NOTE: This article details the opening hour of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. While the biggest spoilers are omitted, anyone who wants to go in fresh at release should consider this a SPOILER WARNING.
There's a giant tear in the sky, with the Veil weakening and demons invading. Players are forced to fight their way to the source with but a detour or two before them. Along the way, they meet a few allies, including the beloved storyteller Varric Tethras and a powerful mage. Together, they push forward and are met with a boss battle against a Pride Demon. From there, things go from bad to worse, the main player character loses consciousness, and the world of Thedas—and its survival—depends upon the player. That is the opening of Dragon Age: Inquisition, but it's also the opening of its highly-anticipated sequel, Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
The Best War Games recently attended an hour-long presentation at Summer Game Fest, where creative director John Epler walked us through character creation and the opening sequence of the game. Dragon Age: Veilguard is in an unenviable position because it not only has to deliver something new and improved after a decade, but because it is also a direct sequel that has to pay off a long-standing cliff-hanger. The prologue, obviously, isn't enough to say whether it accomplishes that or not, but one thing was certain: seeing Thedas against hit like The Iron Bull.
Dragon Age: Veilguard Character Creation
If Dragon Age: Veilguard's character creation set out to prove anything, it's that it wasn't going to be caught slacking. Dragon Age: Inquisition received a lot of criticism for its hair, all of which looked new and improved here. Many fans were subject to the horror of DA Inquition's special green light, so BioWare made it where players could shuffle through a handful of backgrounds to see how their character looks in different lights. Body sliders for fully customizable bodies, other appearance changes like tattoos, and everything fans would expect from a modern Dragon Age character creator seemed to be there. Otherwise, players have some important decisions to make beyond their appearance:
Dragon Age: Veilguard Races, Classes, and Backgrounds
- Playable Races: Human, Elf, Qunari, and Dwarf
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Classes: Warrior, Rogue, and Mage
- This preview chose to run a Human Rogue, denying me the knowledge of Mage specializations that I so desired.
- Rogue specializations: Duelist (movement-focused class with a focus on dodges and parries), Saboteur (trap-focused), and Veil Ranger (ranged-focus)
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Backgrounds: Grey Wardens, Veil Jumpers, Antivan Crows, Shadow Dragons, Lords of Fortune, Mourn Watch
- Returning character and companion Harding is associated with The Inquisition. With her notable exclusion, this means that the PC must share a background with one of the new Dragon Age: Veilguard companions. Davrin = Grey Warden, Bellara = Veil Jumper, Lucanis = Antivan Crow, Neve = Shadow Dragons, Taash = Lords of Fortune, Emmrich = Mourn Watch.
- For the purposes of this preview, the Human Rogue was a Shadow Dragon and shared some special dialogue with Neve as a result.
Dragon Age: Veilguard Opening Cinematic and Sequence
The opening cinematic features Varric sharing Solas' story, specifically focused on his past as the Dread Wolf, before turning to the present. Varric and Harding had tracked him to Minrathous, the capital of the Tevinter Imperium. The new Dragon Age protagonist Rook is there with Varric to meet Neve - Shadow Dragon and renowned detective - who has a lead on Solas and his ritual to tear down th Veil. Neve is not at the meet-up point and, instead, we are met with low-level Venatori agents in a shady bar. The preview then presented the first choice in Dragon Age: Veilguard - to attack the Venatori or to try to convince them with words. Because attacking was the decision made, there was a pop-up that said Varric would remember that Rook prefers action to words, which was as nostalgic as it comes.
Learning Neve's location, we stepped outside and Minrathous truly makes Orlais look like the Korcari Wilds. Magic is everywhere, there is a gothic undertone, the floating castle is utterly foreboding, and the skybox is pure beauty. When Dorian talked about the beauty of Minrathous in DA: Inquisition, it may have been the first understatement of his life. Of course, then the sky tore apart and a tear in the Veil, seemingly the size of the Breach, appeared. The Veil grew thin and demons poured into Minrathous, tearing the city apart as the castle tried to shoot them from the sky - damaging the lower city in the process. Solas was nearby then, but the priority was linking up with Harding and finding Neve.
It proceeds pretty straightforward from there. We found Harding, fought some Venatori, found Neve, fought some demons, and otherwise proceeded through the meat of the prologue, while the city fell apart around us. It was at this time that we were first introduced to Dragon Age: Veilguard's combat.
Dragon Age: Veilguard's Combat
It's clear that Dragon Age: Veilguard's combat is more active and modern than Inquisition's was, but it seemed more like a natural evolution than an outright change. Even though Harding was in the party, there was no control over her directly - it's all Rook. Players can use a variety of attacks, dodge, and other standard action RPG combat maneuvers. Notably, the Rogue could use both their bow and dual-wield daggers in combat, which is a first for the franchise. Once the Rogue leveled up, they unlocked their first class ability, and we were introduced to how the abilities work.
Players have access to three shortcuts for abilities, which is a noticeable change from the 8 that could be mapped in Dragon Age: Inquisition, but it makes sense because the combat is more active. Players still have access to other abilities, however. Players can open the ability wheel where there are 9 mapping slots for abilities, where players can issue commands to their companions, and more. Combat does pause when the ability wheel is open, allowing some tactical choices on the player's behalf. Some fans may be disappointed to know there is no direct party member control and it's understandable, yet the combat still had that unquantifiable "game feel" of Dragon Age to me.
Epler also explained that every class has a special resource bar, which fills and operates differently per class. For the Rogue, it's called Momentum. Momentum fills faster than other bars but takes bigger drains when hit. It's also worth noting that only two party members can be used at a time, but Varric was also on this leg of the journey with Rook. Therefore, it stands to reason that other temporary companions are not off the table. Ultimately, the combat is very different from Inquisition, but that's to be expected after 10 years.
What Else Lies Beyond the Veil
It was around this time that we partied up with Neve, and the parallels of Inquisition and Veilguard's openings became obvious. In Inquisition, the first three party members are, of course, Varric, Cassandra who represents the beginnings of the Inquisition, and Solas the mage who later betrays the player like Anders and Morrigan before him. Veilguard at least has Varric by our side, Harding who represents the remnants of the Inquisition, and Neve, a new mage companion....who might later betray the party. Look, nothing about Neve's backstory really suggests she would - she hunts Venatori, after all - but I'm keeping an eye on her. The parallels here feel intentional and puts the detective in the hot seat.
Dialogue options seen thus far are very reminiscent of Dragon Age 2, including the snarky responses that Hawke is known and loved for. However, based on what little we saw, Hawke's penchant for sass still takes the cake.
Either way, she informs us that Solas has a hideout beneath a nearby statue, and lo and behold, it is Solas' hideout. He has painted murals around it, magic is used uniquely even by Tevinter standards, and at the end awaits a beautiful Eluvian. Rook and party move through, appearing in the Arlathan Forest where Solas has begun a ritual to tear down the Veil. Even from afar, the sky here makes Minrathous seem like children's play, there are massive Elven statues, and a sense of doom. When players made it to the final location in Dragon Age: Inquisition's prologue, there was a Pride Demon boss fight, and here, in this time and place, is another Pride Demon boss fight. The parallels continue to stack up, and they aren't over yet.
This Pride Demon looks very different from others in the franchise. However, Epler was quick to note how Demons are magical manifestations of emotion from the Fade, which means certain triggers could be causing this.
Some more things happen, but to avoid as many spoilers as possible, there are just two things I feel obligated to point out. First, after all of this, we see two entities in the Fade - not entirely unlike Divine Justinia in Inquisition. However, these creatures were far more Lovecraftian in nature than the Divine was, and they were nothing like anything we've seen in Thedas before. These were, presumably, the Evanuris. Secondly, the Inquisitor passes out for 3 days after that first early attempt at closing the Breach, and here, Rook ends up passing out too. That's where the preview ends, but I can only assume they wake up three days later.
As with any preview, a lot of things are still up in the air about the direction and overall quality of the game. Fans will no doubt learn more this summer as Dragon Age: Veilguard ramps up for its Fall 2024 release, but if there's one thing certain for me after this preview, it's that these similarities, these new characters, and this prologue will be some of my biggest obsessions until then. And probably long after. Long, long after.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Released
- October 31, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
Enter the world of Thedas, a vibrant land of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths, and glittering cities – steeped in conflict and secret magics. Now, a pair of corrupt ancient gods have broken free from centuries of darkness and are hellbent on destroying the world.
Thedas needs someone they can count on. Rise as Rook, Dragon Age’s newest hero. Be who you want to be and play how you want to play as you fight to stop the gods from blighting the world. But you can’t do this alone – the odds are stacked against you. Lead a team of seven companions, each with their own rich story to discover and shape, and together you will become The Veilguard.
- Developer(s)
- BioWare
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Franchise
- Dragon Age
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s)
- RPG
