Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a Definite GOTY Contender [Hands-on Preview]

I wouldn't be where I am today without Dragon Age. I've always loved video games and have often used them to escape times when my life wasn't so great, but that escapism never hit the same way it did when I was in Thedas. To date, there's not a franchise I've played every single game of more than Dragon Age - or any individual game for that matter. Thousands upon thousands of hours of my life have been spent in Thedas. In fact, my earliest memories of The Best War Games were following it, as a reader, for news on Dragon Age: Inquisition. When I applied for the job years later, I remember telling Editor-in-Chief Anthony Taormina that my favorite franchises were Dragon Age and Assassin's Creed because I love anything that gives me deep, insightful worldbuilding and lore. I remember the first Dragon Age article I wrote for the site being Varric's Hard in Hightown getting seriously published, I remember covering Dragon Age 4's first teaser at The Game Awards 2018, and I can't remember the number of failed pre-writes I've done over the years hoping it would pop up at an event.

I've been waiting for this day ever since I finished Inquisition in 2014. I will always remember the preview event for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, just like I remember sacrificing myself to slay the Archdemon in Origins, watching the chantry explode in Dragon Age 2, realizing that Anders was in Awakening (I played DA2 first), and hearing Corypheus say, "Beg I succeed, for I have seen the throne of gods, and it was empty" in Inquisition. These are all core memories of my life, and these are the kinds of things you can experience for the first time once. I spent six hours in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, seated beneath a banner of Harding, immersed in a world I've always loved, and that too is already a core memory. And it was only a taste of the memories I know I'll cherish.

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There's still so much for me left to experience, and I am counting the days until its release. But six hours with Dragon Age: The Veilguard is six hours filled with thrills, anticipation, and utter horror as the threats continue to compound. During my preview, I was able to play five distinct sections of the game, changing each time between the Warrior, Mage, and Rogue classes to get a full understanding of how they work. There were cuts between these sections, hopefully sparing me the worst spoilers. Broadly speaking, this preview covered the prologue, the introduction to the Crossroads, Lucanis' recruitment and second mission, a major decision, and Weisshaupt Fortress, all of which are part of Act 1 in The Veilguard.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Character Creation Feels So Much Better Than Inquisition

Content: Impressions on Character Creation, Faction Backgrounds and Surnames

I love Inquisition, but there is a certain horror associated with making an Inquisitor, escaping the dark lime green Fade, and waking up in chains at the hands of Cassandra...just to realize the character looks nothing like I thought. I'm sure a lot of fans have experienced this, and so were the devs. If anything, I left character creation with the impression that my Rook looked even better than I anticipated. The devs recommended we spend about thirty minutes on character creation, which means I went a little faster than I would have liked. I could have spent hours just playing with it, easily. Dragon Age: The Veilguard might as well be released on November 1 because I know so many people are going to spend their first day in character creation.

When in character creation, I decided to do two things: create the first Rook I have planned and create a Dwarven Rook to see how they could look. I want my first character to be a Grey Warden Qunari Mage, and I've envisioned them as a little smaller than common Qunari. His name is Astatine because I like naming Qunari after elements or minerals; my first Inquisitor was a Qunari Mage named Onyx. Anyway, I found it super easy to adjust his height and general frame to make him look super frail. I was able to make him as I basically envisioned him, and it was great to be able to change the background lights to escape the possible horror of Inquisition's lime green. I was super happy with how he turned out, and when I went into the full game, I was even more impressed with how he looked than I was in character creation.

I forewent any Vitaar in character creation because I want him to wear the pre-order bonus Blood Dragon Vitaar for Dragon Age: The Veilguard's release. I did play around with the full-body tattoos, which were great, and the only general criticism I have of it is how scars kind of looked like tattoos or paint. They didn't seem like natural scars, but it's possible I could have fixed this if I had more time. For both Astatine and the Dwarven Rook I quickly cooked up, I was super happy.

I love Grey Wardens so much that it's an easy background choice; notably, this gives Rook the story of disobeying orders and successfully saving people as a result. However, the Grey Wardens aren't happy about Rook's disobedience, and the two choose some distance for the time being. This is how a Grey Warden Rook seemingly meets up with Varric, justifying the separation, and it seems to leave enough room for players to roleplay how they join the faction. The Grey Warden surname is Thorne, and Astatine Thorne sounds great. The other Dragon Age: The Veilguard surnames are as follows:

Dragon Age: Veilguard Faction Surnames

Can I Please Get the Character Creator Ahead of Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Release?

One of the biggest questions in the Dragon Age: The Veilguard community right now is if we'll have to wait until release before playing with the character creation or if we'll get hands-on it before release, like the character creators for Saints Row or Dragon's Dogma 2. Trust me, after experiencing it, that wait is even more excruciating.

I did ask creative director John Epler if there was any possibility of it coming out before the game, but he understandably couldn't comment. It wasn't a no, technically speaking, which means I'm still holding onto hope.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Combat is Still Dragon Age

Content: Information and Impressions on Combat, No Story or Boss Spoilers

Dragon Age has never had consistent combat, and it's never been a major selling point of the series. Dragon Age: Origins was much more tactical, Dragon Age 2 was much more action-focused, and Dragon Age: Inquisition tried to hybridize those into a game that was less tactical and less action-focused than either of its predecessors. It worked, but Dragon Age: The Veilguard appears completely different on the surface. I know my first concern when seeing Dragon Age: The Veilguard's gameplay was the reduction to two companions and the fact that there were fewer quick slots than before, but when I went hands-on with it, it was clear that I was wrong about how these changes impacted combat.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard has the three classes that everyone knows and loves: Warrior, Rogue, and Mage (and Dwarves cannot be Mages). Veilguard takes the more action-oriented RPG approach of giving players a heavy and a light attack for various combos, both of which can be charged for different effects. Each class also has some form of ranged option, which sees Warriors throw their shield like Captain America (even when wielding the two-handed weapons), Rogues have their bow, and Mages can perform a ray attack related to their staff or orb. Warriors can change between a 2H-weapon or a sword and shield on the fly, even mid-combo, while Mages can do the same between their Staff or Mageknife and Orb. They each have a unique dodge animation—Warriors roll, Rogues do some acrobatic flips, and Mages can basically shift, briefly turning invisible, moving, and appearing elsewhere—and they each have a unique defensive option. Warriors can block with their shield, for example, while Mages surround themselves with a barrier.

As a Mage, the Barrier spell is what really caught my attention. Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Skill Trees can modify these actions further, and one prime example of this is how I could trigger a Mind Blast as a Mage while having an active Barrier with the right trait in the Skill Tree. In past games, spells such as Barrier and Mind Blast would have to take up a quick slot to use in combat, but that's not true here. While there are only three quick slots for class abilities, the class expression is not as limited as this would first imply. If anything, it was easier to immerse myself in the fantasy because all the same options were there, just in new and more intuitive ways.

The same applied to having two Dragon Age companions instead of three. It seems like it would be inherently different for the combat, but it wasn't. I can't take control of them anymore, but it feels like I worked closer with my companions than any other Dragon Age game so far. The radial menu is great for pausing combat and making choices for clearing ads, focusing fire on a boss, or calling for an ability use, but I found myself using the shortcut menu even more in conjunction with my own abilities. Neve's ability to freeze time, for example, is basically free damage, but then a lot of abilities will prime an enemy and another will detonate them (for extra damage or special effects). The shortcut menu has clear indicators for what can prime an enemy, allowing us to detonate them or a companion to do so. It didn't feel like I was just playing Rook; it felt like I was playing the whole team.

Beyond the three ability quick slots, I unlocked others the further I got into the game. There is a Rune quick slot that changes the effects weapons have in combat, requiring those knowledge sorts of tactical decisions. The Rune I had during the preview made our weapons deal ice damage, which would not be effective against the weak-to-fire Darkspawn, but it did come in clutch against enemies weak to ice but resistant to our standard attacks. Each class also has an Ultimate attack that has its own quick slot; as an example, the Warrior would perform a flurry of powerful attacks, ending with an almighty elbow drop compared to a WWE wrestler.

I've seen people compare Dragon Age: The Veilguard's combat to God of War or Mass Effect, and after experiencing it firsthand, I don't see it. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is not a classic hack-and-slash game akin to the older God of War games, nor does it have the heavier feel that Kratos had in the last two games. The last two God of War games also focused on the main character in combat, where the companion was general support. Instead, Dragon Age: The Veilguard emphasizes playing Rook but also the whole team, putting together the magic and steel of Thedas in highly collaborative ways. Meanwhile, it lacks the general game feel of Mass Effect; it's not a scenario of limited abilities and a high emphasis on standard gameplay (or gunplay, as it would be in Mass Effect). It's much harder to describe. It feels like Dragon Age: The Veilguard gave me more options than any game before it, yet retained that franchise identity in every facet of its gameplay. It doesn't feel like Dragon Age-modified; it feels like Dragon Age realized.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Prologue

Spoiler Content: Arlathan Forest, Bellara, First Lighthouse Visit, Solas

BioWare has already shown a good bit of the prologue in past previews, including the one I saw at Summer Game Fest. My thoughts on everything from stepping into Minrathous to foiling Solas' ritual can be read here:

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Preview - Here We Go Again

Dragon Age: The Veilguard makes plenty of improvements to Inquisition's decade old formula but retains everything that makes the franchise special.

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By  Joshua Duckworth

What I didn't see there and could experience here is what happened immediately after interrupting Solas' ritual. He appears in my mind, although my Rook is not certain if this is legit or what's going on exactly. Solas explains that, because my blood got mixed with his ritual, he was pulled into the Fade, the Blighted Elven Gods Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain have escaped their prisons, and it's my fault. I had a few choices, but I chose to be direct with Solas, claiming I saved the world from him, and he didn't seem happy at all about it. He also made it clear they're our problem now, and that was it.

I awoke in the Lighthouse, spoke with the others, and decided to try to find our way out. Harding is bruised up based on our choice in the prologue, so...sorry Neve, but I'll be making a different choice when the game comes out. Because I am hoping to romance Harding first, I also made sure to take notes of what she did and didn't approve of throughout the preview. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is also very direct with this. At least with some choices, it'll explain why characters react the way they did instead of a simple "X approves or "X greatly approves," providing greater detail for players to make more informed decisions later.

Finding Bellara

I found an Eluvian in the Lighthouse, returned to Arlathan Forest, and ran into Strife and Irelin (who previously appeared in Tevinter Nights and The Missing). We pass along what happened, they tell us how things have changed, and how the magic of Arlathan Forest began acting differently. They instruct us to find Bellara, who in turn directs us toward a magical artifact inside a Veil Bubble.

Exploring Arlathan Forest was more railroaded than any zone of Dragon Age: Inquisition, but it still let us explore and solve some puzzles off to the side. With Bellara, this meant we could utilize ancient Elven artifacts scattered around the forest to open doors, find treasure, and fight some newly reactivated guardians of the forest. At the end, Bellara claims the artifact but it's not acting right, seemingly setting up her personal arc in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. We return to Strife and Irelin to hear some nearby villages are under attack, and we choose to help. As we entered the village, it was completely covered in Blight.

There's no reason to be concerned about how dark Dragon Age: The Veilguard can get with its graphics and story. Arlathan was a fresh breath of beauty; this Blighted Village was a nightmare right out of Dragon Age: Origins. A lot of NPCs were seemingly under some sort of spell, if not outright Ghouled, and we managed to fight our way through and deal with the Mayor, who had made some agreement with Ghilan'nain. Fittingly, I decided to ship him off to the Grey Wardens and the companions reacted befitting of their character. Bellara decided to join us on our quest, and shortly thereafter this section came to an end.

Wading in a Sea of Blood

Spoilers Content: Harding Story and Dwarven Lore, The Crossroads and Solas' Memory, Lucanis' Character, and Lucanis' Recruitment

At the start of this section, I was back in the Lighthouse with a new goal: find Lucanis, the Demon of Vyrantium. Later on, dialogue I came across hinted that it was Neve's idea to find Lucanis for whatever reason.

Harding Uncovers New Dwarven Lore

I was also able to explore The Lighthouse, finding our way to Harding's chamber for a new conversation. She was obsessing over some kind of new Dwarven lore, something about an Eternal Hymn, and she more or less ignored us. I even tried our hand at flirting with her, but she was adorably too focused to acknowledge it. I then made my way to the Crossroads to go to the Antivan city of Treviso.

The Crossroads are much different than they were in Dragon Age: Inquisition's Trespasser DLC because, now, they are under attack by the Blighted Elven Gods. This is one reason why, I confirmed with Epler, that the Crossroads don't look different for Elves as they did in Trespasser. Either way, this is a huge area and super easy to get lost in (in the best of ways). There were so many ups and downs to explore that I had barely touched The Crossroads even after fighting my way through and unlocking the Eluvian to Treviso. Each island here has a quick travel spot, but for the first trip to any of them, players will be boated by The Caretaker. I continued exploring a bit and came across a section that triggered a memory of young Solas.

Young Solas' Memory

This memory took us back to Solas' rebellion against the Elven Gods, putting us in the shoes of one of his agents. I was still my Rook in this memory, but Solas and the other Elven agent, Tarasahl, just saw another Elf. Seeing Young Solas was...an experience. There is a very common question about young Solas, and the answer is yes...He has hair. I fought through an experiment lab and prison belonging to ancient Ghilan'nain, solved a rather fun Blight puzzle, and eventually the memory ended with Solas kneeling with his agent, who had become Blighted in the lab. Although I obviously can't directly impact a memory, I did have a choice of dialogue for how our Rook sees Solas in general. It essentially came down to scoffing and not believing Solas would do anything for the agent, or I could express some hope for Solas to save them. The result, as all things are with Solas, was somewhere in the middle. For completing the memory, I was rewarded with a Wolf Statue Fragment (and more on that later).

Trip to Treviso

Afterward, I took off through the Eluvian for Treviso. Running across Treviso's rooftops, with Treviso being a canal city with Italian and Spanish influences, had me tapping into my inner Ezio. It didn't have the parkour, of course, but it did have me looking at different and new ways to explore the city than I'd expect from a Dragon Age city. Either way, the Crows tell me what became of Lucanis in relation to his funeral and wake (seen in "The Wake," a short story published for Dragon Age Day 2020). I learn that he was captured by the Venatori...and transported to an underwater prison. My companions and I are off to that prison, then, to save/recruit Lucanis.

Naturally, I fought my way through a bunch of Venatori before being introduced to Lucanis. He reveals a few key things: first, he is definitely possessed by a demon. It wasn't always the case, though, as some Venatori would remark on the irony of binding a demon to the "Demon of Vyrantium." As such, we needed to find the vial of his blood, similar to a phylactery, that the Venatori could use to control him and take out his mark that's still in the prison. An Antivan Crow never fails a job, after all. Exploring the prison introduced us to Lucanis' exploration ability in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which amounts to basically pulling in earthen platforms from the Fade to open up new areas for exploration. We worked our way through with Lucanis by our side before facing the boss of the quest, a powerful mage who would summon copies of themselves.

Lucanis, The Demon of Vyrantium

Afterward, we learn that the Venatori used our absence as an opportunity to attack the Antivan Crows, and Lucanis swears vengeance as he joins up, believing it'll lead him to the Venatori.

Back in the Lighthouse, he reveals that his demon is a Spite demon, and it'll appear around him as a darker version of himself with purple eyes. While he and players can see Spite, it's clear that Rook and the other Dragon Age: The Veilguard companions cannot. Lucanis and Spite are also two different entities; they haven't fused like Anders did with Justice to create Vengeance. It seems Spite can speak to, hurt, and possess Lucanis, but it's not completely clear-cut. For example, Spite wanted to speak with Rook. When Lucanis refused, Spite scratched his face.

I also tried to flirt with Lucanis around this point, and he returned a blank stare not acknowledging my rather obvious flirt. Hello?

A Paralyzing Decision

No Spoilers. Vague Commentary on Choices and Implication

Later on, I was forced to make an obviously big decision. This decision would directly impact the world of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and it ended in facing the first major boss I had so far. Despite this being Act 1, it truly felt like an endgame-level decision. The best comparison I could make is that both outcomes felt like letting Bull's Chargers die in Dragon Age: Inquisition, but I still had to make the choice. It wasn't a choice with a clear-cut best answer, and either choice would impact Rook and the companions in different ways. BioWare has made it clear in its marketing that the companions are more independent come Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but nowhere has it been more obvious than how they reacted. I am super invested in seeing how they react to future choices, especially since this was an Act 1 choice. If other choices are half as difficult as this one, I just know I'm going to spend half my game time paralyzed by choice.

Speaking with the Companions of Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Major Spoiler Content: Brief moments with companions, Solas' Past, Return to Treviso

Later on in the game, we finally had all companions. We've seen how Neve, Harding, Bellara, and Lucanis join the party now, but not how Taash, Emmrich, or Davrin do. We found Emmrich discussing magic with Neve, we played Rock, Paper, and Scissors with Manfred, and we checked in on each of their rooms for any possible dialogue. There were no active ones, but when we visited Taash, we caught them doing push-ups. Taash also made some comments about a two-headed dragon...

We could also now use the Wolf Statue fragment to uncover murals in the Lighthouse, with the previously acquired one uncovering a mural/memory of Solas' rebellion. It was a simple scene where Solas spoke out against Elgar'nan and Mythal, and the companions all gathered in the center of the Lighthouse to discuss this mural and Solas. I assume that'll happen with every mural, and seeing all the companions come together is always exciting and makes it clear that The Veilguard is the real focus of the game.

We also completed Lucanis' second mission in Treviso, which allowed us to fully explore the city in more detail before accomplishing it. Even the Antaam couldn't stop Treviso's markets from opening, and there were a few side quests we picked up in the area. It really hit the right vibe, and the story that was told was full of intrigue, with a truly engaging boss fight to boot. I took note that the Venatori were passively calling out to two Tevinter Gods during my encounters with them, specifically Razikale and Lusacan, who would also be the only remaining Archdemons. How all of this connects remains to be seen, but knowing the Venatori were appealing to these supposed Gods at this time was interesting nonetheless.

In War, Victory

MAJOR SPOILERS: Weisshaupt Fortress, Grey Wardens

This was the final section of the preview, and while I skip the biggest spoilers, there are still plenty of major spoilers here.

For whatever reason, Ghilan'nain has directed the Darkspawn to attack Weisshaupt Fortress, the headquarters of The Grey Wardens. We had to take Davrin with us, understandably, and since I was playing a Rogue Rook, I took Emmrich too. Interestingly, this mission was big enough that all the companions came, and we'd occasionally see each other working on our tasks. Ghilan'nain was here too, somewhat, as a giant cloud with a face. An Archdemon was also attacking the fortress. And there was no second guessing that this was, in fact, an Archdemon, unlike Corypheus' mockery. Davrin could hear and feel it, as all Grey Wardens can during a Blight, so that's on the agenda as a MAJOR problem.

The fights in this area were intense. We faced multiple Ogres, Hurlock Alphas, and the strongest the Darkspawn could throw at us. We were obviously progressing through the area, but the game did a great job of making it feel like we were losing. We were pushing against the tide, but that tide threatened to easily overwhelm us. We were without potions a lot, being forced to rely on our bow instead of getting up and close with the Darkspawn, dragon roars constantly echoing through the background. It was a section that made the Battle of Denerim feel like the minor league in comparison; eventually, we made it to The First Warden who was refusing to evacuate the Wardens. Some shenanigans later, they were no longer in charge, and the Wardens were going to support us and pull back as we attempted to lure the Archdemon toward a Dragon Trap designed for moments like this.

As we fought our way through Blighted areas and fought off even more Darkspawn, Davrin explained how an Archdemon had to be killed -- and that he was willing to make the sacrifice. I had a bad feeling about it, and not long after that, the preview came to an end.

Final Thoughts on Dragon Age: The Veilguard

After this preview, I bought a Steam Deck for Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

I don't know what else to tell you. That's my final thought leaving the event: I can't wait to play and I don't want to stop playing the next time I can get my hands on it. I travel a lot, which means extended time away from my Xbox where I will mainly play it, and I don't want to go without it for a day. The fact that I still have to wait another month and a half is enough hardship. All in all, between the Steam Deck, two copies of the game, and my pre-ordered Collector's Edition...well, I'm not going to do the math but the money feels worth it to me. The last couple of times I spent this much money on a game was for Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3. I don't regret the investment in those, and I doubt I'll regret the investment here. Again, everything I experienced is in Act 1! I haven't seen much involving Elgar'nan, I need to know what's going on with Harding, the Dwarves, and Titans (I hope), and there's a Blight, a legitimate Blight happening. Like the Grey Wardens of Thedas, I feel the physical need to bring it to an end.

It might not be everyone's game. A game made for everyone is a game for no one, but it is clearly MY game. I've waited for it for ten years, and roughly 6-7 hours with it was enough to justify that wait and torture me over the last legs of this wait. Blight take me, I need it to be October 31 already.

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard

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Top Critic Avg: 80 /100 Critics Rec: 71%

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Released

October 31, 2024

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence

Developer(s)

BioWare

Publisher(s)

Electronic Arts

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Dragon Age

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PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X

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RPG

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on October 31. The Best War Games was provided travel and lodging for the purposes of this preview.