ShogunRok

@SheerDisappointment Basically yes, it was an online action RPG with MMO elements. It was effectively competing with the likes of Genshin.

But all of these live service games are ultimately competing for one thing: your time. Publishers are finally realising how difficult that is.

@0niguy @wildcat_kickz @Max_the_German Yeah I'm 100% thinking of Battlefield V — got them mixed up!

Nightmare timeline where meaningful PS5 Pro patches are exclusive to ***** games.

@charbtronic Rumour is that it'll be announced relatively soon. By all accounts the project is real — just depends on what it actually is in terms of scope.

@ibis_87 The 'Dracky Quest' difficulty makes the game easier overall but it's still not what I'd call easy. You'll still need to grind for exp and gold to keep your party on par — it's just a little more forgiving in terms of damage (I think).

Generally speaking, DQ3 can be a surprisingly difficult game at times, and the remake is no different. Dracky Quest helps somewhat, but again, it doesn't make the game a cakewalk.

@PorkChopExpress Sorry for the late reply, I was on holiday last week!

I'd say it'll take most players around 40 hours to beat this, maybe a bit longer (50ish) if you want to see absolutely everything and try out all the party member classes, etc.

The Trophies are pretty straightforward for the most part, but some can be a serious grind, like recruiting every monster in the game.

@themightyant Sorry for the late reply, I was on holiday last week!

You can speed up battles which is a huge plus, but there are no other ways to tweak the game beyond the overall difficulty settings.

But even with the battle speed set to super fast, the encounter rate still feels ridiculous at times.

@AhmadSumadi I thought the same about Mages in this game, but then I tried the orb and dagger weapon combo they get alongside their (in my opinion, quite boring) staff, and it changed my mind. Really fun if you spec into it!

(But yes, it does seem quite overpowered.)

@Nepp67 Yep, still there unfortunately.

@Cloud39472 I thought I was going to hate Solas in this game (purely because of what he did at the end of Inquisition) but I thought BioWare did a fantastic job of making him seem quite complex in his motivations and personality.

You also get a lot of meaningful dialogue options with him, which I think helps!

@ChimpMasta No I agree on this, Americanised dialogue often pulls me out of fantasy settings as well. I'm not against having American actors in medieval fantasy games, but there's a fine line between say, Geralt in The Witcher and some of the characters in Dragon Age.

You're right though, it's mostly about the tone and direction of the actors. And then it's hard to escape that tone if the dialogue is also written from an Americanised perspective, which I think is often the issue in The Veilguard.

But I will say, people are quick to forget that it's been a decade since Inquisition. While I don't think The Veilguard is quite as different in tone and atmosphere compared to past games as some people think, it's still a product of a different time and a mostly different team.

I think these kinds of tonal shifts were inevitable in places, although I understand why some people are disappointed.

And from my perspective, the game's writing does get better as the story goes on, and the stakes are raised. Criticisms still apply for some of it — especially when companion quests are involved — but particularly in the main story, it feels a lot like older Dragon Age.

@symmetrian As someone who played through the whole game almost twice for the purposes of reviewing it, I don't think the writing is as bad as some people are making out.

Are there some particularly bad lines? Yes. Are some topics handed quite badly? Yes. But it's an 80 hour game and the vast majority of dialogue is either just fine or actually very good. The conversations with Solas, for example, are close to being peak BioWare.

But this is the internet, so everything either has to be utterly incredible or absolute dogsh*t. There's sadly no nuance to discussions like this.

@LuXifer While I think Cold Steel 3 is the best Cold Steel game, 1 and 2 are what got me into the Trails games to begin with. They can be a bit slow, and the school setting isn't for everyone, but the world building is fantastic.

Cold Steel 3 and 4 tend to have a much greater impact having played 1 and 2. Not saying you need to play them, but spending that long with those characters really enhances what's to come.

Apologies to anyone who may have had a question this deep into the comments section, but we're going to go ahead and close this one up.

It's the weekend and we can't expect staff to be moderating during their time off.

Unfortunately, we've had to remove a lot of posts that broke the site's rules and simply didn't contribute to any kind of thoughtful discussion.

Of course, we really appreciate the many users who did stick to the rules.

Thanks for your understanding!

@AfroMario Butt Ugly Martians, now there's a deep cut.

@Bdbrady Yeah I've ended up spending a lot of time with all three classes for the sake of writing guides!

It's hard to say whether any of them feel genuinely overpowered at this point, although I'm sure it won't be long until players find ways to exploit damage output, etc.

I think in terms of general feel, they're all quite satisfying to play. I'm summarising here, but Warriors are the most straightforward class with an emphasis on parries and heavy attacks (but they're really crunchy).

Rogues have quick sword attacks and can rely on bow headshots to deal huge damage — they're all about skillful play.

Mages are probably the most technical class in terms of positioning and resource management, but their abilities tend to be devastating.

It might all come down to what kind of rhythm you want combat to have. Rogues are fast, Warriors are middle of the road, and Mages are relatively slow — that's across stuff like attack speed, resource generation, and ability spamming capabilities.

But yeah, each class feels very unique in terms of feel, which is the important thing. I also wrote up this guide that goes into more detail, if you think it'll be helpful: https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/dragon-age-the-veilguard-best-character-class-and-faction

@DenzelDM I think so, yes. Can't really speak for your taste in the fantasy setting and the overall tone of the game, but this is the closest Dragon Age has ever been to Mass Effect in terms of game design and structure.

The action combat and focus on curated missions makes it feel a lot like Mass Effect in the way that it's paced and presented.

@Khwarezm89 Yes and no. It's definitely not an out-and-out action adventure because there's still a lot of scope for role-playing, even if it's a bit limited compared to past games.

Plus, you get loads of choice in how you build your character, through skills and equipment. In that sense, it's still very much an RPG.

But at the same time, it's more streamlined in terms of overall game design. It really reminds me of God of War (2018) — but then you could argue that God of War adopted so many RPG elements!

So is Veilguard and action-adventure? Yes, but only in the same way that say, Mass Effect is. I'd personally categorise it as an RPG with an action focus.

I joked the other week about the Wilds beta being a ploy by Sony to boost PS5 Pro pre-orders, but didn't expect the beta to look this rough.

I'm sure the gameplay will still be godlike, but it'd be nice if current-gen games could actually just run smoothly and look great at the same time.

@Jey887 Haha, if I was being paid for reviews, I would have been able to retire by now with the sheer number I've written over the years.

@Weez Of course, even as a reviewer I'd never tell people to take my individual review — or anyone else's — as gospel. Always wise to look around for more opinions. Same with anything you spend your money on, really!

@Type_Trubbish You can customise your character's body quite extensively — build, height, chest size, butt size, bulge size (it's actually called that).

Actual genitals and stuff, though? You can't do anything on that front. There is nudity in the game, but it's quite limited; just breasts and bums in very specific scenes.

@Orochilocka Honestly, it's not a bad comparison. It's similar in that the focus is very much on your character, and your companions are there for the sake of their skills, letting you combo with them.

The combat system isn't as weakness-focused as GotG — it's more traditional action with an emphasis on blocks, dodges, parries — but the overall rhythm isn't far off.

@Rich33 The three classes all have similarities in the way they control, but each of them feels very unique to actually play.

Warrior is exactly what you think; you've got access to a block with a shield and you can spec into things like parries and buffs. Always in the thick of the battle, etc.

Rogue is close to Warrior in terms of melee but you build 'momentum' to power your skills and your available special attacks tend to be high damage and tricky.

Mage is the most 'unique' class because your basic staff attacks are magic projectiles. It's quite slow and you need to think about distance a lot. But your skills are all devastating magic spells, and your secondary weapon is a combination of a magical orb and a dagger.

There's actually a lot of depth to how each class can play, depending on the skills and specialisations that you unlock.

@Weez @KeenAerondight From our perspective, there was absolutely zero difference between how we handled this review compared to any other game we've ever reviewed.

Again, the game now has over 50 critic reviews — including plenty of YouTube channels — and you simply don't give that many people access if there's something to hide.

I don't know the details of what's happened with FextraLife, but the insinuation that this game has some kind of dark secret is bordering on conspiracy theory.

Absolutely nothing felt "off" about us getting a code for this game, and me taking two weeks to review it, before writing a 1,500 word article. Literally the same as any other game!

@QiaraIris Based on my playthrough, romance is handled like it is in most other BioWare games, where you can flirt with every character, but you'll need to commit to a relationship with just one of them at some point. This seems to happen after you complete their personal quests.

You can completely reset your skill points (and your companions) at any time through the skill menu and respec.

Crafting is very minimal this time around. You find materials out in the levels, but you only use them to upgrade existing equipment. I barely used any crafting in my playthrough — the stat increases you get from upgrading are minor overall.

As for role-playing, Rook's race, background, etc. do have a big impact on a lot of the game's dialogue, which is cool because it makes character creation feel meaningful.

But at the same time, your actual story-defining decisions rarely carry much weight. You know how in Mass Effect, almost every mission would give you a choice at the end on how to proceed (Paragon and Renegade restrictions aside)? The Veilguard feels like it should do something similar — especially when deciding the fate of bad guys — but it hardly ever happens.

Hope that helps!

@Maubari @Kraven Unconstructive negativity is exhausting. For what it's worth, though, extreme takes — on both sides of a particular spectrum — are always from vocal minorities.

Case in point, the number comments on this review make up a fraction of its total views. Most readers simply visit the page and leave. And it'll be the same story across all the other reviews and videos about the game.

If you're looking forward to something, it's just not worth submerging yourself in online discourse. And that works both ways: blindly hating on a game you haven't played — and likely will never play — isn't worth the mental toll. Best to just close the browser and do something you enjoy.

But this is gaming on the internet, and it's very serious business.

@GilgaMax309 It took me just over 80 hours to see everything on a single playthrough. Some of the side quests are a little tedious and not as well developed as the main story stuff, but if you enjoy the combat and general flow of gameplay, I don't think that'll bother you too much.

I think it's a fairly fun game to 100%, and the Trophy list isn't overly difficult.

@GilgaMax309 The skill trees are really well done — you need to actually think about where you're putting your points, and so character builds are definitely a key part of progression.

It's only for your own character, though. You can't tweak your companions as much, outside of equipment (that has perks) and smaller skill trees that decide your companions' available attacks in battle.

The combat has enough depth to justify a good deal of build tinkering, I think.

@Enuo I'll just paste my reply to a very similar question (for the record though, I don't expect you or anyone else to read all of the other comments!)

"There are storylines and plot points that carry over from Inquisition, but the story is told from the perspective of mostly new characters.

I think you can play this game with no prior Dragon Age knowledge and still enjoy it. And if you do find yourself wondering about some story stuff, a quick read of Inquisition's plot summary would probably suffice.

Overall, I'd say Veilguard does a good job of relaying its story in a way that's quite easy to pick up."

@Fyz306903 Yeah, The Witcher 3 is a decent comparison. There are storylines and plot points that carry over from Inquisition, but the story is told from the perspective of mostly new characters.

I think you can play this game with no prior Dragon Age knowledge and still enjoy it. And if you do find yourself wondering about some story stuff, a quick read of Inquisition's plot summary would probably suffice.

Overall, I'd say Veilguard does a good job of relaying its story in a way that's quite easy to pick up.

@EfYI Yeah, Inquisition but more streamlined, and with action combat, is a pretty accurate way to describe Veilguard.

@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.

@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.

@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).

@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.

@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.

@Areus There's a heavy focus on a few of the elven gods, but not all of them.

@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.

@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.

@AhmadSumadi Without spoiling anything, there's no sign of Cassandra. Much to my disappointment.

@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.

@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.

@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.

@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.

@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.

@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.

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!

@MindfulGamer We're absolutely swamped right now but I'm going to try and spend some time with Wayfinder when I can and see what it's all about. If I can squeeze a review in, I will.