the saga Dragon Age has the privilege of being one of those that have marked the RPG genre over the last 15 years. With Origins, bioware redefined and improved the formula of the Mass Effect thanks to an extraordinary narrative full of moral decisions and lines that opened with each new interaction with the game’s characters. Not to mention the tactical pauses, authentic alma mater of the general gameplay and key point.
With Dragon Age II the saga was not up to par (although there are those who defend this installment), starting with the story, much less ambitious than that of Origins. The same thing happened with Dragon Age Inquisitionwhich was already beginning to delve into certain moral issues that its characters debated in heated and long conversations that many players did not think was decisive in improving the gaming experience.
Now, with Dragon Age the Veilguard and power struggles in the world of Thedas The polarization between fans has returned, between the side of those who see here a perfect breath of fresh air to face the future, and those who see an insult to the original legacy of the franchise. Of what have been the pillars of the saga.
Dragon Age The Veilguard and the sticks it is receiving
Unfortunately, the launch of Dragon Age the Veilguard has not been immune to controversy. Practically since the game was announced it has been the subject of enormous criticism and debate within the community, with approaches ranging from the most uncontrolled enthusiasm to disappointment. Precisely, one of the main themes that have been part of that discussion is that Dragon Age the Veilguard It is not perceived by many as a typical game in the series. As a continuation of the original trilogy. Some, the most staunch, criticize this simplification of the gameplay and the chosen narrative style, which has led them to define this installment as “a spin-off “which strays too far from the central elements of Dragon Age.”
This detachment that has caused among some has to do with the omission of some classic characters from the saga but, above all, the way in which the combats are developed, whose tactical pause has been simplified to the extreme, so that the new generations ( especially on consoles and those who use a gamepad), feel comfortable and with the feeling that they are capable of controlling everything in combat with their group of heroes
At this point, and despite these objections, it must be said that the tactical management feels fast, easy to handle and with a really good innovation such as the charged attacks between group mates. Not only can we indicate who each one attacks and with what, but they can combine skills to multiply the damage on enemies. Something that will get us out of some trouble in certain circumstances.
This means that Dragon Age the Veilguard be what it seems: a game with which bioware It tries to reach a new type of audience, which is neither the one from ten nor the one from 15 years ago, and which requires greater aid and resources to simplify the experience. Fewer menus, fewer options to be more agile, direct and spectacular.
What is Dragon Age The Veilguard like?
Aside from the controversies and all those stories, and agreeing with those who claim that Dragon Age the Veilguard It has been removed from the essence of the saga, even so we are faced with a title that has many positive aspects and we must value them appropriately. The game focuses on a new story within the world of Thedasbut instead of recovering the epic narratives and conflicts of colossal proportions of the first ones, it opts for a much smaller crusade, more homely but just as crucial for all the inhabitants of the world.
The story is still of paramount importance (in our attempt to stop a villain, we have caused two elven gods, bad as a pain, to escape from the prison in which they rested), the characters talk and talk and ours, As always, you have to choose responses based on which we will be taken as more or less diplomatic or more or less aggressive. That, in turn, will give us greater affinities or conflicts with the members that we recruit for the group so, in this part, it is quite similar to the three original games and the savoir faire of bioware as far as an RPG with a huge narrative load is concerned. Another thing is that you don’t care a little about the story, or that you don’t remember anything at all from the previous installments, so you would need to replay the first ones or, directly, go to YouTube to watch videos that clarify everything for you.
Visually, the game has received praise for its graphic design. Dragon Age the Veilguard It offers a very characteristic style, which does not try to be realistic and which plays with textures that seem painted with a brush. This benefits its performance, which on PC allows you to play with enormous quality at low settings, not because we have all the possible effects already active, but because in its lowest versions it still looks pretty. It occurs even in handheld PC where it is possible to enjoy quite good framerate on machines like Steam Deck, or on Asus ROG Ally and ROG Ally X, where it shows its best side.
Bioware’s fights, where are they?
But regardless of the story or the graphical performance, there is something that worries the gamers who are buying the discourse of whether this Dragon Age the Veilguard remains a faithful descendant of the old RPGs of biowareand it must be said that no. At times the fights with the group (we continue choosing companions on each mission) seem more like a hack’n slash What else and the movements are free through the stage, with options to block blows and dodges to find the attacker’s back. like a souls.
That is why many have become angry, although bioware He wanted to introduce a kind of tactical pause that is not such. At least, it is not similar or as complex as that of Dragons Age Origins either Mass Effectwhere we had greater control over each member of the group. Now, we can only indicate the enemy and who should attack him. Or do it all at the same time, selecting the active power and composing something that they have called charged attacks that are especially powerful and can wipe an enemy off the map with a single hit.
If you want a greater strategic component, forget it, because Dragon Age the Veilguard prefers simplicity, the concepts that are now used in a multitude of games called hack’n slash and that they leave that tactical point for other times. Surely, this is the element that has distanced fans of the saga the most from connecting with the creature of bioware.
A great game, although it doesn’t look like a Dragon Age
In conclusion, Dragon Age the Veilguard It is an interesting installment, which achieves its objective of resituating the franchise in a more current place, more in line with what is happening in 2024 and that partially disconnects from the RPG that its three predecessors were. Although it is not strictly a game of Dragon Age In the traditional sense, it manages to explore new angles and narratives that bring freshness to the franchise, so the controversies around the simplification of the combat system and the lack of certain characteristic elements are understandable, especially for the most loyal fans.
In the end, Dragon Age the Veilguard It is a game that can be enjoyed by both new players and those looking for a lighter role-playing experience, without too much depth, and obviously without the strategic complexities of its predecessors (not that there were that many). And for the oldest fans of Dragon Ageit could be an opportunity to rediscover Thedas from a different and current perspective.
