Corinne Busche, the game director of The Veilguard, emphasized the team’s dedication to creating an authentic Dragon Age experience.
From the moment you start playing, there’s a clear sense of confidence in The Veilguard. This might be because of the long development period, but it also feels like BioWare has found its footing again, knowing exactly what it wants its games to be.
Right at the beginning, Varric shares his past with Solas, the Dread Wolf, using the tarot card art style from Inquisition to set the scene. The storytelling is sharp and engaging, drawing you in immediately.
“And that,” Varric says, “is where you come in.” As Rook, you’re now leading a search party in Minrathous, the capital of the Tevinter Imperium. You start by interrogating a bartender about Neve Gallus’ whereabouts. A radial menu offers choices: be nice, threaten, or fight. I picked threatening, which quickly led to action and revealed Neve’s location.
Exploring Minrathous is visually stunning. The city feels vibrant and magical, with colorful signs made of magical energy and towering buildings. The Archon’s Palace floats above, casting spotlights on the city, giving it an authoritarian vibe.
Even though it might sound cliché, Minrathous has a strong identity, much like other locations in the game. From elven ruins to the Lighthouse in the Fade, BioWare has created environments that are both familiar and new, making the world of Dragon Age feel fresh and exciting again.
Fans love these moments of intense action and heartfelt storytelling.
Chasing Solas leads to a magical tear in the sky, causing chaos as demons flood the streets. Fighting through Minrathous to reunite with Lace Harding, the pace is relentless, showcasing the handcrafted nature of the game and the tough choices players will face.
“Our philosophy on the prologue is we really feel like we’re making a contract with the player to show the intensity, the handcrafted nature of the experience, and how difficult the choices can be,” Busche explained. “And also we wanted to make sure that whether you’re a long-term fan or a first-timer in Dragon Age, that it immediately felt like you were making a difference–that you’re part of this expansive world of Thedas.”
“The thing I love about the prologue is it’s so fast-paced as soon as you get into it,” added Jen Cheverie, producer on The Veilguard. “You’re right in the action, you’re right in the story, you’re right in the world.”
The prologue’s intensity is reminiscent of Mass Effect 2’s dramatic opening, a stark contrast to Dragon Age: Inquisition’s slower start. It sets the stage for an exciting adventure, hinting at something special ahead.
Later, I explored ruins and found an Eluvian, a magical doorway leading to The Arlathan Forest, where Solas was performing a powerful ritual. The environment reacted to his magic, creating a visually stunning scene.
In a pivotal moment, Varric decided to approach Solas and reason with him. I chose to trust Varric, a decision that had significant consequences, showcasing BioWare’s strength in choice-driven storytelling.
As Rook, Harding, and Neve battled demons, Varric called out to Solas, “Chuckles. Hope I’m not interrupting.” Solas’ reaction was a mix of recognition and vulnerability, a powerful moment built on years of character development.
These moments, deeply rooted in the game’s history, show BioWare’s commitment to impactful storytelling. It’s a reminder of the personal connections players have with the characters and the world.
Later in the demo, I traveled to Antiva, a luxurious city known for its wine and canals. There, I met Caterina Dellamorte, who had a quest to rescue her grandson, Lucanis, a powerful figure believed to be held captive by blood magic.
The quest felt like a loyalty mission, adding depth to the characters and their stories. BioWare’s dedication to personalized adventures and meaningful choices is evident throughout.
“While there are some differences, comparing it to say the [Mass Effect 2 and 3] loyalty missions–it’s not dissimilar,” Busche explained. “These are very, very personalized adventures. Sometimes you’re helping [characters] solve mysteries. Sometimes they’re just moments of deep connection. Not even combat at times. But they play out over many missions [and] moments. You’ll help each of the companions make some [choices], sometimes pretty heart-wrenching choices. And what I love is–and all the props to the writing team–how these arcs feel very personal to the companions, but also thread back through the main narrative of the game.”
Choosing to trust Varric had emotional weight, especially for longtime players. Seeing Solas betray Varric was a gut-wrenching moment, reminiscent of BioWare’s most memorable scenes.
“When we look back at Dragon Age and Mass Effect, what we see are those smaller, more intimate choices that can really resonate,” Busche said. “We see political power-shifting [and] choices that resonate. We see the impact on the world. We see life and death. We see heartbreak. For us, what we knew is that to be an authentic BioWare game, we needed to run the full gamut of these choices. How and when they show up, I think [it will] keep players on their toes. I’m envious of players during their first playthrough to go in blind and experience some of these decision points … That’s what Dragon Age is all about.”
That is what Dragon Age is all about. And watching a despondent Lace Harding lamenting her inability to make a difference, despite proving herself as a capable lead scout for the Inquisition and holding her ground in battle, made me feel like I needed to see her entire arc, because I want to see her regain her sense of self. And as far as BioWare games go, is there a better sign than that?
The answer is yes, there is. Specifically when it comes to the meat-and-potatoes gameplay. By BioWare’s own admission, Dragon Age is a franchise that is constantly morphing with every new entry, but it feels like BioWare has achieved the fine balance between exciting combat where players are actively engaging in moment-to-moment skirmishes and the more considered, tactical, CRPG-elements of old.
Although pulling up a radial menu and selecting abilities for companions is an important part of the combat system, overall it felt it leaned more in the direction of an action game. This is largely due to the game’s responsiveness and speed. I opted to play as a rogue, so I was running around with dual blades chaining light attacks together and swiftly cutting down enemies. It felt more like an action game, largely due to a slight stickiness in targeting enemies and exaggerated movements to close the distance between Rook and the enemy. While it’s not quite Batman gliding across a prison courtyard to clock a goon in the chin, it does have that sense of effortlessness when moving around a battlefield. When I wasn’t on the offense, I was making use of my dash to get out of the way of incoming attacks and space myself better, or tanking damage by holding my ground and blocking. Much to my pleasure, there’s also a parry mechanic that requires precise timing and, should you pull it off, the enemy is slowed and you have an opening to counteract.
The real juice, however, is in the abilities and specializations. As a rogue, my attacks generated momentum when they are uninterrupted. That can then be spent on abilities such as Static Strikes, which fires two bolts of lightning that travel forward and deal damage independently. I could quickfire my bow to apply pressure to enemies or hold down the trigger on the controller for a more precise shot that does extra damage–both provide me with good and reliable ranged options, since arrows automatically replenish over time.
Each class also has specializations that they can spec into to unlock further combat depth. The rogue, for example, can pick between Duelist, which excels in close-quarters combat by chaining together blows and dancing around the battlefield; Saboteur, a swashbuckler that uses explosives and other gadgets to hurt enemies or exert control over the battlefield; or Veil Ranger, which is focused on doing long-range, charged shots that are precise and powerful. While some of the unlocks under these specializations are stat boosts and buffs, others can be game-changing abilities that make a character play completely differently than what you’d expect and can make for some creative combinations with companions. A Veil Ranger, for example, is able to use weird ancient relics to adopt an experimental style of fighting. It has an ultimate ability called Twin Gifts of Arlathan, which throws two relic fragments that are entangled and will very quickly bounce between targets doing damage.
As a mage, I was able to fire off elemental spells from a distance, but I could also launch a sustained beam of energy to quickly whittle away shields and make enemies more vulnerable. But, in a tight spot, I was able to bust out a knife and get to stabbing, while also using a floating elemental orb to imbue it with magical power. The switch between the staff-wielding mage and mage-with-a-damn-knife is instant and can be done during combat encounters as the player chooses.
This is true for other classes too–that means that there’s basically two styles of each class available to the player at any given moment and that’s all without considering the three different specializations each class has. Combine that with the ability to have companions freeze enemies in place, launch devastating physical strikes, or follow you up with their own offense-based spells, and you’ve got a pretty satisfying variety for combat. But Veilguard also has designated combinations between Rook and companions that are denoted when the ability wheel is brought up. Use two combo-able abilities and you’ll do much greater damage with a flashy attack that can sometimes also leave enemies suffering from further ailments.
Sadly, I wasn’t able to really dig deep into it all and figure out the various options for other classes, but I can say that having a rogue that does necrotic damage with blades and can also place a turret to provide extra supporting firepower didn’t get boring for the many hours I employed that tactic. And neither did the very cinematic finishing moves that would occasionally punctuate the end of a battle.
“We know Dragon Age has always reinvented itself in terms of how it approaches new combat systems game over game. And what that’s meant is that we have an incredibly diverse set of players in terms of their experience, their motivations, their expectations,” explained Busche. “We wanted to design a combat system that was high-fidelity. It felt fluid. It felt like you had a presence in the world, you were in control of your character. But also tapped into some of those core tenets of past Dragon Age titles.
“The throughline is always the pause-and-play, deep tactical layer. We’re quite proud of how that layers on top of that really fluid moment-to-moment gameplay. And then borrowing fan-favorite mechanics, looking back and respecting the past like the swapping weapon sets mid-combat, being directly inspired from Origins, or the pacing and intensity of Dragon Age II–we draw a lot of inspiration from that.”
Dragon Age II, though it may not hold the highest regard among fans, has clearly been a major influence when it comes to pacing and intensity of combat.
“I love the pace of the combat fluidity in Dragon Age II,” said Cheverie. “I think that’s something that just feels so good as I’m playing through Veilguard. I just finished a playthrough with a mage and I went spellblade, so I’m basically a warrior-mage getting up in enemies’ faces and have a big burning ball of destruction, which is really fun when you’re using shortcuts to fire off abilities quickly and to shift commands to your companions so that they can combo. But as I was playing through the game and getting into some of the heavier hitting fights and started to feel the pressure and getting a little bit like, ‘Uh-oh, I got to take a breather,’ I was able to bring up that ability wheel. And it’s kind of like you have a team huddle with your companions and you figure out what to do and which ability to choose to control the crowd a little bit more and relieve the pressure.”
In many cases, combat can feel like a means to an end
