Dragon Age: Veilguard is laser focused on being as accessible as possible. The combat is action-oriented and flashy. The linear level design (and overall structure) has much more in common with Sony's God of War Ragnarok than with the fan favorite Dragon Age: Origins. Role-playing choices have also been simplified, with the dialogue wheel similarly following in the footsteps of another PlayStation blockbuster, Horizon Zero Dawn.
I tend to prefer things a little simpler, so I've come across some of these design decisions. But there's one brilliant move I'd like other developers to steal straight away. I'm talking about quest replays.
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In short, it's a great idea
Whenever you complete a mission in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you'll be presented with a brief text summary of what you've done, the obstacles you've faced, and what it will (hopefully) do in your quest against the gods. will be So, for example, after completing a mission called The Smuggled Relic Case, I got a six-sentence summary that effectively summed up all the important information about the quest (if you want to see a bit of spoilery, a I have put a screenshot below. Specifications). The summary reminded me: a) who gave us the instructions to start the quest, b) which of your companions played an important role, c) what you did during the quest, d) what the stakes were, e) complications What made it interesting, f) negative consequences, g) and the sense of companionship that played a key role in trying to deal with those negative consequences.
Mild spoilers, but here's the gist
That's a lot of information, and if you've ever read a game synopsis with an emphasis on story, you know how arbitrary plot points can seem out of context. Most of the characters are looking for MacGuffins that drive the plot, but don't really matter much outside of setting your goal for a level. The Veilguard solves this problem by including the author's voice through these recaps, a voice that can explain why what you do matters to the larger story, to your character, and to your companions.
Recaps are catching me up on Dragon Tales
This has been especially helpful for me as someone who has only intermittently played the Dragon Age games. While The Veilguard is accessible in many ways, it's still the fourth game in a densely story-driven series. Characters I don't know appear, factions I don't know are mentioned, and ideas I don't understand play important roles in the story. Summaries help me keep a straight head as I try to navigate these waters.
The Veilguard helps you understand the role you play in the story in smaller ways as well. When one of your decisions leads to an outcome, the game highlights it at the moment of payment. It's like the butterfly that appears on the screen in Life is Strange – a sign that your action will have consequences – but in reverse. Rather than referring to uncertain outcomes down the road, it refers to the specific action that caused this particular outcome.
These are interesting ideas, and I'm eager to see other story-focused games incorporate similar mechanics. Unlike movies, we often play games over long periods of time, which can make it difficult to keep story details fresh in our minds. Games have tried to solve this problem in the past – think Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green recaps that greeted you every time you booted up the game – but BioWare has achieved some clever innovations here. For all of us who can't quite remember who is that boyThe Veilguard is a potential game changer.
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