Movies News Talk
Though the launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard has been long awaited, the first looks at gameplay seem more like those of a Mass Effect game with a fantasy backdrop than any Dragon Age game that preceded it. Dragon Age is BioWare's longest-running and most successful series outside Mass Effect. Dragon Age has changed significantly from its release in Dragon Age: Origins, which quite resembled the venerable Baldur's Gate games BioWare also worked on. But as the show progresses, the series might be virtually losing its RPG roots nearly entirely.
Thanks to a new reveal trailer and Gameplay demonstration, the game first revealed as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is at last on its road toward release following what is thought to be a difficult development period. Based on what has thus far come to light, Veilguard explicitly tells the story of Dragon Age: Inquisition's Trespasser DLC, with Solas as a key enemy and his desire to destroy the Veil as the game's impetus taken front stage. Though Veilguard's story makes sense as a Dragon Age sequel, its gameplay is starting to resemble BioWare's other major RPG titles.
Of course, Dragon Age's overall tilt toward more action-oriented gameplay is not new. Early on in Dragon Age 2, the series had veered away from Origins' more typical CRPG fighting approach; concurrently, Dragon Age 2 was the game that changed dialogue options to a wheel more akin to Mass Effect. Though the two games after Origins kept some of the tactical elements of the original game, it seems that only the most basic forms of it will be evident in Veilguard—and even then, only those elements akin to Mass Effect's systems.
Overall, though, streamlining Veilguard's combat tactical elements could be a benefit since it would help battle to be more concentrated rather than result in a greater separation between action and tactics. From a certain point of view, the tactical elements still present in Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition may be mostly ignored, so decreasing them even more makes logical. The action elements of Dragon Age are at this point in the history of the genre considerably more long-lived than Origins' pure CRPG Gameplay, and the series would surely keep evolving in that direction.
As seen in the 20-minute gameplay reveal shown on June 11 via the official Dragon Age YouTube channel, the combat in Dragon Age: The Veilguard has striking similarities to Mass Effect and seems to tilt even more towards action than its predecessor, Inquisition already did. Though this change is not absolutely bad and fits the direction of the series toward more action-heavy gameplay, it remains to be seen if Veilguard's gameplay will be able to retain any of the tactical sense that the Dragon Age series first had.
Party composition is the most clear point of comparison between Veilguard and Mass Effect; the former exactly reflects the latter by letting players bring two companions with them at once, down from the usual three of past Dragon Age games. In a similar vein, skills for both Rook and companion characters in Veilguard work almost exactly Mass Effect as well; the game apparently only makes three abilities available to Rook at any one time, and lets players call for companion abilities using a combat wheel instead of directly acquiring control of different party members.
Though other tactical features from past Dragon Age games seem few, Veilguard contains a tactical wheel of powers for Rook and other party members, which pauses time and lets players choose skills without time constraint.
Like a Mass Effect game with an emphasis on melee combat instead of shooting and a fantasy setting substituting sci-fi, Veilguard's previews thus present it as almost totally action-oriented. Though it would be premature to assess the general quality of Veilguard's combat from just a brief 20-minute preview set at (seemingly) the very beginning of the game, the game does appear to lack nearly any conventional CRPG or tactical elements, which Dragon Age: Inquisition retained to some degree even as it moved more toward action as well.
Designed as a follow-up to 2014's Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dreadwolf marks the fourth Dragon Age entry. Solas is a timeless character who will resurfaced as the antagonist of the next game. Many of the series' best features—including several dialogue options, party selections, love options, and more—will be kept in the game. First direct sequel in the Dragon Age series will be dreadwolf.
Whether the game will become a big hit or not is yet unknown. Since its first announcement, the excitement around this game has been developing. This forthcoming game will thrill fans of the show.