I found Dragon’s Dogma 2 to be an incredibly interesting game. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it when first playing earlier this year, but I definitely enjoyed the experience. The story was a little lacklustre, the final boss battle was little more than a cutscene, but there were areas where it trod new ground, especially mechanically, that made the experience of exploration and combat exciting.
Take, for example, the fact that you can aim your attacks towards a dragon’s wings to stop it from flying away before you’re done with it. Or that you can climb on top of big enemies in order to deal damage to their weak points. Or that said enemy can fly away (provided you haven’t forcibly clipped its wings) with you clinging to its back, and take you all the way to its nest across the map. Now you’re in an area with high level enemies and devastation around every corner and no means of fast travel.
I’m not exaggerating when I say Dragon’s Dogma 2 introduced systems as groundbreaking as those in Breath of the Wild. As someone who prizes mechanical invention over graphical fidelity, it iterates on the fantasy RPG genre in interesting ways that I hope more future titles build on.
However, the story was poor. The writing was fine, but the narrative was threadbare. I didn’t mind it once I got into combat, and the fake ending when you kill the dragon was a twist that shook me to my core. But this almost falls into worldbuilding rather than story, as it barely affects your decision-making throughout the game. Are you thinking of Grigori when you’re infiltrating palatial balls? No, and that’s a problem.
The NPCs were original, and I love any game that lets you murder a questgiver and deal with the repercussions. The false Arisen wandering around claiming glory in your name is also a great touch, and makes the world feel real.
I haven’t even mentioned the Dragonsplague, an ingenious mechanic that can punish you for being careless with your recruitment of pawns. Few modern games are brave enough to wipe out entire populations because of player misjudgment, just like few games will allow a boss battle to be skipped because of your inaction (the colossus simply rampages through the landscape if you don’t stop it), and few will limit your fast travel in order to force you to engage with its systems.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Is As Deep As A Puddle
The mechanical depth of Dragon’s Dogma 2 was impressive, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot since starting Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
The Veilguard is on the other end of the spectrum. Its mechanical depth is surface-level, and while the combat is fun, it’s incredibly basic. I can buttonmash my way through most encounters simply by the nature of having crafted a decent build that plays to my strengths and infects my opponents with stacks of Necrosis.
At least Dragon Age nails the narrative, though. Right? Except as countless people have already realised, myself included, The Veilguard doesn’t have a cohesive narrative. The story is as shallow as the mechanics, the characters are dull, their accents are erratic, and even the Big BioWare Decisions(TM) feel less meaningful than in past games.
On the surface level, this game is fun. I enjoy buttonmashing and running through the linear levels. I don’t even mind the art style, despite the fact that I like my fantasy RPGs on the grittier side with ugly characters rather than these yassified models.
The thing I crave most of all in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is depth. Complexity. Something to sink my teeth into and chew on for a couple of hours. I don’t want the tedium of bullet sponge boss battles, I want a foe that I can attack strategically. There’s a little of this in the primer system, but any complexity is in the preparation and the fights themselves become tedious after a while.
I’m not asking for The Veilguard to become Dota 2. I’m not even asking it to become Dragon’s Dogma 2. I just would have appreciated it if it had tried something new rather than sitting on its laurels and presenting a milquetoast fantasy RPG that is competent everywhere but excels nowhere.
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The Deadliest Opponent In Dragon Age: The Veilguard Is The Environment
Two ancient blighted gods are nothing compared to Rook’s biggest fear.