It's been close to ten whole years since Dragon Age: Inquisition, if you can believe it — and it's fair to say that developer BioWare has endured a difficult decade. The studio effectively tanked its once industry-leading reputation with Mass Effect: Andromeda and ANTHEM — two titles that fell so far short of past standards that expectations surrounding the team's next project dropped to an all-time low.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is that project — a return to the fantasy setting of Thedas, and a new adventure built on the hefty lore of its three predecessors. It's also no secret that The Veilguard — previously known as Dreadwolf — arrives having been dragged through a particularly tumultuous development cycle.
We don't know for sure how many forms the project has adopted and subsequently shed over its time in the oven, but the game that we've been playing for the sake of this review is probably the best Dragon Age title since Origins. BioWare is back, etc.
We say 'probably' because this is the new Dragon Age, pumped full of action combat, colour-coded loot, and watered-down dialogue wheels. Trying to compare it to something like Origins — charting the course of an entire franchise in the process — is best left to five-hour video essays on YouTube. What you need to know right now is that The Veilguard is the furthest the series has ever strayed from its CRPG roots.
And that's understandable, given how much BioWare itself has changed since 2009. But in a world where Baldur's Gate 3 (there it is, the inevitable name-drop) exists — and it's the gold standard for what a modern, choice-driven RPG can be — The Veilguard feels like it's disappointingly late to the party, and it can't possibly compete on a pure role-playing level.
You're Rook — a completely customisable and rather unlikely hero, who's handed the daunting task of dealing with two ancient elven gods, now free from their ethereal prison. Once you've spent an outrageous amount of time sculpting your perfect protagonist — using the game's impressively in-depth character creation system — you're thrown into the thick of things, as returning rogue Varric leads the charge against his old pal Solas.
If you've played Inquisition — and its all-important Trespasser expansion — you'll know what's going on. The Veilguard is a direct sequel in terms of the central plot, but it takes place years after the events of the prior instalment. As such, it leans quite heavily into the established Dragon Age narrative, but at the same time, it comes close to feeling like a standalone entity, complete with mostly new characters and locations. Newcomers shouldn't have too much trouble getting to grips.
The game starts off really strong; a string of dramatic and fast-paced story missions set the tone, providing peak BioWare vibes. As the adventure opens up — with Rook having made an otherworldly structure known as the Lighthouse into a base of operations — it becomes clear that Mass Effect 2 was a big inspiration on the game's structural spine.
Basically, Rook needs to assemble a team to bring down those pesky gods, and so a web of character-driven storylines starts to take shape. BioWare's best games have always been defined by their characters, and while it's unlikely that Rook's allies will ever be placed on the same pedestal as Garrus or Morrigan or, hell, even Varric, The Veilguard offers up some endearing personalities throughout.
By the time we hit the main story's final stretch, we cared quite strongly about Rook and the gang — and if that's not BioWare getting back on track, we don't know what is.
However, the writing can be a bit... cute, for lack of a better word, often missing the kind of wit and punch that make modern classics like Baldur's Gate 3 and The Witcher 3 so compelling. But even with a few too many Marvel-esque quips being flung about, the script is emotionally engaging when it matters. This can be a truly gripping RPG when you're forced to agonise over key story choices, holding your breath as the consequences play out.
The problem is that these weighted, story-shifting decisions are fairly few and far between. The vast majority of your dialogue options boil down to choosing how Rook reacts to the current situation — as opposed to actually impacting it. Granted, being able to shape your hero's personality through somewhat superficial dialogue is important — it helps you connect — but we found ourselves yearning for more meaningful interactions every now and then.
But it's not like The Veilguard has abandoned its Dragon Age DNA. In fact, what are arguably your most affecting decisions come right at the beginning of the game, as you're able to choose Rook's race, background, and class. These choices echo through the entire adventure, making surprisingly significant changes to dialogue and how you're perceived by both party members and the world's wider factions.
Structurally, The Veilguard is set across a number of separate locations — each of which can be travelled to via huge magical mirrors called Eluvians. Your hub — the aforementioned Lighthouse — is at the heart of this network, granting you convenient access to wherever your next quest happens to begin.
Some of these locations are one-time stops — places where main missions and important companion quests occur. They're linear by design, letting BioWare craft some superb set pieces, backed by stunning scenery. This is where The Veilguard is at its best, stacking carefully constructed combat encounters on top of engaging exploration and tense story moments. Again, it's peak BioWare.
The year is 2024, though, and so AAA games aren't allowed to just flow. The Veilguard isn't open world, but it does feature a number of large, seamless environments that house generic side quests and too many map icons. It's very reminiscent of God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarok — a Metroidvania-like approach where specific companion abilities open additional paths, leading to hidden treasure chests.
Fortunately, this isn't the same kind of bloat that crippled Inquisition — there are nowhere near as many MMO-esque fetch quests, and your efforts are usually rewarded with unique loot or cool boss fights. But there's an argument to be made that The Veilguard would be a better overall experience if you trimmed a lot of the fat, and just stuck with curated, Mass Effect 2-style missions.
As mentioned, Dragon Age is a full-on action RPG now, although it does have a time-stopping command menu that lets you issue orders to your current teammates; it's essentially Mass Effect's combat blueprint but with swords, shields, and magic. There are even 'detonations' to consider — skill combos that result in high-damage chain reactions. Shepard would be proud.
Thanks to some tricky enemy types and deceptive parry timings, combat does feel awkward at first. But once it clicks — like it did for us, maybe five or so hours in — throwing down with spirits, demons, and darkspawn becomes a genuine highlight. When you consider the series' trajectory, Dragon Age's steady transition to action combat has always seemed inevitable — and so it's a relief that BioWare's managed to make something that feels great to play, and satisfying to succeed at.
And it's not like this is suddenly Devil May Cry. There's still a strategic edge to the encounter design, in that you're often forced to prioritise certain targets, or save your cooldown-based abilities for the perfect counterattack. It ends up striking a really nice balance between moment-to-moment reactions and actively trying to control the rhythm of a fight.
Add diverse character builds to the mix — backed by fantastic skill trees that actually require meaningful choice — and there's an awful lot to like about The Veilguard's action. Our only real criticism is directed at just how much visual noise there can be on-screen at any one time, especially during bigger brawls. Damage numbers, targeting lines, flashing parry indicators — it can seriously hamper your ability to read the battlefield.
Thankfully, BioWare's gone above and beyond with the game's settings, which let you fully customise the user interface, including text size, subtitle backgrounds, objective markers, tooltips, and more. Likewise, combat difficulty can be tweaked to an impressive extent, letting you fine-tune everything from damage calculations to the timing on dodge and parry windows. Lovely stuff.
Performance is near perfect on PS5, too. The title's performance mode is locked at a silky 60 frames-per-second, barring some incredibly rare dips when the game's busy rendering a new area. Load times are lightning quick as well — which is a big deal given how often you'll be fast travelling between waypoints in order to complete quests.
And visually, The Veilguard is a bit of a stunner. As alluded earlier, the environmental artistry is outstanding; from the crumbling, dream-like structures of the Fade to the gorgeously autumnal Arlathan forest, it's a beautifully presented experience. What's more, the character designs are superb, even if the art direction as a whole has almost completely abandoned the property's once grittier, gorier aesthetic.
Conclusion
Dragon Age: The Veilguard isn't quite BioWare back to its absolute best, but it is the most cohesive and emotionally engaging RPG that the studio has delivered since Mass Effect 3. Its shift to crunchy action combat is an improvement over Inquisition's middle-of-the-road approach, and although the game feels a little light on meaningful player choice, the storytelling pulls no punches when it actually matters. This is a gorgeous and gripping adventure, backed by a cast of endearing heroes and deliciously devious villains.
Comments 129
If anyone's got any questions about the game or the review, let me know and I'll try to answer them.
Took me around 80 hours to beat The Veilguard, and I did everything that's available in one playthrough. Really does feel like a proper BioWare game, which is a big win for everyone involved.
Thanks for reading!
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I'm glad to see it's a good game. I don't know if I feel more compelled to play it than before, as the game style looks off. I'll check into some videos and see. I'll be very curious to see how this sells.
solid score! I won't be getting it for a little while until I'm done with Metaphor but I am happy it isn't the trainwreck some were anticipating. looking forward to trying it out eventually
I thought the game was gonna suck as it had people with purple hair in it?
Love to see them crawl back into the basement, WE GOT A GOOD GAME YALLLL
Can’t wait to play this on the pro.
In terms of interacting with your companions, what is it like on a scale of ME1 (a few set conversations that you can progress as you advance through the game) to ME3 (dedicated companion missions, random companion interactions back at the base, companions interacting with each other back at the base)?
Cool, I had no expectations for this given modern BioWare… but the fact it’s turned out well is a bonus for sure!
I might play this but I just find it hard to care about Dragon Age even though I've played them all.
And with that, I think we’ve entered GotY season, everyone!
For me, if we would’ve gotten that 10/10 review, I think I might’ve jumped, but I just don’t like the art design and hearing that it’s got “cute” writing makes me feel I may not click with it, personally. I can’t help but be curious though. For old times sake.
@ShogunRok something I’m curious about is if there are difficulty sliders that impact the gameplay? I don’t quite have the time for RPGs like I did even 2, 3 years ago (or… 20 years ago when I really leaned into the genre), unfortunately. With giant games, I just lower the difficulty as much as possible, so that I can enjoy the story and avoid the grind. Just curious if that’s something in the game or something that can be time saver.
@McTwist There's plenty of blood in the game. The blood splatters are just a visual thing that every Dragon Age game has had, where blood stays on your characters after combat.
@ShogunRok any ng plus or any game activities that become available after the final boss?
@ShogunRok
I stand corrected, edited.
I appreciate noting the quippy, cutesy dialogue in the review.
Something that I personally, find a turn off, but others will really enjoy.
@ShogunRok what's sound design like , music etc
@somnambulance Yeah, the combat customisation is really good. From the review: "Likewise, combat difficulty can be tweaked to an impressive extent, letting you fine-tune everything from damage calculations to the timing on dodge and parry windows."
There are preset difficulties as well, but you're free to tweak things at any time through the menu to suit your needs.
Theeere we go!! Where are all the stupid haters now, huh? The game also got a 9/10 from IGN and a 5/5 from Eurogamer too. Great to see this... and prove that you need to PLAY a game first before writing it off completely, just because you don't like one aspect of it.
So glad the haters got served. Incredibly happy to see this. Thanks for the review, Push! Can't wait to get my copy
Never been a fan of the series since Origins but I’m glad it’s turned out alright for the fans.
An 8 is a great news after their last two back-to-back flops with Anthem and Andromeda.
It's been a long while since I'm actually looking forward to Bioware's game but I can't wait till the 31st for this. Thanks for the early review!
No COD review is crazy! Explain why?
@Uromastryx No New Game+, which I think is a huge shame considering how well it's always worked in Mass Effect.
There are plenty of optional endgame bosses and quests, but they all take place before the story's finale. Once you finish the main quest, you just get the credits and that's the end.
I haven't played a Dragon Age game since the very first one and I never completed it. Had a hard time staying involved/invested therefore I never played any sequels. That said, would this game bring someone like me back into the series? Sounds like there's a turn around from what it was.
@lazarus11 Sound design is actually really good, some great combat sound effects in particular.
Music is generally high quality as well, if a little forgettable, in my opinion.
@PocketHotDogs It's a very different Dragon Age, which might be a good thing from your perspective of not getting along with the older games.
It's more streamlined in a lot of ways and it's obviously action-based now. I'd definitely consider looking up some gameplay and seeing whether you find it more appealing than what's come before.
I knew dragon age the veilguard was going to be a really good game.a 8 is a incredible score.word up son
Still going to hold off until the general public has played the game. I went into DA:I expecting a return to form and was massively disappointed so even though the reviews are fairly well so far I'm still going to be cautious. If it does turn out to be the best Bioware game since Mass Effect 3 (which I had problems with but was overall enjoyable) then that would be nice, I just want some great storytelling for Dragon Age and Mass Effect. The biggest negative so far is the bloated side content, which was one of the many weak parts of Inquisition, so it's disappointing to hear it's still an issue with Veilguard.
I am looking forward to playing it on Thursday the difficultly setting where you can customise how you want to play the game sold me
The long awaited follow up to what is one of my top 5 favorite games of all time! I t hink I will be putting down ESO in favor of this! Simply. Cannot. Wait!!!
@Maubari. I know right where the haters at.i been saying for months dragon age the veilguard was going to be a excellent game and its going to bring bioware back.and a lot of people taught i was crazy.whos crazy now.they are hypocrites.word up son
How well does it fulfill the excitement of the sequel hook? If it was still called Dreadwolf, how much would it really earn that name?
The reviews have been very positive for this game. I personally loved Inquisition, so I’ll probably pick this one up. It should be a great time!
@ShogunRok any sign of Cassandra Pentaghast? There has to be Cassandra Pentaghast! Please tell me Cassandra Pentaghast is in this game!
@ThomasHL It's probably one of BioWare's best games in that sense. There are a lot of companion conversations to get through back at your base, and there are numerous instances where companions will get together and talk amongst themselves.
Some even have full conversation cutscenes, instead of just generic dialogue that triggers when you get close.
In terms of your party actually feeling like a group of people all living in the same place, it's better than any previous Mass Effect or Dragon Age game.
Day one for me, I am looking forward to Thursday.
@AhmadSumadi Without spoiling anything, there's no sign of Cassandra. Much to my disappointment.
@AhmadSumadi. I been saying for months dragon age the veilguard was going to be a excellent game.and a lot of people here in pushsquare taught i was crazy.even online people taught so also.i have faith in bioware to make a comeback.dragon age inquisition is a excellent game also.won 2014 game of the year.word up son
@ThomasHL It does a lot with the Dragon Age lore. Huge revelations surrounding Solas and the overarching narrative of elven gods and all that.
In that sense, it's definitely the sequel that Inquisition promised. Lore nerds will find loads to talk about.
I've been pining for a true successor to Origins as I haven't enjoyed this series since. But glad fans are getting a competent action rpg.
@Cal_ We're reviewing Call of Duty, we didn't get access to the game until it launched on Friday and still need to spend more time properly trying all of the modes.
It'll be out soon, but please give us a little more time!
It looks like Hogwart's Legacy, just not as dark...
I kept saying this thing looks super YA, and now I think I get it. Even the combat looks like HL.
@Maubari you might want to wait on the "screw you haters" comments seeing as anyone who had anything moderately critical of the first impressions gameplay tests, let alone very critical, weren't allowed review codes...
When were 2 weeks after release and the game has done poorly/great is when we'll know where it actually stands.
@DonJorginho I always think your avatar is Jet Brody, from Fracture.
It will sell decent because the game has dragon age in the title. It’s a popular IP. But I’m sure most of the sells will be of fans whom feel duped and will have buyers remorse. I never care what critics have to say about a game or movie that interests me. BUT it’s always telling when a game is reviewed in a critical manner by those not within the “in” crowd and they don’t get review codes. It’s always the same when fans have legitimate criticisms then normie outlets like IGN praise something.
@Cal_ Yup, my thoughts exactly.
@LikelySatan Jesus that’s a callback 😭 remember playing that game at a mates back in the day
Looks pretty good to be fair. Just had a look on Eurogamer and they seemed to love it. One to pick up!
So excited for Thursday ! I feared the worst but it's getting fantastic reviews everywhere! I'll be putting all other games on hold
@TooManyBrownies How about.... NO. You people always find something to complain about, it's pretty damn pathetic. Needless to say, I don't give a rat's ass what haters have to say, so I will be ignoring anyone that still somehow manages to twist this very positive review into something nasty - starting with you. Bye, felicia!
Also, about the people that weren't given review codes must have had a reason; they were probably either homophobic, prejudiced or otherwise not willing to see the good side of the game. And yeah, such trolls aren't worth anyone's time, so no wonder they didn't get any codes. Probably for the best; perhaps - though not likely - they will change their ways.
Thank you for the review - sounds just like what I wanted.
The good thing about “bloated” side quests is that we can just ignore them altogether if we are not feeling it.
As soon as I can finish Metaphor it’s either this or Dragon Quest III
@ShogunRok thanks! These answers are tipping me into the purchase camp
@playstation1995 Right?! So glad to see the haters were wrong. Sure, the game still has some annoying bad sides to it, but it seems to me most of the game is solid, no matter what the trolls might try to say otherwise
@playstation1995 you have to understand that by today's way of judging things, the game itself doesn't have to be "bad" to be considered bad. Just have elements of real world persons/places/things that people don't like and it's "bad". My faith never wavered as far as Dragon Age goes. Even after the disaster that was Dragon Age 2.
@Maubari I wonder which trolls you mean. I don't think this review changed anyone's opinion on the game.
This is not Bioware back to it's old form, it's just better than Andromeda and Anthem. So i don't know what you are so happy about. If the haters were saying that, then they were right. 🤷
@Maubari saying let's wait 2 weeks to see how well it does and if all reviews are good not just access journalism reviews are good now makes me a hater for wanting more information from more people who've played the game? Lol 😆
Calm down my guy, you want the game to be good and a few reviews are saying it is right now, cool, that's great for Bioware...doesn't change that theyve invited lots of reviewers to first impressions and when they've posted even minor critical issues, they've been blacklisted for review codes, that's worrying and worth waiting to investigate over trying to claim a victory because places like PushSquare have given it an 8...reminder they gave Concord a 7 and that was a huge flop.
I don’t fit into the 1% minority demographic this game caters to unfortunately. I hope those folks have fun though.
I only ever played through the original Dragon Age. It was fun, but I always heard the second game wasn't great, so I kind of just fell off the Dragon Age series after that. Now I feel like I missed so much, that it'd be hard to jump in now again.
@TooManyBrownies Concord as a 7 is not on the Metal Gear Survive 8/10 level. That’s the one I’ll never let go 😂
I'm curious about the system that regulates companions and their affection/rejection of Rook. Are any quests gated behind an approval rating for Rook? Besides obvious dialog choices, are there "gifts" or any other mechanic for party members?
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@McTwist They didn't get codes because only shills get them, if you are critical of a game you won't get a code.
The review reads more like a 9.
@DonJorginho One person gave the game an 8 and that automatically makes it good?
That's as shallow as the people who criticized the purple haired characters.
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@Cal_ i'm sure you can just check out the last five reviews and get a general idea since they are all the same game at this point
@Maubari You think a high review from ign is credible? The same company that hated stellar blade because apparently eve is "unrealistic", same company that gave battlefield 1 a 7/10 and have recently gave dustborn which nobody brought a 7/10.
@ShogunRok Do you find out what happened to the rest of the Elven Gods?
@Pat_trick I’ve read and watched multiple reviews that have praised the game, I’m not saying it’s a masterpiece, it’s what I said it was, a good game.
People against this game were saying it was going to be a dumpster fire, an 84 MC score isn’t that whatsoever.
Glad to see it's not total garbage, this could have gone either way.
I'll play it when it inevitably comes to one of the services as with all EA games. Makes zero sense to pay full whack for it.
@DogPark So every companion has what is basically an affection level that increases whenever they agree with a dialogue choice, or when you complete a quest with them. And they obviously love it when you complete one of their own companion quests.
But I don't think that affection level has an actual impact on what you can and can't do with them, including quests. Each level that they gain (up to 10) gives them skill points that you can use on their individual skill trees — and I think that's about it.
Basically, it's hard not to end up with all of your companions on high affection levels, as long as you complete their companion quests.
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@ShogunRok Interesting. If there’s ever been a game that I wished had a demo, this one is it. I need to find a local friend that bought this to try it out.
@Areus There's a heavy focus on a few of the elven gods, but not all of them.
@DonJorginho Ah, that's more than fair.
Have you seen skill up's review of it? It was much more critical. Not saying they're correct, just a different point of view.
@MrMagic Yeah but also according to Eurogamer and Gamer Rant its 100/100.
Shillup has lost it as far as I'm concerned and Matty plays never had it in the first place.
Pure Xbox has PJ reviewing and he gave it 9/10 too.
Simply quoting a review score at a reviewer as if they must be wrong is a pretty pointless post to make unless you have anything useful to state?
I've been rooting for this one, and though there seems to be some polarised views, reviewers I trust are making the right noises and I like what I see, so I'm tempted to jump in. Might be my first title on the Pro when it arrives....
I hope bioware do OK from this one.
"But even with a few too many Marvel-esque quips being flung about"
oh no.
@Pat_trick I did watch that mate! Was interesting to hear a more negative view point and some of the criticisms made by SkillUp were things that would annoy me, that’s why I love games though and the differences of opinions, like how SkillUp didn’t like TLOU II but I loved it, same with how IGN didn’t like Days Gone or Death Stranding and I loved those, I love how art is so subjective and I adore the debates that spawn from said art.
I’ll definitely have to give DA:TVG a go, I’ve got it coming for release but have so many games to play on the pro first it’ll have to wait lmao
@TheEnygma sadly was always gonna happen with that portal jumper character
@Titntin The game has really bad writing and dialogue so it's definitely not a 10/10 so for that reason alone anyone giving it a 10 definitely cannot be trusted.
Especially Eurogamer, I've long since lost any faith I had in their reviews.
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@DonJorginho Ah, cool! Good to see a positive perspective from someone who's seem a few reviews. Writing was my worse fear because of ME: Andromeda and I'm still on the fence about this one.
@nessisonett oh nooooo, lol.
@DonJorginho yup. I have to ask my boss seven times when the next meeting is, but I remember Jet Brody.
@Pat_trick yeah writing is something that does seem mixed, I’ve seen some reviewers I really respect praise the narrative and dialogue whereas others have pointed out the marvelification of the dialogue that does worry me slightly
I’d check out the Mortismal Gaming review, a good viewpoint from a reviewer I like a lot.
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I haven't decided if this is a day one buy for me yet. I still haven't finished the Dragon Age: Inquisition DLC yet
@DonJorginho Thanks for the tip! I really like him too but I haven't seen his review yet
@MrMagic so you got a pre release version of the game and played it then?
Or are you simply parroting what others have said and actually don't have a clue?
Looks like a new game for my PS5 Pro
As this is Pro enhanced as well.
Shall hold off until 7th of November.
@Titntin I too was hoping this would turn out to be good. I've enjoyed all the dragon age games thus far so I'll be getting this at some point down the line. I've just lost my life to vampire survivors which is just superb and I know you like couch co-op so you should have a butchers at that one 👍
@Northern_munkey
Yeah I play a lot of Vampire survivors! I used to play it on Xbox, but I don't turn that on any more and bought it on PS5. It took some effort, but the wife can now see the attraction
Yeah I wasn't too sure how this would land, but there are some reviewers I trust who really liked it. I normally always agree with PJ on Pure Xbox, and he was very complimentary on this game in his 9/10 review and singled out the dialogue as being exemplary. Its clear its divisive, but given my interest, the fact I want Bioware to succeed and how complementary many of my favourite reviewers are, I figure its well worth a shot!
Got to say I'm shocked at the result. Absolutely EVERYTHING leading up to launch looked absolutely disastrous, and I couldn't understand how people were excited about it. The excessive marketing made it seem even more like they were trying to "buy" acceptance for it. I did not think it was actually going to turn out good! Though I liked Andromeda...so there's that...
Ive found over the years that the greatest review on Earth is a Let's Play. In half an hour I can tell who was lying and who was telling me the truth.
Right now I'm withholding judgement.
I have zero interest in Dragon Age, but it makes me hopeful that Mass Effect 4 will actually turn out to be a great game too.
“Best bioware game since ME3” sounds like a lot, but if you follow gaming scene even badly, you know it really isnt.
Also whats with the giant heads on every character?
@Maubari
I don't think people were saying it was going to be a terrible game mechanics-wise. The complaints seem to be on the aesthetics. Just look at Concord, it wasn't a bad game mechanics wise...it just wasn't pretty to look at. Let's also take a look at the first descendant which push square didn't like...and still did incredibly well. Sometimes a game's look is all it needs to be successful and the popular consensus seems to be that people just don't enjoy this one's look.
@ShogunRok and the rest of the comment section.
I have not played Inquisition. Is it worth checking out before Veilguard? Does it hold up still? Better to play on PC instead of Playstation at this point?
I'm glad the game is good but "best Bioware game since ME3" doesn't mean anything. 😂
Bioware should be pumping out 9s and 10s given what they were doing even 15 years ago. Glad to hear they're back on form though, will see how they've done for myself later this week.
@KundaliniRising333 why does skill up hold more weight than the numerous places that score well?
After all it’s just his opinion as well.
Has more reviews gone up? It seems they really handpicked only those with positive reviews of the game. Mr Matty Plays who was gushing about the trailers and definitely is a big fan has even said after playing that it is simply bad
@PsBoxSwitchOwner well for me because it's almost been every single one of his accounts that largely align with what my interpretations of the same games end up being. That's why we all kind of have go to sources of information that we believe to be more credible is it not?
However, that's just me and I get that, but what makes it even more compelling is that he gives examples directly pulled from the game that show what he's talking about criticism or praise. You don't see that in any of these major industry arm reviews. no direct examples like video clips or photos of anything backing up what they're saying. Honestly, a lot of times it makes sense because they're not really saying anything of depth to explain there general conclusions anyways.
And when it comes down to a game like this it's really depth that you need when it's and Endeavor that's upwards of 50 hours of ones time to to be invested to complete alongside that $70 price tag.
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I find it a bit disturbing that some reviewers didn't get a review code after being critical of the preview. I'll wait till other people have played it and check out a let's play. I remember when Cyberpunk launched and the first reviews were positive as well.
Don't really have a horse in this race since I pretty much stopped playing western games, but "Best Bioware game since Mass Effect 3" is a very low bar.
@Maubari Imagine taking IGN as a reviewer seriously.
@Titntin I always read the reviews of games but I always read the comments from the actual gamers (the ones that like the type of game being reviewed) as their opinions are more valid to me than a reviewer who dosnt really like rpg's but had to review it..they won't get it the same way rpg fans would.
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I also encourage everyone to check out Fextralife's most recent video regarding reviews for this game. You'll notice an interesting trend!
@Rjak @RagnarLothbrok We can't speak for every other review outlet but the game has close to 50 reviews on Metacritic. The majority of games media got access to this game — I'm not sure where this argument's even coming from?
And YouTubers clearly got access to the game as well. Skill Up absolutely dumps on it, so if review codes were only sent out to people who would provide positive reviews, that argument doesn't hold up either.
I'll stick with Metaphor.
I completed Inquisition. It was nothing special.
@charbtronic It's a tough one. I really, really liked Inquisition at the time, but I don't think it's held up very well. It's an awkward game in terms of overall design and gameplay structure. The combat's quite messy as well, by today's standards.
I don't think you have to play Inquisition before Veilguard. Veilguard is a continuation in the grand scheme of things, but it's told from a perspective of mostly new characters.
But if you want the full experience, PC is probably the way to go at this point. The PS4 version of Inquisition is fine, but it's an old enough game to the point where it'll perform better on a good PC.
@NEStalgia Trust me, I had low expectations for this as well. I had almost zero faith in BioWare after Andromeda and ANTHEM.
But I think Veilguard is a genuinely great game. Best thing BioWare's done in over a decade (as you'd hope).
@ShogunRok I think that the Dragon Age series have always had memorable companion characters. How does this one shape up?
@ApostateMage I don't think they're on par with Mass Effect's best companions, but who is?
They're among some of the best Dragon Age companions, though, in my opinion. They're solid and endearing.
Nice. Will definitely pick it up but I'm waiting on the Pro before I buy anything new. Space Marine, Silent Hill and Black Myth will be before this.
@ShogunRok I suggest you watch the video made by Fextralife. Anyway, I'll be waiting for more information on this. Like I said, I remember Cyberpunk all too well. This seems like my type of game, but I rarely buy games at launch. Last one was BG3 although that one had the 1st act as early access for quite a while before launching.
@ShogunRok You know very well where the argument comes from and that it holds up. Any reviewer who went to the first impression gameplay test and was critical didn't get a review code even when it was moderate criticism. Skill up did a review saying how bad the game was but his first impression video was done by Austin who called it "Bioware meets God of War" and liked it, so obviously they would still get a code. Black myth Wukong a brand new IP had twice the amount of reviews as Dragon Age so saying the majority got codes is obviously being disingenuous that an established IP and company didn't send codes to half the people a brand new IP managed to.
The spread seems very positive so far with all but 3 of the 50 reviews on Metacritic being 70% and up. It currently has an 84 Metascore distributed as:
The only really scathing reviews I have seen are from YouTubers SkillUp and MrMattyPlays, yet plenty of other YouTubers like RPG heavy Mortisimal love it... it's currently his personal GOTY. Strong.
@TooManyBrownies We weren't invited to the preview event and we still got a code. In fact, we were really negative on the game's re-reveal CG trailer (which was awful). Again, we still got a code.
I'm not saying publishers don't try and have some control over who gets early access to their games, but if EA really didn't want people to be negative about The Veilguard, they simply wouldn't have sent code to 50+ publications / YouTube channels. That makes no sense.
Codes were also sent out two weeks ahead of this review embargo. Again, not the kind of thing you do if you're worried about a negative reception.
@MrMagic I saw your reply in my email feed mate, even though its been removed.
I dont understand why you are so animated about a game youve not played? Surely as a gamer you accept that some titles wont appeal to you, but may appeal to others? Why would it be your mission to dump on others who may enjoy it, I genuinely dont understand your mentality. If you had played it and felt seriously shortchanged I might understand it.
Please chill mate, I dont normally see you as someone who behaves this way and Im sure we have had some constructive conversations I've enjoyed in the past.
I may get my fingers burnt on this one, but given the various views from those that played it, its worth a punt to me.
Whist I remember Biowares fantastic linage with great affection I can assure you I would not lose any sleep over EA taking a financial hit on it. I worked for them for several years and can confirm all the bad things you ever heard about them!
@TooManyBrownies Luke Stephens was pretty positive about the preview much to the dismay of his audience did not get a code and Dantics who was fairly critcal got one. Mortismal Gaming also got a code and is generally even handed and not afraid to call out flaws or bad practices. It's a 7-8 game for those who like action RPGs with light RPG mechanics, for others they are better off playing BG3.
@Darylb88 Im not even on about the game, whatever the game will be, will be. If it's actually good that's great, if it's not its just another meh game. I'm just calling out the dude here trying to play dumb about very well known practices within the industry like it's crazy nonsense.
In 1 comment he's gone from "I don't see where this is coming from" to "well im not saying they don't try to control access". That's the kind of nonsense im calling out here as being very disingenuous when he very well knows what goes on, why and how it applies in this situation.
@TooManyBrownies Feels like you WANT this game to fail for some reason. Plenty of people who were negative about the preview got codes. As for number of reviews this is a 50+ hour RPG, yet one thing several reviewers have said is it came in quite late and they had less than 2 weeks to review it, so many are likely going to be late. Lastly whether a game fails of not has little to do with review scores, plenty of 9s have failed financially and plenty of 6s have made a killing.
@themightyant I keep reading that Skillup condemned it, so out of curiosity I checked for the video. The one I saw was the one after the press preview in LA, but in that he was praising it. Weird if he has a new video condemning it.
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