Veilguard’s Art Style Has Pros, Cons
Now that Dragon Age: The Veilguard is finally rolling out, BioWare fans are keeping their eyes on the horizon for more news about Mass Effect 4. This new Dragon Age game answers many questions that fans have held onto over the past decade, not just about the series itself, but about BioWare as a company, which suffered a severe fall from grace during the 2010s.
Luckily, it would appear that BioWare may be on the verge of a comeback, as Dragon Age: The Veilguard is enjoying a fairly strong critical reception—especially when compared to Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem, the studio’s two previous releases. This doesn’t mean that The Veilguard has been enjoying universal praise, however, and among the most common subjects of criticism is the game’s distinct shift in art style: Veilguard is far more stylized and decidedly unrealistic in its presentation, which is a notable departure from previous games in the series, which aimed for a more photorealistic aesthetic. Of course, there’s nothing inherently wrong about this change in style, as it simply boils down to a matter of personal preference, but it does raise some questions about what route BioWare will take with respect to Mass Effect 4‘s visual design.
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What Photorealism Could Mean for Mass Effect 4
Why Mass Effect 4 Keeping Its Photorealism Is the Right Call
The relatively stylized graphics of Dragon Age: The Veilguard came as a shock to many fans, but it’s not a totally unreasonable creative choice. Yes, the art style is a bit more colorful and “cartoon-like” than the previous Dragon Age games, but considering that it’s been a decade since the last entry in the series, a notable visual shakeup makes a lot of sense. Additionally, it’s not the first time that Dragon Age has altered its visuals, as the art styles of Origins and Dragon Age 2 are noticeably distinct, as are the styles of Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition. By comparison, the Mass Effect series maintains a relatively consistent visual style throughout its four entries.
Additionally, the more mature tone of Mass Effect‘s hard science-fiction narrative lends itself better to a photorealistic art style. This is something that Mass Effect director Michael Gamble briefly touched on when discussing how Mass Effect 4 will be photorealistic. Veilguard‘s high-fantasy setting is arguably a bit better suited to a “Pixar-like” visual style, so an adherence to more realistic graphics for ME4 seems like a good call.
Mass Effect 4 Needs To Hit a Home Run With Photorealism
Whatever artistic direction Mass Effect 4 takes, it will likely look remarkably different from the games that preceded it. In the wake of other big-budget RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, standards for photorealistic graphics in a sprawling, narrative-focused game are higher than ever, and while it’s hard to predict how ambitious ME4 will be, there’s a good chance that it will try to compete with these other leading RPGs on the visual front.
The graphics of the original Mass Effect trilogy hold up well, but they obviously don’t compare favorably to modern games. For BioWare to approach the level of fidelity of a game like Cyberpunk (post-patches, of course), it would require a great deal of technical wizardry and attention to detail that the developer isn’t exactly known for. A particularly significant hurdle could be realistic facial animations, as the stylized graphics of a game like Veilguard offer a greater margin for error, since audiences aren’t expecting true-to-life character models. Essentially, as Mass Effect targets more realistic visuals, it will likely be treated with greater scrutiny, expected to be the most high-fidelity game from BioWare by a country mile.
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- Franchise
- Mass Effect
- Released
- May 14, 2021
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Drug Reference, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 100+ Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 21 GB (November 2023)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty