Oh, *Dragon Age*, my dear friend, what happened here? As a big queer nerd who adores this franchise, I went into Veilguard hoping for that magical spark of inclusivity that used to feel soโฆ natural. But now? Letโs just say it feels like a parade float thatโs run out of gas.
Before you get any ideas: Iโm no gatekeeper here, no TERF-ish vibes in sightโIโm just feeling like the letters past โLGBโ got swallowed up in a blinding whirl of โWhat on Earth is going on?โ Itโs not that I donโt want inclusion, but itโs like they aimed for woke and missedโฆ straight to boring.
The gameplay. Alright, Dragon Age has always had a depth that drew you in; now it feels like a shallow kiddie pool. My combat setup is tricked out (7800X3D + 4090 GPU, mind you), but it still runs like someone put molasses in the CPU. How did we get to a point where the seriesโ once-strategic combat feels like Iโm mashing buttons to get to the next cutscene? If weโre simplifying everything just to bring in new players, maybe don't sacrifice *the* gameplay that makes DA fansโฆ DA fans?
And the dialogueโ*oh, the dialogue!* In previous games, it was immersive, heart-wrenching, like bathing in plot goodness. Veilguardโs dialogue feels like someone asked ChatGPT to โdumb it down for a toddlerโ and called it a day. โTone it down a bit,โ I muttered to myself, realizing I just sat through the conversational equivalent of dry toast. Thereโs no depth, no atmosphere, nothing to get lost in. Remember wandering the Hinterlands, getting lost in its openness? Nope, say goodbye to that too; Veilguard took exploration and slapped a one-way sign on it. Linear? In Dragon Age? Might as well have put a GPS on my characterโs head.
And Solasโฆ *Solas*. My guy, my enemy, my Joker to my Batman! What even *was* that send-off? Iโd barely settled into my chair before he was done for, like an afterthought. All I could think was, โWho wrote this and thought DA fans would be fine with it?โ They treated him like a side boss in a cheap mobile game! Half the beloved characters are MIA, too, and itโs like, did someone forget to pay their contracts?
There are some crumbs of positives hereโcharacter creation is still fun-ish! A little basic, but hey, beggars canโt be choosers. I can give a quiet golf clap for that, but the rest? *Oh*, Veilguard, what have you done? I wanted to be wrapped in fantasy, not a weird lecture.
So, for now, the verdict: *if youโre new to Dragon Age and looking for something to try on sale, then sure, maybe you wonโt feel the burn*. But if youโre a long-time fan? Grab some tissues, a bucket for your tears, and replay Origins or Inquisition.