Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a 2024 action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fourth major game in the Dragon Age franchise, and the sequel to Dragon Age: Inquisition. The story follows a customizable player character called Rook as they prevent the elven trickster god Solas from ending the world. In the process, Rook accidentally frees two other amoral elven gods and must also prevent them from conquering the world. Like its predecessor, the player character is controlled from a third-person perspective, but Veilguard foregoes Inquisition open world in favour of discrete levels accessed via fast travel and combat emphasizes a new combo ability system.
The game began development in 2015 and was affected by lengthy delays and changes to staff. Originally planned as a live-service game, the game was re-envisioned as a single-player title following the success of EA's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The game's approach to combat was influenced by Sony's God of War. It was originally announced as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf in 2022, and retitled Dragon Age: The Veilguard in June 2024.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on October 31, 2024. Veilguards release marked the biggest launch for a BioWare game on Steam and reached 1.5 million players across all platforms, though it performed below EA's sales expectations. The game received generally positive reviews from critics. Veilguard won Outstanding Video Game at the 36th GLAAD Media Awards and Game of the Year at the Gayming Awards, received nominations at The Game Awards, Golden Joystick Awards and DICE Awards, and was featured in several publications' year-end lists for 2024.
Gameplay
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a single-player action role-playing game. In previous games, a player's role-playing choices in earlier titles were imported from save files or the web application Dragon Age Keep. Veilguard instead allows players to only select three choices they made in Inquisition. Creative director John Epler said that decisions made in the previous games largely did not impact events in Veilguard, which allowed the game's creators "to avoid contradicting" past choices individual players made.During character creation, the player is able to choose a lineage for their player character, a fighting class, and a character backstory with one of six faction associations. Like the choice of origin in the original game, this faction sets the character's course throughout the game. Unlike in previous games, customization options include body size and body part selections that are independent of the voice or pronouns chosen for the player character. Players are able to remake their player character from Dragon Age: Inquisition which appears in the game, alongside some other previous Dragon Age characters.
There are seven companion characters from which two can be chosen to form a combat party of three. Unlike previous games in the series, players cannot directly control the companions in combat. The companions in Veilguard are described as pansexual, allowing romances with player characters of any gender, but Busche said that they were not "playersexual", or only attracted to the player character. Busche also noted that while player decisions can impact relationships with companions, the developers "built finding forgiveness into those relationship dynamics". Increasing the bond between Rook and a companion allows the companion to "grow more powerful". While the combat system is now real-time action-based, as opposed to the tactical strategy approach of earlier Dragon Age titles, Veilguard still employs a pause-and-play mechanic similar to Inquisition
Synopsis
Setting
The story begins ten years after the events of Dragon Age: Inquisition, with previous companion Solas, now known by his previous alias, Fen'Harel, the elven god of betrayal and rebellion, attempting to destroy the Veil, the metaphysical boundary between the physical world and the Fade, the world of spirits and demons; Solas previously created the Veil to imprison the other elven gods after their misuse of power, but now attempts to restore the world of ancient elves out of regret for sealing ancient elves off from the Fade and causing the downfall of their society. Varric Tethras, Viscount of Kirkwall, and Lace Harding, lead scout of the Inquisition, are tasked by the Inquisition to stop Solas.The protagonist player character is "Rook", a member of one of six factions: the Antivan Crows, an order of assassins from Antiva; the Grey Wardens, an order dedicated to fighting darkspawn with their headquarters in the Anderfels; the Lords of Fortune, a guild of treasure hunters from Rivain; the Mourn Watch, guardians of the Grand Necropolis in Nevarra; the Shadow Dragons, a Tevinter resistance faction opposing corruption and slavery; or the Veil Jumpers, a group dedicated to uncovering the unexplored forest of Arlathan. After disobeying the orders of their faction and being sent away to cool tensions, Rook was recruited by Varric and Harding in their search for Solas.
Alongside Harding, there are six other mandatory companions: Bellara Lutare, a Veil Jumper; Davrin, a Grey Warden; Emmrich Volkarin, a Mourn Watcher; Lucanis Dellamorte, an Antivan Crow; Neve Gallus, a Shadow Dragon; and Taash, a Lord of Fortune.
Plot
Rook, Varric, and Harding pursue Solas through the Tevinter capital city of Minrathous. Joined by Neve, the team locate Solas in Arlathan Forest, former capital of the ancient elven empire, where Solas plans to conduct a ritual to destroy the Veil. Rook interrupts the ritual, which inadvertently releases two elven gods—Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain—from imprisonment, and traps Solas within the Fade. Solas forms a blood connection with Rook, while Varric is badly injured in the encounter.Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain intend to harness the Blight, the mass movement of the darkspawn after they corrupt a Tevinter Old God into an Archdemon, in their quest to destroy Thedas and build a new elven empire on its ruins. Rook takes up residence within the Lighthouse, Solas' former base of operations within the Fade, and recovers the lyrium dagger used by Solas during the ritual. Travelling through the Crossroads, a pathway used by ancient elves within the Fade, Rook enlists the help of several factions across northern Thedas in their attempt to stop Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain.
Alongside Harding and Neve, Rook recruits Bellara, Lucanis, and Davrin. Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain send blighted dragons to both Minrathous and the Antivan city of Treviso, forcing Rook to choose which city to save. After recruiting Emmrich and Taash, Rook confronts the First Warden at Weisshaupt, home of the Grey Wardens. Unable to convince him of the danger posed by the gods, Rook either talks him down or knocks him unconscious, as Weisshaupt comes under siege by Ghilan'nain and arisen Archdemon, Razikale. Despite heavy Warden losses, Razikale is killed, rendering Ghilan'nain mortal.
Rook learns that Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain plan to conduct a ritual in Tearstone Island on the eve of the next eclipse, preparing to pierce the Veil with a red lyrium dagger and flood Thedas with the Blight. Rallying their allies with the aid of the Inquisitor, Rook and their companions storm Tearstone Island, fighting off the Venatori, Tevinter supremacists, and the Antaam, the military of the qunari. Either Davrin or Harding sacrifices themselves, allowing Lucanis to deliver a killing blow to Ghilan'nain. Solas betrays Rook, entraps them within the Fade prison, and seizes the lyrium dagger. Rook escapes with the aid of their companions after learning that Varric was killed by Solas and that Solas had used blood magic to alter Rook's memory of the event. Elgar'nan retreats to Minrathous and takes over the palace of the Archon, with Solas in pursuit.
With the help of their remaining allies, Rook and the team break through the fortified defenses of the Venatori and the Antaam; they also learn that killing Elgar'nan will collapse the Veil and that an elven god must be bound to the Veil to uphold it. Solas relinquishes the lyrium dagger to Rook and helps them defeat Elgar'nan and his Archdemon, Lusacan, before again betraying them and trying to bring down the Veil. Rook can forcibly bind Solas to the Veil either by fighting him or tricking him with a duplicate dagger created by the team; alternatively, Solas can be convinced to stop the ritual and voluntarily bind himself to atone for his mistakes.
Development
Early development
The development of the fourth main entry in the Dragon Age series, code-named "Joplin", began in 2015 with Mike Laidlaw as its creative director. It was intended to be a smaller, more narrative-focused game set in the Tevinter Imperium region of the game's world setting, Thedas. According to one developer, they were striving for "a hugely reactive game, smaller in scope than Dragon Age: Inquisition but much larger in player choice, followers, reactivity, and depth." The project was focused on repeat play with evolving areas, branching missions based on player choices, and heists, incorporating systemic narrative mechanics that allow players to persuade or extort guards.Development of the new Dragon Age was put on hold in late 2016, due to challenges with the development of BioWare's other games Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem, a massively multiplayer online game that was very different from Bioware's previous single-player games. Many Dragon Age contributors were pulled into the final months of Andromeda