Dragon Age the Veilguard tried to fool everyone

[@LegendaryDrops]

Acts of intentional or unintentional access journalism and thievery outweigh discussions on acts of cringe. Don't Preorder. Don't buy day one. Wait for user reviews on Steam. Live today: www.twitch.tv/legendary_drops

[@Honed-]

i wish people actually did that, but gamers are really bad with there money.

[@sagelink2]

Sorry LD. It's Day 1 for me. Embrace the Cringe. Happy Halloween

[@Revenant-oq9ts]

I mean someone HAS to buy day 1 so I can see user reviews.

[@gurentgc3546]

You're*

[@PokerDanish]

sorry... couldn't help myself for space marine 2...

[@Deathwig1]

"You do not deserve our money, you are not entitled to it, you have to earn it" Perfectly said. Far too many developers and publishers think and act like having a game they made sell well is something that must always happen regardless of the quality of their product.

[@Ant_Gifford]

I agree, but KZbinrs aren't entitled to review codes either.

[@lamia197]

@@Ant_Gifford Sure, but if a large company starts cherry picking reviewers that is a red flag size of the DeathStar

[@littlepumpkin8763]

Sure. So many gamers think that developers obligated to meet their expectations, and if they did not do that gamers think that it is a personal insult, get over it lol.

[@AbsentQuack]

@@littlepumpkin8763 They are obligated to meet the customers expectations if they want those customers to purchase their product.

[@MeltonCrest]

@@littlepumpkin8763 Because they literally ARE obligated to meet their expectations, if you don't meet your customers expectations you don't get money. Do you even understand how capitalism works?

[@DJFlare84]

I refuse the notion that "Baldur's Gate 3 raised the bar". No, it didn't raise the bar. It just remembered where the bar used to be before it got LOWERED...

[@darianstarfrog]

Bingo!

[@rockapartie]

That's what Divinity: Original Sin 1 + 2 did, which BTW were more fun for me to play, because they could throw all their creativity in there (unrestricted by D&D lore/rules).

[@HiddenStr3ngth]

Yeah, BG3... has its moments, has plenty of issues also. (and it was way buggier and more unfinished than CP77 on release, only the reception was polar opposite, it didn't even have a proper ending until months later after many massive patches fixing and adding countless important things, broken or missing story reactivity etc.) It's somethin, but not nearly the masterpiece it is touted as (and "perfect on release" delusions from people who bought it and never played it). Before release, I was thinking finally there will be a co-op game for me to play for a long, long time. Sadly, co-op was extremely half assed and straight up broken. Ruined first playthrough with me and a friend. In some big ways. (having massive updates every other month that you won't quite benefit unless you restart, or live with the fact you will be missing out, feels bad either way)

[@HiddenStr3ngth]

@@rockapartie Yeah, after playing it quite a bit, OS 1 and 2 gameplay was more fun. (writing was overall worse though, especially OS1, that was pretty terrible writing wise. 2 Improved it a lot, but it was still quite bland and limited. But gameplay was more fun.)

[@rockmegently]

Yep. Nailed it.

[@d.k.9072]

I learned my lessons: 1. Never pre-order or buy on Day One. 2. Wait for the Player Reviews. 3. Game Hype is dead.

[@tedbourchert5986]

Agreed. Unfortunately. Cyberpunk 2077 was my wake up call. I was super hyped for that. I got lucky and mine ran good, for the most part. Didnt go that way for everyone though.

[@alkostach]

I've been doing this since 1999. I buy maybe 2-3 games a year, sometimes from previous years. But only the ones that are fan favourites. I don't need to play the newest game, I'd rather play the best, even if it's already a few years old.

[@kingplunger1]

Good for you, I learned that with Fallout 4.

[@vadim_65rus]

Should've caught up to this ages ago, but still it's good you understand it now

[@RusticRonnie]

@@tedbourchert5986I learned at 7 with Sonic 06… Got jaded fast

[@oreo507]

The top surgery scars in a medieval fantasy game might be the funniest thing I've seen in a video game.

[@zaruuchshekel5806]

For me its the wheelchair guy in rainbow six siege 😂

[@h.n.r_funi3324]

Immersion breaking as early in the game as the character creator is crazy

[@АндрюхаЛигуха]

its not medieval its fantasy

[@tanpham937]

@@АндрюхаЛигуха "Medieval Fantasy is a subgenre of Fantasy, which is "a genre of fiction set in a fictional universe". However, Medieval Fantasy is unlike Fantasy in that it specifically pertains to or is influenced by the Medieval period of European history, which was from the 5th century to the 15th century." Do some research next time.

[@Jehuty256]

Top surgery scars Fine, Big Boobs not okay. even the boobs in game look like man boobs

[@thundertheloveable8841]

Todd lied better

[@flaviusiacob1558]

True!

[@Pswayze23]

LMAO, I'd take Todd and Bethesda jank over veilguard anyday

[@richardroulstone-roberts8598]

Except your Todd Howard, but rise you a Peter Molyneux Ex bullfrog games/fable fame, now he was a superb BS merchant.

[@sambonbon755]

Its the difference between having a talking head doing the lying and subdivising it amongst payed cunts

[@MeltonCrest]

Who is this "Todd" you speak of?

[@TurtleChad1]

The review for this game will help me understand what reviewers to trust going forward.

[@toefu6182]

SkillUp has been my go-to reviewer ever since I found him(when he was around 120k subs it think). He the kind of guy that even if you don't agree with him on something, you'll ATLEAST understand why he dislikes something because he'll tell you why.

[@FakeAdirTV]

Skillup, mrmattyplays, fextralife and luke stephens

[@EdgarDiaz-pt4qx]

I’ve already unsubbed from a few. Mortismal gets a pass because I think he thoroughly explained why he enjoyed certain things. I don’t mind different opinions but some of the positive reviews don’t really explain why they found it enjoyable and therefore don’t come across completely authentic imo

[@boxinabox23]

@@EdgarDiaz-pt4qx I'm glad you mentioned Mortismal. He is still getting roasted by the mob today because he made one review they disagreed with, and are now calling him a shill, woke and all the other predictable insults. He tends to veer on the positive side, as he loves games in general anyways.

[@TheNightman.]

@@EdgarDiaz-pt4qx mort was bought and paid for

[@TNTspaz]

It was insane how coordinated it was. They aren't even trying to hide it anymore. I think I saw like 4 or 5 identical articles from different review companies.

[@zaleost]

In a way though, I suspect that a lot of the people who did give reviews, especially positive ones are kicking themselves now that it’s gotten out how selective EA was with the review codes.

[@HeroC14]

​@@pedropedro1Not a menorah. You spin a dreidel.

[@xmatthyx1]

I saw critics from differents news or critics that had the SAME WORDING with different notes😂😂😂they think we are idiots

[@BQD_Central]

Gamergate proved that collusion 10 years ago.

[@Mopantsu]

Operation Mockingbird. The same big media corporations send the same message all the way down the chain. The aim is to divide, conquer, demoralize, normalize.

[@tiradentes4525]

Bought, DownVoted, Refund. They want to manipulate!? So will I.

[@jayArmstrong-bf5zy]

youre an evil genius

[@фрозенхил]

damn it's not available in my country , I would have done the same

[@bAtACt1X]

Wow, I´d like a an extra bunch of of your problems. If your wars are that safe and boring.... your normal life must be a amazingly good.

[@bargainbincatgirl6698]

@@tiradentes4525 You need to do a lot more of that, righ now sits at "Mostly Positive" (76% of 9,649) All Time.

[@Thundah_Dome]

@@bAtACt1X yes, because a bunch of gamers can stop wars happening instead of trying to better the industry surrounding their hobby. People can do things not related to the governments wars, you know.

[@madffx1986]

Dude, I'd rather buy winrar .

[@Idlemage]

At least winrar is helpful

[@TeamJayniaK]

Awww zip it u "p

[@Klongu_Da_Bongu]

🔥🔥🔥

[@NightRogue77]

Your trial license has expired, bub

[@viperswhip]

Haha, noob, 7zip rips it apart.

[@YassineFarah2423]

The Veilguard is to Bioware what Saints Row Reboot was to Volition.

[@Grenader3000]

Man that still hurts what they did to Saints Row

[@EternalNightingale]

Sad those people at BioWare that made dragon age origins have been gone and with volition those who made saints row 2006 have been gone since saints row 3,all these legendary gaming companies rocksteady, CDPR etc are shells of their former selves filled with DEI hires and activists sweet baby etc, a shame really

[@Ugnutz]

@@EternalNightingale well they left and went and made Exodus i'm hoping that will be good

[@jakstheoneandonly]

How exactly brother? Do you live in planet earth? Have you seen tha game surpass Black Ops 6 in sales? Jesus Christ these people are beyond hope.

[@alienliegh359]

​@@Grenader3000 yea we were supposed to get Saitns Row 5 which would have continued on the story post Saints Row 4 ending which Saints Row 5 would have the Saints going back in time to prevent the events of earths destruction in Saints Row 4 but they decided to give us this woke Saints Row reboot 😒

[@Katastr0phic_Katicorn]

Anyone saying "maybe it wasn't done on purpose" is living under a fucking rock and I hope their blissful ignorance is making them happy.

[@beerosaurusrex]

Especially for how many times at this point people have been upfront with these motivations. The CEO of Blackrock, developer on Spider-Man 2, the SBI CEO, so many more on social media, they outright admit to just forcing their ideology on companies and customers.

[@edwardtian1189]

I don't like the gender agenda being shoved down our throats, but this guy is wrong. Developers have never just given out review codes to "ALL big review channels". That's never been the case and there was no reason for Bioware to do so. God of War had a very very limited amount of review codes being sent out, and they were extremely picky about who got the codes. I won't buy this game, but this is just clearly a salty youtuber who is mad he didn't get a review code and is riding this wave for more youtube views. Reply

[@milessak1738]

@@edwardtian1189wouldn’t you want to give review copies to the biggest reviewers that you largest audience for the game follows? They didn’t do that for some reason

[@edwardtian1189]

@@milessak1738 except God of War didn't give all big reviewers a review code. As a matter of fact EVERY TIME a new game is released not every big reviewer is going to get a code.

[@FellForLust]

​@edwardtian1189 how is it showved down our throat? Its just there and you done have to partake.

[@yl5935]

If the writers and journos felt that they aligned with the developers more because the “social-commentary” criticism from fans is too icky for their liking, then they are the problem. I don’t agree with you that the fans’ outrage discouraged those people from speaking out against BioWare. How can they not see scenes like “coming out as non-binary” or “corporate sensitivity training” as pure insanity? What really is the limit then? Can we not ever criticize a game for its politics even at this level of absurdity? Why do WE, the customer, need to care about their feelings? If they can't make and advertise games that appeal to us, then they don't deserve a job. They need to be ousted from the industry at once!

[@MrAnonymousk8]

I was promised dreadwolf. Then they come out with a pixar movie.

[@spacegirl226]

I was looking forward to Solas' story being told!

[@Rell-o7f]

​@@spacegirl226you havent played the game you still don't know what Solas story is 💀 just listening to your favorite youtuber

[@bigbangrafa8435]

That first teaser with the Red Lyrium idol was amazing, and sols the idea that they would go closer to Origins while still preserving the modern artstyle of Inquisition, which would have made the perfect game moving forward. And then Fortnite happened...

[@diomedes7971]

​@@Rell-o7fI have hundreds of hours into DAI, and I agree with her. Solas was a captivating villain set up, due to being your companion the entire game. To only find out he was the Dreadwolf that gave Cor the orb, and absorbing Flemeth.

[@Ed-ealmighty]

I just left a comment in the comment section explaining how ppl who have never played dragonage is going to see dragonage veilguards pixar look and buy it not for the gameplay not for the previous story(ies) of dragonage but for the look...

[@LGCY_RAVEN]

I have no problems with diverse characters in games when they're written like actual people. Steve Cortez from Mass Effect 3 is a gay man that lost his husband on Horizon and is grieving. You go through the game and help him accept his husband's death and move on. At no point is he in your face about it, explaining why hes gay or signaling about it. He even makes a few jokes about his homosexuality with James. Hes a human being, not a billboard to show how progressive the studio is.

[@JD-xz1mx]

If you write them as three dimensional human beings, they will inevitably have flaws. They can't handle portraying their objects as worship as anything other than beacons of perfection.

[@RepellentJeff]

Seriously. How did they go from actual characters to “Did I hear a wrong pronoun? Drop and give me twenty!”

[@Nicol80145]

@@JD-xz1mx Bingo! This is it. They dare not even think about allies and people like them having flaws. They must be perfect and angelic always.

[@davidm.schreckii1426]

Exactly, that's the way I enjoy having diversity in games, although he didn't have to joke about him being gay, I never had a problem with hmit, like original comment said its only signaling in our faces and it's just so flat out annoying anymore, fvck it always was

[@patnor7354]

Slippery slope. Cortez was just a little further up the slide.

[@Morbacounet]

Acess journalism is a poison for the whole community. It's bad for consumers because they are lied to by omission. It's bad for reviewers because every positive review will be seen as suspect. It's bad for the studios, too, because the honest ones will be penalized. Only bad actors are gaining anything.

[@yeetusdeleetus4697]

You didn't lose your mind when GOW:Ragnarok, Baldurs Gate 3, Space Marines 2, or ANY game thats released in the last 5 years when they didnt give review codes to EVERYONE. This is a made up issue and NEVER ONCE IN THE HISTORY OF ALL GAMING has EVERY publication received game review codes from a publisher. Mainstream outlets always get them, and they always review positively. If they were so nefariously purposefully curating reviews, why did over 50 youtubers who BOMBED the game get review codes? Its ok to not like the game, its even ok to be angry that this Dragon Age game doesn't live up to what you want it to be. But can we PLEASE stop just fucking making stuff up for outrage like jesus

[@yeetusdeleetus4697]

(Not that access journalism doesn't exist as a whole, I'm specifically referring to there being some grand cabal orchestrating the manipulation of these reviews) People are just finally starting to realize that IGN and other mainstream publications suck and using Veilguard as the conduit for all of that hatred unjustly.

[@nunab1864]

​​​Dude, I see you everywhere running interference for Veilguard. 50 KZbinrs who bombed it? I've only seen 2 KZbinrs bomb it and both had positive impressions posted from the preview event. Any KZbinr I follow that had criticisms about the preview, even minor... didn't get a review code. You also miss the point about codes being sent to "EVERYONE." No one said that, but they can't even give codes to all the people from the preview event? They supposedly didn't have enough codes, but had enough codes to give some random Spanish woman on Twitter/X who said she just reached out, said she was non-binary and got a code. They tried to DMCA her posts too, but she won the appeal.

[@insanecheapo195]

​@@yeetusdeleetus4697 they/them not gonna let you hit lil bro

[@Florkl]

This is big because I’m sure some people genuinely liked the game, and that’s fine. Tastes vary. Had this game been properly reviewed, with most slamming but some enjoying, I would have been sad for Dragon Age fans, but happy for the people who got something fun to play. This is just lies and loss of trust.

[@fylimar]

I mean, people like WolfHeart are well liked, because they are honest. He had some criticism about BG3 in early access too - and what did Larian do? Listen to him (and others) and invited him to try out the barbarian class during a Panel from Hell. Constructive criticism is a good thing and makes stories and gameplay better. If you don't listen to criticism, then you just throw away a means to better your product. I don't talk about the people calling 'woke' every time a game has pronouns or female characters wear clothing that is more than a bikini, BG3 had to face those too, I talk about people that are seriously interested in the game and the lore and want to help to make it better. Some longtime DA fans (among them a lot of really good youtubers) know a lot about the lore of the games, books, comics and maybe Bioware should have listen to them a bit.

[@Saith516]

The sociopolitical aspect of it is essential if you're going to criticize this product. Watch the "misgendering scene = corporal punishment" and tell me that sociopolitical nonsense doesn't affect the quality of the game.

[@Copperscaled]

that was so weird, like who gives a fuck about your gender when you're fighting for your life every day? it's not like a man will suddenly suffer a stroke if somebody in his group said "let's move, ladies". being offended and trying to forcibly control how someone else views you is... many words including "stupid" and not the rest so i don't get banned.

[@TheGallantDrake]

It's only essential in that it's a symptom of how shallow these people's ideas are.

[@OWnIshiiTrolling]

It's not just corporeal punishment. It's also a sermon about how much better than everyone else that character is for that flagellation. They also complain about some people making the apology about themselves, while showboating with 6 push ups (and claiming to have done ten) as their corporeal punishment. It's hypocritical, lacks self-awareness, and tries to preach dumb ideology.

[@Destrado_]

This guy just wants to keep straddling the fence.

[@firemarshal2629]

Well said

[@BlaineCraner]

Why do people trust these companies? What are you people doing? The devs that made the games you love are GONE. They have no real talent behind them, no people with passion, everything is soaked with corporate poison. If you bought this game, you got what you deserve.

[@legendaryoutlaw3534]

This happens when Gen z joins the working world....

[@BlaineCraner]

@@legendaryoutlaw3534 I wouldn't say that's the problem specifically. People of all ages can screw up games.

[@lehahiah81]

It's simply name branding; people tend to forget that games are created by people not companies.

[@EmergencyChannel]

Californian Gen Z is who is making these games.

[@anneoneal3865]

And what do you think you deserve? What do you believe you are entitled to?

[@MisterNightfish]

I challenge you to go look at Planescape Torment and look at how your protagonist talks to Dak'kon about his faith, what you can learn about the unbroken circle of zerthimon, the options you have there, the way the roles change from him teaching you, to you teaching him and ultimately figuring out where the circle came from. Then, compare that to how the protagonist talks to his companions in veilguard. Anyone saying veilguard has good writing is just coping, I'm sorry.

[@Lonn715]

Comparing things to Torment is almost unfair. Truly legendary.

[@FlyMysticalDJ]

Anyone defending veilguard is doing it solely for political reasons

[@ashes180-x7d]

@@FlyMysticalDJ Pretty much. There will be like 1% that do it out of brand loyalty.

[@renewagain6956]

That was such an amazing story arc. If you KNOW, you **KNOW** 😉

[@ZincSpray]

I'm really skeptical of remakes, but if they would only make Planescape: Torment and Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura again with updated (AKA working) combat mechanics and NO CHANGE in those stories, I would happily buy and play them.

[@ivanrado3430]

Baldurs Gate 3 is more of a Dragon Age game, then Veilguard will ever be. I hope BioWare burns down for destroying Dragon Age.

[@notusingmyname4791]

As a game dev, I have heard many companies say (in response to me putting emphasis on what I would want to see as a player and what I and many other gamers loathe) "we aren't making this game for players, they aren't our customer, the publisher is." that was specifically said to me in a conversation by my lead at Treyarch. but it was echoed at other places as well: "The publishers want x" (x usually being some annoying monetization after you already paid for the game or trying to follow some trend a publisher saw was making money) vote with your wallets people, stop buying games, try them out in a free alpha or something... if you like it, buy it, if you're indifferent to it but wanna play it.. pirate it, if you hate it, don't even pirate it (it still looks like a positive when people do that). And I know it's odd to see a game dev promote piracy.. look piracy doesn't really hurt us game dev's, at most it hurts publishers... who know what hurts game devs? Publishers taking the lion share of sales for their advertising and publicity stunts, oh and copywrite lawyers taking the next highest cut for making sure our titles and assets aren't similar to something already copywrited. Pirating hurts them which I'm fine with.

[@TheRemover469]

But how can the publisher even hope to make money at that point? I'm always dumbfounded by the constant tone deafness of companies when it comes to creating a product that people want.

[@ObIitus]

@@TheRemover469 Because publisher is just an intermediary. Investment groups who are giving money are in charge, if you want to be funded - you follow their guidelines. And those guys have literal money printer, so they don't care about profits. They can keep pushing out game-shaped propaganda even if absolutely no one buys it. They can print more dollars, and since it is world's trade and savings currency, they will get away with it - inflation would be mostly exported to everyone who is using dollars.

[@Aphovis]

if buying becomes not earning than pirating is not stealing

[@taramaforhaikido7272]

If you don't care about the players then that's the mistake.

[@MultiLock0n]

Stealing is wrong

[@empiricalpurity]

Dragon Age Origins was the best game in the franchise. It just went down hill from there.

[@rattlehead999]

I'd say all three games had highlights over the others.

[@ridgerunnersp]

I truly believed that inquisition was a step back in the right direction. What were they thinking...

[@FakeAdirTV]

Not the best - the only good one

[@Tyronom]

Except dragon fights were better in DAI

[@francescofioroni70]

My brother in christ how is Inquisition (Game of the Year) a downhill? If a game is good... is good. End of the story

[@J4rring]

the fact IGN gave them A NINE OUT OF TEN crazy

[@tazmanceltic]

The whole staff is who the game is aimed at 🤣

[@itsbw8858]

I don't know if I'm more surprised by the fact the number was so high, or that it wasn't a 10... They have zero credibility at this point.

[@fancyultrafresh3264]

Did you look at the reviewer? It makes all the sense if you do.

[@ArnoldJudasRimmer..]

​@@fancyultrafresh3264she said the combat was 'a breath of fresh air!' also...😂

[@tazmanceltic]

@fancyultrafresh3264 probably identifies as a colour

[@bandit6272]

I'll keep saying it until the end of time, "In a split between audience reviews and critics reviews, go with the audience reviews. Don't average them, the truth is not somewhere in the middle, disregard the critics outright."

[@knoxklay11]

Veilguard is essentially mandatory HR lecture: the game. The dialogue, when its not ur character babysitting a bunch of toddlers, sounds like a long, drawn out sermon.

[@crtnn]

What pisses me of personally, as a fan, is the fact that they release games under these names and basically slaughter these franchises.

[@RequiemJr]

They're sacrificing everything for their message. Basically sending out suicide bombers.

[@chaosgyro]

The franchise has been circling the bowl ever since it got a sequel and actually became a franchise.

[@HirokunImnotgoodatthis]

It's the only way to sell them and say its because "it's good" when trully its just the franchise name making it sell

[@PodreyJenkin138]

They are destroying all good stories because they don't want you to identify with strong stoic heroes who resist evil and temptation

[@raics101]

Sure, if they made their own thing it would be a different story, they're pretty much shitting all over the legacy of their betters.

[@RandoCDN87]

Toxic positivity ✅️ Reinforced views ✅️ No disapproval, lack of character buildup ✅️ HR is in the room constantly ✅️ Hard to ignore the ideological issues, when they're part of the real problem of this game and the current state of the Game Industry.

[@keithpierce5686]

I do not believe that people calling them out for shoving woke/agenda's is giving them an excuse not to speak with the community as a whole. That's straight bullshit, that's what's called having no balls and being a bitch.....well well well it makes perfect sense now.

[@dirkhaverland6888]

What's reinforced views?

[@Ninj7]

Exactly, not talking about the shoe-horned politics in the gaming space, especially in such an obvious example as vailguard, takes away real issues/critics with the game. Like how it makes the game disingenuous.

[@Saint_Wolf_]

​@@dirkhaverland6888 ideas are not challenged, they are established, you cannot disrespect the "thou art cannot fathometh my gender" characters, in fact a character does in a nonchalant manner (because you shouldn't give mental stock to these people and use their preferred anything) and self punishes her crimes against the people of the gender. The player is never allowed to be the bad guy, they go along with anything told to him.

[@tristanrouse6150]

​@@Saint_Wolf_ it isn't about the gender. It's about lack of criticism and lack of diverse opinions. And no, I'm not talking about race or gender or disability or any of that stuff, I'm talking about how in this day and age, speaking up and voicing an opinion may well get you fired for tanking stock prices

[@curly-clouds]

The veil has fallen and corruption was revealed.

[@ImWobbly]

I think i will have more fun watching the drama around this game than i will playing it

[@Copperscaled]

I was debating buying this or not, but now I really just... don't want to. This type of bullshit is never gonna be floating around a good game. It's like flies, if you see them near food, you don't want that food.

[@Pswayze23]

This game is going to shake the earth if it actually isn't good. All reviewers will be on trial, and I'm really thankful for it.

[@MeltonCrest]

@@Pswayze23 No it won't, if it flops they pretend that they've always seen it coming. They have done that with Suicide Squad and with Concord and with Flintlock every single time, first they shill and then it's "hahaha i have always seen it flopping it's just not a good game you guys!".

[@JaredLetoSelfSuck]

@@MeltonCrestagreed. This is exactly what happens. Or they’ll say it was a good game but people targeted it because of politics and only politics.

[@KUPSMusic]

Bingo

[@forever0forever]

I know you want to ignore the ideological part of the game, but it’s kind of hard when the writing and story won’t let you.

[@stormstrider]

When you shoehorn a topic with a hamfist. The subtly is like a cinderblock sailing through a chinashop.

[@arcadenoah993]

Here is the thing: I belive the game was trash BEFORE the ideological part, that part was put on it to gain free allies. They put that "modern devs" on the leadership because they knew since Anthen they could not fool the old audience and now are looking for new gulliable audience

[@ruifaria8871]

the problem is that the game is trash even if you ignore the writing/dialog/characters completely.

[@branboom3342]

​@@arcadenoah993I believe the game is trash BECAUSE of the ideology. Not necessarily directly because of the ideological content itself, but because the creatives on the project seem to be afraid to risk being offensive or provocative, leading to a very bland experience across all aspects of the game.

[@bwestacado9643]

Not to mention the pronoun stuff, the top surgery scars and the androgyny of every character including your created character. The whole package looks awful and unfun

[@MrTickleTrunk]

Every one of Anthem's characters were insufferable. Every character was written like a teenaged snarky jerk.

[@i_grok_u2902]

I hated them, and I see the same sort of 12-year-old talk in this one....F me.

[@n7sorcerer419]

It made me sad because I actually enjoyed parts of the gameplay. Could have become far better given more love and better talent.

[@Blisterdude123]

Wait, Anthem had characters? News to me.

[@iwasanisland5844]

You sure that's not how the majority of people talk now? Dialogue is a reflection of the times. We talk shit too much online to anyone that will pay attention.

[@echoesofmalachor3700]

And if you were just given the tone and subject of the conversations in anthem the vast majority never even hinted at some apocalyptic, dire situation that humanity was supposed be experiencing. Most the dialog could have been placed in a real world social setting and you’d never know the difference

[@GracefulMage3089]

To clarify something, part of the reason that the identity politics gets dragged into the conversation is because of pattern recognition. Most people see these Journos and Devs hate on the fans by calling them all something ridiculous and all saying the same buzzwords. Once people see that its a turnoff since everyone knows what to expect at that point. A focus not on good games but on politics pandering and therefore, Mediocre and Lame products that do nothing to give the consumer something to enjoy.

[@inaquianallforce4042]

The thing about the social commentary is the same as when people do it. If I'm getting to know someone and their whole personality is just "I'm gay" or trans or whatever then I know it's not a person I'm talking to. It's the same with games. If the pandering is front and center then I know right off the top, it not a form of entertainment. Be a game first. Be a person first. And this goes for everything. Gay, trans, black, Muslim, anything. If that is what are first, then you're really nothing at all.

[@hardboiled2987]

Yeah I instantly distance myself from anyone like that too. Being around people who base their selfimage off of superficiality and shallowness Will harm you in the long run

[@evil993]

It comes across as immature in the real world. It's not uncommon to be wanting a "group" of some sort in highschool/around then. And if you're someone that struggled with their sexuality or whatever, and yet arent uncomfortable with it, seems like a lot of peoples logical step is just to essentially make that their entire personality. Though it's by no means limited to sexuality, could be any of many subjects/groups. But the fact that I like dick as much as titties doesn't even come close to defining me. In fact it's pretty low on the list behind shit like boat building, working with fiberglass/carbon fiber, etc. Yeah these characters are flat, non-dimensional, etc, but also just strike me as immature.

[@sinh7765]

dont ask questions. just consume the product and get excited for the next product.

[@youareacoward8459]

Lmao, not gonna happen.

[@Pswayze23]

Its time to take back gaming, vote with our dollar. Let the crap go out of business, let the passionate devs succeed.

[@Remi-bo7tn]

@@Pswayze23 unfortunately, there seem to be a lot of NPC's who see a Mortisimal review and retort with "BUT HAVE YOU PLAYED IT?". I am doing my part at least.

[@hodgedylan]

don't ask questions. just consume product

[@danielrckstr]

I find myself quoting that more often recently. 😅

[@Kat1kafka]

The Blight was trying to save us all along

[@Reave-ng3st]

Aye, I regret stopping the blight as my warden now😂😂😂

[@arthurmiranda8896]

It reminds me so much of Marauder Shields, may he rest in peace.

[@Toetalwar]

dragon age was better off in that dlc you kill everyone as a darkspawn

[@blackhat4206]

This was way funnier than it had any right to be. The Teryn’s betrayal at Ostagar saved the King of Ferelden from a worse fate. lmao

[@gallopingLake6]

Someone wrote something similar to that in their review. The game is so bad that you’re rooting for the Dark Blight to win.

[@cjt260]

I was impressed to find a video that so well explained not as a review of the game, but a review as to how the game got to where it is and WHY the reviews are and are not as they seem. I felt no bias in watching the video, and appreciated the input provided. Thank you.

[@CoreyAdolfi]

It’s probably too much to hope that EA will sell off Dragon Age and Mass Effect when they inevitably shut down the studio.

[@neonsheep3358]

They'll hold onto it and hire contractors to remaster Origins. Casey Hudson has his own studio now. Other former Bioware guys are behind Exodus. There's things to look forward to.

[@Reave-ng3st]

​@neonsheep3358 aye brother. Exodus has video drops on lore coming plenty, infact out just yesterday. It's great to know the og devs are making it.

[@THEF4LLOFM4N]

Tencent has entered the chat.

[@boristhebulletdgr]

@@THEF4LLOFM4N Sweet Baby Inc. has left the chat.

[@diomedes7971]

It doesn't need to be sold off. New sci-fi and fantasy settings can be made. Though they are captivating, there is nothing particular unique about them that another new IP can't be a spiritual successor to.

[@SpawnOfJenova]

The best thing to come out of this game, is that it aggressively shined a light on who will be honest and who will sell out for their reviews and access. Never thought I'd find myself trusting Fextralife over Mortismal when it comes to an RPG review

[@n7sorcerer419]

Fextralife wasn’t even that harsh. They were “cautiously optimistic” but apparently that wasn’t toxically positive enough for them to get a review code.

[@Blisterdude123]

Skill Up and MattyPlays didn't toe the company line. Matty gets a lot of stick as a bit of a fanboy, but he's pretty consistently critiqued most of the major releases in the past couple years. And Skill Up's review was...biblical lmao

[@Devdraco]

Don't trust *any* reviewers, but especially not dog-water Fextralife.

[@TanyaDegurechaffDIDNOTHINGWRON]

Honstly don't trust anybody who gets review copys. Just wate until real reviews come from people who had to wate for the game to come out.

[@ArtOfDyingWell]

@@Blisterdude123 Matty still makes me cringe because of the groveling and virtue signaling he did in his apology.

[@TropicaIJay]

They could never fool me after seeing those awful character designs and the fact your butt can't go past pre school

[@DarkXessZ]

you seen the misgendering lecture by Isabela? I am like wtf?

[@timhertens8502]

The work together with creators like Mortismal Gaming and Gamestar to fool people into buying this game, lots of people still trust obviously bought reviewers like that

[@alispeed5095]

I would have forgiven the surgery scars if the character creator catered to straight guys aswell. But this sheer biased pandering was just too much. Thats me ignoring all the other issues with the game that have since been exposed.

[@insanecheapo195]

If the butt went past preschool youd be reminding certain people of what they could never be

[@Drbeattles]

@@alispeed5095 "if you dont like them dont use them" okay then give me the biggest T and A sliders. after all if you don't want the MC to have such proportions don't use them.

[@SummeR00393]

Skill up is too positive on most releases and he finally has to look at the end result of being that way and excusing the many flaws that have slowly but surely gotten worse over time. And now it has finally pushed him to the edge where he has to take a good long look at the trash heap.

[@sagelink2]

In less than 1 hour we're about to definitively find out for ourselves hour fucked Bioware really is. We should all be prepared to Press F for another fallen franchise touched by modern day EA (even though it's mostly Bioware this time).

[@ricardokojin7]

My take on it... the start wont be that bad, just mediocre. But after we get deeper into characters and plot the dialog will get increasingly bad.

[@maboilaurence8227]

@@ricardokojin7 I've seen a video preview in which Dorian appears... to think they ruined one of the few characters from Da:I which was actually well written...

[@LudwigVaanArthans]

The moment a bigger company buys a smaller company but keeps the old company around as a subsidiary, the old smaller company is already over, and the new company is just wearing its skin as a sock on its feet

[@635574]

Ah it's already hour for me. But I don't engane in these AAA shenanigans and likely never will again.

[@KUPSMusic]

*Touched by modern day activism

[@ADDisAOK]

The first tag on the game was LGBTQ+ That's as far as I needed to read on steam for a game that's first tag should be RPG.

[@vakuzar]

easy skip for me, just for this, add everything else and absolutely no way Im buying even on 100% sale

[@Kastor0311]

I just looked that up. I didn't even know that was a thing lol. And to put it first before rpg 😂 😂 😂 😂

[@Ballistic-vn6em]

And that's going to keep you away from the game? We all know what kind of people you are.

[@SwanieGaming]

You see that tag and you know you're just getting an interactive lecture. No fun allowed.

[@StratumPress]

​@@Ballistic-vn6emwere normal

[@stevenbordlemay2651]

I'm going to count how many times Asmongold pauses this video when he watches it.

[@nachro2190]

The worst drinking game ever

[@JD-xz1mx]

Could be worse. He could be a content thief and not pause it for commentary at all.

[@AdaptiveApeHybrid]

The return of the lich king

[@joshuapatrick682]

The only time I am exposed to “game journalism” is via KZbinrs torching it

[@TheSortilege]

We identify as Non-Buy-Nary.

[@NightRogue77]

Non-buy-nary-abiowaregame

[@BrunoCAquino]

So they get no trans-action from me

[@NightRogue77]

@@BrunoCAquino trans-action?? Warning: Ben Shapiro incoming

[@amx9122]

LOL

[@Bexar2204]

😂😂omg, I almost started crying in laughter🤣🤣

[@DIY_10K]

A chat comment I saw sums it up best, in so few words: "It's too purple."

[@sp_a_ce]

Saint's row was purple and nobody batted an eye

[@donutbevil9669]

@@sp_a_ce Maybe because the original Saint's Ro-Oh, you must be talking about the remake. You know, the remake that got Volition to lose in profit? The one tons of people batted an eye at. Yeah, I think you mean that.

[@darkdawnbringer]

Yeah it's some wierd thing that people with extremly limited creativity do, make it purple, make it teal and add tentacles... And low and behold, what is dragon age the failguard? Purple energy everywhere, teal accents on everything and tentacles everywhere... Its like someone was going by the standard creative bankrupcy book from start to finish on this one. XD

[@electriclott]

Culture IS the problem. The culture has lead to the hiring of people who are making bad games. And we are the bad guys for seeing this and pointing it out? By the way, they did this to themselves. We game to get away from all this real life crap, not have it injected into everthing. Let it burn as far as Im concerned.

[@LimC.A]

Hit em where it hurts...give us "ideological" game and they deserve Non-Buy-Nary customers lol

[@commandershepard7728]

Commander Shepard could fuck dudes of chicks …… I’m sorry that “real life crap” was in mass effect all those years ago even though it’s ToTALlY new and never happened before. Sit down incel.

[@oopomopoo]

100%. I made a mistake and went to reddit front page and there was a highly upvoted comic of someone saying birth rates are low, yet we don't want to allow immigrants in and how it's contradicting. Ignoring that this is a blatant strawman argument, the idea that our culture which is villianizing having kids and getting married is not an issue yet we need to bring In other cultures to correct the issues our culture is causing is saddening. Immigration is good, but we, nor any country should rely on immigrants to fix culture. That's us, we are the culture. When not sees were doing not see things, that was a temporary culture. The people had to stop it, they didn't need to rely on immigration to fix those views.

[@Ryuouken]

​@@oopomopoo Immigration is messing up both the housing market and the job market. This is a huuuge factor in people not having kids. Immigration was never the solution

[@rickycool6083]

I want it gone from real life as well.

[@FastNCurious88]

Entire dev team, everyone who worked on this, especially the writers- infected with blight. I'm convinced.

[@manynukes11]

Starfield should've been the wake up call for people to realize that reviewers are paid off/trying to maintain access. That's why there's such a discrepancy between media outlets and actual fans of the series who aren't getting paid.

[@schreursalain2968]

I just watch some gameplay footage when it becomes available and only then i decide wether or not to get a game. NEVER EVER preorder and NEVER EVER buy on release. Because that's how you get screwed over. Want my money ? Prove to me it's a good/great game. BG3 did just that, not even a nanosecond of regret.

[@nicomo77]

Starfield?? Haha they've been doing the same shit for years.

[@rockapartie]

Mainstream reviewers went through the quests ASAP and wrote their review - unlike many Bethesda fans, who create a character and go out into the open world. If reviewers had done the latter, they would have noticed that there is no open world in Starfield (only a couple copy/paste assets 😢 )

[@HiddenStr3ngth]

10/10 Cinematic masterpiece 100/100 Instant Classic 5/5 A Monumental Achievement Mind blowing

[@drakeshotplays]

Any fellow Monster Hunters here? Screw Veilguard the BETA for Wilds is dowp!

[@XxTrEzY07xX]

The beta awesome!!

[@Zephy_Sky]

Seeing how awesome wilds is shaping up to be help dulls the pain of what dragon age has become

[@DerdOn0ner]

True, just play Wilds 😊

[@DubHop24]

Hell yeah!

[@ryankornacki9918]

Hell yeah! Going to design my character and play the first mission on steam tonight before I go to bed. There’s no way in hell I’m playing this Western trash when my favorite Eastern RPG series is doing fantastic work!

[@richarddeaton5337]

The people who were behind the writing, design, and creators of what we all loved about Bioware games left a very long time ago. The crew they had working on Veilgard were making a game for themselves and their 8 friends.

[@Huedini74]

A well thought out and actual honest commentary on a divisive subject… more pieces like this are needed in the space.

[@Egeslean]

Dragon Age has never been 'Woke'. While it has had bisexual/gay/lesbian/whatever characters, it has covered/talked about/mentioned touchy subjects and all that stuff, the big difference is that the story and characters were at the top of the list of importance. When you have good character and a good story and a good world, those other issues/subjects can easily slot right in because it's natural (that's not to say these things will be done exceptionally well, just that they don't feel out of place or forced); When the politics/social issues/etc are at the top of the list of importance, everything else suffers and it is a 'Woke' product at that point...and that's what Veilguard is, it's 'Woke', which means it is trash and not worth anyone's time or money.

[@terrancecloverfield6791]

Yup 12:13 is the good example of when journalists gone woke. Just selectively covering parts that only serve their agenda. Its so overt, in your face about it now.

[@LimC.A]

yeh because putting "diversity" as a shield and it being a core focus of it in the game makes everything so slop-induced its insane these people live in our reality...echo chambers are echoing loud and clear lol. Remember anyone that doesnt judge DA:VG as a story-driven game made by a story-narrative game studio should go and retire cuz their opinion doesnt even make sense,

[@Nevir202]

IMO it's pretty ridiculous for him to imply that having gay relationships = woke. I think it can be argued it veered that way when they decided that EVERY companion should be Bi, but EVEN THEN, you could avoid that almost entirely by just not engaging in it, unlike this.

[@pjkidzjamboree3660]

Not going to buy. Broke back mountain isn't my thing.

[@QisforQadim]

The Q'unari were a harsh criticism of Islam at the start, and they turned them into... this.

[@title_turtle]

Remember Aaron Swartz, who helped create Reddit because he believed everyone should be able to freely share information and learn from each other? It's sad how today, big companies are doing exactly what he fought against. Like when game companies only let certain KZbinrs review their games early, it's kinda like having a school library where only the "cool kids" get to read books first and tell everyone else what to think. That's why Reddit was so important - it let regular people share their honest opinions. But now even Reddit isn't the same as it used to be. The internet was supposed to make information free for everyone, not just for people with special access. That's what Aaron was fighting for. Just felt like his name should be brought up here. Cheers all.

[@FeretoTsitsiCoco]

It wouldn’t take long for them to capitalize on the freedom of expression the internet gives you without trying to shape your opinion into a melting pot of formulated opinions while also trying to maintain the veiled sense of freedom.

[@RoyM-z6e]

This kind of idealism will never work with mankind, Tesla also wanted free energy for everyone and etc.. share the resources freely, equally and so on, communism looks utopic on paper, then you see the actual results in Cambodia and other nations, oh boy... the internet remains a powerful tool, but social media was definitely a mistake

[@sonoftheredfox]

Exactly, it's so bad that if you share your opinions in a sub that welcomes freedom of speech, then some bot that's crawling around looking at comments will autoban you from its subreddit for supposed far-alt-right fascist thinking, being a bad character, or something ridiculous like that.

[@leshtricity]

yeah. that's also why reddit was corporatized to the extreme and is now a hive where the indoctrinated congregate to get their programming updated.

[@DerdOn0ner]

The blunt and overt political messaging in this game is a problem. You may not want to get into sociopolitical topics and that’s okay, but it ruins the game. You can absolutely have tasteful representation without getting into an immersion breaking two minute lecture on pronouns and trans rights.

[@FlashyJoer]

Life Is Strange and its prequel, Before The Storm, were a PERFECT example of "doing it right", where its a natural part of the story, not force-fed lectures, monitored by the HR department.

[@lamichka]

yeah. This US trans shitstorm does not belong into fantasy game I wanna play. Iam cool with Zevran and so on but THIS? Nope.

[@planescaped]

Fun fantasy game with a pre-existing world that doesn't have any precedent for going into such things isn't exactly the place for it either... Make an original IP if that's what you want, like Dustbor- oh wait...

[@KUPSMusic]

The issue to me is, Representation was always in gaming so trying to add it artificially makes it worse than it actually is (Forced feeling). Id actually think you don't need to worry about "representation" when you are making a game because in reality nobody cares about representation, all you have to worry about is making a good game. End of story.

[@MaurizioCrd]

It's part of their strategy: make the game completely woke, spam a series of conveniently good reviews before release, and then you'll be able to dismiss each and any critics as a manifestation of bigotry and social hate... That way, they ensure to be able to influence how the public will react to this title. I hope this strategy doesn't pay in the end, because if it does, this won't be the last time a big house will make use of it........

[@joshuapatrick682]

The strategy behind marketing these days reflects the 1997 geopolitical strategy book “The Grand Chessboard”

[@WickedWombat-13]

There is a clear correlation between the social/political issues and these bad games. Has been the case for over a decade. They hire in these sub par devs and righters who can only shove an agenda in your face. Then use that as a shield for there lack of creativity, design, and jsut terrible gameplay. The combat and puzzles suck because its "inclusive". the Narrative and Dialogue suck because it's "inclusive". Everyone that wrote good stories with actually diverse characters has long since left these companies. It's all Corporate types just looking for a buck or these insane bully activists. They hate the fans/audience/customers. Evil cannot create anything new, it can only corrupt and ruin what good forces have invented or made

[@ApplesAngels]

This, and the toxic positivity working environment where it feels as though nobody is told ‘no’.

[@hardboiled2987]

Yeah people who criticize the game whilst acting blissfully ignorant of the obvious correlation just come off as passive and disingenuous. Call a spade a spade, don't call it just a "card".

[@teqfreak]

@@hardboiled2987 Even though I agree with the conclusion that the correlation is obvious. When you have a bigger platform you cannot state it as a fact that this is the reason. Even though very likely, it is still correlation and no hard evidence… That’s my two cents in defence for people who don’t call it out for what it is. As long as they “note” the activism, the shallow storylines, the lack of options not in line with the propaganda etc… it’s fine by me.

[@radicalindividual7774]

He's a grifter. Don't bother.

[@Billytruckson]

Jesus Christ Trump should make a video game maybe you cultists would be happy.

[@micahdells6855]

24:34 people still should be able to say “I don’t wanna play this” if you disagree with clear ideology they are pushing in their games…

[@ricardokojin7]

Not only that... if they want to add characters based on political ideologies that are not popular with a lot of people, they can... but you should be able to tell the character to "F off with that, you are full of shit". Especially since this is an RPG and you could do so in origins...but they won't allow you , because they don't want to add an idea to the game...they want to MAKE you agree with their idea and preach to you.

[@leoleo1035]

@@ricardokojin7 Yup! And if you don't agree, they make sure the dialogue is TRYING to make the PLAYER feel bad. It's like you're not playing a game, but interacting with a company's social policies.

[@molkereis8626]

I don't care if they hint at stuff but there is a 5 min lecture on what to do when you miss gender someone... I am not paying for HR training.

[@effindave6909]

And yet right at the beginning of the video Legendary Drops says he doesn't want to get into a culture war argument. To be 100% clear I agree with you. This game is an ideological step too far. This stuff is a huge issue as is youtube creators being too scared to call it out.

[@LikeACrouton]

​@@effindave6909Calling him "scared" to engage with the issue is inaccurate given be made an video dedicated to DEI 6 days ago and has talked about it in multiple videos in the past. The other issues surrounding this game such as the review copy denial, scoring, and a litany of other issues with the game itself are just more important, and going in "culture war first" just let's the company shirk responsibility for that by painting all critics as "bigots" with the usual obfuscation. Which he says and he's right about imo. It is an issue, but not "the issue".

[@Anatarion99]

They aren’t the low hanging fruit. They are the core reasons that led to nearly every other problem with this game. They made sure to hire the very people that make it their core personality and they spent a large amount of their time and effort hiding this from the fans of the games who held concerns.

[@amouramarie]

No. Whether you choose to believe it or not, people with progressive views on social issues are ALSO able to make games.

[@jadak100]

​@@amouramariebased on concord, dustborn and this... they're really not.

[@darianstarfrog]

​@@amouramarieprove it? 😂

[@Anatarion99]

@@amouramarie It's a good thing I didn't claim all progressives were such a thing or else that would have been a valid counterargument!

[@TheRogueEmpire]

and you show how brainwashed you have been

[@Turonaa]

This whole thing upsets me on so many levels, I don't even know how to write a comment about it. I appriciate your quick take on the matter, and for keeping us informed and aware.

[@Startrance85]

Any reviewer that gave this game above 8 i will never trust again going forward.

[@LordIceify]

Above an 8, anything above a 4 is too generous

[@jarekstorm6331]

I don’t trust any of them anyway. Game “journalists” are completely irrelevant now.

[@goldenbull1512]

You're gonna flip when you see the IGN review

[@ademirc5937]

Have you played Veilguard already?

[@garyclarke2651]

@@ademirc5937no , have u?

[@rentazzo]

Imagine playing Skyrim and joining the Thieves Guild only to go down to the Ragged Flagon and accidentally misgender Brynjolf, then go to pushups next to the tables for punishment while the whole guild spends the next 2 minutes talking about pronouns. Then you go to Whiterun and Jarl Balgruuf says he wants you to address him as "they/them" now. That's Dragon Age The Veilguard.

[@hardboiled2987]

"Yikes sweetie I'm literally a canid OK???" - Khajit NPC

[@Draclord35]

You're talking out of your butt because you haven't even touched the game but suuuuuuure!

[@Ed-ealmighty]

@@rentazzo Mirraak: Annnnnd so the first dragonborn meets the last non buy nary 🤣

[@AmonguslmaoLmao]

@@Draclord35dog that’s a real scene in the game bruh use your hands and look it up

[@dylancross1039]

​@@Draclord35The footage is out. It's literally in the game.

[@chuggajr]

The argument that gay relationships were present in Origins is so weak on its face. Every potential same-sex romance option in Origins was also romanceable as the opposite sex. Not to mention at no point in the story does your same-sex relationship lead to people talking to you about it like they’re trying to make sure you know they support gay people. It was purely an element of player choice and not a core message like it so obviously is in Veilguard.

[@Klongu_Da_Bongu]

And no one complained about the relationships in DA2. It's all gaslighting. I went to r/gamingcirclejerk and it's like a cult.

[@Malodis_]

This wasnt about gays, this was about the Ts and the Qs. Its an offering to their narcissism.

[@SimuLord]

It's practically a running joke in the cozy game community that every romanceable NPC is "playersexual"-their gender preference is "whatever gender the player character happens to be." This has bled into other genres, notably Western action RPGs like Origins. Even "queer-friendly" games (again, thinking of the cozy farming sim genre, which if the Steam forums are anything to go by, is the favorite genre in all of gaming in the LGBT+ identity-politics set) don't beat the player over the head that hard with the messaging (as a straight guy who plays those same games as a change of pace, believe me, I know.)

[@anon2752]

Yeah, there is a difference between Origins being a more liberal fantasy setting, and veilguard being propaganda.

[@Qb3nsis]

That is the whole point though, that it was integral in the systems in DA:O was a choice by the developers not just some legacy code they forgot to update. It's not weak on it's face because it shows exactly the points you're espousing. The systems didn't need to be hand-held through they just existed because they were good systems. The core message they added is not part of these systems but something else entirely.

[@cainabel404]

You're spot on about the fact this vocal minority hijacking user led gaming media to talk about gender politics is used as an excuse by mainstream media to disengage, leaving us (majority mainstream users) lost in the middle. I just wanted a good game. I found it so difficult to form an impression about Veilguard because I felt like a pinball bouncing between unconvincingly sanitary praise media and toxic anti-trans propaganda. Thank god for Skill Up, and thanks to you as well for being part of the solution. Subscriber gained.

[@Gandwarf213]

The sociopolicial aspect is exactly why Bioware and EA did what they did. When you get down to brass tacks that's really what this is all about. They don't want to make fun games anymore, they don't care about consumers, they want a vehicle to deliver their message.

[@DoritosBurger]

This is exactly it and why the American video game industry will collapse. Nobody is buying this junk and that means bankruptcy is looming.

[@dannysmi7162]

I would push back on this, but it’s impossible to deny that that’s true now.

[@lorecow88]

They need those ESG bucks.

[@amouramarie]

Did you learn nothing from this video? Your obsession with _this_ is why the real issues with the game are not being addressed by journalists. Watch the video again.

[@dannysmi7162]

@@amouramarie BioWare/EA themselves are the ones that are obsessed with it. Regardless, the writing is bad, so even if you discount that, it’s still bad.

[@yermongo]

Laura Kate Dale was a writer for the game. This is why you get scenes like a 5-minute sermon on misgendering a character. This is what happens when you hire people for their politics instead of their ability to make a good product.

[@insensitive919]

I wish I was an oppressed trams-woman

[@Billytruckson]

You maga fascists need to go away go touch grass with your cult.

[@The-Dart-Board]

Thats not a name I've heard since 2014

[@SkitzoSam]

Just seeing her picture is enough to know

[@Billytruckson]

@@yermongo stop bringing You're political views into video games. Go cry about Trump losing somewhere else

[@OneKauz]

Apathy is my greatest weapon - "They worked hard" All I have to do is nothing

[@ludimiller3717]

@AuUntaris Why... Like said be the great strategist Napoleon Dynamite "Never interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake." Let they lose money till they lose their jobs.

[@RRRRRRRRR33]

This reminds me that Life is Strange game, True Colors is the name if I'm not mistaken. The "super power" of the protagonist was apathy, lol the hubris is so hilarious

[@SimuLord]

Apathy is beautiful. I'm not going to buy this (or really any other modern AAA) game. I'm not even going to pirate it, because to pirate it is to show that you really are interested in what's on offer, you just buried it under a layer of feeling like a rebel. I'm going to ignore it and probably play Medieval Dynasty this weekend like I've been doing for the past week, or get back behind the wheel of my truck in Euro Truck Sim 2 and finish the Halloween event. I'd have quit gaming a long time ago if all I had was AAA. I recommend others do the same. Just ignore the slop. By all means take an interest in making gaming as a medium a better place with better games free of this agenda-driven garbage (that's why I'm here right now, well that and it's slow at work today so I'm dragging two hours' worth of work into eight-don't tell my boss. Not that he cares ultimately because the work got done and did I mention I've got a great job? Anyway, I digress.) Fight for creative and artistic standards. Fight against people who would take that away from us, and hate the woke folk with every fiber of your being. All of those things are honorable. But toward the actual game? Apathy is the winning play. Play something that is good. Do not play that which is not. Easy.

[@Hero0451]

“Apathy is death, worse than death, because a rotting corpse still feeds beasts and the insects” - from a good RPG

[@skyravens5798]

🎶 Let it burn...Let it BUurrrrn 🎶....

[@anonony9081]

The issue isn't that characters aren't hot anymore. The issues that they're purposely making them ugly for some sort of weird social points. If you want to make an ugly character that's fine but don't take a character who was beautiful before and make them ugly and don't hire an actress to be the likeness for your character and then purposely make them ugly. It's totally bizarre to do it that way. The girl from Star Wars Outlaw and the girl from Horizon are the best examples I can think of. What possible reason did they have to make her uglier in the second Horizon game? It's not even like she was super hot or objectified in the first one. There was nothing wrong with her and acting like there was shows you have some sort of warped social ideology you're trying to push.

[@SeraphsWitness]

Not to be sensational, but the Death of Beauty is part of Marxism. They're supposedly relics of religion and tradition, which they hate. If they can make you think ugliness is beauty, then you can make people deny every basic impulse.

[@dantauche7917]

I think it's the fact that the people are SO jealous of attractive women or people in general and the only way they can vent or accept that jealousy and frustration is to force their own ugliness on what they can control: videogame characters.

[@DeagleGamesTV]

@@rampagegamingg8434 Way to miss the point entirely einstein.

[@xxace7ezxx909]

@@rampagegamingg8434this is the most braindead take I’ve heard all day, and I have twitter

[@Qb3nsis]

My favorite part about the Aloy argument is that she is now modeled after an actual woman and people have problems with that. Her facial expressions are more detailed because of the changes and that gives the character more depth, not less. I don't understand the actual rage people have for this, just play stellar blade if you want to be a coomer.

[@proudherouser4069]

27:24 they CAN’T put their political/social ideologies aside; it’s all they have

[@Legojack261]

It's genuinely tiring. Any criticism and you're called a racist, homophobic chud. Any praise and you're a woke, DEI shill.

[@reezwave]

As a former Assassin's Creed fan, I feel sorry for you guys Dragon Age fans. I never knew it was THIS bad

[@PatrickCoyle23]

We appreciate it…sorry for shadows

[@thepikminbrawler1746]

I honestly feel blessed to be mostly a Nintendo/capcom fan and the growing pains for those franchises already ended a while ago and I don’t have to worry about this stuff. At least not yet. My condolences

[@gecho8848]

@@Sbaker566 Ubisoft, Bioware, Bethesda. My holy trinity of videogame downfalls/disappointment

[@ChaosChanneler]

Damn that hit hard, you guys have been drug through the ringers for like a decade. Now I feel even worse about this game.

[@tekviper9]

New subscriber: Love your comentary videos man. So brutally honest !

[@rhys5958]

Everyone should have some concern for the sociopolitical. The warped sociopolitical is precisely what’s causing our entertainment to suck. Stand for something, or fall for anything.

[@TheLeadElite]

The reason why sociopolitical issues are exploding right now is because they were ignored for so long. Companies using diversity checkboxes instead of judging everyone based on merit leads to inferior products. It’s already bad enough with entertainment, but now it’s starting to affect things such as automobiles and airlines. Sadly it’s going to take 100’s if not 1000’s of people being referred to in the past tense on a newspaper before the ignorant and uninformed start caring.

[@hardboiled2987]

Perfectly said. I dont like this passive, insecure approach. Call a spade a spade, not a "card"

[@martialarborist7918]

"ignored for so long" No, authoritarians are just currently using victimhood ideology to attempt to gain social and therefore political power. 99% of people whining about pronouns are just in it for the attention and that goes for the people who mutilate their own genitals as well. They will switch left to right and right to left depending on what gives them more clout, it's just that currently the most effective means of social manipulation is wearing a left wing mask. It will swing back around in the next fifteen years or so, provided no real world problems stomp that stupid construct to pieces

[@radicalindividual7774]

He's a grifter. Don't bother.

[@LimC.A]

when their politics is front and center and u ignore it u deserve it lol doubly so if u ignore "sociopolitical" issues

[@spacecorpse3212]

i refuse to buy anything that insults my intelligence and has dev's or consulting company's that insult me or any other gamer

[@karlsonkopfspalter3127]

on a sidenote: the german version of DA Veilgard uses made up words in the pronoun dialogs. (she and they have the same translation in german "sie", so they can´t just translate that) Nothing helps the emersion in a fantasy game more than a confusing pronoun discussion with made up words. I wonder how that plays out in other languages.

[@priestrat]

Welche Wörter haben sie benutzt?

[@bryandedon7459]

Apparently they butchered the Spanish language just like spiderman 2 did. The Spanish language is gendered so they made it not be which destroys that language. The ones who call us racist are the ones telling every Spanish speaking person their language is wrong so they had to fix it.

[@Mycrosss]

Most of Europe doesn't have any pronouns other then the basic, real ones, so this would be an issue for any language on the planet other then English. There's just no reasons for words that have no meaning or purpose to exist, hence why they don't.

[@whiteraven9544]

Turkish doesn't have any gender specific pronouns. We call everyone and everything with "o" (literally means "this/that") so that would just lost in translation.

[@AloneD.Walker]

@@priestrat wenn ich wetten müsste, würde ich sagen haben die das Selbe gemacht, wie in nem Warhammer 40k Buch, das ich mal gelesen habe. Gott sei dank das einzige, das sie derart verhunzt haben. Dort haben sie z.B. "sie" und "er" zu "sier" kombiniert. Dann gab es da noch Dinge wie "siers", "sien" und "siene". Und oben drauf noch richtig gruselige Grammatik. Damals wusste ich noch gar nichts von diesem Pronomen Kram und dachte jemand hätte richtig beim Korrekturlesen richtig Mist gebaut.

[@caleblee5821]

I have a lot of respect for you for making a video that's not a culture war attack, but actually tells us something about the world. Keep it up!

[@shaundaly1134]

This will be the first Dragonage game I dont buy. I wont even pirate it.

[@davidm.schreckii1426]

I think it's the same for me, and gawd I was really hoping to play another dragon age but the pandering scene with the mis gendering thing nailed the coffin for me for not buying that was it

[@shaundaly1134]

@@davidm.schreckii1426 The game seems to be focused on the "Obsessive Trans fetishist" crowd. Who are about 2.0% of the playerbase.

[@Iggy1eco]

"Every interaction sounds like HR is in the room" is the best quote from SkillUp to describe big games right now. It is like corpos are making games for their competitors, not the consumers.

[@insensitive919]

Shill-up said that? Aw he's trying.

[@lorecow88]

They're making games for investment groups like BlackRock and Vanguard.

[@SimuLord]

I was a boxing writer once upon a time. I found it a cesspit of access journalism, promoter press releases reported as breaking news, toxicity (apparently quite a few Filipinos want me dead, or did when I wrote about Manny Pacquiao, if my email at the time was anything to go by)...ended up leaving it behind. I later wrote about video games. So I think I can speak with some authority when I say that video game journalism is the lowest, vilest, foulest, most disgusting sewer in ALL of the written word. It's like writing for a "newspaper" in a communist country, so tightly controlled is your list of things you can say and write about, all while you have to "appear" objective. It's a walled garden that exists as the state-run media of the AAA industry, and I haven't given a moment's thought to any gaming news outlet that isn't an independent KZbin creator in the past six years (and could easily have stopped before that.)

[@arcadenoah993]

Are you from a communist country?

[@jarethkelly567]

i genuinely think in terms of the companies that are the pillars of the community from software might just be our only hope left. To see what was once my favorite game franchises to botched this hard is heart wrenching, and has left me with little to no hope for the new mass effect game.

[@RedObed01]

"Every conversation is like HR is in the room" is how I heard it described.

[@perunarieska9182]

Props to SkillUp, they were savage in their review

[@PThrizzle]

You missed the part where initially, EA wanted Dreadwolf to be a live service.

[@fancyultrafresh3264]

Oh my lord, really?!

[@namelessone9941]

@@fancyultrafresh3264 yea thats exactly why you can only use the main chara but not the companion, bcs initially this was supposed 4-5 ppl party game where u only use one chara with other ppl in the party, they just scrap the idea but dont wanna start from the beginning, hence the halfbake mechanic this game has rn

[@fancyultrafresh3264]

@@namelessone9941 WOW. I did not know that, thanks for sharing.

[@AeSyrNation]

It shows in the Fortnite

[@kinbolluck476]

Also the spongy

[@rodrigofaria9109]

Dragon Age back then: dark fantasy. DEIgon Age now: narcisistic rainbow fantasy.

[@EvanOfTheDarkness]

People always get this wrong. It's not that identity politics, DEI, LGBTQ+ representation or "pronouns" is what destroy games, or even just make a game bad. It's an _indicator,_ a red flag that the _people_ making that game are not talented, not act in good faith, and don't care about games, or gamers. They are first and foremost activists, who got hired by other activists, and don't have a clue, what makes a good game. The backlash isn't because we (gamers) don't want "pronouns" in our games. It's because we don't want games made by people who think we need "pronouns" in games. It's a subtle, but very important difference.

[@jonnyo2121]

"It's an indicator, a red flag that the people making that game are not talented, not act in good faith, and don't care about games, or gamers." They don't care about LGBTQ either. They're just USING them as critic-armor, and to brag on social media "so proud to help the poor little lgbtq people". As if they're helpless abandoned puppies or orphans.

[@Soulsworth69]

They couldn't have disrespected the source material more than this. I've been waiting 10 YEARS for a continuation of Inquisition's story after that huge cliffhanger with Solas. They made a joke of themselves and completely blew it and I couldn't be more furious.

[@oRnch199]

The tourists calling us tourists as they kick us out of our house and shut the door. Adorable. The dialogue reminds me of some mid century indotrination tool meant for children. They're trying to CREATE the modern audience. They are playing the long game.

[@LimC.A]

They are certainly gonna leave a mark in history...as a lesson not to drive a franchise to a landmark grave lol.

[@insensitive919]

Yep. That's why they are putting woke events and kamala election ads into fortnite, by the time those kids hit their 20s, they will be completely broken down. Apathy is death.

[@JohnRambo1947-July-6th]

I guess you could say they tried to pull the veil on our eyes.

[@michaelwoods9669]

Game media, let alone standard media can no longer be trusted. The days where game mags and media actually gave honest reviews is gone.

[@SamMontoya]

Very few asked for the game we got. Which is unfortunate. On the reviews, when you base compensation, and KPIs, around reviews, you will get actions aligned with those. It’s not rocket science why they took this route. However, it’s also anti-gamer and anti-consumer. Optimizing for the wrong things.

[@Chopzi11a]

The few that did ask for this game: woke ideologues 💀

[@SamMontoya]

@@Chopzi11a - Regardless of ideology, the story sounds boring, the writing sounds bad, and is has become a trope of modern entertainment. Ideology over a good story and characters.

[@Chopzi11a]

@@SamMontoya here here brother 🍺

[@zuzisam]

The thing about the "agenda" part of the game is that you can't ignore it. It skews the perspective whatever you like it or not, because yeah, it was totally done on purpose. It IS a low hanging fruit. You either vibe with it and you'll buy the game even if you don't care about DA just to be an ally, or you don't and you'll trash it as a free marketing tool. If the game didn't have "the message" it would be just another boring RPG from a studio that used to be good but now you have to love it or hate it. Brilliant marketing. And I hate everything about it.

[@nicholasrova3698]

It's too obvious now. Acting like the social/political BS isn't a big reason why this game is turning people off isn't going to help anything. Part of the reason we have these dumb games now is because for years people were too afraid to call it out for fear of being perceived as 'racist' or 'sexist', even though they weren't. Being afraid of rocking the boat or offending people will, again, only make things worse in the future.

[@bryandedon7459]

That's the problem they have though. While you may see people all over Twitter or tiktok saying they love this type of stuff, they don't actually buy it. They complain when it's not there and praise it when it is but either way, they aren't buying it.

[@darianstarfrog]

That's why I feel we got the normies on our side now..they are going to be so pissed..they never saw it coming.

[@darkdawnbringer]

@@bryandedon7459 Yup that is and wil always be the big problem with their "modern fans", they are not real fans. A fan wil buy your product, and then buy part 2,3 and 4, they wil get their friends to buy it, they wil buy t-shirts with it on it, they wil buy the lunch box and the hd remake, and after all that they wil get their kids into it, and turn those into new fans. But these "modern fans" wil maybe buy the product on a 90% sale... It's just bad business to market to these "modern fans" and to spite the real fans...

[@JoseGoncalves-pz3fn]

Around the 12:40 mark. What you’re describing is what happens when activists become games developers. They cannot concede their misgivings because to do so would be, in their own eyes, conceding their entire ideology as false. It’s bad business to alienate the core audience on the hill of your ideals, they just can’t see it because they are literal extremists who can’t see the other side through their own “veil” of self truths.

[@alemswazzu]

Yep. Making your mental illness the primary foundation for your whole existence, will not be able to help themselves, nor do they want to.

[@asmosisyup2557]

They've also backed themselves into a corner, because the moment they utter any sort of criticism, they will get torn apart by their "allies" and lose all their followers. Once you start down that path there's no going back, on either end of the extreme.

[@SammEater]

"Don't believe your lying eyes" Bioware says while the game that looks like a cheap Guardians of the Galaxy knock off gets its trailers retooled to pretend the game changed direction even though there is no way the game would be any different from its first trailer in just a few months.

[@DuncanClair]

Fire everyone. *In best Gary Oldman: “EVERYONE!”

[@sern.21]

They built the game around pushing a, massively overblown in your face, agenda rather than building a game with a handful of progressive ideas that make sense within the established lore of the series. As mentioned, older games in the series also had progressive ideas but it blended well into the game and players weren't bludgeoned over the head with it as they are in Veilguard. In Veilguard it's as if they sat down and said, okay folks we need to turn this entire game into a lecture on modern social identity politics and how we can get everyone to agree with our principles and we'll build all the game elements around that. 💡 Except we don't play games to get preached to and lectured about your ideals, regardless of what those ideals are. The best presentation of this dynamic is subtle introduction anyway, not beating consumers over the head with it. Nobody except the agreeable extremists appreciate it.

[@WhiteLeviathan]

The minute I saw a character say "nonbinary" in a non-ironic way it was immediately over. Triple A gaming has fallen.

[@SilverSidedSquirrel]

"Put your political ideology aside for a second" OOOOOOHHHH you sweet, summer child.

[@hardboiled2987]

Yeah lol "bro just ignore the cause for all the issues I'm about to address and just focus on the consequences, not what caused them" dude is scared of straying from neutrality. Call a spade à spade, man

[@arcadenoah993]

You don't get it, kiddos. If this game was good, so the political ideology would matter?

[@dylancross1039]

​@@hardboiled2987 People refuse to talk about the ideology being the problem because it would require them to admit that it's THEIR ideology that's the problem.

[@CoreyAdolfi]

Evidently that’s a hard thing for some people to do.

[@john7649]

​@@arcadenoah993 The thing you have to take into account and ask yourself is, "does the political ideology block and interfere with making the game good?" I firmly believe that the answer to that is yes. any attention and any talent and any focus that could be directed to making the game good is instead put on the ideological trash instead

[@mrmerfeo4320]

I appreciate that you say "customer first" and not consumer like we usually get refered to as.

[@The_Last_Data_Hound]

Boardroom talk has seeped into the public discourse for while now. Its why most reviewers are sounding like used car salesmen where they bombard you with jargon and approved buzzwords.

[@mrmerfeo4320]

@@The_Last_Data_Hound Yeah I'm not a fan of standardized words like "gameplay loop" etc. It literally means nothing to me, it's like saying chess is making moves until someone loses or gets a stalemate. It oversimplifies and hides the many nuances and great moments that you see happening in a closed system like that, story moments or cool gameplay moments you can make a clip out of etc.

[@tibybackside]

Remember when you could not sleep over what to chose in "the shot" choice in ME? How you didin't know if you hit the mark would scare Garrus and destory his confidence or will he still see you as his role model who inspired him? How if you would let it win might show that you don't trust him enough that he can succed alone? That was peak gaming..

[@RezaQin]

Garrus was the true companion in Mass effect. What a great performer by his VA.

[@darkdawnbringer]

When we die, we all wish we have a Garrus waiting for us at the bar...

[@madbro4803]

You can't separate the Disney vibe from the ideologies. It's all about safe spaces and staying as bland as possible. It's the perfect corporate ideology. All this stuff in gaming was inevitable anyway. The minute it became a multi billion dollar industry, all the MBAs flocked to it. In the c suite where you went to school matters more than what experience you have.