As Dragon Age: The Veilguard continues to be divisive as players plough through it further, I’m reminded of the thought I had while playing it in isolation for review. ‘This is good, but it’s just Mass Effect‘. As someone who prefers BioWare’s space opera to its fantasy epic, that was just fine with me. But now that Dragon Age is out, I’m wondering what the actual next Mass Effect might look like.
There are some flaws that Dragon Age: The Veilguard has as an overall video game experience. Most games do. Then there are flaws Dragon Age: The Veilguard has specifically as a Dragon Age game, whose parameters and traditions have been established over three previous 80 plus hours long RPGs. A lot of these failings in particular, if applied to a Mass Effect game, I think cease to exist.
The Veilguard Basically Has Mass Effect Combat
The obvious place to start is the divisive combat. Two companions with you, a power wheel, heavy focus on combo detonations, and fast-paced action might be out of place in Dragon Age, but they are cornerstones of Mass Effect. Add in some cover shooting and the combat in The Veilguard would be near indistinguishable from Mass Effect 3. Most issues people have with combat is that it’s not very Dragon Age-y, which Mass Effect need not be concerned with. BioWare will get Mass Effect’s combat right.
Then there are the more linear maps and quest-based exploration, possibly an example of modern gaming opting for simplicity over complexity, possibly the bones of The Veilguard’s live-service origins, possibly both. Regardless, it is one more example of Dragon Age getting flak for doing it the Mass Effect way.
It should get flak – while the series have always shared some ideals, they have still had very different identities. Even Dragon Age 2, previously the most action-focused outing in Thedas, embraced the way of Commander Shepard far less. It’s a worthy criticism of The Veilguard that its exploration is too shallow and narrow. But as far as being a portent of doom for Mass Effect, I don’t see how BioWare making a game that plays like Mass Effect in fantasy cosplay as being a particularly scary harbinger.
Mass Effect Needs To Make Bold Lore Choices
Of course, The Veilguard’s problems aren’t restricted to Mass Effectisms alone. The characters being too nice is a major element to avoid – while Dragon Age’s more complex lore often meant more inter-party drama, Mass Effect’s crew were always a little rougher around the edges. You can’t imagine a Jack, a Miranda, a Javik in The Veilguard, but we need something like them in Mass Effect’s next adventure.
Then there are the choices. While I think BioWare is going to have to bite the bullet and make one ending choice (Destroy) canon, I would be prepared to give the studio a pass for that if we still get to make meaningful choices in the game itself. Though we choose between which city to save in The Veilguard, there is a lack of weight behind this (in part because the game is too nice, much like its cast).
Dragon Age has typically let you make bigger choices that have greater ramifications for the world itself, and it’s disappointing that The Veilguard neither lets you nor respects the ones you made previously. With Mass Effect though, choices are often more personal. Kaiden or Ashley. Side with Tali or side with Legion. Even the genophage is personalised through Wrex and Mordin.
Though Mass Effect does offer choices with larger ramifications, it was always a more personal journey – aided by the fact it was a complete trilogy as a single character. But making bold, character-based choices feels like a big ask for BioWare, judging by The Veilguard’s inability to upset anyone, ever. BioWare will need to make some tough choices about the sort of game it wants to make, and pass those choices onto us.
The Next Mass Effect Needs Stronger Characters And Better Writing
Other complaints are a mixed bag, and I wonder what the ‘could be better’ reception to The Veilguard will change in Mass Effect’s development. Mass Effect never quite featured as much roleplaying, as we were Commander Shepard, a human with some fairly fixed lore, rather than a multitude of possible characters with various backgrounds and racial traits. It is streamlined already, so if the next Mass Effect has a similar amount of interaction to The Veilguard, that would probably work. If it planes down Mass Effect 3 in the way The Veilguard planes down Inquisition, then you’d run into trouble.
As for the characters, I’m finding that tough to judge. I don’t like Neve, and think Lucanis’ Spite arc is wasted, but if you squint a little, I can see what BioWare was going for and enjoyed my time with this crew. People would be within their rights to argue they don’t want to have to squint – you’ve rarely needed to in BioWare games before. The smaller cast makes missteps more obvious, and the forced choices (plus the overall niceness) doesn’t help matters. But while not Greatest Hits material, there’s nothing in The Veilguard that makes me think BioWare has lost its way completely here. Its structure holds these characters back more than anything.
Then there’s just the fact Mass Effect’s universe is a pretty bad place. It has slavers, disease, corruption, and rampant militias. A cornerstone of the worldbuilding is governmental justification for ethnic cleansing. After seeing The Veilguard fumble Tevinter, presumably through an unwillingness to explore atrocities in a game the Dragon Age Council considered their escapism from the world, I hope Mass Effect has more bravery to make us uncomfortable.
The long and the short of it is I think The Veilguard would be considerably better if it was a Mass Effect game, ergo the next Mass Effect game will probably be better than The Veilguard. There are still some issues with modern game design in general and the specific approach BioWare has taken to some of its design choices, but even if Dragon Age did not live up to my highest hopes, I still believe Mass Effect can.
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
81/100
- Released
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October 31, 2024