‘Dragon Age: The Veilguard’ Review (Xbox Series X)
Few people who play video games can surely claim that developments, over the last 10 years have been positive. Perhaps it is easy to romanticize, the good old days. The rise of big business, shareholders, mega publishers have done little to improve the lot of gamers, or people who work in the Industry. “Games are art” is a an expression that now feels childishly naïve. The arms race of buying up more and more developers, and tasking them all, at fabulous expense to make a unicorn game, has led to the firing of thousands off passionate employees, the shuttering of dozens of studios (this year alone). The behemoths of the industry have made it their business to chew up and spit out, everything before them. Hundreds of millions of dollars to executives, the unemployment office for those who perform the crunch that gets the games out the door. Who has actually benefited from this dynamic? Well, executives, they have done great. Shareholders? As have the people that make The Witcher and GTA. Oh, and Nintendo, who have wisely been doing their own thing for years, and avoiding chips or technology arms races and quietly charge a lot of money for what they do. For me, graphics have not led to better gameplay experiences since the XBOX 360 / PS3 generation. They don’t make games more fun or more interesting, they just cost infinitely more money to make games, and thus games have to sell 10 Million copies to be deemed successful enough to prevent studios getting shuttered, and hundreds of people fired. However, in playing an RPG in 2024, I can at least spec my character with the most fabulous flowing hair, and to try and sleep with my fellow heroes, as often as possible. Perhaps one of the saddest of stories, was what happened when Bioware were subsumed by EA, and banished to the acid mines, to make online games with loot boxes and paid skins. EA is perhaps one of the most guilty of buying something special and turning it into just another husk, pumping out content that gamers don’t really want. Anthem was a disaster for Bioware and for EA. One of the finest teams at crafting RPGs, and telling incredible stories, pumping out live-action looter shooters? Madness. Putting loot boxes into Dead Space 3? Oh EA. So it is perhaps a shock, that firstly a game has turned up, that I actually want to play on my Xbox, but also that there are still enough skilful, passionate people at Bioware, who are able to not only follow their past classics, like Mass Effect 2, but to arguably improve on them. Mass Effect 2 had one of the best plots, and set of characters going, what held it back from perfection was the fact that it’s combat was something that you had to do, to keep the story moving forward, in and of itself it was mediocre. I felt the same with Dragon Age Inquisition, that I spent a lot off time with, and seemingly remember very little. I remember Garrick, Solas, and the fantastic masquerade Ball, also sitting on my throne, dealing out judgement, as Herold of old. Thedas is a fantasy world, like many others, however the writing, the world building and the craftsmanship all have the feeling that Joss Whedon had a hand in them too. The soaring music, and the Peter Jackson-esque direction. The game is a stunning triumph, as a piece of narrative storytelling, entertainment, and as a game. It is actually fun to play. The combat is satisfying. The powers feel powerful, and as I dodge and slice my way across the screen, in an explosion of magic, I am a little confused as to what is going on but also having an absolutely wonderful time. This is a huge game, but one that is carefully, and lovingly crafted. The problem with open worlds is you can often have buggy, inconsistent experiences. This world is relatively linear but in a fantastic way. The developers have crafted a special experience, a tight experience, but have also made sure that being curious is always rewarded. Being smart is also rewarded. These people know how to design levels, as much as they do tell a story that demands I know what happens next. This is the first Bioware game I have played, where I am enjoying the combat, the gameplay as much as I am the interesting story and characters. I talk a lot, in my reviews for Nerdly about having baddies who are interesting. Who perhaps had good intentions, perhaps they are lying? Perhaps we are lying? Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle. The baddie here is interesting. The question I must ask, is how do Bioware still have so much talent to pull this game off? This is the first game in years that I have enjoyed, down to my marrow. I was honestly disappointed by Baldur’s Gate 3 for just being “too much” (plus the D20 is the Devil’s plaything). Here is a game, to remind us that as a medium, the video game can be unparalleled for deep and rich storytelling and character development. This is the best game I have played since Disco Elysium (who’s studio was killed by its publisher). This is a shining beacon, amid the Anthems, the Concords, the Suicide Squads and the Blockchains.
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