Dragon Age: The Veilguard

I finished the game and it was fine, It lacked all the things that made the previous ones great

The comradely and team dynamics were always the strength, this just sucked I didn't really like any of them except the two that have a fixed endgame death.

The dialogue was so forced it hurt and the social scenarios so unrealistic. No matter what you were forced to react nicely to everything. Just lacked so much potential personality

Fighting was fun enough I suppose.

Just wish they put in the effort for the majority again instead of trying so hard to be current they would have done so well to just build a world that fit within the universe and didn't try so hard.

On its own, this isn't a bad game, not a great game but certainly not a bad game. Theres lots in there, it looks pretty, the fighting can be fun at times. Theres a very enjoyable story with some brilliant lore, that has obviously been planned since Origins, 15 years ago. Some of the voice performances are excellent (mainly the returning cast members) But this game isn't on its own, or rather it shouldn't be. Its Dragon Age 4 - it stands on the shoulders of the previous 3 games. DA: O and DA: I are two of the best games Ive ever played. Massive, gritty, detailed, epic and intricate stories where the effect of every choice you made rippled through the story and into the following games, with characters, relationships and storylines that players became highly invested in. Combat was epic and strategic; the crafting was a subgame in itself - even the bard in the tavern racked up hundreds of hours of players stopping what they were doing just to listen to her. That depth is missing from veilguard, its like a lightweight episode or a DLC. Inquisition won game of the year and was considered by players and critics alike as a masterpiece, Veilguard is its sequel and follows on from the MASSIVE cliffhanger/plot twist from the end of Inquisition. So what does Veilguard improve on from Inquisition? Nothing Im afraid, (well, actually I think I prefer the talent system in veilguard, but that's a very small difference) I know veilguard went through development hell, following on from Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem, EA's influence at bioware has undoubtably been disastrous. Unfortunately, many of the main staff behind ME and DA have left and their absence is noticeable in veilguard.

Again, this is a decent game in its own right, but as the sequel to Inquisition, the game I've been waiting for, for a decade - its ultimately disappointing.

Dragon Age has always been my absolute favorite game franchise due to the character development and the story. I always felt like you really got to know your companions, which were rich and diverse characters. However, Veilguard was a huge disappointment for me. The characters were shallow, unrealistic, and 1 dimensional. I feel like each character had one defining personality trait and that's all they get. Rook's conversations were also so disappointing and sometimes just embarrassingly bad. IMO dragon age spent so much time on looks and mechanics that they forgot what was most important which was the story and the relationships.

I've heard lots of hate toward the game. It's unwarranted. Half the criticism comes from false reviews. I've actually prepared by replaying the old games. This game does indeed hold up as a real Dragon Age game. There is careful consideration of unified lore, something Bioware does best. Plenty of easter eggs. Combat, Skill Tree, and item customization feel like a blend of DA2 and DAI. But are there cons? Of course. While CC is great, we have chins of power snd some "unique" character design choices. I wish we could choose the body language in our Rook. Otherwise, it feels lije Humorous Hawke 2.0. Butas a general game tester - I'm happy.

I'll say I'm about 5 hours in right now and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. For being a soft reboot of the DA series it feels gritty and dark, yet fun and light. The characters feel individual and their voice actors are spectacular. I will definitely say I do miss some of the open world at times. But I definitely appreciate it creating a tight quest and level based world and not trying to do too much, and fall short. There's rpg elements, the build craft system is excellent, the combat is fast paced and furious...the hits feel solid where they need to be and weak where they need to be. I'm still not a pro at dodge vs shield but that's a skill issue haha. All in all DA:V does storytelling and gameplay like DA:2 did, but better.

I do wish there was more world building from the first 2 games, but again, I understand this is a soft reboot and this is what they intended to do. I'm on board fully with this one.