Although Dragon Age: The Veilguard is at its heart a fantasy story, but it pulls from many other genres as well. Blighted wastelands bring to mind horror movies, while some of the game’s romance scenes could be pulled straight from the pages of a Harlequin classic. One of Dragon Age: The Veilguard‘s companions, Shadow Dragon detective Neve Gallus, brings mystery genre flair to the story with the structure of her quests and her investigative approach to the game’s larger plot.
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Several Of Neve’s Quests Are Treated As “Cases”
Neve’s detective skills are highlighted from the moment she appears – she is hired by Varric and Rook to hunt down Solas, a task she completes swiftly and with aplomb. From there, Neve lends her investigative prowess to the Veilguard, helping analyze clues, read past testimonies, and interrogate witnesses as the team desperately searches for a way to stop the freed elven gods.
Several Neve-related quests use the nomenclature “Case,” rather than “Quest,” a clever tip of the fascinator to her detective profession. These include:
- The Smuggled Relic Case – Neve hears rumors of shady deals involving elven artifacts in Minrathous and ultimately uncovers a vast smuggling plot.
- The Cobbled Swan Case – Neve checks in on the Threads, a criminal organization in which she has contacts, and learns of a Venatori scheme.
- The Returned Cultist Case – Neve confronts an old enemy and attempts to foil a deadly cult’s plans for good.
Each of these “cases” is structured like a mini-mystery, with Neve and Rook interrogating witnesses and searching for clues – handily marked in-game by magnifying glass icons. Neve even has a field ability called “Just a Hunch” that primarily shows up during these quests, allowing her to more closely investigate areas that she has flagged as suspicious.
While the quests involving Neve directly are the most openly mystery-inspired, several quests in Minrathous – the city associated with Neve and her faction, the Shadow Dragons – also feel like something out of a detective game. Rook can investigate missing buskers in “Out of Tune,” follow a clever treasure hunt in “Hidden Hoard,” and learn about the city’s shady underbelly in “The Snake Nest Deal.”
Neve Approaches Everything Like A Detective
Although she’s in a fantasy RPG, Neve Gallus truly feels like a great detective cut from the same mold as Sherlock Holmes and his ilk. She approaches everything like a mystery, from trying to find out why wisps have gathered in her room in the Lighthouse to learning how Manfred, Emmrich’s skeleton assistant, functions. Banter between Neve and the other companions, especially early on in the game, often reads like an interrogation, with Neve peppering her chosen subject with questions about their life, experiences, and goals.
In group conversations among the Veilguard, such as when they meet to view the collected memories of Solas’s past, Neve often leads the discussion. Her razor-sharp insights often help the Veilguard reach the right conclusions and determine the next step in their plans to stop Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain – and her excitement at the “thrill of the chase” is contagious, leading to lively group conversations that are a highlight of The Veilguard’s middle sections.
Even in her romance, Neve’s detective identity shines through – she discusses wanting to “investigate further” what is building between her and Rook when she realizes that a romance could be possible and that her feelings might be reciprocated. Every aspect of Neve’s character pays faithful homage to the detective genre, and it is an absolute treat for fans of mystery games to discover as they journey through Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
- Franchise
- Dragon Age
- Released
- October 31, 2024
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence