Dragon Age: The Veilguard is, at its heart, a fantasy RPG – but it has its fair share of downright terrifying moments as well. The game, which focuses on the epic conflict between the titular Veilguard and accidentally-freed elven gods, draws from the horror genre with moments like the players exploring a blight-choked wasteland or facing demons deep in the Necropolis Halls. Gamers looking for a bit of a scare will find plenty to frighten them in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, with several characters, quests, and battles feeling like they were pulled straight from the most spine-tingling of horror films.
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Ghilan’nain’s Design Evokes Lovecraft’s Monsters
One of the godly foes faced in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is Ghilan’nain, the Mother of Halla. Initially portrayed in elven mythology as a benevolent figure responsible for navigation and guidance, Veilguard reveals Ghilan’nain to be a twisted creature with power over the Blight and the ability to create terrifying monsters.
When she manifests fully, Ghilan’nain appears as a massive, tentacled woman with an oddly-jointed, near-skeletal frame. Her design wouldn’t be out of place in the works of HP Lovecraft, and she’s an eerie presence whenever she appears. Battles against her forces, where she tirelessly creates monster after blighted monster to send against her Veilguard foes.
The Cabin In The Blight Is A Self-Contained Mini Horror Story
The Hossberg Wetlands is The Veilguard’s most horror-adjacent location, filled with Blight that has driven many of its residents from their homes and forced them to seek the nominal safety of the Grey Warden encampment. One side quest in Hossberg is particularly horror movie-adjacent: “The Cabin in the Blight,” which even draws its name from the classic scary movie The Cabin in the Woods.
“The Cabin in the Blight” sees players delving deeper and deeper into the most blighted parts of the Wetlands to learn the fate of a missing physician. Said fate is a gruesome look at how the Blight can so quickly choke out lives and devastate homes as players rush from clue to clue desperately hoping for a happy ending to the story – but all the while becoming increasingly aware that there isn’t going to be one. It’s an effective, self-contained horror story that could definitely haunt players’ nightmares.
Other Moments Of Horror In Dragon Age: The Veilguard
While these are two of the most prominent elements that draw directly from horror films, there are several other moments of horror in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. These include:
- The demon The Formless One, who is fought multiple times after being accidentally freed from the Necropolis Halls.
- The Echo in the Well, a mysterious monster encountered during another Hossberg Wetlands side quest whose true form is never quite revealed, leaving it particularly frightening and mysterious.
- A cursed door in a mansion – yet again in the Hossberg Wetlands – that causes greed, obsession, and destructive thoughts in those who get too close.
- The horrifying human experiments carried out in the Ossuary, the prison where companion Lucanis is held prior to his rescue by Rook and the team
Perfectly fitting for a game that officially launched on Halloween, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is rife with scares. Fortunately, it’s also filled with moments of levity and warmth – plus more than a few instances of something “frightening” on the surface turning out harmless or even adorable, such as Emmrich‘s devoted skeleton assistant, Manfred. The world of Thedas may be filled with terror, but it’s also full of friendly skeletons always down for a good game of Rock-Paper-Scissors while exploring the Lighthouse alongside Rook.
- Franchise
- Dragon Age
- Released
- October 31, 2024
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence