Summary
We saw a sneak peek of Minrathous inDragon Age: The Veilguard’s20-minute gameplay snippetreleased during Summer Game Fest. The city’s impressive skyline certainly puts the rustic settlements of Ferelden to shame, but just how big is Minrathous?
The largest city in Thedas is the seat of the mighty Tevinter Imperium and promises to be “sprawling” according toBioWare. In an interview with Edge Magazine (thanksGamesRadar+), art director Matt Rhodes reveals that a single line of dialogue inDragon Age: Inquisitionacted as a guiding light for the team when they were creating Minrathous.
The Biggest City In Thedas
The dialogue comes from Dorian Pavus, a native of Minrathous, in conversation with Blackwall, everyone’s favourite compulsive liar and gentle lover. Blackwall calls Denerim and Val Royeaux “bigger and proper cities,” to which Dorian responds, “Visit Tevinter one day. Minrathous will put your southern cities in perspective.”
Rhodes acknowledges that you can’t compete with the power of imagination, but the team is “shooting for the moon” in bringing Minrathous to life. Game director Corinne Busch echoes this sentiment, saying “When your Dragon Age: Inquisition companion Dorian joins you in Orlais, in one of the biggest cities in Thedas, he mentions that it’s quaint and cute compared to Minrathous. That one bit of dialogue was our guiding principle on how to realise this city.”
Val Royeaux was seen by players as a bit of a disappointment, being comparable in size to Dragon Age Origin’s Denerim despite being the seat of the Orlesian Empire and supposedly being much more advanced than Ferelden.
Rhodes goes on to speak about the verticality of Minrathous, and how the team has used props to lead the player’s eyes to the city above them. He adds that they want you to feel like no matter where you’re standing in Minrathous, you may feel how much civilisation there is both above and below you at all times.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard doesn’t have an official release date, but therelease date of the game’s accompanying art bookhas led people to expect the game to release around October 30.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
WHERE TO PLAY
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in the fantasy RPG series from BioWare formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. A direct sequel to Inquisition, it focuses on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.
