Wail of the Wolf - Dragon Age The Veilguard

 

After ten years of waiting that felt endless, Dragon Age: The Veilguard was finally released to extravagant fanfare, love, and criticism. I felt like it almost came out of nowhere. I had just lost all hope for another Dragon Age entry when suddenly the trailer appeared during an Xbox showcase. The excitement was instantaneous.

Dragon Age: Inquisition had a complete hold over me when I played it. It was one of those rare games I couldn’t put down, and anytime I had a free moment, I started playing. I really felt like a part of the story with the dialogue options that regularly showed up. It felt like my story. I thought the story of Dragon Age: Inquisition flowed naturally as you slowly collected companions and learned about what they’d accomplished through various forms of intelligence gathering. It was very much a "friend of a friend" type of companion gathering. Everyone received a proper introduction, and slowly, the Inquisition grew. It felt exciting to see more and more companions fill the roster—unique characters who all had their own faults and views. I enjoyed that you could choose to be closer to some than others, and naturally, I think people found themselves drawn to favorites by design.

As I sit here and gush about how great I thought Inquisition was, I want to be transparent: I went into Veilguard with rose-colored glasses. I have criticisms, but so far, Veilguard has had me hooked at every twist, turn, and reveal.

Veilguard starts very fittingly, ten years after Inquisition and slightly less time since Trespasser. The Fade is weakened and unstable, and Solas has taken it upon himself to destroy the Fade, releasing the hordes of demons who reside inside. You play as Varric’s spunky new sidekick, Rook, who only sort of stops Solas’s plan. Instead of a world full of Fade monsters, two Elven Gods escape to create a new, more terrifying Blight. Now Rook must gather their own companions to stop two ancient Gods.

The original working title for Veilguard was Dreadwolf, and I see why. This is Solas’s story. There’s an optional quest, which I think should have been part of the main storyline, where you collect Solas’s memories and learn about his regrets. These memories are from when he was a God eons before the Inquisition. We get to see what Solas struggled with and gain a deeper understanding of his motivations. He always thought he was doing what was best for the elves, and maybe some humans. Solas’s past also rewrites Dragon Age history, which I’m not sure how I feel about. Not even the cast is sure how they feel about it, as they discover that Solas has committed a lot more crimes than originally thought. But Solas also never wanted to physically exist—he did that for someone he loved.

I’ve mentioned Varric already, but that’s not all when it comes to past companions making an appearance. We also get to start our adventure with Harding, and I’ve seen Dorian make a cameo that I wasn’t expecting. I’m sort of hoping to see more characters from Inquisition and I’m keeping my eye out. As thrilled as I am with the cameos, I do wonder how people who pick this up as their entry to Dragon Age feel about this story being a continuation. Especially with it being so heavily about Solas as a character—are they willing to give him more of a chance, given how he’s presented here, compared to players who felt betrayed in Inquisition and Trespasser?

After gathering all the companions of Veilguard and spending some time with them, I like most of them, and as anyone would, I have my favorites. I like that just about everyone has something that makes them stand out. I noticed Neve’s prosthetic due to the sound design, not because any attention was drawn to it, which was a neat character detail. Bellara has a cool elven magical artifact helping hand and is a professional archaeologist in elven artifacts. Darvin is a skilled Grey Warden and has a gryphon companion, and of course, Emmrich with a peculiar interest in the dead, but most importantly has everyone’s favorite skeleton helper, Manfred. There are more companions than that, but those are some fun ones, and just about everyone is romanceable again.

Varric is still not romanceable because Bianca did a number on his heart, but Harding is this time around. It’s a rough introduction for Varric in Veilguard—not only does he watch his friend try to destroy the world for reasons he, as a mortal, can’t understand, but he also gets stabbed by Solas in like the first ten minutes. I gasped. It feels like, in Veilguard, Varric is passing his gentle type of leadership onto Rook. He’s really molding the next adventurer who will tell the story of heroes.

Side note: TikTok is in love with Emmrich, and that surprised me. I expected Lucanis to take the cake, though he may be more of Tumblr’s taste.

For the first time ever, I put a game on story mode. I love Dragon Age’s stories and didn’t want the frustration of being stuck on a hard boss—something that, from some of the videos I’ve seen, is a very real fear in Veilguard. I enjoy the combat; it feels less tactical than Inquisition and more fast-paced. The skill tree is huge! I don’t know how I’m supposed to level up enough to unlock them all! You also get Solas’s ceremonial dagger, which provides extra buffs. Veilguard has been a breeze for me, but story mode is the reason why. The real boss was the character creator; I didn’t need it to be any harder.

All the environments are beautiful, and the first time you go into a new location, a companion will guide you so you can get a feel for the layout. The towns feel more linear, and I know why they’ve done that—at least, I think I do. The curse of the Hinterlands will haunt Dragon Age forever. There are still a ton of side missions to find if you return to previous locations.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard has been a nod to old fans and welcoming to new ones. So far, other than a few stiff cutscenes, it’s been a fun game. I’m excited to continue unraveling the stories Veilguard has to offer! Fingers crossed I don’t screw up the romance.