BioWarehas a lot riding onDragon Age: The Veilguard. The highly anticipated fourth game will be the studio’s follow-up to the ill-fatedMass Effect: AndromedaandAnthem, both of which failed to grab fans as thoroughly as the studio’s earlier games did. The Veilguard is BioWare’s chance to break that losing streak and regain the trust of its loyal fanbase once again. And if it doesn’t, I’m unsure where it leaves the studio.
While you might think the easiest way for BioWare to do this is by retaining major mechanics that players already know and love, it seems like the studio is mixing it up a little. On the romance side of things,every companion will be romanceableinstead of some being gender-gated. Inquisition’s open world is being tossed out in favour of more focused, hand-crafted levels,thank god. The combat is being changed, with your party size being reduced to three members instead of four, and the tactical aspect is gone too, as you may’t control any of your companions.
How Important Is Tactical Combat To Dragon Age?
I don’t think tactical combat is, by any means, essential to the soul of Dragon Age. Every game since Origins has moved a little further away from tactical combat, so it’s in keeping with the trend that The Veilguard’s combat is more inspired by action RPGs than anything else. Youcanstillpull up an Ability Wheel to get your companions to use special powers, but you will primarily be focusing on your own character’s action combat.
Is this the worst possible thing that could happen to Dragon Age? No. Does it sting a little? Sure. When I played Inquisition for the first time a few months ago, I hated real-time combat so much that I played almost entirely in tactical mode. As a mage, fighting felt like I was just holding a single button while focused on one enemy while the rest of my companions ran around aimlessly – tactical combat made it so that I wouldn’t have to sit there pressing that one button, and could instead keep an eye on all of my companions without actively having to fight.
In removing the tactical aspect of combat, The Veilguard has to make sure its combat is very polished and feels good, otherwise it’ll be a nightmare to play. From what we’ve seen in the gameplay trailer, I’m not sure I’m sold yet – the combat looks flashy, sure, but it’s hard to tell from a trailer if something is actually going to be fun or if it just looks chaotic enough to mask the lack of complexity lying underneath. We’ll only really know when the game is released.
I Wish It Wasn’t An Action Game
The main reason why it feels so bad for Dragon Age to be taking this action-y turn is because every other game is already an action game. At any given showcase, we’re likely to see a barrage ofaction games with Soulslike combatand maybe a handful of other genres. Even Final Fantasy 16, which comes from a long legacy of turn-based combat, was made as an action RPG in order to accommodate the tastes of the contemporary gamer.
Had BioWare decided to keep it, the tactical combat characteristic of the series would have made Dragon Age: The Veilguard stand out from a sea of action-only games. Inquisition’s combat wasn’t perfect, but at least it offered me a way to not have to actively sit through the dreary, plodding battles. It makes me a little sad that the option was removed entirely instead of both systems being refined and modernised. I hope the action will be good enough to make up for it.
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.
