Ladies and gentlemen, Dragon Age is back… but it's not the Dragon Age we remember. Almost ten years have passed since the release of Inquisition, and the same time separates that game from the new The Veilguard (formerly Dreadwolf). After what was certainly a disappointing cinematic trailer, BioWare and Electronic Arts shared a “first look” that extends for twenty minutes. The message is clear: More action, a compact team, elements from other franchises, a character creator in which we will burn entire hours… and relationships. Many relationships.
Dragon Age: Origins hit shelves in November 2009. A different time, even a different world. Filling the shoes of giants like Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights was not an easy task, but with more than three million copies sold, the birth of a new universe was guaranteed.
Fast forward fifteen years, and Dragon Age finds itself in a complex situation: The nostalgia for the first game and the impact of titles like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Elden Ring force the franchise to come out strong after almost a decade of absence (the last DLC of Inquisition, Trespasser, appeared in September 2015), and BioWare's response is Dragon Age: The Veilguard. This is its gameplay:
20 Minutes of Dragon Age: The Veilguard
The demo throws us into the heart of Minrathous, capital of the Tevinter Imperium, with two characters at the center of the action: Varric Tethras, whom we can already declare as “the” icon of the franchise, and our new hero, Rook. Here he is a Rogue linked to the Shadow Dragons (an organization that opposes slavery in Tevinter), but we can customize several aspects of Rook, and BioWare has placed much, much emphasis on this: Human, elf, dwarf, or Qunari among the races, Warrior, Mage, and Rogue as classes, and three specializations for each. Backstories, pronouns, dozens of hairstyles, skin tones, lighting… the idea is that the player “loses themselves” in the character creator. Something similar happens with the world in general: There will be no possibility of importing a savegame from Inquisition, but you will be able to define previous events.
The story is in line with what we expected to see: Rook and Varric track down Solas, who wishes to tear the Veil and “restore the old world”. First they meet Lace Harding (one of the most beloved characters in Inquisition), and then they are joined by Neve Gallus, a “private investigator” with great mastery of magic. Thus we arrive at one of the most important changes in The Veilguard: The only “tactical” aspect left is the Skill Wheel (undoubtedly inspired by the Power Wheel from Mass Effect), but the rest is real-time action. If at times the game feels like God of War or Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order… it's not a mistake. Finally, another detail: The total number of companions rises to seven (and all will be available to start romances), but when it comes to fighting, Rook can only take two.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard will arrive on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X in “fall” 2024.
