After a bombastic opening mission, Dragon Age: The Veilguard slows to an unbearable crawl of poorly voiced monologues dumping unnecessary lore on you. Like many players, the out-of-place accents and dull, linear missions had me reminiscing about better times, when I was exploring Ferelden with Morrigan, Leliana, and Sten back in Origins.
However, rather than missing the tactical combat or the ability to stop to have a natter with my companions, I missed Origins’ openings. You know, the things that gave it its name.
For those new to the series and jumping in with The Veilguard, first of all welcome! Second of all, after you’ve finished The Veilguard, go and play Dragon Age: Origins, because it’s the best one. Then play it again as a different character because your experience will be completely removed from your first playthrough.
I first played through Dragon Age: Origins as a dwarf commoner. Therefore, I began the game in an Orzammar prison. I had to fight my way out via gladiatorial combat, battling prejudice as much as I did beefy dwarfs, until I was invited (read: forced) to join the Grey Wardens. My background affected me throughout the game, in Orzammar and beyond. Whether it was a dwarven election or a vile betrayal by my childhood friend (something that characters of other origins would completely miss), this bespoke opening set the tone for the entire game.
I’ve since played through Origins at least two more times, playing as a Circle Mage, an elf in the abandoned slums of Denerim’s Alienage, and more. Each time, the game has given me a brand new backstory for my character and each time this has impacted the story throughout my playthrough. The fact there are still three more origin stories I haven’t even touched in a game from 2009 blows my mind.
While I think The Veilguard’s opening is excellent, it’s the hours that follow that get bogged down in unnecessary exposition. However, I was pleased to meet some of my fellow Veil Jumpers and catch up with them after a bit of a falling out which saw me leave their order for the Veilguard, apparently. Everyone seems to know what went down except me, the player, and it feels like there’s a missed opportunity for storytelling here.
What’s worse is if you didn’t pick the Veil Jumper background. Harding catches up with Strife and Irelin instead, leaving Rook a passenger in their own story. What we needed after our journey through Minrathous to stop Solas was a flashback.
Varric is on his deathbed. Sure, it’s a hospital bed, but a little drama didn’t hurt anyone. He asks if you remember how you joined the Veilguard. Flashback.
You’re a Veil Jumper in an ancient elven temple. You have a map to an artifact, but things start going wrong. You have a choice to save your friends or grab the piece of technology you came here to steal. You choose your friends.
BioWare could also use this as an opportunity to fake-out a Big Decision(TM), but if you choose the artifact Varric corrects you: “No, no, that’s not what happened. We wouldn’t be here if you’d have thought so selfishly.”
Varric narrates this short mission as you play it. Only afterwards can you move on with the story. What purpose would this serve? It would endear us to our Rook, for starters, as well as the characters we save. It would be a natural way to introduce the party and some NPCs who will become important later on.
Rather than going from escaped gods and destroyed ritual to Lore Dump Central, we’d have some character and relationship building. This is something that The Veilguard has lost in pushing its narrative forward so quickly; you can no longer stop for a chat with your companions to get to know them better. To alleviate this, it could have introduced them in a flashback origin story a lá the first game in the series.
It would also aid replayability. I’m only a dozen hours into The Veilguard and already I’m thinking about how much of a drag it’ll be to slog through all the same, linear missions again. However, if I wanted to replay as an Antivan Crow or a Qunari warrior, I’d be excited to see what differences it made to my flashback and further story.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard has problems with its characters and the dialogue between them. I don’t mind the linear levels, but I can’t bear the thought of replaying them. Bespoke opening missions for the game’s classes would alleviate this issue, call back to the series’ roots, and likely appease fans who believe the game has strayed too far from its RPG beginnings. If only BioWare could implement them in an update after launch, Baldur’s Gate 3-style. Is that too much to ask?
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What’s Going On With Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Accents?
From shaky vocal performances to strange accent choices, Dragon Age: The Veilguard sounds off.