Dragon Age the Veilguard Review (Dragon Age: The Veilguard PS5 Review)
Summary: Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the perfect follow-up to this amazing series!
5
Perfection!
As a gaming franchise and surprisingly, it’s been 10-years since the last Dragon Age game was released with Dragon Age: Inquisition (18-Nov-2024) that undeniably became a hit with gamers across the globe. As an RPG, it also introduced various social commentaries into the story that made it a much more realistic tale of good vs evil, including the blurring of these boundaries. Needless to say, the tapestry of this RPG universe was not only complex but quite engaging and if you’re looking for a refresher on this series, our previous review can be found here.
The battle continues…
So here we are again (with greatly improved gaming tech) as we walk the lands of Thedas in Dragon Age: The Veilguard for another perilous adventure and although it’s been a long-time since I ventured into this world, it was both familiar yet different… and I was home again. 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!
As a developer BioWare is synonymous in creating rich RPG (Role Playing Game) worlds such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Mass Effect 2 was easily one of their greatest games and although the developer had a hiccup with Mass Effect: Andromeda, it’s good to know that they are back to their professional gaming development form with Dragon Age: The Veilguard. So although their latest Dragon Age game harkens back to a more classic formula, it also feature next-gen gaming as well 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 (even though the game is already released), BioWare should be praised on its complexity that can be played from an adventure game perspective or from a more RPG slant, depending on you preferred style of play. The strong narrative is made up of up 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 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 in fine-tuning my character “Rook” before it was time for her to put on her Grey Warden boots. And here is my Avatar for Dragon Age the Veilguard…
Kudos to BioWare for making me care about my Avatar Rook – her 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 her back story and of course the choices she 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.
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.
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 her 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 be 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 protect the weaker members of your team while they unleash magical fire from above.
Also supporting the smooth gameplay are the controls which are perfectly mapped on the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller 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 and if you’re a PlayStation Portal player, the game ran perfectly on this remote access device. 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 PlayStation 5 and it has received a huge facelift over its predecessors. It reminds me when 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. You can also tweak the user-interface to support your play through of the game such as removing Rook’s health or Mini-Map to make the gameplay even more challenging. Additionally BioWware have included some accessibility aids to make the game more accessible as well. 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
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 have done a wonderful job at revisiting this franchise from its engaging narrative, realistic characters and gameplay that takes RPG to a whole new realm. With next-gen graphics, superb audio, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is gunning for game of the year!
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