PC Games

Published on December 15th, 2024 | by Andrew Bistak

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Steam Deck Review

If there is one game that has divided the internet this year… it would be Dragon Age: The Veilguard and all for the wrong reasons. And to quote the Goddess of Pop herself…

‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play

And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate

Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

I shake it off, I shake it off (hoo-hoo-hoo)

With that said, I thoroughly enjoyed Dragon Age: The Veilguard on the PlayStation 5 and with the recent official launch of the Steam Deck in Australia, I wanted to give this console a run for its money with one of the biggest Triple A titles of 2024. And more importantly, how did it run on this handheld console? It had the green Steam Deck “verified” tick, so it must be fine, right?

After a 100GB download, it was time to check out The Veilguard on Australia’s newest handheld, the Steam Deck. Once the game loaded onto the Steam Deck and my newest Dragon Age avatar completed (now male), I purposely left all the settings as is. Why tweak it if I didn’t have to? And remember it had the green verified tick, so EA must have already done their magic. As I was walking, running, exploring, fighting and completing puzzles through the various cities, forests and otherworldly places (e.g. The Lighthouse) of Thedas, I was impressed with the graphical detail and stable framerate of around 30 frames per second on the Deck.

Sure, it was not as smooth as the PlayStation 5 or PS5 Pro, even streaming to the PS Portal but wow … the game was installed locally on this handheld and more importantly it played well with very responsive controls. Having completed the game on the PS5 Pro, I completed it on the Steam Deck just a couple of days ago, courtesy of a return flight from Melbourne to Sydney with lots of jealous looks from passengers next to me. In terms of battery life on the Steam Deck, I managed to get around 3-hours which nicely covered my waiting at the airport and the flights themselves. But yes, this game was Steam Deck verified and it played like a warrior!

And the game itself? …

Like the previous games, your decisions will have consequences as you play as Rook who must help unite the Veilguard in order to thwart an evil that threatens the very world itself. So yes, you’re up the river Stix without a paddle! Although Dragon Age game harkens back to a more classic formula from Bioware, it adds a more next-gen gaming experience which keeps the title fresh and engaging. Climbing, jumping, zip lines – The Veilgurad may feel like an adventure game but it is also steeped in engaging RPG mechanics.

As a story and without spoiling it too much, BioWare should be praised for its complexity that can be played from an adventure game perspective or from a more RPG slant, depending on your preferred style of play. The strong narrative is made up of multiple stories, ones that crossover and ones linked to the various side quests and your companion’s quests. Again, choices will determine how some of these stories will unfold. So yes, while there is a common narrative that all players experience, there are also different paths that will influence your own experience of this Dragon Age game. The game does break the fourth wall with some of its social commentaries with some matching the narrative well, whereas others felt a little too contrived.

Nonetheless, The Veilguard is very player focused and you do get to create and customise your character, their race, class and faction prior to your journey in Thedas, including the flexibility to change the difficulty level on the fly. Needless to say, I spent a great deal of time fine-tuning my character “Rook” before it was time for him to put on His Veil Jumper boots. And here is my Avatar for Dragon Age the Veilguard…

Kudos to BioWare for making me care about my Avatar Rook (a second time) – his personality and how you interact with other characters (even romance) is all directed by the player. And yes, thousands and thousands of gamers will follow my path and vice versa but it still feels that my Rook is mine with his back story and of course the choices he makes. I also like how Rook has this fun banter between one of the “villains” with both needing each other that makes it like a game of chess. As a result, you become quite invested in your character and the story behind The Veilguard. Of course the double cross and unexpected twist near the end were great narratives to the overarching story.

As The Veilguard is an action-RPG, there are several ways to play the game, whether that’s purely action or more strategic by slowing down the combat or a mixture of both. So if you’re a seasoned RPG veteran and want a more souls like experience, that is possible, however if you just want to enjoy the story without the complexities of combat, that’s another way to play as well which makes the game more of a hack ‘n slash but you can still order your companions during battles. And if you want to fully experience this game, give yourself a good 80 – 100 hours and then some. And yes, keeping to the main campaign will reduce this but you will miss out on some great side quests and lore… don’t speed run because your ending will literally suck.

The game also starts like an RPG blockbuster as you (aka Rook) and your friend Varric are walking through the streets of Minrathous before chaos literally explodes. Thanks to the Elven God Solas (as we discovered in Dragon Age: Inquisition), he wants to breach The Veil of the living and that of The Fade in order to restore the power of the Elves. Although Rook stops the ritual with help from his allies, two ancient Elven Gods have escaped in the fray and unfortunately they have been corrupted by the blight which is causing death and destruction, including activating ancient artefacts, not to mention hordes of demons. Thankfully for the denizens of Thedas, Rook and her or his companions (The Veilguard) are the only ones between Solas and his new “ancient” world order. You also learn if Solas is indeed the Ancient God of Lies, the Dread Wolf or Heroic Rebel… depending on what story you listen to… and of course the choices you make.

Who are the Veilguard? Joining Rook is once again narrator Varric Tethras (Brian Bloom), scout Lace Harding (Ali Hillis), Mage Neve Gallus (Jessica Clark), Antivan Crow Assassin Lucanis who is possessed by a demon, the Grey Warden Darvin, Veil Jumper Tinker Bellara, Quinari Dragon Hunter Taash and necromancer Emmrich. Best of all, each of the Veilguard have their own interesting and sometimes complicated history which works well with the themes of this Dragon Age game. Also supporting the narrative is that they have their own personality and soul which makes them more than just another NPC. You actually care about them that makes some of the tough choices even tougher. Besides their prowess on the battlefield such as Taash and her dragon hunting skills, they are needed to help solve puzzles and reach places that mere mortals like Rook can’t reach such as Lucanis and his demonic abilities.

Depending on the class you select at the start of the game which includes Mage, Rogue and Warrior, this will influence the combat style that Rook uses. Although the three classes harken back to the traditional Dungeons & Dragons archetypes, they can be fine-tuned even more by the faction you select. Here are the following classes and factions in Dragon Age the Veilguard;

Mage
Death Caller (Faction Mourn Watch): Necromancy magic
Spellblade (Faction Antivan Crows): Melee magic
Evoker (Faction Shadow Dragons): Elemental magic

Rogue
Duelist (Faction Antivan Crows): Fast Double bladed combat
Saboteur (Faction Lords of Fortune): Master of traps and tricks in combat
Veil Ranger (Faction Veil Jumpers): Ranged combat

Warrior
Champion (Faction Grey Wardens : Weapon and shield combination combat
Reaper (Faction Mourn Watch): Stealth combat
Slayer (Lords of Fortune): Two handed weapons

As you progress you are awarded experience points that can then be used to purchase additional skills for your characters. Additionally, weapons and armour can be upgraded and the world of Thedas is littered with these, including powerful trinkets and of course potions to replenish your health during combat.

The combat of The Veilguard is fun and I played the game on a more action hack ‘n slash level that gave Rook access to quick attacks, slow and powerful attacks, finishing moves and some devastating power-ups that almost made her like a wrestler out of the WWE. By the end of the game, Rook became a true powerhouse. On the higher difficulty, you do need to coordinate your team, especially when you are taking on “bosses” in order to protect the weaker members of your team while they unleash magical fire from above.

As mentioned, the controls are perfectly mapped on the Steam Deck with no issues whatsoever but rather a very flawless gaming experience from start to finish. The only hiccup I had at times were some of the timing jumps, especially if the frame rate slightly dropped but thankfully the game restarts you in a similar place. So all in all, the gameplay and story of The Dragon Age: The Veilguard comes together perfectly.

Graphically, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a very detailed game on the Steam Deck which does mirror the PS5 well and it has received a huge facelift over its predecessors. It reminds me of the jump from The Witcher 2 to the Wither 3. The world building is fantastic with all the different areas that you will explore. Add in detailed textures, lighting and special effects (particularly from magic) and with the realistic character models and The Veilguard captures you from the very first moment you step foot into the game.

Further some of the cities that visit feel like real bustling cities with its different people, races and classes that makes it quite a treat to explore. Even with the reduced resolution and detail, the game still looks amazing on the Steam Deck. Audio is equally as good and the voice acting of The Veilguard is perfect and like a movie at times. The soundtrack also works well with the gameplay as does the myriad of sound effects that bring the world of Thedas to the forefront.

Final Thoughts?

Like on the PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro, I seriously enjoyed my time (and still am) in the world of Dragon Age: The Veilguard and it is easily in my top three games of 2024. BioWare has done a wonderful job at revisiting this franchise from its engaging narrative, realistic characters and gameplay that takes RPG to a whole new realm. Best of all, it works extremely well on the Steam Deck with its next-gen graphics and superb audio.

It’s definitely Steam Deck verified and also GAMING FUN VERIFIED!

About the Author

Andrew Bistak When he's not trying to save the world, Andrew enjoys travel (although loathes turbulence), going to the movies, reading and being a dad to his two dogs (and now twins) with his wife.

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