Lyndsay Nicole (SureFireStar)

Overall, Bioware should be very proud of what they've created here. In spite of the negative reviews that do have some important points, Dragon Age: The Veilguard was a joy to play through to the end. While playing I could see the work that went into making this game, and appreciated the attention to detail in the visuals and the story. The game played very smooth for the most part, with of some lagging during exploration, but nothing that caused any crashing. The visuals were excellent and the voice acting was well done, even if the dialogue was a bit odd or misplaced at times. I enjoyed doing all of the side quests, and I was happy to see that all of the side quests contributed to getting the best ending. I connected with the side characters, some I liked more than others, and I was interested in their backstories and completing their individual missions. The exploration was fun and you were rewarded for veering off course to see if anything was around the corner. Usually there was, even in the last battle. I enjoyed solving the puzzles and unlock new areas, and to find new loot. Although I will say I didn't end up using most of the loot/materials/weapons that I found. The combat wasn't my favorite. It was programmed well so that the various moves flowed nicely during combat, but it did feel like more of a chore to complete. I played the game on story mode, I don't play games for the combat, I play them for the story. I think on any other difficulty it would have been a bit more punishing because by the end of the game the combat was pretty tiresome. I think if I hadn't been a mage as well, the combat would have really taken me out of the game. The romance segment of the game was okay. Not the best Bioware has done in recent games, but I did connect with the romance I chose and was happy it was an option in the game. I also liked that some of your teammates could romance each other, which lead to some funny dialogue while exploring with them, and was a nice detail Bioware added to the game. I think it helped me that I didn't play the previous Dragon Age games, because I went into the game without any biases, connections or expectations. I was excited to play a new game with a new story and world that I had never experienced before, and I was pleasantly surprised at what the team at Bioware had built throughout the game. All in all I give the game a solid 8/10. Is it perfect? No. Is it an excellent game that deserves to be played? Absolutely! I will definitely play the game again as a different race and gender to see how different the game is, and Bioware can be confident in what they accomplished with this game.