Multiplat Dragon Age: The Veilguard

[StFly]

Really miss the days of blockbuster where you could go hire a game and actually try it before you decided on whether it was good or not yourself.

These days people just listen to reviews, youtubers and number of sales and use that to decide whether the game is any good or a game for them before actually playing it.

Not everyone wants or likes same thing in a game.

Is Dragon age Veilguard a masterpeice ? No
Is it a good game ? Yes
Is it enjoyable ? yeah I really enjoyed it and now on my 3rd play thru

Blockbuster rentals, really firstly thanks for getting the Asian cover, but only reason I ever picked up Suikoden originally to fall in love with the series and the people behind it. For me anyway, as things get announced it's "do I hold interest in this" as I swear off anything needing twitching just cause with my RA I know I'll just hate it, so there's FPS's for PC only. Then it's just the blub of whichever chain I visit to check pricing as they'll always generally have a "bitch be crazy and has swords and shit" style blurb about it.

But this, this needed to be a stand alone IP. It'd be graded less harsh if it was a random game in a random world in a random universe. As a Dragon Age though...

1. Blight turns from "consumes entire regions, threatens entire continents" to "this is a boil - pop it".
2. There is no gore. People die, people get consumed, people and environments spew all manner of things - but everything is clean, concise, contained. There is no "I just waded through 47 hordes of Darkspawn, couple of ogres, a swamp and I'm covered in god knows what and bile" there's "I did these things and got a dry clean on the way back".
3. You're a necromancer and I'm a goody too shoes, as necromancing is close enough to Blood Magic, I refuse to associate with you. Nope, there's multiple choice of "please join us it'd be great", "Ok you can join", "I suppose you might as well join us". (this is just an example about forced recruitment and no actual choice on the matter)
4. Character models, it's crude but; I remember romancing Isabela and her having a bust. In this they literally gave her breast cancer. What, can't have any consistency in previous characterisations cause bitches be mad hips and busts are a thing?
5. There is almost no point in me using a bow when you have a small "out of bounds" lockout in areas. I am over seeing the word "immune" just because sniping is a foreign concept to think of.
6. Invisible walls and the shit jumping mechanism. Jump was introduced in Inquisition, why, a decade later, am I glitching on an invisible wall because Rook can't take 2 steps if they're on different elevations?
7. The "elvan gods"... F me. Origins you literally had a turncoat kill a king and your mentor, DA2 you had a drug addiction essentially topple a kingdom and Inquisition you had eventual betrayal and the threat of the fade opening. In this the "gods" pop in for a chat, shit out a plot device, dissappear until later cause Solas carries this hard.
8. You're a mage bitch, black eyes don't last THAT long when you get struck in the face.
9. My last point being Zevran >>>>>>>>> Tash.

So whilst I do plan to play this multiple times, this is a slow play as it's just I'm left with "why" on almost every choice they made in this and questioning what this actually provides that universe.

The more I play this the more I think they just gave up development and went "ME2 is good, let's just swords and sorcey it" at the end. So I am reading every single codex as I feel they are going to screw over as much as they can as quickly as they can to reset this universe via a boot up the arse to everything that came before it.

I'd also call Andromeda a good game for the series it is.
Veilguard is a failure for the same reason.

As stand alones without any universe tie in;
Andromeda has themes of genocide and eugenics (Khett) with fundeamentalist aspects thrown in (uplifting the lesser races).

Veilguard has couple of gods, no context, forced recruitment, random mobs (these darkspawn did not originate from the deep roads) and a system that actively works against range, otherwise people would never see the word "immune" as sniping would then exist. The theme is essentially one god sought to open a thing to make it better, 2 gods escaped, 2 gods spawn nonsense, one god seeks to close the opening, the end.

There's just not a story there or things to latch on, it's basically melee and rails vs Andromeda was empty, pointless "those guys are slaughtering an entire species and replicating themselves..." to maybe then have a reason to play more to find out things.

As an ending; how can you just not give a shit to jumping at all? It gets introduced in Inquisition and by golly did I jump everywhere on everything as it was very lol as a tall fat Qunari. A decade has passed since this moment. How in the bluest of hell am I getting stuck on invisible walls, because jumping up one level on a particular angle means; "stay in place, shimmy a little, if something is behind you it gets free range to beat you horribly".

10 years, and jumping is worse than previously? WTAF?

 

[my name was taken]

But this, this needed to be a stand alone IP. It'd be graded less harsh if it was a random game in a random world in a random universe. As a Dragon Age though...

Common theme i see in a lot of reviews is the 'good game, bad DA'. I assume they wanted to target a new demographic with all the gameplay changes, and simplifying story telling and just expected the old fans to fall in line. Doesn't really work these days with social media being a huge source of information.

I've watched the angry joe review which released very very late as he played through the whole game and didn't have early access. He's a massive fan of the franchise and the game was evicerated in his review due to those points above. A long time ago I used to hate his content but the last few years he is pretty balanced in his content when I've bothered to watch.

I really hope I enjoy it when I get to it. At least it's not inquisition sized.

 

[StFly]

Common theme i see in a lot of reviews is the 'good game, bad DA'. I assume they wanted to target a new demographic with all the gameplay changes, and simplifying story telling and just expected the old fans to fall in line. Doesn't really work these days with social media being a huge source of information.

I've watched the angry joe review which released very very late as he played through the whole game and didn't have early access. He's a massive fan of the franchise and the game was evicerated in his review due to those points above. A long time ago I used to hate his content but the last few years he is pretty balanced in his content when I've bothered to watch.

I really hope I enjoy it when I get to it. At least it's not inquisition sized.

That was my assumption going into it after that prologue "fine game, poor DA" as I just spent my time finding broken things and being quite literal with quest lines (as in DGAF level caps, no half arsing content) hence also easy combat, you as player character run and avoid, unkillable companions DPS things, just spend time doing it.

But nah, the more I progressed in this as I'm approaching point of no return, this is a straight reboot. If it's not an actual reboot, every writer should likely be fired or leave as that's the only sense I can make from those codex updates, as you don't do that to your previous games otherwise.

Anyway, just popping in to say a writer for this (and ME2 with Lair of the Shadow broker, ME3, DA:I & Jaws of Hakkon DLC) has left BioWare a couple days back, Sylvia Feketkuty, reason I pop this here is because she wrote for Emmerich and Nevarra and had a hand in those codex entries in Veilguard. She was my romance in Inquisition as she wrote for Josephine in DA:I.

If I have to tldr this game at this point for me: Broken mess, would have failed QC and spent more time in dev at most other competent developers.

 

[StFly]

As no one else is discussing, started end game as gave up finding things on maps as not that important when you can 1 shot things. So spoilers ahead for my ramble on it...

Spoiler

As straight ME2, did LOL. Made Emerich a lich as manfred, I DGAF you spoke words, pass over my man, serve tea to someone with big brass balls. First decision approaches -
Hey, Harding, you were nice in Inquisition, in this, you whinge a lot and I'm pretty sure someone dies in this so YOLO that army thanks and GTFO outta this game.

Solas straight bodied me after I bodied Gilinlame with just "brb, popping red pimples", why can't I just have my penance game? WHY do you force me to continue, no, go dread wolf, save me from this madness!

Elgargetf is pissy with me for killing his woman so he... runs away to a town. Yep, checks out, kill you later impotent whiny flog.

Hey, Bellara, as blight is important and you're the science bitch of the troupe and this foreshadows whoever I pick getting blighted - STFU about the Dirthalen, meet your gods and BE HEALED!!!

Oh you managed to off screen make an exact replica without the magic bit... how, when, why did you think this'd work and you know what, you do you, great one braincell team....

For maxing supposed allies, they sure DGAF about storming a place until absolutely necessary to be wholesale slaughtered like incompetent NPC's.

As I romanced Neve as my Rook is functionally slow so first woman bias that isn't a stupid dwarf for my massive e-peen (aka horn choice for head) no fade to black this time, just a spell to slam a door shut cause no one can see fully clothed in plate mail people roll around on a couch.... just lol.

Any last comms for colleagues "hi everyone, good job in being literally immortal, too bad I saved most of you by doing quests. Hey, caretaker, I feel bad about clearing the crossroads as you don't deserve it, if I could slaughter you I would...

Now since I saved Minrathous as obviously this starts and ends there cause durr, this is a basic story filled with basic nonsense where no one could write nuance and you need to literally be told "water is wet" instead of being shown it.

This is just really disjointed, truly.
Act 1: Rook is happy, everyone is happy, oh noes this bad thing happened but don't worry we'll care bear stare it and it'll be all well.
Act 2: Rook is happy, everyone is a bit on edge as things occur, but care bear stare still works.
Act 3 and end game starts: EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE, EVERYONE PANIC, QUICK, MURDER EVERYTHING ALIVE RAAAAAAAAAAA.

My dudes, have a lay down and write a story that meshes together narratively and with tone as this is just way outta left field it might as well be a potato instead of a tone. Gaddam.

And Elgargetf, promptly get...

Oh and Taash and Harding pair off when you don't romance them, so LOL Taash, everyone around you dies, go and grr off a mountain and yeet yourself already. You're a dragon, FLY! You're next as I don;t accept one word responses unless you're a golum or have Morrigans sass.

I'm finally having fun with it as it's wrapping up so I can say goodbye to my Rogue run so I can pick a warrior and maybe super kick things off high rises cause lol right? THIS IS THEDAS! Maybe in the future the protag can learn how to swim, and since we can barely jump by swim I mean float face up in water and maybe not freak TF out and drown in a puddle. I'll hold my breath though since anything Bioware from this point is "is it $10 or less".

Also, yeah reboot AHOY, abomination of inquisitor codex entries, how dare you tie Andraste to the Evanuris cause everything needs a neat bow, no, just no, not everything is "but elves....." she's the makers bitch you utter bastards, write better backstories.

Compared to this, Origins is a thespian play adored by the known world, Veilguard is the crayon their son did to "great job, go and chrun grapes so I can get drunk later like a good lad..."

Stay tuned for when I actually finish this, maybe next month when I can be arsed loading it up again to continue it.

But yeah, look at the prologue and seeing blight for the first time, get to the end game and consider: do you feel the same punch? with how the Blight impact turned out. It is a tone deaf story that has NFI where it is going but it has a checklist.

 

[StFly]

Me again, hi all still reading.

DA:V update: still on hiatus, restarted Marvel Midnight Suns, eventually will care again about Rook and if ElGarG&GF is a good guy or not.

Reason for posting in here; Corrine Busche, director for Veilguard apparently has left BioWare, this then raises questions for Bioware Edmonton as they're kind of bleeding staff due to how this game was received and Edmonton is OG Bioware location, so that closing is a bit "oh shit...";

Andromeda - failure in launch, better later.
Anthem - general failure in a lot of things.
This, Veilguard - kind of middling, disconnect between critics & players.

And they also had SWTOR previously (actually profitable as MMO, I was on an Empire run doing a light sith warrior before dropping it) and handballed that to a different team previously (Broadsword 2023) , so EA might pull Edmonton and say "close plz" after that sort of history and general 'issues" with past releases.

Bit worrying if this turns out true and the scuttle at Bioware on reddit and such (ie discontent with management by rank and file) turns true. Bioware might indeed just die out and exist in name only.

For the supposed leaked email

 

[UnitedWarrior93]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard game director leaving BioWare

UPDATE 4pm UK: Dragon Age game director Corinne Busche has now confirmed her departure from BioWare and EA in a stateme…

www.eurogamer.net

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

I think I'm nearing the point of no return. Have all bar one companion at Hero of the Veilguard status, and all bar one ally group at max strength.

Been doing as many sidequests as I can to boost those numbers as I want the best ending and I know the endgame is Fantasy Mass Effect 2. Been avoiding as many spoilers as possible online and steering clear of YouTube and the algorithm that ensures a good old ego stroking by confirming my biases.

Have liked seeing returning characters from previous games and tie-ins and resolutions to the novels/comics too. While I do think the writing could have benefitted from further editing, the claim it isn't a Dragon Age game at all is quite the exaggeration. Combat is fun, and I appreciate how so many annoyances have been smoothed out (one of many examples, you can completely reallocate skill points at any time outside of combat at no cost) so you can experience everything in a single playthrough. I don't think that extends to entire classes, like warrior, mage etc, but all the subclasses and specialisations within each class can be played around with almost at the press of a button.

I haven't crafted a single item or grinded for hours to get a +1 bonus to the armour on my left pinky. Found a lot of cool equipment and got my crew levelled up just by making sure I do all the sidequests that I discover and poking around the environment for treasure chests. Can fast travel past the grindy roaming bands of monsters and not lose anything but the option is still there is you do enjoy grinding and crafting. I have upgraded the workshop to max level, just haven't used it

Solid game. Wish we got to experience what was happening in the south first hand rather than in letters though! Shit sounds brutal down there.

Hopefully we don't have another 10 year wait for the next one (although Mass Effect 5 will come in the meantime!)

Still rapt we got a single player action RPG from the ashes of the live service cancer that affected the industry. Relieved I can use past tense there. I see Sony have shitcanned another two in development, including a God of War one no one asked for. Hopefully Rocksteady can emerge from their disastrous attempt and are able to give us another single player Arkham game.

Given the choice between Fantasy Mass Effect in need of some editing, and the unmitigated disaster that would have been the Fantasy Anthem under development, thank god we're here.

Some reviews were way too generous (Eurogamer ), others way too critical (the posters here that ... Haven't played it ) but so far I'd reckon Metacritic isn't far off. 7 to 8 out of 10. Fun combat, cool lore drops, writing needed another round of editing. Not much replayability, but I personally don't replay 100 hour games, my single playthrough is my canon story. Have a mate that replays the Mass Effect games regularly with renegade/paragon playthroughs, plays as every class, makes different choices every time to experience every single line of dialog first hand and I personally couldn't think of anything worse regardless of how much I loved those games

Will give more thoughts and a shit load of spoiler tags when I finish, hopefully before my leave ends.

 

[stevenhaugh]

Did anyone here actually like Dragon Age 3?

 

[RCAB]

Did anyone here actually like Dragon Age 3?

12 million copies sold suggests 10 times more people liked it than this flop.

 

[Constantgin]

Did anyone here actually like Dragon Age 3?

Inquisition is my 2nd favourite game in the series after origins

 

[RCAB]

Inquisition is my 2nd favourite game in the series after origins

I reckon Dragon Age 2 copped more hate than this game, given the cult following Origins had.

I enjoyed 2, but I understood why people hated it, especially since they loved Origins and how much of a departure it was. I never acted all high and mighty or brown-nosed others for hating 2.

That said, a lot of people who love Feilguard aren’t even proper Dragon Age fan, just newcomers to the series telling us veterans that we don’t know a good game when we see one. Iron
ic.

 

[RCAB]

Electronic Arts Pre-Announces Preliminary Q3 FY25 Results

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced preliminary results for the third fiscal quarter and a revised outlook for the fiscal year ending Ma

www.businesswire.com

"Engaged" 1.5 million players, which is less than Anthem with 2 million sales in the first week.

So an all mighty flop, and it did worse than Anthem Ambrose Burnside

 

[the big lebowski]

This game makes me sad everytime I think about it

Then I think about BioWare and I’m sad again