Dragon Age The Veilguard: I Am Not Really Feeling It..Yet

[@Prisms]

I still can’t believe mortismal sat there in all seriousness and said this was his game of the year

[@TheGamernews1]

I had to do a double take when he said it’s the best game in the series.

[@vdanger7669]

And not a word about the misgendering pushups. lol.

[@Glennburgss]

Talk about credibility.

[@MrEek11]

@@Prisms so non black pilled opinion and hes a schill. grow up kiddo. people have opinions that wont always match yours

[@Gwilherm]

​@@MrEek11bro people giving it perfect scores is defying logic

[@R_C4RD_]

"My Name Is the Rook and You're Watching Disney Channel" Ahh Game

[@MrEek11]

@@R_C4RD_ THAT, is a legit criticism. this game should not be rated M.

[@mikeity2009]

People who give these companies money.... This is the industry you all deserve.

[@ttrev007]

i would give exception to those who review the game. if they pay out of their own pocket they are far more likely to give an honest review and help people to decide it they buy the game.

[@Caladir]

@@ttrev007 Yep, they're saving money from potential customers. They might buy the game, but turn 10 people away from it. So it is a loss for the Company.

[@MammothMorals]

I'm enjoying it tho...

[@animegamergeek1427]

​@@MammothMoralssame

[@jmmywyf4lyf]

This is what I keep saying. And then you got all these KZbinrs who are trying to get hate views off of it, who are doing nothing more than making it more popular and giving it more free advertising

[@robbiedubes]

The fact that this is a finished Bioware product would have the people who made BG1 and BG2 absolutely horrified. Comparing the Bhaalspawn saga to ...whatever this , well you just can't

[@marius1822]

"It gets good in 20h" That's a reason why not to play. It isn't an incentive. If I have to dig through the sewer to get a box of caviar by the time I get it I'm sick, lost my appetite, and the effort/pain makes eating the caviar not worthwhile. You can't judge a book by its cover, but I can judge it by its first few chapters. Same thing with a video game.

[@machofreak123]

This 💯 wtf is the point

[@KB8Killa]

Dude said this unironically?

[@IslandCat97080]

exactly - I have read several books that after a chapter or two, it's obvious the writer didnt put much effort into it, and off I go to another book.

[@MrEek11]

@@marius1822 i thought it was fun from the jump

[@infinity1323]

So, basically, apart from the environments, everything else is bad. Thank you for helping me confirm my decision to not buy this trash.

[@Kross415]

I can confirm that statement is a 100% accurate.

[@thomasace2547]

I wish this was a Dragon Age game But it’s become a platform for the Devs seeking validation for their own life choices

[@VampireNoblesse]

so true

[@paulregner5335]

You have struck the nail squarely on the head with your comment. Well said!

[@m0-m0597]

Why are you always so negative? The world is changing, just accept it and smile. Or else...

[@TreasonSky]

⁠@@m0-m0597”The world” is not changing. Gay, bisexual and straight have always been options, to open-minded people. Lecturing players through juvenile dialogue is not “change,” at all.

[@jmmywyf4lyf]

​@@m0-m0597the world is not changing. You have a few bad actors who are desperately trying to destroy Western civilization, and a whole bunch of lonely females who have nothing else going on, who pushed this nonsense without understanding where it's coming from

[@Bopperann]

“It’s not about money. It’s about sending a message.”

[@MrEek11]

@@Bopperann well, message not received looking at the numbers. yall anti woke twitter snowflakes are the extreme real life minority AGAIN.

[@BboyFever]

message not recieved, didn't buy

[@grizzlyadamblack]

What message? Bioware is dead?

[@MrEek11]

@@grizzlyadamblack been dead for years

[@paulregner5335]

No, it's about "grooming". This is a tutorial for bad life choices.

[@DaoistYeashikAli]

The Skellige music in the background is such an irony😂

[@eestiny9734]

right?🤣

[@justaquietpeacefuldance]

baby's 1st RPG advertised as steamy romance simulator turns out to be more "role training" than "role playing"

[@AQW0RIDS]

This has been Bioware's modus operandi for 14 years now, I don't know why this would be surprising to anyone at this point.

[@MrEek11]

@@justaquietpeacefuldance sorry, no porn for you to rub one out over a video game character. i prefer fade to black over cringey sex scenes.

[@MrEek11]

@@AQW0RIDS i dont get these people. its like they never played a bioware game

[@Mr.KneeGrow]

Because what was considered left wing 14 years ago is now considered right wing and most people are blind to the overton window shift to the left.​@@AQW0RIDS

[@maerunderemite]

​@@AQW0RIDS nah. There were queer characters, but they felt like characters who happened to be queer, and the games didn't feel to me like vehicles to transmit ideology. Maybe they WERE, but they were crafted better as artworks.

[@redness8667]

If I were playing this game, and came across that scene with Isabella and none binary push-up punishments, I probably would have stopped playing and moved on to some other game. Lucky that scene was leaked.

[@editorrbr2107]

AAA is saving me a ton this year, and reacquainting me with my back catalog.

[@Skumtomten1]

@@editorrbr2107 Most of my spending is on food this year. I have saved alot of money, and there is honestly very little that interest me these days. All my hobbies are dead except a few, and I can only do those during the summer period.

[@MrEek11]

@@redness8667 cry more. this series has always been like this. If you are offended, you should never have even thought about picking up this title or any other dragonage

[@manic_misfit9722]

@@MrEek11 True, the titles were always progressive, but unlike other titles, this one lacks any sort of nuance, thus comes across more like a sermon or after school special than an actual conversation being had between mature adults with a functional prefrontal cortex. Completely condescending.

[@skrotosd]

@@editorrbr2107I bought two gaming laptop and an iPhone with the money I didn’t spend on games this year 😂😂😂

[@Darkholow]

I feel like I'm trudging through like mud and I'm over 12 hours in. This is currently giving me Hinterlands vibes (of which I spent like a buffoon 35h in there before I finished everything). The lack of good banter, "advisors" that you can't talk to, companions that you can't start a conversation only at specific times when they wanna talk to you (this one is crazy to me) keeps adding on top of the disappointment pile. At least the music is decent and the environments are pretty so it has that going for it at least. Thus far I am on a "meh alright" mind state, but I will continue playing and doing everything in the game knowing that we won't get any additional content (confirmed).

[@spellandshield]

I admire your endurance Lord Darkholow!

[@PyrrhicPax]

THAT is a helpful review. The Hinterlands were a f*ckin SLOG FEST and it's sad to hear they gave us more

[@Darkholow]

@@PyrrhicPax I think you misunderstood..It's not quests like Hinterlands, but the pacing and my slight OCD to do everything in a zone whne I enter it reminded me of the Hinterlands. YMMV however if you don't play like I do.

[@Siraldur]

I tried to make a good-looking elven woman and failed. Then played for around an hour. I hated the dialogue, I didn't like the combat either. Is not good, not horrible, but not good either. And then Bellara appeared, and I hated her Disney character introduction and I just uninstalled the game. I wanted to give it an opportunity, nothing about the game in two hours made me want to keep playing. And I know two hours is not that much. But I want the games I play to at least give me some curiosity to keep playing. I don´t expect every game to enthrall me but this... did nothing. I couldn´t care less about what was happening in the game. And I have played every Dragon Age since origins came out multiple times and I love the lore. A shame.

[@df6597]

The first hours of a game shouldn't be a struggle. Witcher 3, Baldur's Gate 3, Cyberpunk, Early Dragaon Age, Mass Effect, Divinity Original Sin games, none of these games had that problem. It's not you, it's the game. Two hours is plenty.

[@Siraldur]

@@df6597 Yeah I know, that's why I stopped playing. I think I will go play Red Dead Redemption 1 since is on PC now.

[@Remi-bo7tn]

If you have to play 12 hours to get to the "good part" the game isn't good. If I start playing a game for 12 hours and the game is not enjoyable it doesn't matter if the last 5 hours after 30 hours are great. When I start playing a game from my backlog and its boring like this I just stop playing, uninstall and goes into my "do not play" list. I understand that you as a reviewer must do this, but a lot of people argue with regular players that if they haven't played it they can't form an opinion.

[@Trace153]

I am going to play it today for the first time. But the constant sentiment I see (not from people with agendas) is that the game treats you like a child of 8-13 year olds learning about video games pretty much… Which for a dark/adult themed franchise in its ending of a ark story wise is clearly a stupid move to make.. But it would have sold even less without the brand name, by all accounts it’s a mid action game with a sprinkle of RPGish salt on it. So yea a game I expect from AAA teams. I just completed Metaphor and I expect this to be a big shock to my brain. Which is fine, at this point I only expect my loved franchises to be burned/twisted one way or another. Just now it’s twisted for the CW instead of the corporate greed that it was having with lot boxes and other crap before.

[@spellandshield]

Yes, juvenile and boring writing so far....

[@Trohl-]

Yes...ur hand held thru the game, puzzles etc

[@kittydaddy2023]

Female dwarf without a beard? Fail. I also made a Dwarf in Dragon Age: Origins. I don't remember the story that well anymore, but I do remember the Dwarves in DA:O had some really interesting lore. I really enjoyed the DA:O story for the Dwarves. "You need to play the last 5 hours" came right out of the marketing team LOL I don't know why you would expect any answers to questions from DA:O from this team.

[@spellandshield]

They don't have beards in Thedas.

[@Tyanus2]

@@spellandshield Not only Elven gods exists but also dwarves without beards, sad times in Thedas

[@Zavonofcats]

The writing is as bad as borderlands 3, if not worse. I can't believe how bad they shit the bed.

[@Caladir]

Yep... Borderlands 3 is good example. Same brainrot. But I think Veilguard is even worse than that.

[@jock4551]

Can't you really, though? To remind you, we're living in an age where a piece of shit show like Rings of Power gets a 1 billion budget

[@MammothMorals]

writing seems ok for the most part. mostly just certain characters. Neve just seems monotone and dull, so all her lines sound off and Bellara is just to over the top. then Taash is over political. everyone else seems fine.

[@GulagMoosefeller]

It sickens me that Spell&Shield said, "I don't want to be too harsh on the game" when talking about the dialogue. He sounds like he's apologizing. To who? The writers? They would scream and shout "microagression" in his face if he ever met one.

[@Supadrumma441]

Bellara just yapps incessantly ​@@MammothMorals

[@Vizardlorde]

Frostbite engine is not mod friendly. inquisition mods were very limited and modders gave up trying despite how popular the game was. I expect a handful of non game altering mods, but not more than that.

[@bad3032]

Frost bite engine is a PITA to mod

[@ginacirelli1581]

Nexus will ban any mods that don't fit their agenda. FYI, there are other places to get mods.

[@Vizardlorde]

@@ginacirelli1581 Can you point to a place where I can get inquisition mods that make a significant improvement to character's appearance? The only ones available on nexus mods only make minor changes that seem insignificant. As opposed to DAO mods.

[@ginacirelli1581]

@@Vizardlorde My usual sources don't have any Inquisition mods. That having been said, I was able to make a decent looking Inquisitor with the mods from Nexus. The hair makes a huge difference.

[@DudeSoWin]

If you go back to basics. What is needed is the ability to crash, inject and save skip to mod out the unwanted scenes. The rest is just dialogue, sound bytes, and a few cheats for the mobs to boost difficulty. The character creation problems seem like developers did not know how Raytracing would affect their character models so they over compensated in the wrong direction. That can be fixed in the graphics driver with custom shaders and AI enhancements.

[@otterlysarcastic]

My condolences for the challenges you've faced suffering through this game, and my deep respect for your resilience. I'm eagerly looking forward to a video on all the lore reveals you will find there

[@xKindle]

not a must play game, not even worth thinking about

[@df6597]

More like a must not play game.

[@bhryaen3743]

@@df6597 Exactly. It’s a game to not play on principle

[@MrEek11]

i dont know, i think its fun as hell. for some reason every DA people say the characters suck, its to woke/pc/liberal, blah blah. its fun like other dragon age games. corney humor, dark over arching themes, and a lot of reading.

[@Supadrumma441]

​@@MrEek11spoken like a true tourist. Play origins then play this trash.

[@kavky]

@@MrEek11 The humor isn't corny it's sanitized and cringe. And there is no overarching dark theme, it's not even dark enough to get a PG13 rating, it's absolutely not dark fantasy. And if you think this is a lot of reading you definitely never played the CRPGs of the late 90s and early 2000s.

[@Vagabond_Gaming]

Too bad game can't just stay as a game. This game has transformed itself to be a battleground for culture war that nobody wanted or needed.

[@dezmundtv962]

it must be excruciating for these activists to write dialogue for normal people lol. They don't get much social interaction with those outside their eachochamber, and it shows in how off putting the dialogue is at times. You can see the jarring red flags of their biases and insecurities seeping through the screen.

[@ProsperinoG]

Brutal honesty. From 'dark fantasy' to a wholesome slop

[@Marc-hx5vp]

I watched Luality and I thought to myself: They tried to make a game for everyone and it is a game for no one

[@spellandshield]

Klopt, maar dat geldt over het algemeen voor heel veel spellen van de huidige tijd...helaas.

[@ScytheNoire]

If this game didn't have the Dragon Age name on it, it would be a total flop. Every piece of dialogue I've seen of the game is the most cringe inducing crap. Compare this to Baldur's Gate 3 or Cyberpunk 2077 and it just makes it so much worse. This game is for console kiddies, and to sucker in fans of previous games.

[@gibster9624]

I am skeptical of any writing, whether it be a TV series or a book, where the first part of the writing is rough and you have to get well beyond invested for it to get better. It usually ends poorly. The Wandavision show, Falcon and Winter soldier, Borderlands 3. Even Mass Effect 2. We end up finishing the 2nd game exactly where we finished the first all while hating working for Cerberus those first few hours.

[@jock4551]

Writing is mostly either good or not. It very rarely gets "better later on"

[@DudeSoWin]

Point A to Point B, the "gets good" is always mid tier because the beginning and ending never touch right. That is the Buddhism balance stuff wrecking the heroes journey.

[@gibster9624]

@DudeSoWin I pushed back on Breaking Bad fans. It took several episodes for it to get good and then by the end you hated both characters anyways so what was the point?

[@amampathak]

The Witcher 3 music in background is just cherry on top. Loved that.

[@btplays96]

I saw a comment on Twitter that summed up my feelings about this game: It's like you're meeting an old, dear childhood friend again, only to see him completely lost in drugs and unrecognizable. I've never felt such a negative feeling about a game in my life. Now I'm afraid to love new franchises :(

[@DarkKing009]

GameSpot: 7 out of 10. I believe that's a fair assessment. Their complaints were similar to my complaints. A good story, weird dialogue, and an inability to be evil led to bad role-play value mechanics.

[@armandoriosfragoso6726]

Which difficulty are you playing on ? And what part of the key bindings made you feel the game was not optimized for keyboard ?

[@DeadlyGrub]

The dialogue is plagued by a problem known as Mouth Diarrhea where they just endless talk without reason. They needed a trimmer editor to come in and check the script. The other issue is Useless Text where they reinforce an obvious or already said point in the same conversation multiple times or just say something entirely pointless all together. Finally Unprompted Dialogue where all of a sudden dialogue that was not asked about or even relevant is suddenly now the conversation which comes out as forced. These all mean the dialogue feel incredibly unnatural. Which is all techniques Silent Hill 2 used to make it feel off and unsettling. This should not be the case in a serious RPG. The stupid part is all of these are basic level issues that would result in a script being handed back in college or University from a professor saying try again without them even bothering to grade it.

[@apres-lachute8718]

I am struggling to get through the game. RIP Dragon Age. You had a good run.

[@TheGismono]

You shouldn't force yourself , it's only a game. There are a lot of good games out there.

[@TanyaDegurechaffDIDNOTHINGWRON]

"Good run" Only the first game was amazing. The second and third game where mediocre with only some good moments. This final game seems so bad no matter from wich angle you look, it is not even worth playing for free.

[@themagescorner]

So far it's a fun action game to me. But it definitely doesn't feel Dragon Agey except for maybe some similar characters lol It feels like they took Dragon Age and made it for all ages cause the writing is childish lol

[@zupremo9141]

@@TanyaDegurechaffDIDNOTHINGWRON 2 story is really good, the problem with it is the lack of varied locations. Inquisition is mediocre at best, I tried to play it a couple of times, but the character designs and the MMO type filler quest always makes me stop playing it.

[@TanyaDegurechaffDIDNOTHINGWRON]

@zupremo9141 Yeah. Dragon age 2 story was still good but inquisition is so mid I recently tried replaying it after all those years but i just stopped in middle of it. The mmo style grind is terrible. And the story is only ok.

[@tatara_hisoka1]

THANK YOU calling the character creator below average, because that is EXACTLY what it is. Even if you are creating a male character. There are zero options for receding hairline or balding hairstyles. Zero. None.

[@Trohl-]

Until each titty gets its own size slider...it's not in depth 🤷‍♂️

[@junkpile717]

Devs mad at asmonmold so they won't let you make balding man

[@tatara_hisoka1]

@@junkpile717 Who da fook is that guy?

[@JimmyMon666]

I admit I never once considered those hair styles on my toons. But I figure someone out there might use them. More choices is always better than less choices.

[@UnknownRex]

Writing in an RPG is important for me (along with good combat), so I had to give the game a pass from the get go. BG3 had its issues as well, but at least it took itself more seriously along with fun classic combat.

[@BlondeNordic]

That flat chest bothers me even as a straight woman because dwarfs are supposed to be robust. Instead of porches think of tractors that sort of thing. I like being a short person or a short race in a game but in DA i can't use magic as a dwarf :(

[@Axeltonn]

Love the Witcher 3 soundtrack playing in the background.

[@BlackWipeout]

trust me, you are going reduce the game difficulty on easy... for going faster...

[@GarySamione-zi8pj]

I mean I am enjoying my time with this game after around 20 hours. I am at level 19 and it is fun! The combat is pretty satisfying, its not turn based which is a bummer for me, but it is fun.

[@eliesaad]

So this is actually genuine, I had your video playing in the background, and all of a sudden I heard voices of characters from a children show, so I was surprised, I switched to check the video and I saw the bellara scene and I was genuinely surprised about it.

[@TheGamernews1]

The game isn’t bad very mediocre however playing the game it’s writing Is bad with its MCU humour/ Disney afternoon PSA special. Doesn’t help it has the most overt politically charged messaging I seen in games. I made peace with the fact that BioWare will never be able recapture Dragon Age Origins and this game absolutely cemented that fact.

[@MarwolfAeducan]

We will never. Get a game like dragon age origins or mass effect 2 again

[@LeyKT]

@@MarwolfAeducan Exodus from Ex-Bioware team might worth a look.

[@MarwolfAeducan]

@@LeyKT oh yeah

[@ghost3337]

I only ever play Origins as a dwarf because they have the best origin stories

[@AmbivalentActuality]

Writing is the whole reason I was sold on the first game and put in a minimum of 10 playthroughs to explore more of the game. I don't understand the move away from it. This likely was the case for a majority of the customer base. I'd kill for this to be DA:I (perhaps with an improved tactical combat camera and combat programming like in DA:O) with the writing quality of DA:O. It's also crazy how DA:O had more subtlety and this game in comparison is exceptionally preachy and simplified.

[@jurgen4466]

DA veil now played for some hours is as big disappointment for me. I love the DA world and have enjoyed all games in it. This veil game however is sadly lacking. The conversation is patronasing and without any feelings. Its like they talked from a script. The characters are ugly and look like cartoons. The environment however is beautiful.The game has been tuned down to a woke child toy game experience. Worst is the extremely boring and repetitive combat with followers that are basically bystanders you can use once in a while on their cooldown. All the time you spam out three abilities and move around. No flow, no finesse, no tactic. And the bosses are really easy and extremely bad in combat, with fixed moves easy to see through. As I said its like game is made for children. Endless pointless puzzles and a very blend story with no consequences nor feel in story or interaction. This game is just like a consul game without any depth or feeling. I would not even really call it a crpg. And the romance s so unreal and passion free. Tragic Such disappointment 5/10 😢

[@Trohl-]

I was nice. Gave it a 6. Can see the 5s...not 7s or higher tho, especially since replay value is a zero so far from what I've seen

[@ttrev007]

i think the game was made for children. why make it Disney-esk. Propaganda is more effective on kids.

[@tripletrollface]

Fields of Ard Skellig on a Veilguard video ... The contrast of quality vs ... whatever Veilguard is.

[@SagittariusQueen1993]

Yes its very hard to make a attractive female character

[@pandorakaze4038]

....Errrrmmm, she was cute though. But whatever, I'm ace anyway.

[@pandorakaze4038]

But yeah, we won't agreed over woman, but I do agree with you about dialogues. Oh, and Rook is... like... Hmm. Almost non-existing.

[@roguerifter9724]

I'm very early in the game (I basically just arrived at the Lighthouse for the second time) but given what's been happening in the last couple of quests I don't see how this game's tone could possibly be considered extremely lighthearted.

[@deathbycognitivedissonance5036]

I am going to wait for your full review to play it...or not depending on the outcome.

[@aidencampbell9120]

Dwarven background in DAO was easily the best that I always go with for. As for repetition I got tired of it 5-7ish.. idk why but for me if I can see the tediousness that quick I don't need to see another 15 hours of it

[@Whateverlilbro]

Damn this guy is really into dwarves lol

[@Cheesecake.090]

I'm currently 25 hours into the game, about to reach the end of Act 1 (I think?). I will admit, I have a very biased opinion. Dragon Age is my favorite video game series, and I want this game to be good. The things I want most from it are for the overarching story to have a satisfying end, for the many questions about the lore to finally be answered, and for a satisfying conclusion to my Inquisitor’s romance with Solas (yes, I am one of those people). There are elements of it I'm really enjoying: the environments are beautiful, the combat is fun, and the lore reveals and scenes from the past have been intriguing. But as of right now, I can’t help but feel like I’m suffering through most of Veilguard “to get to the good stuff,” and that’s not how it should be. Why do I feel almost no connection to most of the characters I meet? Why can’t I be mean when I want to? Why are the companions such good friends when they hardly know each other? Why is Morrigan so out of character? What is the point of these cameos, when the characters don't even know their own past? Who approved this horrible dialogue?? I could just go on and on. My sanity right now depends on whether Act 3 is actually as good as people are saying, and it’s one of the only thing keeping me playing.

[@WiseOwl_1408]

Straight up simping for corporations. Enjoy the slop

[@Cheesecake.090]

​@@WiseOwl_1408 Good one 🙄

[@Nicottia]

Yeah, it's what I've been so worried about. I have not purchased the game yet, I will wait a week or two, heck maybe I will wait for a sale? Just like you, I am also a huge fangirl of Solavellan (altho I do love my Trevelyan Cullen mancers just as much, if not more cause of the "happy ending" factor), have played previous 3 DA games to the death, and yet on every replay I still find something new, as for Veilturd? I dunno. But so far, what I've seen and heard from streams and combing youtube it is indeed as you say, a lot of character assassinations going around, Morrigan's completely acting out of character, I don't even wanna talk about Isabela, or Varric. And the dialogue? Oh dear, just painful. Also, the 50 shades of "say yes". Ugh. Who cares if Rook can sabotage romantic relationships between companions when you cannot even do basic stuff like you could in previous games, like disagree or straight up lie to them, perfect example is Merrill's quest. You can give her the arulinholm or deny it, actively sabotaging her personal quest. Or... Solas' quest in DAI, where you can free his spirit friend from those bindings or just slay it. Then ofc we've got Morrigan's quest to slay her own mother in DAO and it's various permutations. And from what I've seen you CANNOT do any of that in Veilturd... So yeah, good luck on your quest to see how the romantic entanglement between Solas and Lavellan wraps up. I will eventually go down that rabbit hole myself, just need to mentally prep myself for the horrible writing.

[@azatheeverchosen7615]

As someone who knows what the game 'reveals', I am here to warn you that this game retcons a metric fuckton. None of the lore bombs are as satisfying as they ought to be.

[@Joshinbo]

I need to know what the bag round music is please.

[@dspellcaster1027]

I commend you pushing through this. I want to play it simply to learn the lore firsthand but if I do, it will be after a VERY VERY steep discount.

[@Jrockk999]

OI I take that personally, if more games gave me dragon like people I would be all over that. I play dragonborn every single time in bg3, it just happens. But games don't do that often enough. And besides I don't wanna be ass level with everyone. Thank you very much sir.

[@MagnustheRad]

This game made me more exited for avowed, they know characters and dialogue and this game made me appriciate this facit even more

[@MidratsSnack]

Why we couldn't make a dwarf any way similar to Harding doesn't make sense at all!

[@Chasodey]

I feel like this initial review is very depicting of the game and it's sad to see Origins legacy reduced to this. One question, I completely forgot the track playing on the background but I know I've heard it somewhat recently, I beg any stranger to remind me from where this melody is. Witcher 3 maybe?

[@Slyslug]

im also a dwarf pure, good man.

[@Gemmalady]

Hello there--new to your channel. Found you several weeks ago and was waiting to see what your opinion of the game was--leaving off the culture war stuff. I am an "older gamer" as well, in fact I am in my late 60's, and that was another reason I wanted to hear your thoughts. As soon as I saw the first trailer for the game, I knew I was in for trouble. I had quite enjoyed DAO, all those years ago--it being my first foray into the world of RPG's. The DAV art style was a no for me, BUT--I hadn't been turned off by the art style In DAI, like others. In fact, if you look at games that came out around the same time (Diablo3, mainly for me) many games had brightened the palette. But this art style? It seemed like something designed for my grandchildren. I know that the Dragon Age series HAS tackled sensitive subjects in the past---but it was done with nuance and consideration. It was never in your face. The humor was dry and witty. I enjoyed the banter between my companions and my character. In DAO, I particularly enjoyed the backstory (hence "Origins") but knew going forward we wouldn't get that again. If the devs did choose something like that, wouldn't they have to label it a "prequel?" Anyway, I digress. I am looking forward to your take on the story as a whole, but judging what you showed today, how many hours will it take to get to that point? Shouldn't there be clues along the way? Not given in a final, two hour dump at the end? Why would I pay $60 or $70 dollars for THAT? Additionally, I couldn't help but notice that although you were playing as a male dwarf--the voice you had just gave me cognitive dissonance. Did you not have a choice in a deeper, gravelly dwarf voice? Or do they all sound like they are going to try out for the Tenors? Good luck. I think this is a hard pass for me. I appreciate all you have done, your videos have had a note of caution, showing wisdom--more than this game seems to have in store for us, anyway.

[@spellandshield]

Yeah, the male American voice lacks the depth I wish it had but...the American voice is kind of the canon for dwarves in Thedas. Cheers for the comment.

[@Gemmalady]

@@spellandshield That’s good to know. In Dragon’s Dogma 2-a game I’d waited for 12 years to get a sequel-the voices weren’t as they were in the original either. But-they are well done and now that I’ve grown used to them, I quite enjoy the work that’s been done. I guess I was expecting a voice more like Varric’s haha silly me, of course your Rook can’t have his distinctive flair. In any case-I wish you all the best and am eagerly awaiting your thoughts as you journey through the game! Subbed!!

[@skrotosd]

Imagine working on a video game and creating a skill for a warrior that makes magic swords fall from the sky.

[@Jimmywhattt]

What’s the music in the background??

[@katarinakremberg1319]

Fields of Ard Skellige from Witcher 3

[@katarinakremberg1319]

Fields of Ard Skellige from Witcher 3

[@jonetgames]

The craziest thing to me is that you can't talk to your companions. That was my FAVORITE part of the dragon age games, seeing their personalities, learning more about them. It also helped the romance feel more natural but now you can only talk to them in certain instances when the game ALLOWS you to. Why would they do this? 😭 I think it's cuz the characters are just so one note and the writers knew that so they purposefully tried to avoid giving these characters any more dialogue than necessary. Outside the environments and some of the music, the game is dull and lifeless. There's a large cast of characters but they all feel so empty. Not even any side characters to feel attached to like Sandal the Dwarf from Da2 or Dagna from dao or dai.

[@editorrbr2107]

Some games have a slow burn because of the difficulty spike, lore building, etc. CDPR is notorious for them. But this is the last game in a series, and it holds your hand the entire way through. There’s no reason for it to be paced this poorly. And that is ignoring all of its other many, many problems

[@szymonserafinowicz344]

I honour your sacrafice. You are doing great Job on this channel

[@AquilaGuard]

Contrast this with the monster hunter wilds character creator which is so amazing that people are creating copies of iconic sexy female charcters like Yeneifer from witcher. And mon hun is a pure action game, not an rpg lol

[@cameronpark9636]

I agree with most of what you said. I'm also only playing for the lore. I hope that at least will be compelling, as I suspect the answers to many of the big questions, as it were, were already written by the time of Inquisition

[@patriciamurray1184]

I have played a bit of the game, i am only a few hours in, I am enjoying myself, I agree about the character creator, I feel like the jaw of my lady elf is very masculine looking and it is irritating me, I am having trouble adjusting it. I am on the fence about Bellara, i just met her and i got to that scene you showed and I was not really impressed. I texted my friend and said not as obnoxious as Sara though. I have not met all the other companions so i cannot comment on them. My character that i made is a Mourn Watch Mage, and i was not happy about the not goth aesthetic of clothes that you get. I wanted more death vibes, all black, or a cloak or something that just makes me look like I work in a necropolis, but that just might be a me thing and maybe other people do not mind it.

[@thels5217]

I'm 55. Loved video games since I was what Defender? Anyway. I like you prefer tactical pause games and RPGs. I like good stories and difficulty. This game has been presenting itself as button mashy to me.

[@MidratsSnack]

Background music just makes me want to do another Witcher 3 playthrough

[@SquekretGenius420]

Same decided to pass awhile ago after seeing the weak gameplay trailer.

[@paxluporum4447]

I've restarted rpg's before when I realized I botched my character creation. I've made people who look great from the front, but that's about it! Perfectly valid reason to restart.

[@zaxxon4]

I can't blame the actors for the bad voice acting. If you check out the IMDB you'll see a lot of the characters are voiced by the same people as many of your favorite characters. Script and direction can make it tough to turn in a good performance. If it is almost all bad performances when using actors who have been great in previous games, then it isn't the actors who were bad at their job.

[@TC-yu1dr]

I'm playing it as well. Loved origins and the world of Thedas. It was a gritty, dark, high fantasy setting and an adult story/game. The whole Pixar/Disney change leaves me with a feeling they are trying to go for a much younger audience (little kids) and aren't interested in their core audience.

[@trevorsebastian1341]

My elf mage looks like my favorite wow race, goblins. I gave him green face paint, made him as short as possible, big outward ears a big crooked nose and a jutting chin, took the eyebrows out and added a scar or two. It actually worked. The only problem with the character creator is that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make my character look rugged enough.

[@RebeccaRuth-d2t]

Been waiting for your take. I was tempted to buy after watching some others play, but if I sit on that buy button for ten seconds I'm convinced to pass and just move on. There were mods released on the Nexus YESTERDAY. Like wow... already? It must be really bad. Thank you for going through it so some of us do not have to. Gen X determination at it's finest. :)

[@spellandshield]

The full review will take a while. It is not running away so there is that.

[@RebeccaRuth-d2t]

Where can it run to? It is the internet so the whole world may be watching. I'm diving into Dragon's Dogma 2 tonight. It may break my brain lol, but I wanted something deep. Wish me trials and torment. I have no idea what I'm getting into.

[@spellandshield]

@@RebeccaRuth-d2t I could recommend some games perhaps? Have you checked out my top 5 CRPG list?

[@RebeccaRuth-d2t]

@@spellandshield I can't remember. I'll go take a look.

[@RebeccaRuth-d2t]

@@spellandshield Pillars of Eternity looks interesting. I love stories. Thanks for directing me to the video. I'll see if I can find that game.

[@TheZealo]

Harding having a sad realization about her race and they give you an option to flirt in the cringiest way possible. Yikes

[@btiermutineer]

Oh hi there, Spell & Shield! Loved to hear your own thoughts. Honestly I have no idea how you've been able to play the game for so long. I think I'm too sensitive to writing due to my creative writing background, because it just makes me so upset with every single dialogue line...

[@spellandshield]

I am playing the game for the lore...and just because I said I would...one playthrough, then nevermore.

[@Bonibello]

yooo a fellow shortie character enjoyer, here take my like and sub

[@spellandshield]

Cheers!

[@noctoi]

Speaking of the cartoony graphics, look up this vid: "Dragon Age 4 Veilguard: Turn OFF That Cartoon Effect - Graphics and Performance Comparison" The differences in the whole visual tone of the game is wild. At least visually, this is what we COULD have had. Fingers crossed for some modding magic. It's amazing what a difference getting rid of the monumental amounts of bloom does!

[@spellandshield]

Thanks, will check it out!

[@noctoi]

@@spellandshield Definitely doesn't fix the myriad of other issues, but it's surprising how much difference it makes just cutting out all the lighting noise.

[@micasa8421]

Let me get this straight. In the opening sequence the bartender enemy, tells you everything you need to know and then tries to attack you with a bottle and gets knocked out?

[@Haarba1]

As long as you bought a copy and played for 2 hours, out of which 30min is shaders compilation, it doesnt really matter if you feeling it or not, or if you feel it later or not. Remember Starfailed, they also said that game opens up later, the smartest persons said that games opens up after you finished it... so...

[@Mharic]

Dwarf is my race in every game I play

[@bluntman4627]

In my opinion, this elevates you to the rank of holy martyrs. I played for about ten hours. I'm ready to play this game only if I get paid.

[@anzolomyer4584]

Pretty fair initial review! Not as mean as I thought it would be! Game has a ROUGH BEGINNING. I really wanted all the rage baiters to be wrong ;(, but I agree with most of these sentiments. So far, I'm finding it to be a pretty cozy game that wants you to feel valued. Your companions go, "Great job!" after fights and even the shopkeepers say things like, "Thanks for browsing through my wares!" 12:34 - also, yeah. lots of 😬😬😬 moments so far. I think the game gets more fun after level 10, though. There's a pretty fun game in there, but it's probably getting outsized attention for what it is. I can see why fans of the lore would be upset.

[@spellandshield]

I forgot to mention that shit during combat; GREAT SHOT Rook!

[@zinematicgaming]

Combat feels fun for a half an hour session in the evening. Not something you'd want to play for three four hours . Rather than being part of your adventure it's a major focus of the gameplay. Environments look very beautiful but because of the art design of the characters I can't take anything seriously. The main character Rook feels like a WWE FACE Preset . Solas is amazing of course, the only character with a weight. Dialogues feel like they are written by someone who thinks people talk this way. If I'm adventuring with a bunch of people it'd piss me off if they talk to me like an office colleague. Everyone is positive because no one wants to go the HR room I guess.

[@shellsmith831]

DA Veilguard is to the DA legacy as The Last Airbender live action movie is the Original The Last Airbender animated series.

[@justinmartin845]

It has it moments but then it pulls you out of those moments with the really bad dialogue… I mean Rook sounds like an idiot no matter what choice you make half the time. It makes me miss BG3s dialogue options. Also agree about the character creator, example, there are jacked Qunari in this game as NPCs yet the character creator won’t duplicate that body type for the male Qunari, that makes no sense..

[@sickmaelstrom6388]

To many other games out there to climb over all these hurdles. I play games for fun and entertainment. Not punishing myself and spending my limited free time on games made this way. Most of the bad implementations were intentional.

[@lostzephyr2191]

The dialogue I've seen from Veilguard has been amazingly bad.

[@m0-m0597]

Are you feeling it now Mr. Krabs?

[@johnwayne4911]

I'm curious if you ever played BG1 and were one of the ones to criticize Dragon Age Origins. That narrative is starting to creep up even though it makes absolutely no sense considering Baldur's Gate is a different IP from Dragon Age.

[@Dameendmon]

Yea- I’m having a weird sense of Deja vu reading all this about DAV, because it’s the same shit I’ve been hearing about the DA games for years?

[@bligh1156]

The music.... Skellege? So stirring, it evokes a lot of emotions, such a great story in that game - not the subject game of this video, certainly.

[@Aebriol]

Good commentary.

[@heatherharrison264]

Another KZbinr (Renfail) who is a lot more positive about the game mentioned 1980s He-Man in regard to the writing style. Now that he mentioned this, I'll be forced to view the writing through the interpretive lens of He-Man. I watched He-Man as a child (yes, I'm that old), and I'll still occasionally watch He-Man and She-Ra nowadays when I want some charming 1980s nostalgia with a decent dose of cringe. The team dynamic in Dragon Age is a lot like He-Man - very little conflict within the team, small issues get resolved quickly, optimism rules the day, everyone provides heavy doses of encouragement, and everyone works together just a little too well. In other words, it is far too positive to be realistic, just like many 1980s children's cartoons. I wasn't too critical of the writing in Veilguard through the introduction, as I was more focused on getting used to the game, but now that I'm paying attention, the cracks in the writing are starting to show. So far, I am enjoying the game, but maybe in the same way that I enjoy He-Man, as something light and simple that I can use to pass the time when I want to relax and turn off my brain. I do not see this as a great game or anything close, but so far, I place it on the positive side of mediocre, with a score of around 6-7 out of 10. If I want serious Dragon Age, I'll play Origins again. If I want cozy Dragon Age lite with some cringe thrown in for good measure, it seems that Veilguard is going in that direction. There is a place in the world for something like this. It probably helps that I have only played Origins, and this feels so different from it that I'm treating it like it comes from an entirely different franchise. Regarding the combat - I hate action combat. Since Veilguard had to go in that direction, as other franchises (i.e. Pillars of Eternity/Avowed) have as they chase the mass market that seems to prefer action, I am disappointed. Thankfully, the combat can be nerfed to the point of triviality, so I can get it over with quickly and not put any effort into it, which is the only way I can stand to engage with action combat. (Note that some reviewers who find the combat repetitive have turned the difficulty way down to make it go faster. That seems like a good idea for those who enjoyed it at first but eventually get tired of it.) This makes the story even more important since that is my primary mode of interaction with the game. So far, it is tolerable for me given that my expectations are not high, and it has not been a deal breaker, but if the problems build as the game goes on, it might start to annoy the literary scholar in me. He-Man is fun in small doses, but it gets old after a while.

[@Kross415]

15 lvl mage here, the combat is repetitive no matter what you play. The best you're going to get in terms of mods regarding art-style is reshade mods, and that's not going to solve anything.

[@thesecondhat4717]

Should I purchase this game I'm making a Qunari, then I have gone through every race in the series. The Warden was a noble dwarf. Hawke was a human (by force) and the Inquisitor was an elf. Sucks that the Qunari has lost their DA2 look. One of the better things that game did compared to the others.

[@KirelRed]

You can make a decent qunari, but you really gotta play with the character creator. They don't make it easy for you.

[@thesecondhat4717]

@@KirelRed Think I'll max out the height and make a strongman build, remove the eyebrows and such, but from what I have seen the horns will be a problem and the skin texture will always be a little too soft.

[@daviru02]

"It's not dialogue, it's a sermon."

[@NoName-ym5zj]

I do struggle to think of better char creators, even tho I agree this one is pretty mid, the only ones that come to mind that are better are Fallout 4, Dragon's Dogam 1-2 and that's probably it. I don't count MMOs, I know Black Desert is good or so I hear, but we are talking single-player RPGs.

[@Jey-75]

the dwarf you made in the beginning looked good to me

[@CabageBeans]

Sure, but he settled for that after not being able to make what he wanted.

[@Emma_square_Feet]

@@Jey-75 I've already posted a concise tutorial for him to have foundation to build from. I suspect people really aren't understanding how important the selection of the 3 head shapes combination is, and how limiting it is if you choose incorrectly.

[@brentbentKRFP]

Pretty sure what you meant to say was the character creator didn't allow you to create a feminine form you find attractive and not that the one on the screen is unattractive. You don't have to have a curvaceous body to be hot and I can guarantee there are people that definitely created characters they found hot with it. But I agree it's absurd they didn't allow for a classic look that leans towards Barbie. Real bummer that Bioware's writing is so mid. What is it with massive RPG firms giving us writing given by people who haven't graduated a writer's workshop. Personally, only the first game was great. Working with the swamp witch and her apprentice in my party, that was so awesome. as was mages in general, going into the veil to become one and then becoming a blood mage and the plight of the elves. It was such a great world. Then it all went downhill from there in future games.

[@Tyanus2]

Same thing here I love dwarves in fantasy. In Orgins I played as a dwarven rogue and it was so fun!!