Summary
If you’ve been feeling a little apprehensive aboutDragon Age: The Veilguard, you’re far from alone. There are plenty of reasons to be worried, after all. The game is being releasedten years after the last entryin the series, the team issanding down the edgesby removing things like blood magic, and its long development cycle andinitial multiplayer concepthas given many pause.BioWare’s last game,Anthem, was a critical and commercial flop, leading many fans to feel the studio had lost its way.
Moreover, BioWare also laid off 50 employees last year, one of which wasthe original lead writer on Baldur’s Gate, as well as veteran writer Mary Kirby, who has worked onDragon AgesinceOriginsand was behind thefan favourite character Varric. There are very few of the original Dragon Age writers still working on the series, and while this isn’t necessarily an indicator of The Veilguard’s quality, it’s made a lot of fans concerned that the game won’t be all they hoped it would be.
Early marketing did little to mitigate these concerns. There was quite a bit of backlash to the first trailers which introduced the characters and gave an overview of the gameplay –fans said these were “cheesy” and “goofy”. The tone was too light-hearted, fans hated the characters’ incessant quipping, and it was generally agreed that the vibe was off, especially for the cinematic trailer that gave us a first look at our companions.
The Release Date Trailer Finally Got Me Excited
Despitepositive previews, BioWare’s marketing campaign has been an uphill battle. But the tide seems to be turning in its favour now, especially with the release date trailer. What we’d seen before didn’t tell us much about the game – we knew Solas was involved, who our companions were, and in a narrow sense, what gameplay would look like. But without digging into countless features about the game’s changes and interviews with its developers, it was hard to get a sense of what the game was really about and what was exciting about it. It just looked like an RPG that wasn’t particularly special.
But this new trailer finally makes the game feel like Dragon Age. It gives us context as to what’s actually going to happen in the game, which is at the very least far more compelling than the vague notion of needing to fight evil with a Marvel-style lineup of cartoony characters. We can actually see stakes, tension, and how these characters interact with each other. There are stunning environments and cinematic shots, plenty of brutal action, and even a little steaminess. Perhaps most surprisingly,we see Morrigan returning, which immediately saw an endless wave of fans on social mediascreaming.
The New Trailer Is Cinema, Baby
The most important thing this trailer does is establish tone and context, two things we’d been sorely missing. What we saw before wasfull of cliches and looked almost shlocky, but what we’re seeing now organically introduces the characters and how they act, the consequences that have already erupted from our actions, and how much is at stake if we fail. The combat we see our companions engage in is surprisingly violent and bloody, and we see plenty of destruction, which helps to mollify fans who were worried the game wouldn’t be as serious as the previous ones.
Perhaps it’s premature to hope that The Veilguard will be as good as its developers insist it is, but the concerns I had before are now mostly assuaged. I’m still not convinced about the quality of the dialogue, but finally, the new Dragon Age feels like Dragon Age. I’m astounded that BioWare didn’t open with this trailer, but it’s too late to cry over interrupted rituals. What matters is that fans are starting to be truly won over, and that’s a good sign.
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.
