# Dragon Age The Veilguard

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Tags:** video-games-e-games\
**Created:** [September 21, 2024, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539 "2024-09-21T01:31:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/21 "2024-09-23T16:25:53Z")

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> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#):
>
> I always just thought of the qunari as the setting’s mandatory Klingon stand-in

That’s an apt comparison, especially since you have the Original Series Klingons, Discovery Klingons, then all the others. And they have to bend themselves into a pretzel to explain all of the inconsistencies.

Then again, I actually like Klingons in Star Trek.

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**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/22 "2024-09-23T16:40:52Z")

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> [@hogarth](#):
>
> As long as it’s not Dragon Age: Mass Effect: Andromeda!

I recall one prominent review of ME:Andromeda that described it as DA:Inquisition set in space, so these comparisons are hardly a new thing.

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**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/23 "2024-09-23T18:47:34Z")

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I liked Inquisition better than Andromeda; they both had the open-world sensibility, but the random encounters in Andromeda were just dumb.

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**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/24 "2024-09-26T20:29:10Z")

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Veilguard doesn’t carry over any of your decisions from Origins or DA2, and only three choices from Inquisition.

> **[Dragon Age: The Veilguard Only Carries Forward 3 Decisions Made in...](https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/dragon-age-the-veilguard-inquisition-origins/)**
>
> Say goodbye to your Dragon Age world states.

Major disappointment and I just lost a lot of interest.

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**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/25 "2024-09-26T20:47:59Z")

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I was already sort of disappointed that Inquisition forced you to go to a separate web site, but I can imagine it’s a hassle importing stuff from previous saved game files.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/26 "2024-09-26T22:00:31Z")

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> [@hogarth](#):
>
> I can imagine it’s a hassle importing stuff from previous saved game files.

Not to mention quite a lot of people simply won’t _have_ old saved files or even remember their choices. I played origins on physical media and inquisition on console. I have Dragon Age 2 Ultimate Edition on Steam but it doesn’t show any play time, so I must’ve just picked it up on a sale or in a bundle at some point.

Honestly, I’d find it much more off-putting if the game made me feel like I was missing out on neat stuff by not having a save file or not remembering my decisions from a game that I played 15 years and several computers ago.

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**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/27 "2024-09-27T00:23:38Z")

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> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#):
>
> Honestly, I’d find it much more off-putting if the game made me feel like I was missing out on neat stuff by not having a save file or not remembering my decisions from a game that I played 15 years and several computers ago.

Same here.

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**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2024, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/28 "2024-09-27T05:33:53Z")

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I have enough DA:O play throughs that any decision they make could be reflected in one of them. After a decade, I had to pause just to answer the three Inquisition questions and am going on what I assume I would have picked than a clear memory of picking for the second two (the first one, I romanced Josie and was rewarded with my chaste smooch)

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**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2024, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/29 "2024-09-29T13:03:21Z")

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I don’t think I ever chose to disband the Inquisition; I don’t even remember when that decision would have been made (at the very end, I guess).

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**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2024, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/30 "2024-09-29T13:20:19Z")

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It happens during the Trespasser DLC, as I recall, toward the very end. It’s just a dialog choice (during a council meeting) with potential fallout reserved for the future.

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**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/31 "2024-09-29T18:49:08Z")

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That would explain it; I never played the DLC.

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**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/32 "2024-09-30T23:33:44Z")

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I don’t remember a damn thing I did in the game. I’m looking forward to figuring things out

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/33 "2024-10-28T15:59:58Z")

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Reviews are dropping. SkillUp, who I very much like, put out a pretty scathing “I’m not mad, just extremely disappointed” video.

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QF-Kd2BBpx8/maxresdefault.jpg "I do not recommend: 'Dragon Age: The Veilguard' (Review)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF-Kd2BBpx8)

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**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/34 "2024-10-28T16:02:25Z")

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Yeah the more I saw the less my enthusiasm. Still may get it but not preorder.

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**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/35 "2024-10-28T16:05:04Z")

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I was cautiously optimistic but not enough to preorder. Sounds like that was the way to go; maybe grab on sale if other reviews come in the same.

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**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/36 "2024-10-28T21:21:16Z")

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I recently got an Xbox credit card (get big rewards on each purchase and automatically pay the balance each month) and between the rewards on the card and the 10% discount on a preorder, I was able to buy it for less than $10. So I now have it preordered and I’m eagerly waiting the next few days for it to be playable.

I’m excited. The gameplay looks really good, I love the way the classes and skills and companions interact, and I’m a gigantic Dragon Age fan. And I’m actually a person who really enjoyed DA2 so the emphasis on fast action play (that you can pause to give commands and such) really appeals to me.

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**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/37 "2024-10-29T00:34:41Z")

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I was going to come in and link that review.

It sounds like it’s basically some sort of Disney-fied kid game instead of a gritty fantasy world of the previous games. The dialogue and conflicts between characters sound like they’re from some sort of HR department doing focus groups on what a cheesy young adult novel would like. It’s insulting to the intelligence and maturity of adults. Even though nominally the world is crumbling and so much rests on your shoulders, it feels like there are really no stakes because the conflict feels hollow, the characters don’t seem real, there are probably no real morally ambiguous situations or difficult decisions.

And it’s probably not even a good disney-fied version of the game. Just focus group, safe, corporate soulless garbage. Why even bother to make a Dragon Age game if you’re not going to include anything people like about those games?

Of course I may be overgeneralizing based on limited information, but why the fuck bother to play this in a world where there’s Baldur’s Gate 3 or even DA:O?

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**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/38 "2024-10-29T01:27:37Z")

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Two obvious reasons would be (a) Someone already played those and wants to play something new and (b) because someone wants something more action RPG than the “Fake D&D” isometric style gameplay those provide.

I’ve seen people going ape over that linked video but I don’t know that guy or especially care if he likes a game or not. I really don’t have any enthusiasm to see what games he likes/dislikes and why to determine if his likes align with my own. Veilguard is getting around ~82 on Metacritic which aligns with other reviews I’ve been reading. Nothing I need to rush to play but certainly not garbage either. Although I loved DA:O, I wasn’t impressed enough with DA2 or DA:I to really worry if they’re going to “ruin” the world because the world hasn’t been the same for me since Origins. At this point, it’s more like a comfortably familiar franchise location.

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**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/39 "2024-10-29T04:42:27Z")

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> [@SenorBeef](#):
>
> why the fuck bother to play this in a world where there’s Baldur’s Gate 3 or even DA:O?

Coincidentally, Larian’s director of publishing apparently thinks Veilguard is great 😃

> “I’ve been playing Dragon Age: The Veilguard in complete secrecy (behind my backpack at the office in front of a giant window, in the kitchen),” he [wrote on X](https://x.com/Cromwelp/status/1850949592667590700). “From me, you may be wondering, ‘Is this a game compatible with my experience during BG3’ so I’ll tackle it from that perspective. The answer is yes. It is to a heavy, nine-season-long show what a well-made, character driven, binge-worthy [Netflix](https://www.eurogamer.net/companies/netflix) series is. It has a good sense of propulsion and forward momentum. The combat system is honestly brilliant (to me, a mix of Xenoblade and Hogwarts which is giga-brain genius). It knows when it needs a tentpole narrative moment, and it knows when to let you toy around with your class and exploit some of its stronger elements.”  
> […]  
> “I’ll always be a [[Dragon Age: Origins](https://www.eurogamer.net/games/dragon-age-origins)] guy,” Douse continued in a [follow-up post](https://x.com/Cromwelp/status/1850951012053295168), “and this is not that. But at least it’s something it wants to be, and not a mishmash of everything. I respect that. I like action games, like RPGs, I like it when they collide. I like shooting baddies with mage magic. Your mileage may vary!”

> **[Baldur's Gate 3 exec praises Dragon Age: The Veilguard, calls it the "first...](https://www.eurogamer.net/baldurs-gate-3-exec-praises-dragon-age-the-veilguard-calls-it-the-first-dragon-age-game-that-truly-knows-what-it-wants-to-be)**
>
> Dragon Age: The Veilguard is finally here, and lots of people are liking it. And one person liking it very publicly is …

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragon-age-the-veilguard/1007539/40 "2024-10-29T11:14:41Z")

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> [@Jophiel](#):
>
> I don’t know that guy or especially care if he likes a game or not.

This could be said of literally any reviewer for any product.  
Seeing as how you’ve been reading _other_ reviews for this game, I’m not sure why this one gets the “why should I care about this guy” treatment.

I like SkillUp because its reviews are actual video game journalism; long-form pieces that are rooted in historical context, meticulously detailed, and logically consistent. If he says something is bad, he explains why and gives concrete examples and counterexamples to support it.

He sometimes waxes a little too poetic about things he likes, for my tastes, but I can live with it.

It also helps that he tells you his takeaway in the video title and doesn’t use a worthless numerical ranking system.

But yeah, he’s one guy giving one opinion. He says as much in the intro to pretty much every negative review he gives because he knows a lot of people can’t handle being told that somebody on the internet dislikes a thing they like.

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