Veilguard’s live service roots are obvious with the paper-thin party dynamic

Companions have been an essential part Dragon Age since the beginning of the series and Dragon Age: The Veil Guard offers a variety of intriguing characters for Rook to recruit. From a Nevarran necromancer and a stoic Gray Warden to a Tevinter wizard and a Qunari treasure hunter, the team Rook assembles works perfectly together as they try to save the world. Except they shouldn’t, and the party’s dynamics highlight a key aspect of previous Dragon Age games that The Veil Guard is missing.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard.]

While Dragon Age: The Veil Guard It’s beautiful, it’s no secret that the game has undergone turbulent development with the project being rebooted more than once. Originally codenamed “Joplin”, it would be focused on heists before the idea was reworked as the “Morrison” project and intended to have active service components. Unfortunately, although The Veil Guard now it’s a single player experience, echoes of live service roots remain, the most obvious example being the party dynamicswhich pales in comparison to previous installments.

A large, happy Veilguard team is dull

The fun of past conflicts is over

Companions, in many ways, have always been the heart of any Dragon Age game, with the connections formed with them often placing them at the center of the fandom. Although friendships formed between companions throughout the games, it was the conflicts between the parties that made traveling with them fun, interesting, and most importantly, realistic.

However, unfortunately, everyone in The Veil Guard gets along almost immediately; and it’s boring. Companions will start chatting happily at the Lighthouse and in the world, with no time to get to know each other.

Everyone being friends doesn’t make sense in Dragon Age lore

Team diversity must cause problems

As Rook builds his team, it makes sense to bring together people from across Thedas who are experts in their fields. An Antivan Crow who is an expert assassin mage, a Gray Warden to fight the Plague, a Fade expert, and a dragon slayer make perfect sense to join Rook, Neve, Harding, and Bellara. And with such a diverse group of people, coming from all corners of the world, there are likely to be some cultural disagreements and misunderstandings. But it doesn’t exist and the team gets along so well that they even have a book club.

Although there is a brief disagreement between Lucanis and Davrin after the events at Weisshaupt, the problem is resolved and the quick banter quickly resumes. Likewise, although Taash and Emmrich have a cultural misunderstanding at the beginning of their relationship, it is smoothed over without any problems arising. Obviously, it is preferable for everyone to work well together in a life or death situation, but some of them the friendships formed in The Veil Guard it happens too quickly and doesn’t feel deserved.

Their immediate camaraderie also doesn’t make sense from a lore perspective. Neve and Bellara, as mages, should be wary of Lucanis and Spite, in fact, everyone should be. And it’s hard not to compare this to other teammate reactions to spirits and possessions in previous games. In Dragon Age 2, Anders and Justice faced constant attacks from Aveline and Fenris, while in Dragon Age: Inquisition Vivienne and Cassandra were extremely wary of Cole. However, although Davrin and Harding make comments about Lucanis and Spite, it never feels like anything other than good-natured banter.

Dragon Age the parties often fought and this conflict made it interesting to see how they interacted and progressed. Bellara and Neve get along well, despite Neve being from Tevinter, which has a history of enslaving elves. What would have been much more interesting would have been for the various companions to have a period of distrust and misunderstanding based on one’s origins and cultures before any friendships emerge. Or even have some companions who don’t like each other, like Fenris and Anders in DA2 or Sera and Vivienne

Veilguard’s romances feel lacking when compared to previous games

Short, flat romances are a throwback

The novels in Dragon Age: The Veil Guard They were also criticized for being a bit stagnant compared to previous editions. All romances seem to follow a pattern of flirting, a missed kiss scene, a commitment scene, and a love scene. With the exception of the love scene, all of the companion scenes take place regardless of whether they are flirting or dating, with the romantic aspect only extending the scenes in places. This ends up making romances feel like an afterthoughtmarked at the end of main companion scenes to check a box.

BioWare has earned a well-deserved reputation for being the best at role-playing novels, with the phrase “BioWare Romance” coined to describe those who imitated the studio’s style and depth. However, the novels offered in The Veil Guard are almost as if the term had been considered an insult with the little intimate moments that Dragon Age stood out in stripped. It’s the little moments that make a good romance in a game and The Veil Guard none of them are missing.

Anyone who played Dragon Age: Origins I can remember talking to your love interest anywhere and being able to kiss them. Inquisitionromances seemed natural as the Inquisitor gradually wooed his partner, but The Veil GuardThe novels are surprisingly sparse, seeming to be thrown in at the last moment to fill out the already sparse companion stories. In addition to occasional comments, It barely looks like Rook is in a relationshipno hugs and very little kissing or intimacy other than a love scene that is very tame and brief from BioWare and Dragon Age standards.

Overall, the shadows of its troubled past remain Dragon Age: The Veil Guard for although the plot is solid, companions do not live up to those who came before them. The sparse romances and lack of party dynamics would fit in a multiplayer setting, but they stand out for all the wrong reasons in a single-player game. This doesn’t mean that companions aren’t interesting or that their friendships aren’t endearing. However, they seem to fall at the last hurdle, leaving them with a feeling of boredom and dissatisfaction.