Six years after officially confirming that it was in development, BioWare and Ea have now fully, formally, finally unveiled the next Dragon Age game. Dragon Age: The Veilguard launches this Fall for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and through a recent reveal trailer, 20-minute gameplay deep dive, previews published by several outlets, and what have you, several details have emerged on the action RPG. Here, we’re going to cover all of those details.
TITLE CHANGE
Until very recently, Dragon Age: The Veilguard was known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, so why exactly did BioWare change the name? According to the studio, though the Dread Wolf – a.k.a. Solas – is obviously still going to be a crucial part of the story, the game’s primary focus is on its core cast of heroes, who, collectively, are known as The Veilguard. Speaking with IGN about the game’s title change, BioWare GM Gary McKay said, “We actually think sticking with Dreadwolf would have been the safer choice – ‘Dread Wolf’ is a cool name after all! It was most important for us to have a title that was authentic to the companions that are the heart of this adventure we’ve created. We’ve worked throughout development to create really incredible backstories for each companion that intersect with the main narrative in meaningful ways.”
COMPANIONS
Companions are always a huge part of any Dragon Age (or BioWare) game, and as we just discussed, that’s obviously going to be the case in The Veilguard as well. In total, there will be seven companions who’ll join you on your journey. One of these will be a familiar companion in the form of Harding, a Scout of the Inquisition that fans of the previous game will remember. The other six are the detective Neve Gallus, the Necromancer Emmrich Volkarin, the dragon hunter Taash, the Grey Warden Davrin, the Veil Jumper Bellara, and the mage-hunting assassin Lucanis Dellamorte.
RETURNING CHARACTERS
As is the case in every new Dragon Age entry, The Veilguard will also be bringing back a number of familiar characters from past titles, even if it’s being billed as a standalone game that doesn’t require any prior knowledge of the series. One of those characters will, of course, be Varric, the dwarf who’s been a mainstay of the franchise ever since he was introduced in Dragon Age 2. Meanwhile, before the game begins, players will also be asked to customize their Inquisitor from Dragon Age: Inquisition, which will also entail making some key decisions that will impact your Veilguard playthrough.
NOT OPEN WORLD
Dragon Age: Inquisition was the series’ largest entry by far, allowing players to explore a number of open world maps. Dragon Age: The Veilguard, however, is not following in its predecessor’s footsteps. Speaking to IGN, game director Corinne Busche has revealed that the game is going to be mission-based, and that all of its locations and content will be “hand-touched, hand-crafted, very highly curated”. She added, “We believe that’s how we get the best narrative experience, the best moment-to-moment experience. However, along the way, these levels that we go to do open up, some of them have more exploration than others. Alternate branching paths, mysteries, secrets, optional content you’re going to find and solve. So it does open up, but it is a mission-based, highly curated game.”
BIOMES AND ENVIRONMENTS
Dragon Age: The Veilguard may not be open world, but BioWare is still promising a great deal of variety in the biomes and environments you will explore. In the recent gameplay deep dive, we saw a fair bit of Minrathous, the capital city of the Tevinter Imperium, a dark, gothic, and beautiful hub of civilization, as well as the lush and overgrown Arlathan Forest. As per the devoper, the game is going to have a deeper variety of locations to explore than any prior Dragon Age game.
THE LIGHTHOUSE
Dragon Age: Inquisition allowed players to catch their breath and catch up with companions and other characters in between quests in the hub location of Skyhold, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard will have its own version of that in the form of The Lighthouse. Specific details on what we can expect from this new hub are scarce, but IGN’s preview likened it to Mass Effect’s Normandy, so there’s reason to be optimistic, to say the least.
COMPANION DEATHS
Interestingly enough, BioWare seems to have indicated that Dragon Age: The Veilguard is going to take cues from Mass Effect 2 in one very particular way- that being your companions fates, which could meet grisly ends based on your actions. Speaking to IGN, though she didn’t outright confirm it, Busche did seem to strongly suggest that companion characters might run the risk of dying every time they head out with you. “I don’t want to get into spoilers but you just might [lose some characters],” she said. “Now in what we saw there, obviously no one died. In a situation like that they can get injured, they can influence how they think about you. If they’re ready to hit the field with you, it does get more dangerous. We might lose some people along the way.”
ORIGINS
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is bringing back one of Dragon Age: Origins’ most acclaimed mechanics- the eponyous Origins themselves. Well, sort of. While creating your character (which we’ll speak more of in a bit), you’ll be able to choose between six different factions to select as your character’s backstory- those being the Antivan Crows, the Grey Wardens, the Shadow Dragons, the Veil Jumpers, the Lords of Fortune, and the Mourne Watch. You won’t get different prologue chapters based on which of them you select, but each will impact your playthrough in different ways.
CHARACTER CREATOR OPTIONS
What other options can you expect to have access to in the character creator? Apparently, BioWare is going all out. The developer is promising multiple options for your character’s gender, voice, hair, skin, and much more, while in addition to customizing your appearance, you’ll also be able to choose between four races- human, elf, dwarf, and qunari.
COMBAT
Dragon Age adopts a different combat system in each new entry, and sure enough, The Veilguard is reinventing itself in this area as well. The game is now much more action-driven, with emphasis being placed on moment-to-moment action, dodges, parries, blocks, and what have you. Additionally, players also have to keep enemies’ weaknesses and resistances in mind, and exploiting those – especially by working together with your party members – will be an important part of the combat.
PARTY SIZE
Another area where The Veilguard is introducing some significant mechanics changes is the size of the party that you take into battle. Dragon Age games have, of course, always let you pick three companions to take with you on missions, but in The Veilguard, that number is being lowered to two. With a party size of three, then, the game is going to be more similar to BioWare’s Mass Effect series than its own predecessors in that particular regard.
ABILITY WHEEL
Another area where Dragon Age: The Veilguard is taking cues from Mass Effect is in how you will control your party members- in that you won’t. Well, not directly, at least. Unlike past Dragon Age games, you will no longer be able to play as your companions, but you will be able to pause the action by pulling up the ability wheel, from where you not only unleash your own abilities, but also issue commands for your companions to follow.
CLASS SPECIALIZATIONS
For those who’re hoping to have a greater range of gameplay options in combat based on your class and loadout, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is looking to provide just that with the introduction of specializations. Players will still be choosing between the three familiar classes they always choose between in Dragon Age – Warrior, Mage, and Rogue – but this time, each of them will also have their own unique Specializations that will bring their own abilities and attributes. Rogues, for instance, will be able to specialize as either a Duelist, a Saboteur, or a Veil Jumper.
GRAPHICS MODES
Dragon Age: The Veilguard will feature both fidelity and performance modes on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, EA has confirmed. Exactly what can we expect from the game in terms of its frame rate and resolution targets across each mode, however, remains to be seen, with the publisher saying that more technical details on the game will be revealed in the coming months.
PHOTO MODE
While exploring Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s many biomes with your companions, you’re going to have plenty of opportunities for virtual photography. As has become the norm for most AAA releases (and often even non-AAA), it’s been confirmed that The Veilguard will feature a photo mode at launch.
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