating all over the sky.
As you unlock more party members, more areas open up in the Lighthouse for you to explore. Each party member gets their room, which they decorate throughout the story, giving it a nice lived-in feel.
You can also decorate your room with wall decorations and artifacts you find on your travels. You can even set a theme for the Lighthouse, such as Dwarven or Elven. The Lighthouse also comes with a Caretaker. As a spirit that has been around for years, the Caretaker can upgrade your gear and even socket rare gems to provide extra stats to your gear.
Each of the game’s various shops can also be upgraded as you earn favor from the game’s multiple factions, which you can use to upgrade the shops of these factions to buy better gear for your party or more cosmetics items.
Secrets Hide In The Fade
The Lighthouse leads you to the Crossroads. Solas used this mysterious part of the Fade to traverse Thedas using the Eluvian, a mirror that allowed him to travel to parts of the continent at a whim. This power mirror is now in your possession and will enable you to traverse Thedas as you see fit.
The Crossroads hides many secrets and plenty of quests involving the location. Not only is this Sola’s little playground, but it has also become infected with the Blight, so Darkspawn roams free. There are hidden paths to unlock, Chapioan Darkspawn to slay, and secrets of the Dread Wolf to unlock.
Thedas is a vast continent; you can visit many of it in Veilguard. The world is massive, with plenty of varied locations, from snowy mountains, gorgeous beaches, and even the ancient Necropolis City, home to the Necromancers.
A Massive World To Explore
Most of the game’s story missions are linear, which I appreciated as it allowed me to focus on my objective instead of getting sidetracked like I did in the larger areas in Inquisition.
The game does feature more open areas to explore. These areas open up more and more as you progress and unlock more of your party members. You’ll complete side quests and companion-specific story missions in these more extensive areas. All of these are worth doing as the game’s side-quests are expansive and add a lot to the lore of Dragon Age, and some even expand the narrative. These aren’t mere fetch quests.
As you explore, you will find plenty of loot and chests. The game encourages you to explore and solve the many environmental puzzles it has to offer. Your reward for this is new gear and rare crafting material. Solving environmental puzzles can even earn you extra skill points.
Fast And Smooth Combat Is Tense And Engaging
BioWare has expanded on the combat from Dragon Age: Inquisition with a faster and smoother combat experience. It’s easy to hack and slash your way to victory on easier difficulty, but on harder difficulties, it shines.
Yes, the combat makes The Veilguard feel more like an action game, which may deter fans hoping for a more traditional turn-based take, but combat has been heading for a more action-oriented style sine the days of Dragon Age II.
I loved the combat in Veilguard. The smooth animations and flow of attacking, dodging, and parrying attacks were like butter to me. Indicators that appear over your character when an attack is about to strike allow you to parry and counter it, which has become the norm in third-person melee combat games.
Tactical Menu Allows You To Give Commands To Party Members.
Dodging attacks and moving around the battlefield is easy and looks excellent. Your party members act independently but can receive commands to pull off special attacks and support abilities. You can even combine attacks that go together to unleash a devastating combination that results in an explosion.
It’s a shame you can’t take control of your party this time, as I wanted to try out their unique abilities. This is the only downside to combat, but it allowed me to focus on the combat and what I was doing rather than constantly jumping between characters.
An Expansive Skill Tree Allows You To Build Your Character To Your Play Style
An extensive skill tree provides plenty of passive skills and abilities. Each of the three classes, Warrior, Rogue, and Sorcerror, has four sub-classes you can choose to build your character towards. The Rogue, for example, can unlock sub-classes that allow them to use tools like torrents to throw down on the battlefield or grenades.
You can also focus on being an archer and unlock unique skills like shooting down arrows in a large area or shooting electric arrows in a cone. There are plenty of options and the best part about it is you can respec whenever you want and it doesn’t cost you anything.
Your party members also have their skill tree. Though it’s not as robust as Rook’s, you can focus on the abilities you want them to use the most based on how you build your character.
Playing Dress Up
Equipment and loot are plentiful, and you can upgrade the gear. Each time you upgrade a piece of gear, it increases in rarity and unlocks new perks.
Gear also has cosmetic glamour put on it. You can buy various glamour items and wear them to dress up your character. What if you pick some gear that’s great for stats but doesn’t look that great on Rook? You can always glamour over it with a piece you like. It’s just another thing that other games hide rare items available to you right from the get-go.
The game’s visuals are stunning. The vistas and character models are top-notch, making me want to live in the world’s best parts. It’s easily one of the best-looking games this year. The soundtrack is also exceptional, with an incredible orchestral score and great voice acting, especially from Brian Bloom, the voice of Varric, who also acts as the game’s narrator.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Is A Must Have For All RPG Fans
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a great return to form for BioWare and the Dragon Age franchise. If what I’ve experienced in Veilguard is any indication, I have high hopes for the return of Mass Effect.
BioWare seems to have provided everything I’ve ever wanted from the Dragon Age franchise. I loved everything about my time in Veilguard, from its fantastic and fun combat, excellent exploration and world-building, fantastic writing, and fun characters. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a late Game of the Year Contender that shouldn’t be missed.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard will be released on October 31, 2024, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Review code kindly provided by PR