Summary
Dragon Age’s combat is “actually fun” inThe Veilguard. That’s at least according to former series director, Mark Darrah.
Darrah, who worked on the series fromOriginstoInquisitonand is now consulting on The Veilguard, argues that this will be the first time combat has been fun in the Dragon Age series. Speaking withGame Informer, Darrah says that the combat in previous games “wasn’t too bad”, but now feels that The Veilguard has made fighting more enjoyable.
“What I see in Veilguard is a game that finally bridges the gap,” says Darrah (as spotted byIGN). “Uncharitably, previous Dragon Age games got to the realm of ‘combat wasn’t too bad.’ In this game, the combat’s actually fun.
However, he also adds that there are elements of the older games still in there. “You have the focus on Rook, on your character, but still have that control and character coming into the combat experience from the other people in your party.”
How Has The Veilguard Changed Dragon Age’s Combat?
For starters, we’re losing a party member. Now, we can only travel with two other companions at a time, bringing us down to a party of three. In a series first, we’re also unable to directly control our companions, and will instead issue orders to them in an ability wheel.
Longtime BioWare fans will immediately be reminded ofMass Effect. This is exactly how combat is handled in the sci-fi series, perhaps signalling a shift away from Dragon Age’s traditionally more tactical combat.
Of course, everyone knows that the most fun you may have in the series is playing as a mage in Dragon Age: Origins. Trust me, it’s great.
This wouldn’t be the first or even the second time that combat in the series has received a huge overhaul. As highlighted by The Veilguard’s game director, Corinne Busche, combat has been “an evolution” throughout the series.
“Every single entry reimagines what combat is like and I would say our goal was to make sure we had a system that allowed players to feel like they actually were able to step into the world of Thedas,” says Busche “They’re not a player observing from afar - they are inside of this world.”
We’ll get to see if this new combat sticks the landing later this year, as Dragon Age: The Veilguard is set to launch this autumn,
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
WHERE TO PLAY
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in the fantasy RPG series from BioWare formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. A direct sequel to Inquisition, it focuses on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.
