Is it wrong that I was hoping to be proven wrong about this game? I didn’t really know what to expect from a follow-up to Dragon Age: Inquisition, but it certainly wasn’t this. Players of this series have been crafting the world state based on what they want in future games. An example of this is the transition from Dragon Age: Origins and the Awakening expansion to Dragon Age 2, near every main quest had been referenced even some side quests made appearances. This tradition would continue into Dragon Age Inquisition characters from Dragon Age 2 and Origins may not make any appearance in the game, but easter eggs in the War Table Quests and some characters dialuoge changes and this can even effect some endings. Dragon Age Veilguard seems to think only three choices in Dragon Age Inquisition mattered despite people spending time to create the World they wanted to play in it almost feels like an insult to longtime players especially when so much of the plot of these games revolves around previous choices. What’s more is the three choices from Inquisition have little to do with Veilgaurd or any charcaters in past games. This game brings the Venitori enemies from Dragon Age Inquisition back, but aside from what is essentially the same goals nothing changes and despite bringing them back the Red Templar enemies who had the same goal and were allies with them don’t show up at all with no explanation.

The problems with this game also reflects its plot. At times it feels like a bazaar retelling of the plots of the first 3 games, but lighter in tone and stakes somehow gone. Battling the Blight and fighting off Darkspawn and an Archdemon that was Dragon Age Origins and even though it copied that plot Origins did it better by raising stakes and showing the player what was happening not just telling them. Also no mention of the events or characters from that game. Stopping cities from falling to Qunari or corrupt leaders that has the themes and plots from Dragon Age 2, but once again the first time was better as each character and main villian was given time and had their reasons it wasn’t they were evil because they are evil. Lastly the main premise of this game of fighting off powerful corrupted by the Blight enemies, you may as well call the two main villians Samson, Calpurna, or Corypheous because it once again feels like we had already done that in Dragon Age Inquisition. Further, after Act 1 of the game you are given a choice whether to save one city or the other quests and such can change depending on your answer. The problem is this is the first act of the game so unless you pick the faction based there during character creation you have no attachment or feel the need to save one or the other. This isn’t really a choice based on who deserves what more as you barely have interacted with either at this point.

Next the game tries and fails to be Mass Effect 2 by ensuring that even with your team being at Hero of the Veilguard Status basically the highest loyalty status in the game, you can still lose members at most if you know what your doing you will only lose one member. The reward for getting to that status in Mass Effect 2 was everyone survived and showed up to help in the follow-up, but here there is no reward as it kills off anyone regardless.

The combat is also strangely limited you can’t unlock specializations till level 20 and at that point you may as well just keep using core skills as those will get you to the ending even if you never change your specials out. At most it feels like a simplified Dragon Age 2 combat system with less varied abilities the most differences I found was Mage was a ranged fighter, but each class has a ranged attack and melee attack so every class felt the same.

Score: 3/10