BioWare’s long-awaited fantasy RPG series returns with Dragon Age: Guardians of the Veil The Veilguard is set to launch on PS5 on October 31, nearly a decade after its predecessor. The Veilguard takes place across the northern reaches of Thedas, giving players one last chance to explore the magical city of Tevinter. As a first-time visitor to the magical world of Thedas, my recent experience with the game was a refreshing introduction to the series’ deep lore, backed by intuitive real-time combat and mesmerizing visuals.
Customize everything
My hands-on journey began with a deep dive into The Veilguard’s expansive character creator, following an opening animation that highlighted where the story left off in Dragon Age: Inquisition. The Dragon Age series is known for its incredibly detailed character customization, but I was surprised by how deep The Veilguard goes with options to customize nearly every physical aspect of your character, from multiple head and body shapes to tattoos (face and full-body options), makeup, and facial scars. In particular, the various hair textures displayed across the roster of nearly 100 hairstyles look so detailed and realistic that you can see the care the developers put into each individual strand.
After spending nearly half an hour customizing my character (I could have spent hours on this), I tested out the new lighting preview feature. The new feature allows you to see your character in up to four different lighting settings to make sure your creation is faithful to your vision before you set off on your journey through Thedas.
Similar to previous games in the series, the character creator is where you choose your warrior’s race and class. Additionally, The Veilguard adds the ability to choose between six factions, including options for the Grey Wardens, Veil Jumpers, Shadow Dragons, Lords of Fortune, the Mourn Watch, and Antivan Crows. Be sure to choose carefully, as the faction you choose will directly affect your character’s unique storyline and even future dialogue choices.
Fight with teammates
The fast and intuitive combat in Dragon Age: The Veilguard was the highlight of my experience with the game. As a self-confessed beginner when it comes to most genres of gaming, the combat controls are easy enough to grasp while providing a high ceiling for more advanced players to string together combo attacks with their companions.
In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you control your teammates’ abilities via a new Ability Wheel, as opposed to switching between and fully controlling party members like you could in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Pulling up on the Ability Wheel pauses the action and lets you activate individual and team abilities. Switching between real-time combat and the Ability Wheel feels natural and acts as a quick break from all-out action, giving me the chance to plan combo attacks with teammates or activate my own abilities. Accentuating combo attacks by unleashing Ultimate abilities serves as one of the more satisfying tenets of the gameplay experience, even though I rarely get to pull off such a feat.
Walking through Thedas
Stepping into Minrathous, the capital of Tevinter, players will be greeted by vibrant colors and impressive depth of field. From the finely detailed raindrops falling into puddles and crumbling concrete, to the towering architecture and statues seen from afar, The Veilguard’s visual fidelity is truly captivating and encourages free exploration.
The graphics are particularly striking when you’re tasked with traversing Arlathan Forest to find the missing Veil Jumper. The contrast in color of the shadowed trees is accentuated by the sunlight shining through the branches, showing the attention to detail the developers put into lighting and realism in the various environments.
Friends helping friends
Each companion I met on my journey through Thedas left an impression and immersed me deeper into the story, though limited playtime didn’t allow me to meet the entire cast.
“The companions are really the stars of the show, just like anyone else,” said John Epler, Creative Director at BioWare.
Early on, you’ll meet Neve Gallus, a confident private investigator who helps track down Solas to prevent a major disaster from occurring in the game’s opening. Born and raised in Minrathous, Neve’s confident demeanor helps guide the party through Tevinter early in the game, and her Ice Breaker ability that can send ice raining down on enemies is a blast to activate.
There’s a lot to digest when it comes to the depth of The Veilguard’s character creator, RPG elements, and real-time combat, but being able to quickly grasp the basics of the action allowed me to immerse myself in the world. The Veil between Thedas and the Fade will be lifted this Halloween, when Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases on October 31 on PS5.
