A Thorough Look at Dragon Age [Revised/Expanded/HD]

[@cranialtoxicity4434]

Hope you're doing okay, Noah. Having read your recent Patreon post, it's obvious you've been struggling very intensely with grief, trauma, and emotional exhaustion these past months. It is, as always, admirable how high a standard you place on your professional obligations - but please remember to show yourself the care and patience necessary to process and heal during such a difficult time. Many of us have been watching you for over a decade, and we understand by now that an incredible amount of time and effort goes into producing these essays at such quality and length. Maintaining your usual release schedule is a massive undertaking in and of itself. Your fans aren't going anywhere; we want you to get better, and we'll still be here on the other side of any rough terrain you and your intrepid VW have to travel. These these things take time. Take care of yourself, man.

[@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009]

What happened ?

[@Cranster18]

@@cranialtoxicity4434 seconded.

[@cranialtoxicity4434]

@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009 He's been struggling with a death in the family and an overall decline in mental health towards the end of last year. He made a post on his patreon, which is free to view, that goes into further detail.

[@joemunkey]

Only found noah about 18 months ago but feels like a decade because I've seen every video many times. Totally agree. His worth is immense, I'm just grateful he makes videos, he doesn't need to press himself so hard as his value is irreplaceable for me and I'm sure many others.

[@Johnsneedster]

@@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009 his husband involuntarily transmitted the AIDS virus to him, they're both pretty broken up over it.

[@hbomberguy]

I love how back we are

[@butHomeisNowhere___]

Have we ever been THIS back before? I don't know, man, I don't know...

[@caboose309]

oh hey, it's you

[@teenytinylordkiplet]

when are you going to back we are mister

[@Poormrworry]

promote this channel more!!

[@not_nob0dy]

Harris you look beautiful in that banana suit

[@jimbrody4945]

Me: "It's hard to have a nuanced discussion of Veilguard because you would kind of have to do a breakdown of the entire series to give it the proper context." Noah Caldwell-Gervais: [uploads]

[@Jonazzz]

"Kidness is always a proactive Choice. It is never predetermined. To choose kidness even and especially in a world of blood and cruelty is what make someone actually heroic" Wow

[@XenoZach]

Noah’s essays are so powerful. They not only make me rethink how I feel about these games, but also genuinely make me reaccess certain aspects of my reality. Not only a gifted writer, but more importantly, a gifted thinker.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

To be masterful at phrase-by-phrase details & multiple themes/arcs building onto a mater overall thesis statement is something so talented to behold.

[@Yixdy]

Tim Rogers/action button is better. Noah is great don't get me wrong, but Tim Rogers' stuff is. . . It's A lot man

[@raulfernandez57]

Noah, I've seen your post about why you couldn't upload these last months. Just wanted to say you got my utmost support. Take it easy, as much you possibly can, we cannot pressure you into making videos. I so much prefer a yearly quality video than short but mediocre ones anyway. I'd be kinda surprised if this KZbin comment somehow helped you with anything, but whatever I just wanted to say that. May that sickness that we call depression never catches any of us ever again.

[@SoldierHawke]

^ What they said

[@kieranhurst8543]

What's going on with Noah

[@raulfernandez57]

@@kieranhurst8543 He wrote on Blue Sky that his mother passed away and felt seriously depressed, though he had already made a couple of videos. This one he uploaded was one of them.

[@KingsandGenerals]

The other day I was like "I wonder what Noah is up to?". Good answer!

[@notme716]

I have notifications on and I still check often

[@Cntrebasse]

SAME

[@moshcreep]

i just started binging a few of his videos yesterday on a whim, funny how these things happen

[@SamuelB89]

Love the channel by the way!

[@slothdemon5620]

I literally had the same thing happen to me, TODAY!

[@joeymoore1162]

I know you talk a lot about worrying if people really like your work so I just want you to know that the SECOND my friend and I saw this video was up we texted each other so excitedly, you're really the best essayist on gaming and one of the best on the internet and we really treasure your work!

[@Cranster18]

Seconded. Your essays are regular repeat listenings for me!

[@butHomeisNowhere___]

Yup! Ive been singing Noah's praises from the mountaintops ever since I discovered his work. Best script writing in the entire Video Game Essay genre, imo. There are some other great ones like Jacob Geller, but Noah is on a different level as far as I'm concerned!

[@Deadwolf27]

I frequently recommend your channel to friends and strangers if I have reason to think they'd want analysis of the series you covered. It's happened more times than you'd think.

[@sampagano205]

Hearing that the basic plot of veilguard originates in the time when it was set to be a live service game makes so much sense.

[@thirdcoinedge]

I mean, the plot originated before that point, but the game originally being for multiplayer definitely explains some things. Edit: I meant that the focus of the game being about Solas' ritual & the Evanuris in Northern Thedas stayed the same, obviously the game shifted in design priorities & story direction quite a bit between Joplin, Morrison, & what we got.

[@everett6072]

The original plot was a heist game that would likely become the foundation for Dragon Age: Absolution (the netflix animated show). The solas connection likely would've just been heisting tevinter for artifacts Solas needs to conduct his ritual. This plot point would also be resurrected again in the Dragon Age: Vows and Vengeance podcast that was released in the build-up to veilguard.

[@Knight1029]

Which I think Bioware needs to be praised more for fighting back against EA and turning the game into a single player game. Bioware was given a terrible hand but they did the best they could with it.

[@gothhermit]

Its so refreshing to have someone that has a genuine history with and love for the series actually give each game credit where it deserves it as well as criticize its flaws in a fair way, its a view that feels all the more needed as a balance to all the reactionary outrage around Veilguard. I also really appreciate the way that you contextualize the style of the games in the broader trends within fantasy media over the years. The "cozy fantasy" influences in Veilguard hadn't truly occurred to me during my playthrough but it makes so much sense now that its been pointed out.

[@geekymage10]

A blessing from the Maker himself

[@pofruin]

Bless his coming and going...

[@danielmcdonagh1693]

"Every environment in Witch Hunt is recycled... which I guess in its own kind of way is foreshadowing for Dragon Age 2." I am deceased.

[@alexmillward7550]

You knew i was off work sick today and did this for me personally, thank you Noah.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

Hope you’re feeling great again by now!

[@hamsters7760]

Lost my dad this last Christmas, similarly estranged. Found out from a cousin's social media post, still don't really know what happened. I wish I could accomplish resolution and understanding, on whatever limited level; it's a complicated void isn't it. Glad to see this nuanced goodness return in spite of the grief, always love these vids.

[@DespereauxHarvey]

I dont normally comment, but I wanted to say that I found your channel in 2018 when my son and I were living out in the woods in a tiny teardrop trailer. Your longform content helped us get through the winter and Ive been glad to see your writing style and narration develop over the years. Thank you for your hard work.

[@thac0twenty377]

hope life got easierfor you bud

[@audiosurfarchive]

You are literally one of my favorite writers, not just KZbinr. _In all mediums._ Keep this up lad.

[@ryankolbe365]

Very odd to see you here after commenting on "the infantry is broken"

[@audiosurfarchive]

@ryankolbe365 ???

[@audiosurfarchive]

@@ryankolbe365 I'm sorry, what do you mean?

[@ryankolbe365]

​@audiosurfarchive nothing mean. I do get a vibe like you were a flag officer or snco though

[@audiosurfarchive]

@ryankolbe365 hahaha no I just am a nerd of history, video games, lots of different music, longform essays, firearms, military culture with a specific focus on the actual grunts and betterment of the US treatment of them.. funny thing, the current DHS Secretary voted on a bill to slash benefits for Vets. And Our President, despite his charity culture war stuff, is also interested in slashing budgets for the VA. But yeah, I've read and studied a lot on the day to day realities of grunts across from the Napoleonic to the GWOT era--while I may not agree with the business of war, the men and women (well, not for long on the latter one..) who actually do the fighting and dying deserve all the attention, focus and compassion for what they put their bodies and minds toward; given I also have dealt with mental illness and chronic pain.. I emphasize greatly with improving the common soldier of all MOS. It doesn't make sense even non-combat roles get so messed up and bodies broken from just 5 years. They deserve better, even if I think the mil-industrial-complex is the problem of treating these people like trash. Not to mention the hierarchical BS of an entire upper echelon of Command that hasn't fought a proper war since Korea.. you can argue Vietnam but that was an asymmetrical conflict with periods of high tempo engagements and some proper battles but is honestly the impetus for the current issue of Division and up not having a clue and resorting to politcking and making the systems and culture to keep the old guard and those that fall in line to be promoted and retain power--a war like in Ukraine for example, where incompetence is punished severely and promotions and finding the true talent is forged in heartbreaking brutality.. but yes, I am everywhere with a lotta different interests 😄 should I take it as a compliment you thought I was a Senior NCO? hahaha I'm just a 29 year old dork who is fortunate enough to be independently wealthy from the tragedies between my wife and my families dying so soon early into our lives. Never been in the military. Haha

[@ARIXANDRE]

Im happy to see you back after troubled times, Noah. We will always support you.

[@teyrns]

@@heavyartillery-qm5hu No singular dev deserved this. If you consider the woeful mismanagement of BioWare and allocation of its dev resources towards idiotic projects (turning Dragon Age into a GaaS product) to be irrelevant to the larger discussion of what happened to BioWare, you're already arguing in bad faith. No amount of "woke" or "anti-woke" retooling could have saved Veilguard.

[@heavyartillery-qm5hu]

@ Without woke writing the game would have done fine. It wouldn't have been purple, called the veilguard and it would have allowed you to do more evil decisions and there wouldn't have been characters like Traash.

[@raditzhoneyham]

​@@heavyartillery-qm5hu what kind of complaint is "the game was purple" bro

[@Cranster18]

@@heavyartillery-qm5huoh no not purple! That always lowers quality somehow. Good thing we have people like you who see certain colors and get mad.

[@heavyartillery-qm5hu]

@ Some games should never be purple. We knew what the game was going to be when we saw the logo reveal.

[@thats4thebirds]

We are so back

[@notme716]

Could not believe my eyes

[@Brooksey1992]

Never left

[@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842]

⚡⚡⚡

[@BloodyBulletShellz]

@@notme716 when 1,000,000,000 fire flies?

[@heavyartillery-qm5hu]

Unlike Bioware lol

[@Argusthecat]

The post-Tolkien rise of elves in fiction can also be called a "Cambridgian Explosion"

[@BilboJack]

Nice.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

I hope Jess of the Shire sees this one, it’s cute.

[@jamestang1227]

Doubly funny given the Cambrian was named by a Cambridge professor of geology

[@BacklogReviewer]

Absolutely superb, as per usual. I'm so delighted by your takeaway on Emmrich's story in particular because of how diametrically opposed it is to mine! I felt like choosing immortality through lichdom for Emmrich was a refusal to come to terms with his fear of mortality, and sacrificing that "way out" by choosing to live out the rest of his days with Manfred was an embrace of that. You've also got an extremely nuanced and well informed way of discussing how The Veilguard tackled gender - as someone who is nonbinary, its extremely refreshing to hear us spoken about casually and intelligently. An absolute pleasure to watch

[@MyPrinceRo]

I felt the same way to you about Emmrich's story -- and as someone who has a sort of fear of death myself. It's funny how the same concept can be felt in opposite ways. It frustrated me how many people picked lichdom for him, to me it felt like invalidating his character arc, which was accepting a natural process. But now I can understand that people would think the same thing about my choice.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

Hope you’re in a safe good place, friend.

[@BlondeMcGuinn]

Noah’s folksy intros, with the handwritten titles and the peculiar music choices, are endlessly charming. I dig Noah. His work is my favorite on KZbin. I was watching his Alan Wake/The Evil Within video essay when I got the notification for this. Hell yeah, this is going to be a good morning.

[@pancakemogul]

Miss the old outros though.

[@joemunkey]

​@@pancakemogulI do too but must have been a pain in the arse to make and would be even more so now. Also sometimes I'd get woken up if I fell asleep watching noah by the sudden change in vocal delivery. Many times I woke up to a list of bizarre patron handles being read by noah haha

[@pancakemogul]

@@joemunkey Sure. I never sat through them willingly myself either, but they were a quaint but considerate gesture that humanized the channel. Plus we got to see what stage of his life Noah was in. Oh, he's in his 19th century trapper phase, got it.

[@CrazyxEnigma]

I think his music choices make him a man of excellent taste but I'm biased since I grew up on classic rock.

[@erinfee5104]

With today's news that the last of Dragon Age's writing staff is gone (some of whom have been around since Origins) this is going to be a very bittersweet watch.... I recently started my first playthrough of the Baldur's Gate series, and I recognized so many names in the credits from Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Truly the end of an era.

[@InlandEmpire011]

If they made a good game they wouldn’t have been fired

[@carsonnesbit1178]

I kinda checked out of the series at inquisition. I beat inquisition and enjoyed it for what it was, but on reflection, none of the subsequent games had the same special sauce that Origins had. I admit that there is likely a certain degree of nostalgia at play here, but I like to think of Dragon Age Origins as a standalone game that never got any sequels. I will also say that there were a lot of things that I liked about dragon age 2, it really felt like dragon age to me, the gameplay side of things was just lacking. I’ll jump on any excuse to talk about games that I have spent too much time thinking about since childhood lol.

[@XSAGA87]

​@InlandEmpire011 Not their fault, blame that stupid self-insert game director.

[@cheezburgrproduction]

@@InlandEmpire011saying that while having a fallout pfp is sweet succulent irony.

[@cheekyfella1086]

​@@TheBiggestMoneyBoy no they hadn't lol.

[@MKR3238]

Noah, i want you to know, there is no one else on YT where i get HYPED and excited if i see a new upload in the same way as with your content. Your work is really special to many, please always remember this if shit sucks and you may feel down

[@parkerdixon-word6295]

I adore that Noah talks about how Origins makes choice meaningful in a dark setting, and in the years since I have started watching him, I've gone from knowing nothing about d&d to going "Write that down for the next time you run Curse of Strahd, it's real good."

[@Slaanash]

I don't think Mr. Caldwell-Gervais reads KZbin comments (probably the smart choice) but I appreciate that he puts out videos when he can. There's creators I really like who put out less than 1 video a year like Running Shine or HbomberGuy so really I feel like he's being generous to all of us that he tries so hard. There's been a few videos I haven't liked a lot (I prefer the videos about themes and story to gameplay focused ones), but there's a sincerity there that has to be respected. Not to mention that most of the videos are quite thoughtful, and he's got a delivery perfectly suited for those days when you're feeling down and someone contemplating something they have thoughts on is just want you need to get away from your own head. I also respect him for being public about his grieving. I hope he doesn't feel like he owed an explanation to people, but it's a topic people justifiably often want to avoid. It doesn't need to be a complete baring of the heart to strangers to be meaningful, to know that other people out there really do experience complicated grief. For all the heated comments from passionate fans that disagree or straight up trolls, I think more often than not the comment sections of these videos are better than most youtube videos and Mr. Gervais has a certain dignity that passes down to these dark depths below the video, I dunno. Anyways, I hope he can find some peace, knowing he's positively impacted people's day.

[@butHomeisNowhere___]

Hbomb is actually here in the comments lol Some of my all time favorite youtubers

[@MacianArt]

Absolutely wild this came out the day BioWare announced it was doing layoffs/restructuring after Veilguard's performance

[@jackasslawyer]

guys a fuckin legend

[@carsonnesbit1178]

Weird, I had been hearing that veilguard was preforming well up until like yesterday. Now, all of a sudden it’s a massive flop. I haven’t even checked it out because I just knew that the tonal shift would irk me. But it seemed like a lot of people were liking it.

[@Eonymia]

@@carsonnesbit1178 It seemed to be selling pretty well, but I imagine the issue was EA doing a Square Enix and expecting insane numbers. The company's not doing all that well at the moment so they needed a BIG win. Apparently their Football game is also not selling "as expected".

[@carsonnesbit1178]

@@Eonymia Yea, I’m mostly intrigued because I remember that Inquisition did pretty well, and Veilguard is tonally more similar to Inquisition than any other DA game. So I figured there would still be a pretty sizable audience ready to receive Veilguard. Couldn’t have been me though, I’m an origins fanboy at heart and the newer games never jived with me. I’m not rooting for the newer games to fail though, I really am just surprised that it didn’t land well with its target audience. I feel like Inquisition was already straying from Dragon Ages darker roots, so maybe veilguard shifted that pendulum even further, just far enough to start bothering people. That’s just baseless speculation on my part though, the game could’ve underperformed for a number of reasons.

[@divineknight9261]

@@carsonnesbit1178 Grain of salt given how hard it can be to trust "sales figures" but from what I've read, Veilguard sold around 1.5 million copies and EA was hoping for at least double that. And even if it had sold 3 million that's only 25% of how well Inquisition did. 1.5 million is a decent amount of sales but not for the bloated budget excess of todays' AAA landscape.

[@ZoetropeTony]

THE RETURN OF THE KING

[@GoldenGyroBalls]

(Sweeping orchestral score by Howard Shore intensifies)

[@heavyartillery-qm5hu]

LOTR is too masculine for woke reviewers like this guy

[@GoldenGyroBalls]

@@heavyartillery-qm5hu Piss off, you illiterate SWINE!

[@stevenagelutton4322]

​@@heavyartillery-qm5huif only you'd actually read it you'd have some idea of how stupid your statement is

[@polly_pasta]

@@heavyartillery-qm5husoooooo masculine

[@crittermoded]

been having an absolutely awful time lately and a new essay of yours sounds like just the thing to help. hell yeah

[@vegi89]

Same here. Seeing this in my subscriptions was a ray of sunshine. Sending some love your way.

[@joemunkey]

Literally the most anticipated upload. And I've been daily using KZbin since 2008!

[@roronoa1243]

The whole bit about how the Architect was dropped is one of my biggest sticking points with the whole "port your save forward" thing in Bioware rpgs in general. It's really Mass Effect that makes the illusion fully shatter, but any major character that has the ability to die has their narrative significance cut out from under them after the point where they could die because the game now has to account for the fact that they could now not be around.

[@ChickpeaTwo]

Truly masterful flow to this video. So much more natural than “now I’m talking about the ALL companions” “now I’m talking about the quests in order”.

[@o0Da7mi0o]

And he appeared again when Dragon Age fans needed him the most!

[@michimatsch5862]

All the greats are being revised. I remember binging this one way back while being depressed and trying to live through university. Now I can listen to the new version being a new version of myself.

[@timandfin]

Welcome back dude.

[@Dragoj419]

Noah, gotta say, this is one of your best yet. The way the script for this video flows through character and plot and setting, which further reinforces your point that the combination of these things, using characters as vehicles for expanding the setting and reinforcing the stakes of the plot, is the true strength that binds the franchise together beyond its innumerable changes. Extremely well done. Take your time on your next piece, you more than deserve it, as always.

[@weebsportsresort682]

Steely Dan's "Kings" at the beginning is the classiest thing ever. Thanks, Noah.

[@robinward1453]

happy to see you back at ‘em, noah. I know things have been hard, creatively and personally. I don’t know how much comfort it can bring past the scope of my own parasocialisms, but man, I’m just happy you’re here, sharing your thoughts. you matter. this matters. hope you’re doing ok.

[@valentine_typewriter]

YES! AND including Veilguard?? Love me some new Noah Caldwell Gervais essays EDIT: As other comments have addressed Noah's last Patreon post, I will as well now that I've read it. Hey man. Please don't beat yourself up over deadlines. I understand the Patreon is a large amount of income, but when someone releases...SEVEN HOURS of expertise analysis and commentary?? And you're nearly done with a damn book?!! Man you got me envious of the shit I don't get done! But it's really no big deal. Plus, some people have significantly worse release schedules with videos that MAYBE equal to what you usually end up putting out. You're my goat essayist and you inspire me with my own videos, you're the first on my list of "Influential Essayists". In fact, to counteract the amount of negativity you've thrown at yourself: I want to say an immense THANK YOU for all the hard work. Each and every time. Seriously, these videos mean so much to me. I know I'm not the only one. I hope I can tell it to your face or over a voice call some day. But for now, please be sure to take a break if you need it. I know the Patreon post is "old" at this point, but hey man, take a couple months if you need it.

[@maxrobe]

If only you could skip through. Maybe one day KZbin would facilitate that.

[@omensoffate]

Veilguard 😂

[@TheActualMarcy]

@@dandy6191 OK.

[@BE-fw1lr]

@@dandy6191 I mean, he still said it's the worst out of the dragon age games. Just that it doesn't mean there's nothing of value in it. If you actually watched the video, you might be able to talk about his actual points.

[@tarnetskygge]

2:22:00 you see Fenris' white hair and angst and think "JRPG trope", but in a dark fantasy context I see him as an example of an older trope, an "Elric clone". As in Elric of Melniboné from the 1960s/70s novels by Michael Moorcock, one of the founding examples of the modern dark fantasy genre and a huge influence on everything from D&D (Drizzt is another famous Elric clone) and Warhammer (Dark Elves / Druchii / whatever they're called these days are basically Melnibonéans) to the Witcher (Geralt is another, even having the same nickname of 'White Wolf').

[@Stellafera]

Funnily enough in D&D there used to also be the trope of the "drizzt clone"

[@Discographic]

It's truly delightful to listen to you provide what i would consider a high level literary analysis of a topic. Unlike other video-essayists who often just reiterate the plot and come to the absolute barest and basest conclusions. You really do have a way of making me think and consider broader perspectives and concepts within a piece of work that i enjoyed in the past. Thank you for everything you do!

[@TelenTerror]

Yeah, like...I somehow didn't click that Phoebe in Mass Effect was Liara's *role* with a different personality until I watched the video on Andromeda and went "Ohhhhhhh shit, he's RIGHT" Which doesn't make much difference for me, I like Phoebe more than Liara's ME1 earnestness.

[@masdabugg8618]

You're one of my absolute favourite youtubers. At least 3 times a week, I usually put on one of your videos, which I have all watched several times over, to fall asleep to. Keep your head up, man ❤

[@julianreviews8102]

It was really gratifying to hear someone as eloquent as you articulate my nuanced feelings about the franchise that I love most despite its shortcomings both recent and longer ago. Thanks for the excellent video Noah :)

[@JoshuaMartin992]

Never played a dragon age game but I will ALWAYS listen to ANYTHING you put out Noah.

[@Blad3K]

Noah (@broadcaststsatic) you should record your whole day of your random everyday life noises and upload it for @JoshuaMartin992. We'll see then if he is a man true to his word 😅

[@heavyartillery-qm5hu]

You dodged a bullet

[@SilverSai]

​@@heavyartillery-qm5hu The series, yes. DA:O as a stand-alone? One of the best RPGs of all time.

[@heavyartillery-qm5hu]

@ I will never be able to invest 50 hours into it knowing that nothing matters ultimately

[@bakonax7080]

​@heavyartillery-qm5hu just treat it as the rest of the classics, play Origins like it is 2009 all over again and dont even think about the rest of the horse shit games, just enjoy the original for what it is

[@SerPinkKnight]

This is like the third time remembered Noah exists, started rewatching old videos and he then posted a new one

[@mrdrprof8402]

Regarding quippy dialog as an invasive species is a wonderful metaphor!

[@Exigentable]

Ive been watching this channel for a decade now. I was a dedicated troll for many years, calling Noah things like "thesaurus boy." I was a miserable person, on drugs, and I took a sick pleasure knowing he would read them. You won me over, Noah. Says a lot about the quality of these viseos.

[@CC3GROUNDZERO]

"viseos"? Did you stick a needle in the d?

[@6Shooter28]

"Thesaurus boy" is very good tbf. Devastating stuff

[@thirdcoinedge]

@@6Shooter28 Up there with "synonym lover" or "English major."

[@Maerdy]

you did the self reflection to figure out you were miserable (and presumably why) though, good job! that shit is hard! not everyone manages to reflect that honestly

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

Welcome back or welcome to a new land! May the troubles of the past not follow you here. I don’t know if the OP is sincere, could be copypasta. “Thesaurus boy" is very funny. But just in case this is sincere, I also am sincere. I am always rooting for hurt people to heal & more good to bloom in the world than bad. Wish you well, OP.

[@drhonoriscausa]

Not kidding. I have been waiting for Noah to talk about Dragon Age more for over a decade. Thanks, Noah!!!

[@CaIrOOMaLi]

Huge respect for uploading this in HD at 60 fps, render must have taken ages.

[@CarrotConsumer]

Dragon ages perhaps.

[@corvaes]

i think an indication that emmrich is the best written character of veilguard is that hes the only character i want to debate about. i would argue remaining mortal is what indicates emmrich has come to peace with death rather than the lich ending. emmrich is terrified of death but he is willing to give up any chance of immortality for manfred. in a sense, he sacrifices himself for manfred on a long term scale. emmrich will inevitably die and in turn manfred can live. those sorts of debates on character paths and morals are the bread and butter of what make dragon age dragon age for me. and i sincerely wish there were more of them in veilguard.

[@Landricities]

I will literally watch any video about anything you want to talk about, regardless if I like/played the game or not or w.e the topic is. You're incredibly talented, Noah.

[@pjlusk7774]

One quick quibble in the DA:O section: Harrowmont is *not* the reformer, Bhelen is. Even though Harrowmont is not a member of the royal family, he's the one pushing the hardest for the dwarves to remain dwarves, even if that means dying as dwarves. Bhelen is the one pushing for society to open up and rebuild, even as he is a much more ruthless person than Harrowmont's condescending decency. That's the central choice here: will you choose the better man, even if he will be the worse king? And what does that say about the choice between Branka and Cairidin?

[@pjlusk7774]

In re: the Darkspawn Chronicles, it always felt to me like it's showing that the way Alistair will fumble the bag without you is by *getting bullied by Morrigan* into letting her lead the party. The implicit choices don't feel like the ones the Alistair presented in the game would have made, but they are the ones he would make if he romanced Morrigan and basically let her run the show.

[@carsonnesbit1178]

I am one of the rare Harrowmont supporters and I will die on this hill both from an in universe, and out of universe perspective. From an out of universe perspective: I don’t want the dwarves to be reformed into a culture that is nearly identical to surface human culture. That’s boring, I want dwarves to keep their caste system and their fear of the surface world, it may be objectively holding them back but it’s also what makes them a unique take on dwarves. It would be like wanting to remove grudge culture from Warhammer dwarfs, yea it’s for the best, but it robs them of their uniqueness and makes them seem more human. From an in universe perspective: This is predicated on choosing a specific origin, but if you are a dwarf noble, then choosing harrowmont almost guarantees that either the Warden or the Wardens child will become the king after harrowmont passes. A lot of players never see this, but in the moments before the epilogue, Gorim tells the Warden that Harrowmont named them as his successor. The warden is also a paragon at this point, which means that they are almost guaranteed to win the assembly election. And let’s not forget that Harrowmont was about the same age as the wardens father, so he doesn’t have a whole lot of time left. He may be a subpar king, but he would likely die not long after the events of the game, which paves the way for the rule of Paragon Aeducan II. Also, if you choose Bhelen, he is almost definitely going to assasinate or banish the warden Aeducans child after the events of the game. That’s just how Bhelen is.

[@Johnsneedster]

@@carsonnesbit1178 hey you can't be pro-harrowmont, he's an evil reactionary, worse than the darkspawn even

[@chrisreed4065]

@@carsonnesbit1178 The reason the Dwarves need reform is that they are dying as a people. Their birthrates are dropping due to the taint and anyone who has any sort of ambition leaves for the surface. The thousands of castless just sit around doing nothing not beacause they want to do nothing but because they are barred from doing anything. The caste system is killing Orzammar and needs reform at a minimum but more likely abolition, otherwise they will eventually be overrun by the darkspawn. Harrowmont is just more of the same, Bhelen at least provides hope for the Dwarven people even if he is an S.O.B..

[@carsonnesbit1178]

@@chrisreed4065 I think my points still stand, when Harrowmont dies then the Aeducan warden is almost guaranteed to succeed him, and the main character would undoubtedly make a better monarch than Bhelen. The dwarves have two paths to survival, reforming and becoming a surface race, or using the anvil of the void to retake lost Thaigs and clear the deep roads of the taint. I think the former path is boring, if dwarves reform then they lose what makes them unique, they would be culturally reduced to just being short humans in Thedas. Their adherence to tradition, ancestor worship, caste system, underground lifestyle, and Byzantine politics are what sets them apart from the other races of Thedas and removing those aspects make them boring. And simply being in favor of some societal reforms doesn’t make Bhelen a good king, he also intends to basically neuter the assembly, which is the closest thing that the dwarves have to a republican institution. It might be oligarchic by its nature, but it at least comes with some separation of powers.

[@RafaelN82]

Amazing retrospective and great review of Veilguard! Thank you

[@AliceGrizzle]

I'm surprised you didn't talk about the option for Lohgain to become a warden in Origins and the fact that he is the other character that can take the role of the Grey Warden in Inquisition rather than Stroud/Alistair. He's by far the most interesting choice for it I think. The Fear demon in the Fade throws all of his past mistakes and crimes at him and his response is just a "Is this all you have? I relive these things every day." (I'm paraphrasing, been a while.)

[@goober6077]

i agree completely! as much as i hate making that choice in origins, i think having loghain sacrifice himself in the fade is the most compelling story. though, if they had gone forward with bringing back the sacrificed grey warden in veilguard, alistair or hawke would fit the story better imo. rip dragon age lol

[@pameiuioigoutu]

(Veilguard update) It is so, so refreshing to hear an analysis of this game that is not tainted by the mainstreem discourse around it. I myself didn't like Veilguard and stoped playing after 20 hours or so. I kind of agree with many critizisms you will constantly hear about the game, but I also was frustrated at the lack of more nuanced opinions. After listening to you, I think I might give it another try. Mostly I want to enjoy it for what it tries to be, instead of the caricature that everyone has made of it for the sake of toxic ranting funneled by the algorithm

[@awotzka]

I agree with this comment from a different yet very similar perspective! I adored Veilguard. I am on my fourth playthrough and still find myself discovering new items and reading new codexes. But I agree with a lot of the common criticisms as well - or at least most of them, I personally adore Taash, but I see the flaws in the game for sure. An example is me trying to bring up somewhere that I think Taash is autistic. Most of the comments I received were about how Taash is poorly written, how Weekes no longer is a good writer, and a few about wokeness or me reading into poor writing that isn't supported. It's the same exact discussion as the threads about reviews, or the videos about the gameplay, or unrelated posts about the older games at this point. It's exhausting!

[@pameiuioigoutu]

@@awotzka I totally get you. Many of these claims may have a point, but the arguments are so fallacious sometimes that it's very difficult to engage in an honest conversation about the game (the same kinda happened with Andromeda. So exhausting, as you say xD)

[@miau384]

@@awotzka I genuinely thought Taash - as a person who is autistic but not like Taash - was one of the best written characters in Veilguard. Uncannily realistic portrayal. Much less typical fantasy trope. A lot of different aspects being part of Taash's personality. Thinking they're badly written makes me sad. Both because it's deliberate social issues, and not 'bad writing' - good writing doesn't mean writing only characters you can fully understand and are perfect in rhetoric - and because Weekes wrote Solas, too, who is praised - it makes absolutely no sense to think the same writer writing two vastly different styles and characters didn't have any skill on *one* of the characters but not the other. Taash is just a portrayal of a character you will almost never get anywhere in mainstream media, but that exists.

[@nzgberg]

@@awotzkayou’re not the only one who saw taash as autistic. I had that thought too

[@shimmerback]

Less than a week out and I've already watched this video multiple times. This one's a bit of a masterpiece. Thanks, Noah.

[@b-roaskie7233]

Exciting to see your editing and technical skills improving with each video, even more exciting to hear that the writing is doing the same💙💙

[@NakedLeonard]

You often critique and discuss games that I either outright don't care for or games that I never paid much mind. What I appreciate about your style of commentary is that you are always trying to give games the benefit of the doubt and seeing their value in measured ways in the broader context of medium. It's great to hear from someone who so aptly explains why they like or appreciate things that I do not or cannot. I actually really dislike Dragon Age altogether, mostly because of its visual style and don't care much for fantasy. I actually have only completed the second game and bounced off the first one because it was simply too long. It was very nice to hear from someone effectively explain why so many people enjoy the series and bemoan its changes as the years have continued. Great work as always. I also wanted to express that I had a similar experience with my own mother. She died and I never really got to express myself to her. She simultaneously overflowing with love and cruel and dismissive and her death meant that I never got the chance to resolve those feelings. It's been several years and I've resigned myself to knowing that this will never be resolved. But that's life sometimes.

[@camwalkuk]

Since everyone is dropping so much love, I'd like to add that beyond just enjoying these videos, Noahs videos have done so much to help me during rough times. These long form explorations have been great to engage me in my favorite medium from nuanced and considered perspectives, and helps me appreciate games, and gaming as a whole, so much more. Accompanied with the radio show style vibe its been such a consistent comfort and distraction for me. If you're reading this, big love to you man ❤

[@austinduenas196]

The king returns. Welcome back! Thanks for your detailed take.

[@corvaes]

“emmrichs kind of a fleshmoder” is maybe the funniest combination of words i’ve heard in weeks

[@eji]

2:39:00 - Leandra was something of a frustrating character, because although she was Hawke's mother, she always put the burden of guiding the family to Hawke instead of, y'know, being an adult / parent and trying to do that herself. Someone in a reddit thread put it perfectly: "It definitely looks like Hawke was parentified to an extreme, especially after Malcolm passed - of course it falls to them to make all the big decisions. Of course it's their fault if anything goes wrong. The way she blames them for the twin that died proves as much (and she seems like she's even angrier about it if that twin was Bethany - which lends to my thought of her being the baby). And then the way she kind of tries to take back that role of authority a bit more after they get the Amell Estate, when she's back to a position of comfort - something that's only possible because of Hawke - really rubs me the wrong way. Like, no, you don't get to bother them about suitors after they had to carry everybody on their back this far, you don't get to bother them about what they've had to do to make that happen. Obviously, the way she dies is horrific. I would not wish that on her or anyone else. That scene has stayed in my mind for years. ...but if I'm Hawke... I'm not staring into fires over the guilt for not getting there in time. I'm doing it because I'm guilty for the relief I feel in not being constantly judged and guilt-tripped and demanded from on a personal level anymore." Bethany's bitterness towards Hawke after becoming Warden was also annoying to me because she's clearly upset about no longer being able to be coddled as the youngest and having that easier life where Hawke always protected and smoothed things over for her. Grow up, Bethany.

[@carlosbaezjr.7674]

Noah’s channel is always such a joy. You go for months without anything and get an HBO limited series amount of content when he uploads. I’m excited to hear Noah’s thoughts, once again, on a series I’ve never played

[@josephisafan]

noah, you're one of the best out there. all of you're bioware video essays are next level. very much looking forward to this, a series in my opinion that represents the highest highs of bioware and the tragically most terrible lows.

[@SaintJIS]

Hell yeah baby. Thank you a bunch Noah, been wishing for this for a time. Please try to not work too hard, you are doing immense work.

[@carsonnesbit1178]

The darker and more grounded tone of Origins is was drew me into dragon age as a kid, it was one of the first games I ever beat. In fact, It was the dramatic shift away from that tone that drove me away from the later games. Dragon age 2 had the atmosphere and writing that I loved but it was a poor game from a purely gameplay perspective imo. Inquisition and Veilguard don’t even feel like they belong in the same setting as Origins. They may share the same lore, characters, and plot threads, but so many fundamental aspects of the series have shifted so drastically that it just doesn’t appeal to me anymore. The art style and tone of the newer games just doesn’t feel the same, and I like a certain degree of consistency in my fantasy worlds. I don’t fault anyone for liking the newer games though, to each his own, I just felt like sharing my opinions and thoughts. I’ve definitely come to the conclusion that I’m an Origins purist at this point, it’s the only DA game from my own very personal perspective. As I said though, to each his own.

[@mcanu667]

Yes, I feel the same. I wanted to write a very similar comment.

[@Sangerrosun]

I am of a similar opinion. I didn’t care much for DA2, it’s arguably my least favorite (I haven’t touched veilguard and have no intention of doing so atm, money is tight). As for Inquisition? I started in college nearly a decade ago and never finished it, I guess it didn’t captivate my attention. I can say with 100% certainty that Origins is my favorite based on the tone, the origins, and the interconnected stories.

[@kaptenteo]

Same. Watching this video now has me considering replaying at least DA:O, but probably also DA2. Nothing past that, however.

[@sejol3081]

I dropped DA2 after the second time skip. It was around 4 years ago but I remember liking the companions and thought the relationship system was unique I really liked the style they were going for but the lack of development time really shows I haven't played Inquisition but my sister says it's pretty bad

[@Knight1029]

Thank you so much for making this video. You truly get Dragon Age. I often wanted DA to stick to the old Bioware formula, structure and format but I see the value of each game and in their core are amazing titles. Thank you so much for this video. You are one of the best video essayists out there.

[@SabiJD]

Yeah, I think that's a point I've not even considered, before or since Veilguard. Even if I have foundational issues with Veilguard - and DA:I - it is quite the feat for BioWare to have created three quite different, yet also unified, games, and managed to tell a major lore arc that really did cohere by the end. In that sense it's a little like the MCU; 23 films of that consistency telling an overall arc? That's nigh on miraculous... So even with DAV, I have a greater respect for what was achieved across the four games. Even if there's never another DA, that's incredibly admirable.

[@Knight1029]

@SabiJD I wish DAV was the DA4 I dreamed off but it isn't. Despite that it is an amazing game in so many ways. What Bioware accomplished not only within the game itself but in connecting it to the broader series is just phenomenal. I believe if Bioware was allowed to make the DA4 they wanted they would have. But EA, EA'd. Bioware deserved so much better.

[@SabiJD]

​@@Knight1029 See, I'm not yet convinced EA 'EA'ing' was what mostly hurt DAV. EA seemingly wanted a GaaS or co-op. Okay, so BioWare needed to adapt those systems to an SP model. But how much of that process explains, directly, how disinterested it all is in its own series lore and history, or moral complexities? Hell, I think DAV has one of the best loot systems I've ever encountered in such a game... For example, every item you find or buy can be useful, and there's no hoovering up twelve iron or steel swords at the end of combat to then sell for barely any coin. It has multiple 'currencies', like a GaaS or F2P, but every single resource is unique, and gets utilised quite quickly and easily (e.g. how the forge tiers progress. they balanced the acquisition and expenditure of resources so damn well. each time the forge improved, I could usually upgrade my entire party of their primary weapons and armour, at least). You don't have dupes, and you don't have unique items that are a waste for your class (the unique items are tuned per player class). It all works so damn well. There is an elegance and intentionality. Though of course that 'intentionality' was them adapting from the GaaS/co-op phase of production... So EA 'EA'ing' actually substantially improved DAV in some ways. No one would ever want that chaos and number of design resets, but they did wonders adapting to it. But how did EA's EA'ing impact the core writing, tone, and sidelining of lore? I need to see a Jason Schreier style deep dive into exactly who did what and how/when. If EA stipulated this tone and aversion to lore and moral complexity, then yes, absolutely they're to blame. But I need that confirmed before I say it, because from the info we have now, and how DAV turned out (in its good and bad elements), I can see what seems like direct evidence of that production chaos turning out for the better. Something Noah touches on is the notion that the faction designs are so homogenised - in terms of vapid heroic morality - due to the overall heroic, higher fantasy vibe of the story. That might be true, but I also feel it could arise from the GaaS/co-op era, i.e. they really did feel like bland player factions. All good guys, all with silly colour coded uniforms, etc. No real lore complexity or purpose, just a vague player faction 'vibe' and look that players can quickly pick based on the name, the look, and a one-line description. As if someone mandated with the question of 'can the player immediately made the choice in a few seconds'. So this is certainly a way that the EA GaaS BS could've impacted it. I just don't think it's helpful to put so much blame on EA. Yet.

[@adeptdamage3669]

Nah Veilguard was mediocre ​@@Knight1029

[@ftloc]

It's hard for me to describe the joy I felt seeing the notification for a new Noah upload..

[@livchamps9573]

i stopped playing veilguard when i realised there were no greatswords. truly Bioware's greatest sin

[@iah6866]

Real

[@levinmenekse1912]

Not everyone finds the right vocation for them. Everytime I listen to you, I get a deep conviction that this is your calling. Keep up the good work and take care of yourself.

[@blahblah3927]

Thanks Noah! This has filled in so many gaps I knew were there, from playing the games, but only some of the DLCs.

[@stacksmalacks8826]

Life always gets a little bit better when NCG uploads

[@flaminghalo]

Thank you. Dragon age has been an important series for me and getting to see you dig down and discuss it is such a joy.

[@J.Valmaggia]

This must have been horrendously difficult to write. Yet it is, to my mind, your best video yet.

[@sickwheelchaircombos1371]

Their decision to quixotically insist on never contradicting possible player choices... It's one of the most distressing things I can imagine doing to a writer. "Yes, we have dozens of excellent characters that you and the fans love. No, we cannot in fact ever use any of them again." I recognize that in this situation, just deciding on canon in any case is liable to provoke a backlash. I just fail to see how that's more important than the fact that every single Dragon Age game takes place in a deader and deader world, or else one that has to escape from its own story every entry like a molting snake. Their approach, frankly, sucks, and they should not have committed to it.

[@justinperry4176]

This video is absolutely incredible, and showcases just how far you’ve come as a creator in the last years.

[@chance_hollow]

Ive been struggling with an awkwardly similar situation as you noah i appreciate your existence and hope you make it to the other side of it all much love dude

[@asnail9653]

This series has such a special, long loved place in my heart. I remember being in a 2009 Target and blood splatter cover absolutely captivating me; somehow, I managed to convince my mom that it was an alright game for a twelve year old to play. Origins was my First. First RPG, first queer game, first sit-down-and-read game, the first game whose dialogue I didn't skip and whose cutscenes I loved to let play. I adored it, even if I had so little idea of *how* to play games like it that I only ever recruited Alistair, Morrigan, And Leliana, somehow never got any of them above neutral, and then soft-locked myself at the Branca fight at the Anvil of the Void with no saves to go back to. I never did actually finish it (not until years and years later, and in a new playthrough), but I didn't need to - it stuck with me like a burr in the folds of my brain and I never, ever got it out. I played II when it came out, and Inquisition after that, each in very, very different times of my childhood and early life, and each - like you said - so different in mechanics and focus, and yet so similar. I loved them all, because I loved Thedas. Even Today, sixteen years on from when I originally fell face first into it, it is still probably my most beloved fantasy world. I remember being so heartbroken at the Joplin cancellation - god, reading Schreier's article on it today still makes me just wander off into such fantastic thoughts on what could've been. I have mixed feelings about Veilguard - the fifth and final game in the series shunted into the slot of fourth game after the concept for its setup title was scrapped - it is more Dragon Age, and it is such a beautiful game, but it somehow doesn't feel quite right. I never finished it, and it was the first Dragon Age title where that happened without me wanting to go back and change it. I've watched a lot of Dragon Age youtube videos over the years and none of them seem to quite capture its uniqueness and my own personal love for it. Guess I really shouldn't be surprised that your piece managed to be the first. Brilliant work as always, Noah, and all my stranger's love your way while you work through your hurdles.

[@SabiJD]

When you mention its queerness, why was that noteworthy to you, personally? I played them as they came out, too, though I'm older. I remember HATING how DA:O looked in the trailers... So ugly and oddly cheap, especially the character models. But yeah, that turned out to be a special game. I was one of the, er, first lines of defence for DAII... After despairing at the initial demo, I ended up loving it, to the extent that it became my personal favourite in the series, for its surprisingly ambitious structure/concept, and just how well it explored the social, political, ethnic, historic, religious, etc tensions of a citystate on the verge of chaos. I loved how you aren't the centre of the world, and your hero's journey never ends in victory. Your companions feeling like they had their own lives separate from The RPG Party Club, too, making them and the city feel all the more believable, and tactile. I had a lot of issues with DA:I, and perhaps it's still the DA I have most gripes with. By DAV, I kinda didn't expect anything, because it had been so long, so many people had left the company, and so even if it turned out to be garbage, I wouldn't be disappointed or surprised. Another DA being made was unexpected. Anything it did well would be a nice surprise. But DA:I? I think its failures as a quasi open-world game are pretty ruinous, and going from Hawke to the Inquisitor was a shift I specifically disliked. To be fair, DA:I does some very interesting things with the 'chosen one' trope, obviously. But I still didn't like the main story, or its frustrating, numbing SP MMO gameplay vibe. Frankly, I feel ME Andromeda and Veilguard are the most successfully cohesive games they've ever made. DA:I feels at odds with itself. Some amazing character stuff throughout, though, gotta give it that. So like Noah, it is a game I love despite all the problems. Fantastic score as well. Noah didn't mention it, but the main theme for The Descent is just phenomenal. And the game's frontend main theme - right up there with Skyrim's as an iconic, awesomely successful hit of hype fuel when you boot the game... I'm surprised you never finished DAV, given your history. How far did you get? I loved the combat so much that was almost reason enough to keep going. I judged it on its own merits as I played initially, and despite the thuddingly patronishing tone (and the insistent disinterest in Thedas's lore... ), I was really enjoying it. I started a second run a few days after seeing the credits. Haven't finished that one yet, but I got quite far, and this video is inspiring me to return to it (romancing Taash as an NB Rook, which is such a unique new dynamic in an RPG). This is a great video, and I'm glad that there's a more measured, and quite positive, take on Veilguard [that isn't coming from certain BioWare lore diehards... ] on YT, from such a well loved critic.

[@DocTaxian]

Great video so far (I'm about 3 hrs in) as is the case with so much of your content. One minor addition you seem to have missed I think potentially worthy of your commentary: If you DON'T take your sibling with you to the deep roads in DA:2, they end up either joining the mage's circle or the templars instead of dying or becoming a Grey Warden. When I played through as a mage character, this offered a really interesting extra layer to the sibling dynamic and world-building in the game. Thanks again for another great deep dive!

[@conormurphy7017]

Joyous to hear you call DA2 one of BioWare’s best scripts. I love that story so much, flaws and all, and I think that the script is horribly underrated.

[@adeptdamage3669]

2 had good ideas but due to its rushed development it felt like 3 different plots stuck together with duct tape. For all its faults I consider Cyberpunk 2077 to be the better version of DA2.

[@dothdude]

It's wild to think that I have been subbed to this channel for almost a decade. I want to add to the chorus of support and appreciation for your writing and works! All the best, and i hope thing's get better.

[@MURDERFACE555666]

i'm loving hearing you talk about veilguard in the da2 section. veilguard always felt like da2 2 to me

[@michaelelmes2135]

So stoked every time I see a new post from you Noah. However long it takes, or whatever the topic, your videos are outstanding. Its a crime that you're under 1 million subs when you put out essays this phenomenal. I imagine youre most people's favorite game analyst's favorite game analyst id wager Always thorough. Thoughtful, unique, and genuine. Youre one of the best to ever do it, man. Genuinely appreciate you so so much. I don't keep great track of your updates on patreon and what not, but I hope you're doing well. You make so many of us, so happy.

[@hairclipzable]

I played through dragon age origins and 2 during a hard time in my life too, and after blasting through them all again for veilguards release was great, appreciating things I didn't appreciate when I was younger and loving the things I found so compelling the first time I played. I only have a few friends to talk about dragon age to since it's such an immense time commitment (I got on call with my closest dragon age friend for like 3 hours about how good and bad veilguard was as soon as they finished it LOL) and the coverage of veilguard has been frustrating to say the least! Seeing a video by my favorite critic on a series so dear to my heart was like waking up on christmas. I can't believe how much more I liked inquisition after giving it another shot. I got super fatigued by the ridiculous amount of Extra Stuff when it first came out, I don't think I even finished some characters' side quests properly and never played any of the DLC because the act of actually playing inquisition started to feel like doing chores until I had enough power for the next big story mission. Knowing what parts of the game I don't need to pour 10 hours into because the payoff isn't really worth it (I also got all the shards. once.) REALLY helps. I don't think I ever went to the Emprise du Lion until I replayed it and really tried to experience the parts of the game that I never went out of my way to see, and I was blown away by the gold hidden under the 100000 inquisition requisition quests. Playing through Veilguard just made me want to play inquisition again. I ended up romancing Taash (a bit accidentally, the second you flirt with them you're pretty much locked in which I wasn't really expecting) and playing as a nonbinary rook, and while I found their bonding and rook helping them discover their gender identity to be very "Nonbinary 101" I was still very touched to see it in such a big release. It was definitely a double-edged sword because while it made Rook's involvement with Taash's mother (who I also adored!) and their self-discovery, it also means that Taash comes in to undercut some of the emotional highs from the main plot, which was really frustrating. It could have been a lot more because I do really like a lot of the stuff they do with Taash's story, so it really bummed me out to feel like Taash stayed pretty immature. I know that if you don't date Taash or Harding, they can end up in a relationship together, and I have to wonder if a lot of my issues with Taash feeling immature, and Harding feeling a bit lacking outside of anything to do with the Titans would be solved by not dating either of them. I liked Lucanis and Neve more after they started dating in my game, honestly. I ended up saving Treviso and it does seem like it helped Neve's character, at least for me. It seems like she's got a tiny bit more going on in that scenario, since she was mostly picking up the pieces and trying to figure out what happened to the remnants of the shadow dragons in my game while wondering if any of her work was even worth it anymore. I also did like how she was at least slightly colder towards my Rook afterwards, and having dock town be a corpse-ridden venatori nightmare felt more appropriate for what I was expecting from Minrathous. I wish it made the crows any more interesting, but they stayed cartoon Italian mafia the whole way and I absolutely hated it. My fiance had to hear me complain about fake Italian assassins a lot while I played. Emmrich and Bellara ended up being the stand-outs for me too, Emmrich most of all. He was such a delight and its fun to see how differently his choice affects the rest of the game. He resurrected Manfred in my game (My rationale was that Emmrich wouldn't have brought Manfred to be resurrected if he was truly prepared for lichdom - he would have shot down the suggestion if he was!) and made peace with his mortality by opening up more to others. Manfred stays in his study learning from Emmrich as his new skeleton son and Emmrich starts a relationship with Strife, one of the leaders of the Veil Jumpers. He seemed a bit more happy and at peace for the rest of the game and it was honestly very sweet to see. I'm pretty sure it's the only decision in the game where I had to think for more than 10 seconds, which is such a bummer. The most disappointing parts of Veilguard for me are the parts where you can see that potential shine through. I said to myself "It's weird to be having fun actually playing a dragon age game" on the first boss, and i've told at least 4 people that have asked me, as their dragon age friend, that Veilguard is great if you don't know anything about dragon age. It's been hard to talk to people about the problems I have with Veilguard since I did enjoy a lot of it, but it's validating to see you be able to put so many of the issues and fun that I had with it into words. I lost my mother to cancer just before Inquisition came out and Aveline as a character really brought me comfort in those times, and Shathann accepting Taash at the end hit me hard as well - I didn't get to fully make peace with the ways she hurt me without realizing, or know her as a person, and I didn't get to come out to her before she passed. It was nice to see that a series that has been there for me during the absolute worst moments of my life was still there to comfort me, after all of these years. I hope you can find some peace in your life during this time, like how I found some peace and comfort through Aveline - No one tells you how to mourn.

[@JuliusKingsleyXIII]

This is the most positive take I have heard of Veilguard, but for me I just find the gameplay so offensively bland, boring, and un-Dragon Age that I cannot bring myself to waste time actually playing the game. EA and Bioware seemed to go out of their way to make all of the worst possible choices when it came to trying to engage existing Dragon Age fans in favor of reaching the mythical "broad audience" and they clearly failed.

[@hokogan]

Valid criticism of the games industry as a whole. They seem to be having a bland-off.

[@lipayy9852]

When I heard it started as a live service idea - I knew it was doomed

[@FritchardCrandle]

Noah, I hope you read through these comments (many with hundreds or THOUSANDS of upvotes) and are able to see just how much your work affects people. It's genuinely great, and so many of us find it incredibly valuable. Thanks for yet another awesome video!

[@alexanderperez5636]

You never miss with the opening tracks noah. Much love guy.

[@vesuvanprincess]

This is the honest discussion of Veilguard and the series as a whole I've been craving in the face of all the relentless negativity. Thank you!

[@Tzunamii777]

So sorry for your loss Noah. A "video" this long is normally a piecemeal watch, yet 6 hours of listening to you goes by like silk. Your work makes me a better orator, Ty. DAO is a pinnacle of RPG creation & innovation, it sets a high standard I still maintain. I enjoyed 2 despite the smaller scale. I understand the disappointment, but for the time they had to make it, they pulled off an enjoyable experience and satisfying lore continuation. I bought Inquisition on Steam sale this past holiday season, all the bells & whistles, but haven't dived (diven?) in yet. I may do so now, seeing you primed my DA itch. The Numbers clearly show how welcome Veilguards changes & themes are.

[@CatFish107]

The discovery during my first play through of ser pounce a'lot and the abilities he grants as a pocket kitty has to be among my personal top 5 favorites in gaming.

[@ShydeMK]

The king is back! Glad to see you uploading again Noah, you still have my absolute favorite videos on KZbin

[@Outplayedqt]

You have such a unique, linguistic gift, Noah. Listening to your last paragraph brought me to tears. Thank you very much for the video, and for making me _feel_ something in a world that constantly demands I numb it all.

[@MrDalisclock]

I was a little afraid this would just be the previous DA episodes knitted together with VG. I'm glad to see it's a new, updated video. Thanks for all your effort, Noah

[@HerrDoktorWeberMD]

You've given me cause to play more dragon age games (I never got past denerim before) and helped me think more about Taash. Their arc is fine in concept, but I never liked how their scenes were structured... I just wish Taash or someone close to them would've invented some qunari word that roughly translates to 'neither man nor woman' or something, I feel like it would've at least felt more real to the world. But more than that, I wish it wasn't so easy for bad actors to piggyback off legitimate criticism, but alas. Thank you for another beautiful essay, Noah, you always bring out a philospher in me.

[@ryanc5572]

I just want to say that I really appreciate you being so objective about Veilguard. Everywhere people talk about it, comments seem to devolve into hateful bigotry, talk about it being "woke", and other baseless nonsense. I appreciate you calling out the game's true faults, while also praising it for what it obviously does right. You have my respect.

[@SARGEHALO666v2]

Is it hateful bigotry and baseless nonsense or a reality you’re not willing to open your eyes to? BioWare is on the verge of being shut down by EA if they don’t deliver with the next Mass Effect game. This is it. BioWare made the stupid mistake of adding too much ideology into a franchise that has had that in the past but forgot to balance it with writing that didn’t treat you like a kid or had hand fisted messaging that anyone would roll their eyes upon hearing. It’s a damn shame because BioWare used to make legendary games.

[@UnfertigeGedanken]

@@SARGEHALO666v2 "Is it hateful bigotry and baseless nonsense" yes, bye

[@MrLemonhead333]

@@UnfertigeGedanken if you were playing a game about 18th century Victorian England, and a character sits down and says, “hey, I’m thinking about being polyamorous with my situationship!”, would you think this is good writing? Or, would you think that the insertion of 21st century slang and issues, which would have NEVER been discussed in this way in any realistic depiction of that time period, was immersion breaking and out of place? Well, that’s EXACTLY where much of the criticism of Veilguard is coming from. It’s not necessarily the inclusion of these issues, it’s the fact that they are delivered in the cheesiest, most out of place way that is completely incongruous with Dragon Age’s setting. And, guess what! People are displaying this with their wallets. BioWare has completely restructured as a result of Veilguard’s abysmal sales numbers (just take a look at the steam players, even recently after release… yikes..) I know, the subtlety in this criticism might be hard to comprehend, as well as realizing that people may have valid criticism about a work of art and it’s world building without being bigots or out to get you…but I believe in you!

[@miau384]

@@MrLemonhead333 “hey, I’m thinking about being polyamorous with my situationship!” Actually, sounds like a pretty good story - if told well.

[@mundymundo]

​@@MrLemonhead333"18th century Victorian England" Firstly, I'd be confused about the century being wrong.

[@HerrDoktorWeberMD]

I about cried at that ending, bravo, sir. Exactly the inspiration i needed to finally knuckle down and write the interactive fantasy story ive been brewing.

[@ghaleon1103]

Noah is really one of a kind. He's the single best game essayist in existence. I'm so glad to have the privilege of witnessing his singularly thorough and profound analyses.

[@jasonhoyle-oo8km]

Thank you for this essay. I have played Dragon Age since origins and have loved this series. All of the hate directed at this last game was so loud that it made me very sad. Your review has helped me crystallize what I loved about this series and what I found good or disappointing in the last game. Please keep up the amazing work and I wish you peace of mind in dealing with personal family.

[@TheSyntheticSnake]

The hope for a BG3 video intensifies

[@morgan3392]

I'm so sorry to hear about your mother, Noah - about your loss, and the entire situation surrounding it.

[@LordfizzwigitIII]

WOOO! New Noah! I'm so so excited. Don't beat yourself up about taking so long putting these together, the quality is always so good it's worth any amount of wait.

[@thefalofideals]

I know others have said it here already but I also just wanted to add that you are by far the most insightful person making any content related to video games on this platform. I've been watching your videos for years and, many on games I know I'll never play, just because I know there's always going to be some interesting ideas in there that I hadn't considered before. Please know that your work is deeply loved and respected and we all know just how much time and effort it takes to make something like this, so please take all the time you need, especially when dealing with grief and personal struggles. Your own health and wellbeing should always come first and we are all here for you. Not finished the video so far but what I've seen is already as excellent as ever!