Dragon Age Veilguard: A Post-Mortem Review, Part 2
Updated: 5 days ago
Welcome back to the Part 2 of my Dragon Age: Veilguard Post Mortem Review!
Let's get right into it, shall we...
If you've read Part 1, you already know that by now that I don't think the game is perfect in any way, and I do have my share of gripes with it, but I’m not about to hop on the hate train of bashing the game for not being all that I imagined (and wished) it to be. Because to be fair... ten years is a long time and I have quite a vivid imagination, so no, I knew it was never going to come even close to that.
But as far as the most common “issue” that people have with the game...
Dragon Age series has always been about all the usually generic dark medieval fantasy tropes you can think of, but turned on their head whenever possible (a.i. progressive to its core):
Female Messiah? Check. Female priesthood? Check. Bisexual, trans, gay or straight companions? Check (right from the start). Warriors of all genders, shapes and sizes? Check. Conventionally “unattractive” female companions that didn’t ponder to the male gaze. Check.
I could add a bunch of other examples, but I think it’s enough to make my point clear: the addition of another character on the spectrum doesn’t really stand out as something new, outrageous or breaking up with the tradition of the series.
Could it have been executed in a less heavy handed manner?
Yes.
Most definitely.
And this brings me to my last major issue I have with the game:
What happened to the "Show, Don't Tell"?!
While the return of Varric's narration does feel like a nostalgic throwback to the second entry to the series and I kind of liked it at first, it completely ruined the game for me, the further along I got. Instead of connecting the dots between the various quests or serving as a silver thread of sorts (which, to be fair, it does at times to a varying degree), it often goes completely rogue and like an elephant in the proverbial porcelain store, smashes any and all suspense or immersion you might have left at that point. Revealing (telling) absolutely everything that might have happened in between no holds barred.
How in the Maker's name could that make sense with Varric telling the story?!
And no, I won't be spoiling anything here, because I am (or try to be) a nice person most of the time, so you can continue reading, without fear of me revealing any pertinent information.
First: in Dragon Age 2 Varric was being interrogated by Cassandra, so it gave him the artistic freedom to "interpret" or "reinterpret" events as it suited him at the time (which one might say didn't necessarily happen exactly as told by him, and which could leave you to question the whole Hawke storyline).
Still his narration inserts were there to bridge the storyline between the years when nothing of import "supposedly" happen, and it kind of fit (even though the game itself didn't really do that convincingly enough, but that is a story for another day).
Second: Due to his unusual circumstance in Veilguard you could argue he has a "unique" perspective and could know things that happen offscreen,... but not really.
Warning rant with spoilers bellow, skip if you wish to avoid them:
What is the point of these inserts?
Why are they here?
To patch up holes in the storyline and development cycle apparently. But just like with any submarine, you can patch up the pipeline up to a certain point, but if you don't fix the issue causing the pipes to burst, the holes will just keep popping up and it will sink.
Take for example the Dragon King mission (the straw that broke me).
Don’t worry, I won’t spoil the mission itself, if by chance you still haven’t managed to play the game since it came out... but anyone who did...you'll know what I mean.
Instead of dragging me in, narrative insert here just threw me off, and broke off any threads of immersion I had left by that point. After a hefty dose of hinting, it comes to a point where it outright explains to you what has happened, instead of you know... letting you figure it out for yourself through actually playing the game.
The only thing left after this, is for you to go into this quest and confront the big baddie over there. Gee. Thanks a bunch!
And the only feeling I had left by that point was annoyance, to put it mildly.
After already a lot of handholding through out the game, it felt downright insulting. No, I do not have the memory span of a gold fish and while I do play to relax, the need to think would not prevent me from having fun. Instead Veilguard takes great effort to hint, overexplain, summarise, describe and remind the player of everything in case they might get lost, frustrated with the controls, forget the plot, or how to play the game.
I just didn’t see the point in having to play a mission where I already knew what was going to happen, leaving out only the minute details.
For the first time ever in a Dragon Age game I just couldn't muster up the enthusiasm to go through the quest on my second playthrough. I was stuck and I doubted I'd ever replay (or finish) the game at all.
So what happened? A couple of months went by, my disappointment cooled down and I returned absolutely hell bent on finishing my second playthrough, for old times' sake. Would I do so otherwise? No.
Over the years Bioware has bought up enough loyalty points from me, that I still had a couple of fucks left to give.
You see. Dragon Age Origins was the first Bioware game I played. The second RPG I managed to play through to the end (first was the Witcher...a whole story by itself). It was epic. At times boring. The combat was a pain (me being used to fast paced action games and the like up until that point).
I wasn’t even sure I was going to replay it ever again until I got to the finish line.
Than a couple of days later...
I created a new character and replayed it.
A couple of weeks went by....
And I created another new character and played the game to the end.
By the time of my last playthrough a couple of years ago, I probably replayed Dragon Age: Origins 20 times at least. It has helped me through some hellish times and then some.
It dug it's claws in me and dug them deep. Became my favourite go to "comfort" game.
Other RPGs followed...and over ten years later, here I am, still mostly stuck in the genre. Thanks Bioware! You ruined the rest of the gaming genres for me.
And now you're probably wondering... hey Sneaky Mage, you replayed the game three times! Does the same thing hold true for Veilguard, just as it did for Origins?
Unfortunately no, it doesn't. I've started my first playthrough after I learned that EA basically murdered Bioware and fired basically everyone who ever worked on any of the Dragon Age games. So you could say I was feeling melancholic and a little heart broken for the people who lost their jobs.
Compared to the previous three entries of the series, Veilguard is plagued by an inconsistent, lacklustre and impoverished storytelling experience.
Veilguard has more than a few clumsy, heavy handed and even redundant dialogue options (that are there just to offer you an illusion of an option, but with the same outcome), which are more often than not stuck in what seems a "vanilla" approach to dialogue.
There is no real lasting conflict, darkness, or drama, or if there is, it is resolved incredibly quickly, which at times makes the relationships feel shallow and a bit Disneyfied, for the lack of a better term.
All the gravitas, sarcasm and sincerity of Origins, the darkness, humour and brutality of Hawke's story and high stakes, struggle and conflict of Inquisition are gone and replaced by a fluffy, everything will work out in the end approach, which makes it feel like a "Dragon Age light" experience.
Which also kind of makes sense, if you create a game aimed at as wide an audience as possible, but it is a complete disservice to its legacy.
And yes, also to its fanbase. It had to be said.
While it is at times toxic, it's still full of people who love the series to its core, and to completely dismiss them in order to pander to a massive new audience leaves you with a product that might be good and overall entertaining, but alienates the very people that stuck with it up until this point.
On to the Cause of Death...
Which is a lesson corporations like EA can't comprehend:
When you're trying to please everyone.... you end up pleasing none.
But then again, what can you expect from a publisher, who doesn't understand its own developers, their strengths or weakness, but understands money, shareholders and revenue. The only really surprising thing about this whole debacle is, that it took so long and so many failed attempts, before it "killed" the once beloved company like Bioware.
I know it technically still exists, and I do not want to disparage or disregard the people that are still working for it, however most (over 90%) of the original staff is gone, and thus the very essence and the soul of that company, that Bioware, that made all those amazing games, is also gone.
I am not saying it can't create amazing games in the future... but as with any legendary group of people, you can't just replace the original members and then expect the people not to notice, the vocals, the charisma, the essence and stage presence are not the same.
Especially if you don't understand what made that group of people and the games they created awesome in the first place... rant incoming:
And here is where I think the main problem of the last entry in the Dragon Age series lies.
Anyone who has ever played any of the original games, knows what they are about. And up to this point any character that didn't fit the straight, while, male trope, was (in my opinion) masterfully written into the storyline and lore of Thedas (i.e. Master Wade, Dorian, Krem...).
This time around it clashes with the overall "vanilla" approach, aimed at as large an audience as possible, and sticks out like a tone deaf, heavy handed, "woke" propaganda, even if the intention was anything but.
The series has always tried to be as inclusive as possible (and successfully so, I might add), without explicitly alienating anyone, who was not in (or an ally of) that minority... but here it does feel like there is only one way you should feel about it, and I think that forced should is what really rubs the people the wrong way.
HOWEVER any sort of harassment, personal attacks, threats and wishing (if not right out demanding) for specific people to loose their livelihood, because you don't like a fictional character in a game, is ludicrous, unethical, abhorrent and immoral behaviour, not fit for any adult in a civilised society. You don't like the game? Don't buy it. Boycott the developer. Make your opinion heard. Just don't forget to keep a shred of basic human decency and dignity. As with any large corporation, Bioware is a puppet dancing to the tune of it's masters who pull the strings, and not one single employee has made all the decisions by themselves in a vacuum. |
Completely severing ties to the Dragon Age Keep and any consequential decisions from the past entries, also does not help Veilguard in the long run. I get it, it's a logical decision, if you wish to invite more people into the fold, however it was never going to be a decision loved by anyone who already has played any of the previous games.
And I am not even talking about big decisions.
A couple of cameos dependant on the players decision in the previous games, would be a nice touch and keeping up with the tradition of the series, which would only add to the replayability value of the game.
With the heavy presence of Grey Wardens in the game, why not throw in a random Blackwall/Rainer appearance (or Oghren, or any other ex-companion from the order), replacing one of the NPCs you talk with defending Lavendel for instance...
It wouldn't even have to be a huge role, but just a nod to a returning player, to make them feel their decisions left at least a small impression in the whole saga... I mean the chalice and Kristoff/Blackwall mention in the Grey Warden's Weisshaupt library are a nice touch (as mentioned in the first part of my review), but can be easily missed and irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
Even Morrigan is presented in a "light" version, with 70% less sass and 90% less potential "baggage" from the previous entries.
There is however one good thing about Veilguard, that I am grateful for, in the long run (although I do wish the execution was a little bit more tactful and paced differently to at least make it seem, that it didn't serve only to purposefully and completely cut any and all ties with its predecessors) and that is the completion of any and all open questions regarding its lore.
The cat is out of the bag, there are no mysteries left regarding the Blight, its origins, Tevinter gods, dragons, elves, dwarves, titans... Any and (almost) all questions are answered, so if EVER, by any chance or miracle, another Dragon Age game does come out, it can have a fresh start, with only a tiny sliver of a thin thread connecting it to its predecessors in the form of the Executors.
It does however feel a bit exhibitionistic as you play the game and suddenly revelations and explanations start to rain down from everyone and everywhere at an unprecedented pace... which does feel like breaking with tradition and contradictory to the established lore at times. It's just resolved too quick, too easy and too neat. A clean break.
But given how other game series were (are) treated by their publishers and left in somewhere in the ether, unresolved and unfinished (hkhm...Half Life), thank the Maker for this... even if feels deeply unsatisfying.
Join me next week for the final summary and my thoughts on Veilguard in Part 3.
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