After a difficult development that lasted a decade, Dragon Age: The Veil Guard was finally released to the excitement of many fans. While Guard of the Veil was met with mostly positive reviews and sales, the newest entry in Dragon Age franchise is far from without flaws. A common and valid criticism is the limitations on freedom of interpretation in Guard of the Veilwith the player character, Rook, lacking elements that made BioWare’s previous protagonists so memorable.
This isn’t the first time BioWare has faced criticism over a lackluster protagonist, with fans having a similar reaction to Dragon Age: Inquisition. While both protagonists share similar traits, the Inquisitor still offers players more freedom in handling decision-making and roleplaying mechanics. Although many players are still enjoying Guard of the Veilof world and its colorful cast of companions, the protagonist, Rook, probably won’t be missed by fans looking back Guard of the Veilthe plot.
Playing Rook isn’t as fun as it could be
Simplified dialogue options that eliminate player freedom
One of the biggest changes from previous BioWare entries is Guard of the Veilof removed evil player choices and simplified morality-based dialogue options. Although multi-tone options are still present in the game’s dialogue wheel, most Guard of the Veilplayer decisions seem very similar, without any significant consequences or real choices involved. While this streamlined narrative ensures players follow the story and don’t miss out on any additional content, it takes away much of the freedom that made BioWare’s games so playfully engaging in the first place.
Despite poor reception Guard of the VeilThe game’s newest protagonist, the latest entry doesn’t stray too far from the franchise’s long-standing traditions. Very similar to most of the previous ones Dragon Age inputs in addition to Origins, Guard of the Veil‘s Rook has a somewhat predefined character and background that players wanting to roleplay will have to work around. Although this prevents complete freedom for players to shape their Guard of the Veil protagonist in the image they desire, is more aligned with the traditional Dragon Age experience that fans have come to expect.
Rook’s personality in Guard of the Veil plays on the rebellious nature of his origins.
Rook’s personality in Guard of the Veil plays on the rebellious nature of his origin, as most of them involve Rook being kicked out of a faction because of his behavior, which can still be fun. The main problems arise during dialogue sections, such as Players 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 dialogue choices don’t reflect what Rook ends up saying.with his lines often seeming overly stoic or sarcastic, regardless of which is chosen.
Where Guard of the Veil falters compared to other BioWare games is that Rook’s unique personality simply isn’t compelling enough to take away from player-defined characters, especially when compared to the iconic and memorable protagonists the developer has previously offered.
BioWare’s previous protagonists were more memorable
Rook is a watered down version of BioWare’s exclusive character molds
Guard of the VeilThe protagonists’ problems are more evident when compared to previous BioWare games, most notably with Commander Shepard from the beloved Mass Effect​​​​​ games. Shepard finds the perfect balance between a fleshed-out individual character that still allows for the extreme moral choices afforded by the trilogy’s Paragon and Renegade options. Until Dragon Age: Inquisition struggled with complaints similar to those Guard of the Veilis the Tower, but players still had the option to make objectively cruel or just decisions, depending on the type of character they wanted to try out.
Even a more controversial protagonist, like Hawke from Dragon Age 2, was realized in more interesting ways than Guard of the Veilof Rook, leaning more heavily on a predefined character. Although this divided the fan base as it was a departure from the base established by Origins, Hawke was an interesting character in his own right who is still a fan favorite among many gamers.
Hawke’s popularity proved that a more original protagonist could fit perfectly into a Dragon Age game.
While it makes sense for BioWare to choose a safer middle ground after so many years since the last Dragon Age release, Hawke’s popularity proved that a more original protagonist could fit perfectly into a Dragon Age game when written with an interesting concept in mind. Until Dragon Age: Inquisitionprotagonist, who had the same complaints as Rook of Guard of the Veilallowed players to perform drastically more evil and interesting actions than the standard tonal decisions offered by Rook.
Despite Guard of the VeilDespite Rook’s issues, it still remains a useful insert into the game’s narrative, offering players a cohesive experience that often takes far fewer risks than previous entries. Although Rook doesn’t have the advantage of previous protagonists, they fit more into the story the developers wanted to tellwhile also offering the climactic decision-based conclusion the franchise is known for.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a strange middle ground
Lacks the identity needed to stand out
During moments where players make life or death decisions, Rook’s choices are often different varieties of morally righteous decisions, giving players enough freedom to leave them wanting more from the protagonist.. One of the most drastic cases is when players can choose to leave a corrupt NPC to his deserved fate or rescue him in the hopes of changing his ways. Compared to the previous Dragon Age titles, this decision is much less significant, with players having multiple options to affect the fates of various NPCs, companions, and factions throughout each story.
Unfortunately, Guard of the Veilthe tonal problems go beyond the protagonist, as the world tries to toe the line between light-hearted humor and dark fantasy without fully satisfying fans of either genre. Many party infightings were also drastically alleviated in Guard of the Veilwith companions having disagreements over trivial issues that don’t give Rook’s personality a chance to gain prominence when compared to previous titles. It was even possible to kill NPCs and companions in the past Dragon Age titles like Dragon Age 2 or Originsbut this was mainly removed by the release of Inquisitionwhich moved to Guard of the Veil.
The most common feeling around Guard of the Veiland what seems to get to the heart of the matter, is that it’s a good game in its own right, but it struggles with its identity as a true Dragon Age installment. While It’s clear Guard of the Veil has the foundation to create an engaging story and gameplay if given the chance in a future DLC expansionthose hopes have unfortunately been crushed as BioWare shifts its focus to the next Mass Effect release.
While Dragon Age: A Guard of the Veil fans hoping for more content about their favorite characters will be dismayed by the news, it’s easy to understand why developers would want to move on to new horizons after such a long development cycle.