Dragon Age: The Veilguard is one of those action role-playing games that’s had a loyal fanbase eagerly awaiting the next chapter of the story for some time now. How long, you ask? Well, Dragon Age: Inquisition was released 10 years ago. So, it’s been a loooong wait.
This game begins by focusing on a character from the past, Solas, who is considered to be an “elven god” thanks to his superior magical abilities. In this case, however, Solas is using those powers at the game’s start to tear away at a metaphysical barrier, known as the Veil, that exists between the physical world of Thedas and spiritual domain of the Fade. Solas has his heartfelt reasons for this, but destroying the Veil will also destroy, well, the world at large. Gamers play as a battler called Rook who takes on the task of stoppingSolas.
Solas ends up being trapped in the Fade, but two even worse ancient gods are released into Thedas. And they opt for world domination through a foul corruption called the Blight and the use of repulsive Dark Spawn creatures. It’s up to Rook to assemble a team of specialists best suited to take on gods, dragons, magical chaos and the like, and then to save the world.
Gameplay wise, players set off on an expansive series of open-world quests and missions (encompassing more than 60 hours of play) that generally boil down to exploration, treasure discovery, environmental puzzle solving, lengthy conversations and lots of RPG battles.
As the game progresses, players plot their way through a huge skill tree of abilities and moves sets that can connect, in a sense, to the skill trees of their companions. So players not only choose what parries, attacks and splashy combos they personally unleash, but they can also open a quick menu to tell their compatriots—up to two teammates per mission—when to combine their spell blasts and physical attacks for more effective enemy-besting results.
In addition, the bond between Rook and his or her fellow teammates increases through conversation and side quests. And that bond can lead to a romantic relationship. (More on that in the Negative Content section below.)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a single-player only game that does not require an internet connection to play. And unlike some RPG games of this stripe, there are no microtransactions or battle passes in the mix.
This is a game that pits good against evil and sets up your character as a hero who spurs a small team to take on an overpowering corrupting force.
The graphic depiction of this game’s often dark and glowering world is impressive. And the team-based gameplay (though repetitive at times) is engaging without feeling overwhelming. Gameplay difficulty can also be adjusted in the game menu for anyone who wants a harder or easier challenge.
The combat here—involving slashing swords, arrows, energy blasts and elemental attacks—can be explosive and heavy with blood-spattering effects. Cutscenes also depict characters who’ve been impaled; corpses on blood-stained torture devices; massive, bursting, goop-filled blight bubbles; screams of torment; and large pools of gore.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the game’s romantic focus. It starts with the fact that gender flexibility is a big component here. You can create your avatar as male, female, non-binary and transgendered for instance, with various combinations of male or female parts and physical appearances (including sex-change scars).
Your companions are of various genders as well. And your character can romantically approach a companion of either sex. (In fact, this titlealso takes time for an in-game story scene to slap players wrists about the ills of misgendering someone.)
If players choose to lean into a romantic relationship with a companion, it will eventually lead to a sexual interaction that includes kissing and lightly veiled sexual activity. The brief sexual scenes involve moaning and caressing. Upper body nudity can be allowed. In addition, the companion characters initiate romantic relationships with each other if the player fails to approach them in that way.
Overall, dark, blood-focused magic plays a large part in this game. And characters also spit out f-words, s-words and uses of “a–hole” and “b–tard.”
The newest Dragon Age entry has some fantasy RPG plusses in its M-rated mix. But its gore-splashing violence, morally ambiguous choices, foul language, companion sex and gender-focused lectures should keep younger adventurers at bay.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
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