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Dragon Age: The Veilguard hands-off: The start of a new Dragon Age
J
Jess Reyes
You and your teammates attempt to stop the elven god Solas from tearing down the Veil between worlds and unleashing a legion of demons into Thedas. His plan fails, instead releasing a pair of warring demons into the bustling fantasy metropolis of Minrathousa. One risky mission for the team turns into a lengthy journey to stop two powerful deities from taking over the world.
While every character starts the same, they can ultimately make choices that shape their playthroughs into unique experiences. The development team defined three pillars that it wanted to emphasize in Veilguard: being who you want to be (character creation), creating a world worth saving (worldbuilding), and building relationships with an unforgettable team. Here’s what that means in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Be who you want to be
Like past Dragon Age games, Veilguard encourages players to roleplay as any type of character they want. You are Rook; aside from the name, you’re free to be who you want to be. You can customize your character’s appearance, including skin color, body type, and hair that mimics the texture and movement it would have in real life. For those who don’t want to spend hours shaping their faces and bodies, presets can also help you quickly decide on a character design to get started.
From there, classes and factions further define your character. Classes like rogues and mages determine your playstyle. Meanwhile, factions affect your character’s past and personality. Altogether, these traits blend into a unique character whose actions significantly affect the story. Right away, the opening chapter leads you into roleplaying as your own character, with at least three different responses to each situation and consequences that could lead to a fight.
A world worth saving
Veilguard starts in the fantasy city of Minrathous. The opening chapter fleshes out the culture of the city's less scrupulous neighborhoods and your character’s conflict resolution skills before giving you the information you need to understand the gravity of the starting mission.
Beyond that is the Lighthouse, a HQ where you and the gang gather to plan and learn about the world, rest up, and chat with each other before adventuring out. Thedas’s separate regions are connected by The Crossroads, which will allow players to venture out into the forested Rivain region, the imposing Weisshaupt area, the magical Arlathan region, the labyrinthian Deep Roads, and more.
An unforgettable team
Veilguard quickly introduces key characters that accompany you during your journey. Many are drawn from recognizable Dragon Age lore, like the Veil Jumper Bellara, the necromancer Emmrich, and the private detective Neve. Veilguard brings you straight into a high-stakes mission that could easily be a final boss in a different game. Each character has a unique kit that works differently during battle and a personality that plays off of the other members of your team.
Your character development isn’t set in stone. You may bond with some teammates more than others based on how you defined your hero in the character creation phase, or the choices you make throughout your journey. These choices include shared experiences, directing them during an important moment, and so on. Your responses might appeal to some comrades more than others. These also tie into relationship mechanics that can strengthen characters based on their bonds.
A new Dragon Age
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a standalone game. While it touches upon past Dragon Age games, you don’t need to play them to understand the new storyline. The opening chapter teaches beginners lore that they need to know to understand the story and eases them into combat. It also references Venatori cultists and Eluvian mirrors, two throwbacks to past games like Inquisition. Veilguard is here to pull in new players, but gives experienced players plenty of nods and references. The development team stressed that it wasn’t necessary to play older games unless you want to, and Veilguard was developed with newcomers in mind.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is coming to the Epic Games Store in fall 2024.
For more on Summer Game Fest, check out our full recap of the live presentation here. We also have rundowns for the rest of the festivities, including the PC Gaming Show, the Future Games Show, and Guerilla Collective.