Dragon Age: Veiled Guard Review

Dragon Age: The Veiled Keeper faces a tough choice. It comes a decade after 2014’s Inquisition, and either maintains the complexity of the series’ mechanics and risks feeling dated, or modernizes itself enough to fit in but risks not feeling like Dragon Age . It chose the latter, and largely succeeded – but like everything in Dragon Age, the decision didn’t come without consequences.

We can see direct evidence of this in combat – there are only two companions instead of three, only the player character can be controlled, and there are very few companion skills to choose from on the ability wheel. With that description, it might sound closer to a fantasy Mass Effect than a true Dragon Age experience. Indeed. But that’s okay too.

Dragon Age: Veiled Wardens Survive Power Wheel Battle

My main issue with the combat is that the camera is terrible, rather than any complaint about the mechanical approach. Dragon Age’s gameplay is busier than you might expect, but the camera doesn’t get the hint—as you jump around the battlefield, it’ll often stray away from you, aim skyward, or push too close. Lockdown can sometimes help, but sometimes it can make things worse. This nightmare will be even worse.

But in terms of turning to action, Dragon Age feels oddly suited to it. Each character now has a unique upgrade item pool (so Fancy Greatsword +4 can improve your Fancy Greatsword +3), each character has greater specialization, elemental weaknesses now matter more, and you’re very It doesn’t take long to get used to their role in the field. Each companion has five skills, but only enough slots (and skill points to max out) for three, so I tend to build and watch my team grow.

However, this is not the case with my Rook, as reassignment (as long as you stay in the original class) is free and easy. I mostly played as a Destroyer Rogue, using gadgets and explosions, but also tried playing as a Duelist with Necrotic Stab and a Veil Ranger Archer. While some will miss the technical details, this streamlined approach encourages players to be creative and avoid passing gear to increasingly unpopular peers.

Veil Keeper’s mission-based exploration takes some getting used to

But there’s no doubt this makes the gameplay shallower. However, while missions are more “mission-based” than roaming the open world (you know, like they are in Mass Effect), the change does no Sacrifice depth. It’s a rocky start – there’s too much exposition up front, the early missions are too short and lack any substance. When I had to make my first big decision about which city to help, I wasn’t even sure which city was which.

But over time, these settings will grow on you. The two most urban streets, Minrathous and Treviso, are an overcorrection of narrow streets with little freedom, while Minrathous is restricted to the marina town (Dock Town) was a major misstep. But the value of a precise, meaningful visit becomes apparent when you encounter a more personal setting (the Necropolis is a personal favorite).

There are still missions scattered across the map that vary in level of involvement, intensity of combat, and whether they trigger a series of other missions. Thankfully, though, these maps don’t have eyes or other collectible filler to bloat them up. Every quest has a story to tell, and that’s where Dragon Age shines – even if it’s not as bright as other recent high fantasy RPGs.

Companion missions are well written but formulaic

This mission design is supported by clever use of companions. Throughout the game, all seven have a personal arc to complete, much like a squad-based RPG. But these activities take three forms: tasks, conversations, and outings. The first one is a standard mission like the others, but with longer dialogues and more interactive cutscenes, while Outing is basically a walking simulator.

These provide a wealth of variety and help you get to know the cast better – it’s a structure that takes advantage of a smaller cast and gives them more to do in a more meaningful way, and you never You won’t notice that there are fewer of them than Dragon Age is used to. They also each merge with the main mission at different points, so no one feels like a laggard.

Some of these missions are the highlights of Veiled Keeper, especially the way Tash and Emrich deepen the lore of Dragon Age. But Neff’s ending is particularly anticlimactic, and its reliance on a similar structure (the final battle includes a major character-defining decision) forces them into a difficult situation. You occasionally feel like the writing is forced through the conduits of game convention, rather than being given the freedom to flow and build everything else around it.

So here’s the elephant in the room: these missions are not on the level of Baldur’s Gate 3. In a way, it’s a cruel comparison – Baldur’s Gate 3 is the front-runner for games of the current decade, which isn’t a bar Dragon Age needs to hold on to. But in the real world, they’re both high fantasy RPGs built on character dynamics and witty banter – and in a post-BG3 world, the cracks in Veil Keeper’s formulaic ending arc are starting to show.

Dragon Age: Veiled Guardians Not Enough Sora

Speaking of cracks starting to show, Dragon Age: Veiled Keeper never won the decision to break away from Solas. Instead of focusing the game on characters we know and respect, with clear motivations and nuances that leave room for redemption, we spend the game caring about two evil gods who love evil because they’re so evil. I say “care,” but that’s the wrong word.

It feels like the Veiled Guardians have given up on braver options in favor of a safer, more versatile path. This is a real surprise because there are a lot of brave decisions here. I mentioned before choosing a city? The entire arc, I’d guess around five to ten hours of quests and exploration, is cut off based on your choices. No spoilers, but Veil Keeper’s impact on some of the late-game decisions you can make is bold.

The nice thing about having the game revolve around two distant and flat entities is that it’s really about the good guys, not stopping the bad guys. The Veilguard utilizes maps and a smaller cast to primarily let you deal with smaller, more human stories within each faction. This is slightly dampened by the apocalyptic implications, but it allowed BioWare to craft some of its best side quests and smaller narrative beats.

Dragon Age: Veiled Keeper is a unique Dragon Age game, and that alone will turn some people off. But it brings a tradition of excellent character writing, strong world-building through narrative missions, and delivers some of the most thrilling combat the series has ever seen. There’s a stronger version of Veiled Keeper here, with more Sora and companion quests that lead to a more natural ending, but the one we have is still a worthy successor to Dragon Age: Inquisition, And a much needed return to BioWare form.