After a rocky decade-long development,Dragon Age: The Veilguardwas finally released to the excitement of many fans. WhileVeilguardhas been received withmostly positive reviewsand sales,the newest entry in theDragon Agefranchise is far from being without flaws. A common and valid criticism is the limitations on roleplaying freedom inVeilguard, with the player character, Rook, missing elements that made past BioWare protagonists so memorable.
This isn’t the first time BioWare has faced criticism over a lackluster protagonist, with fans having a similar reaction toDragon Age: Inquisition. While both protagonists share similar traits, the Inquisitor still provides players with more freedom in how to tackle decision-making and roleplay mechanics. While many players are still enjoyingVeilguard’sworld and its colorfulcast of companions,the protagonist, Rook, is not likely to be missed by fans looking back atVeilguard’s storyline.
Roleplaying Rook Isn’t As Fun As It Could Be
Streamlined Dialogue Options That Take Away Player Freedom
One of the biggest changes from previous BioWare entries isVeilguard’sremoval of evil player choicesand streamlined morality-based dialogue options. While the multiple-tone options are still present within the game’s dialogue wheel,most ofVeilguard’s player decisionsfeel far too similar without any significant consequences or actual choices involved. While this streamlined narrative ensures players are kept on track with the story and don’t miss any additional content, it takes away much of the freedom that made playing BioWare games so enjoyably immersive in the first place.
Dragon Age: Veilguard May Have Saved Bioware, But It Shouldn’t Dictate Its Future
Dragon Age: The Veilguard has been a huge success for Bioware. However, it sacrificed a lot that Bioware needs to restore in its next game.
Despite the lackluster reception toVeilguard’s newest protagonist, the latest entry doesn’t break away too far from the longstanding traditions of the franchise. Much like most previousDragon Ageentries aside fromOrigins,Veilguard’s Rook has a somewhat predefined character and background that players wanting to roleplay will have to work around. While this prevents complete freedom for players to mold theirVeilguardprotagonist into the image they want, it’s more in line with the traditionalDragon Ageexperience that fans expect.
Rook’s personality inVeilguardplays into the rebellious nature of their background.
Rook’s personality inVeilguardplays into the rebellious nature of their background, as most of them involve Rook being kicked out of a faction over their behavior, which can still be fun. The main problems arise during dialogue sections, asplayers can also choose between being nice, sarcastic, or stern, but often the spoken dialogue tends to be a more watered-down version.This lack of consistency is frustrating when the dialogue choices do not reflect what Rook ends up saying, with their lines often coming off as overly Stoic or snarky, regardless of which is chosen.
WhereVeilguardfalters in comparison to other BioWare games is that Rook’s unique personality just isn’t compelling enough to take awayplayer-defined characters, especially when compared to the iconic and memorable protagonists the developer has previously offered.
Past BioWare Protagonists Were More Memorable
Rook Is A Watered-Down Version Of BioWare’s Unique Character Molds
Veilguard’s protagonist problems are most glaring when compared to past BioWare games, most notably with Commander Shepard from the belovedMass Effect games. Shepard finds the perfect balance between a fleshed-out individual character that still allows for the extreme moral choices granted by the trilogy’s Paragon and Renegade options. EvenDragon Age: Inquisitionstruggled with similar complaints asVeilguard’s Rook, butplayers still had the option to make objectively cruel or just decisions depending on the kind of character they wanted to experience.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Continues One Of The Series' Biggest Problems
While Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a revival of the series after a 10-year wait, it also manages to repeat one of the flaws of the previous games.
Even a more controversial protagonist, like Hawke fromDragon Age 2,was fleshed out in more interesting ways thanVeilguard’sRook, leaning more heavily into a predefined character. While this divided the fanbase for being a departure from the foundation laid byOrigins,Hawke was an interesting character in his own right who is still a fan favorite among many players.
Hawke’s popularity proved that a more unique protagonist can fit excellently into aDragon Agegame.
While it makes sense for BioWare to choose a safer middle ground after so many years since the lastDragon Agerelease, Hawke’s popularity proved thata more unique protagonist can fit excellently into aDragon Agegame when written with an interesting concept in mind. EvenDragon Age: Inquisition’s protagonist, who had the same complaints as Rook fromVeilguard, allowed players to do drastically more evil and interesting actions than the standard tonal decisions offered by Rook.
DespiteVeilguard’s issues, Rook still stands as a serviceable insert for the game’s narrative, offering players a cohesive experience that often takes much fewer risks than previous entries.While Rook lacks the edge of previous protagonists, they fit more in line with the story that the developers wanted to tell, while still offering the climactic decision-based conclusion the franchise is known for.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Is An Awkward Middle Ground
Lacking The Identity Needed To Make It Stand Out
During moments where players get to make life-or-death decisions,Rook’s choices are often different varieties of morally just decisions, giving players just enough freedom to leave them wanting more from the protagonist. One of the more drastic instances is where players canchoose to leave a corrupt NPCto their well-deserved fate or rescue them in hopes of changing their ways. Compared to previousDragon Agetitles, this decision is much less significant, with players having various options to affect the fates of multiple NPCs, companions, and factions throughout each story.
Unfortunately,Veilguard’s tonal problems extend past the protagonist, asthe world attempts to ride the line between more quippy lighthearted humor and grim fantasy without fully satisfying fans of either genre. Much party infighting was also drastically toned down inVeilguard, with companions having disagreements over trivial problems that don’t give Rook’s personality a chance to take the spotlight when compared to past titles. It was even possible to kill NPCs and companions in pastDragon Agetitles likeDragon Age 2orOrigins, but this was mostly removed by the release ofInquisition, which carried over intoVeilguard.
Dragon Age: Veilguard Not Having DLC Is A Great News For Mass Effect Fans
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is not getting any DLC, which is amazing news for those who’ve been patiently waiting for the next Mass Effect.
The most common sentiment surroundingVeilguard, and one that seems to get to the heart of the issue, is that it’s a good game on its own, but struggles with its identity as a trueDragon Ageinstallment. Whileit’s clearVeilguardhas the foundations to make for a compelling story and gameplay if given the chance in a future DLC expansion, these hopes have unfortunately been squashed asBioWare changes its focustoward the nextMass Effectrelease.
WhileDragon Age: TheVeilguardfans hoping for more content about their favorite characters will be disheartened by the news, it’s easy to understand why the developers would want to move on to new horizons after such a lengthy development cycle.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is the fourth entry in the Dragon Age franchise and a sequel to 2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition. A classic character, Solas, will return as the new game’s antagonist. The game will retain many of the series' staples, such as multiple dialogue options, party choices, romantic options, and more. Dreadwolf will act as the first direct sequel in the Dragon Age franchise.
