Ten years of development hell and too many lead writers after Dragon Age: Inquisition, we finally got our hands on the fourth game in the series. I’m certain anyone who happened to follow its development cycle was shocked that it’d actually come to be. But it did, putting players in the shoes of Rook, a nobody whom more important people recruited to spare the world from Solas – an elven god who got so annoyed by losing the rights to the game’s subtitle that he decided to turn up the evil to 11. And now Rook is forced to embark on a dangerous adventure to solve tasks ranging from mundane to wildly epic, gain favour of powerful factions spread across Thedas, and engage in other kinds of everyday business.

It’s a mixed review, by the way.

THE GOOD

• What I love about the Dragon Age series is that each game offers a distinct style of gameplay. From the tactical combat of Origins, through animesque whatever-it-is in the second game, to a bag of everything in Inquisition, we now delve into the territory of pure action. It’s a completely fresh approach, very different from anything we’ve seen in the series, giving Veilguard a unique flavour of combat. The overall pace is increased and there’s multiple fighting styles to choose from.
  
• My first glance at the skill wheel induced a momentary nightmare, but it turned out to be more intuitive and simpler than initially expected. Instead of being forced to reach more powerful skills or specialisations (three per class) through a fixed set of upgrades, you can pave your path more freely. Also, for those of you who can never decide on upgrades, the game provides you with infinite, free respec at any time.
  
• Every explorable region in the game brings its own, unique atmosphere. You can enjoy quite a variety of cultures, political climates, histories and social issues. Each nation is has its own exclusive climate with its own beauty and ugliness. Since we’re at it – bonus points for the Photo Mode, but more on the graphics later on.
  
• The main story is fine. It gets somewhat lost among the companion arcs, but since they are strongly intertwined, it’s not a big deal. It reaches the levels of epicness never seen before in the series, but also speaks of down-to-earth things when necessary. It’s not very surprising or innovative, but moves quite gracefully between too cliché and too left field.
  
• If you’re a sucker for Dragon Age lore, rejoice, for Veilguard expands it significantly. Many of the past mysteries become clear(er), uncertainties get clarified and completely new areas of Thedas knowledge are added. If you’re new to the series but want to sink your teeth in its lore, there’s a high chance of being overwhelmed at first, but if you’re patient and willing, you’ll eventually see a world packed to the brim with eventful history.
  
• Hanz Zimmer and Lorne Balfe blessed Veilguard with an extraordinary soundtrack. Always most fitting to the mood, it emphasises each and every important moment of your adventure, working perfectly with whichever emotion the game tries to kindle in you.

THE QUESTIONABLE

• Art style. Art directors abandoned the realism ship, instead hopping on the train to Cartoon City. Landmarks, panoramic views or city streets look good enough to justify this decision, but if you take a closer look at characters, you may notice that facial animations are odd and their movement is very wonky. On the other hand, the environments are detailed and cutscenes are decent.
  
• Companions, which are among the most important aspects of a good RPG, are nowhere near as interesting as in any previous Dragon Age game. There are moments in which all seven of them seem to share a single, kind-hearted, goodie-doer personality happily engaged in a nigh impossible task set before them. No meanies with hidden motives or an ugly history. Just a bunch of regular folks. But setting aside that calm heroic facade uncovers seven individuals with human struggles and distinct motivations to do good. It’s not a bad thing that Veilguard focuses strongly on the single most personal side of companions, but unfortunately it also leaves the impression of them being one-dimensional. Also, romances suck butt.
  
• In character creator you choose one of six factions operating in different regions of Thedas to fill in Rook’s backstory. Sounds great until you learn it means little to nothing. Yes, there’s dialogues and progression options based on the chosen faction, but these moments are so scarce you can barely notice their influence on the game. Still, it’s a nice little touch to finish out your character, but not an important one.

THE BAD a.k.a. THE WRITING

• What keeps the story from being actually very good is its linearity and the way it’s handed to you. Quests almost exclusively progress through crucial characters appearing out of nowhere, having (obviously) overheard your conversation, carrying the very last piece of information you desperately need at the moment, or papers exposing the whole truth behind your enemies’ evil schemes, left in the most ridiculous and visible places. On top of that, your companions often possess knowledge they shouldn’t in any possible iteration of history of Thedas. It’s obvious that you need to progress somehow, but is there really no other way than treating the player like a dumb, dependent child?
  
• The dialogues range from serviceable to awful. It’s unbelievable how every type of response you give leads to the same outcome anyway. The player has too little impact on how conversations go, because most interactions with your companions inevitably lead to a friendly banter, regardless of Rook’s attitude. Sarcasm is the closest option to aggression you’ll get, and that usually comes out funny, not intimidating. And lastly, many dialogues are about the exact same thing, almost like the writers needed to fill in extra fifty thousand words and had no more ideas.
  
• Boss fights are less about destroying evil and more about trying not to die of cringe. Every encounter with an enemy who’s able to talk is a struggle against the incessant yapping of the most stereotypical, edgy evil-doer. It’s clear as day that you’re fighting the bad guys, they don’t need to repeat it every couple of seconds to the point of actually being exhausting. But they do, emphasising that in Thedas you’re either stupidly good or ultimately evil, nothing in between.
  
• As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it saddens me to see what a great disservice Veilguard does to non-binary people through a certain character: they are hands down the worst written companion in the whole series, and to no extent it’s because of their gender identity. It’s because they’re presented as a character with almost no personality, nothing interesting to say, uninteresting background and an annoying habit of telling people who they are despite themselves hating to be categorised. It’s great to have a non-binary character in the roster. It’s a shame that this is the only quality they bring to the table, and that’s not how caring for inclusiveness works.

THE WORST

• There’s a critically low number of dwarves in this game. Unforgivable, 0/10.

OVERALL
Two steps back as an RPG, and then two forward as an action game. It’s clearly different to what the previous games were, which isn’t a bad thing in itself. But it’s also vastly different from what was expected. I enjoyed venturing through the dark bogs of Anderfels and tropical beaches of Rivain. My thirst for fresh Dragon Age lore has been sated for a long time. I fell in love with Rook, my super cool dwarven warrior. The combat was engaging. But it just doesn’t feel like I actually played a Dragon Age game, you know? I got my money’s worth and I had fun, but I expected way better from Bioware. Get it when it’s on a sale (and that's soon, eh?)