A Skeptical Look At 'Dragon Age: The Veilguard'

[@LukeStephensTV]

Do you think Bioware will have a redemption arc or do you think this story ends in an all too familiar way?

[@EthNet34756]

Nail in the coffin vibes

[@dewaynegray6400]

​@@EthNet34756yeah that is what I am thinking.

[@TheFuronMothership]

I enjoyed Andromeda and Anthem for what they were and despite their flaws. I love Dragon Age And I'm confident I'll enjoy Veilguard regardless of what the gamer outrage zeitgeist has to say about it.

[@53knights]

I honestly have no clue.

[@tomhanks1769]

I'll wager it won't be a disaster like Concord, but it probably will fail to meet expectations.

[@TheTeePineTree]

Inquisition was made on the frostbite engine, not unreal. The original mass effect trilogy was made on unreal. Andromeda was made on frostbite.

[@dr_diddy]

yh, I remember one of the devs talking about having to make the engine alongside game development. I think they ended up getting some DICE engineers to help out but then left shortly after to work on the next BF.

[@TenchiSawada]

@@dr_diddy There was a whole article/report detailing that the engineers were desperate for help with vehicles and luckily a project manager was able to grab those DICE engineers for help temporarily. but for every 1 system that they could try to implement with the Frostbite engine, there was like 5 broken systems.

[@auntdee845]

Yep, it was made on Frostbite. One of the things that was known was that Bioware couldn't even get its $hit together...the team working with Frostbite on DAI refused to help Team Montreal that was working on Andromeda. The major problems they had were in trying to create many procedurally generated worlds with curated content and they weren't successful. But also, since ME games involve choice and a lot of different responses, they needed to build a library of facial and body animations...actually pieces of them which Frostbite wasn't capable of doing. The team working on DAI had more knowledge of creating such a library...and choreographing the use of the parts but from what I understand they had to use other software to build the library.

[@blindsaint07]

True. It is a pity that this whole video leans on the "Frostbite bad" rhethoric, as it is at fault for everything bad that happened to these games, when Luke gets the very important detail wrong that basically crumbles most of the argument. Is Frostbite good for rgp games? Probably not. But these games had more issues than just engine. Anthem failed at the idea of the game and the gamplay loop which almost didn't exist and got old by 5th hour, and Andromeda was just mind numbingly boring and had bad writing and characters which was the main selling point for previous MassEffect games. Bugs were just one more problem.

[@charaznable8072]

Lol even though Frostbite started with DICE but it wouldn't be where it is today without Bioware, I really hope they've worked out all the kinks having a buggy launch would be so bad.

[@FinalDisintegration]

I hate to be picky, but the Bioware that made Baldurs Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, the original Mass Effect trilogy, and the original Dragon Age trilogy is not really with us anymore. Their founders and leaders responsible for the company's early successes are long gone.

[@jackiewilliams4854]

If you were gaming then you remember how awesome BioWare was. The anticipation for a new BioWare release was real. Didn’t need media hype, you just knew it was going to be great.

[@SnailHatan]

David Gaider was barely even part of Inquisition. That was his last writing at Bioware. The guy that created the vast majority of the lore and characters in Dragon Age 1,2,&3, wrote for Baldurs Gate 2, Neverwinter, KOTOR has no hand whatsoever in this game. It’s just going to be disappointing action slop full of intertextual references and self-aware bullshit dialogue with shallow characters

[@joshnizzle]

Yea. The old days of BioWare are long gone. I don’t have much hope for the next dragonage. I hope it’s good but I doubt it will be. Especially after the new 22 min on ign. Where they show the player getting a side quest and call it narratively rich but it sounds literally like a fetch quest to get medical supplies. wtf?

[@johnstewart2981]

No surprise there, idk if there’s any dev team that has had the same exact members in it since games from the 90s and 2000s lol Even dev teams that are highly closed-off like Game Freak or any major Nintendo RND/creative department still hire tons of new people. This is just how the industry works. Things change, time moves forward, and there’s nothing you can do about it, so it’s best to be open. You can’t just expect a game like KOTOR anymore, because it’s unrealistic. Just like you can’t expect a game like Mario 64 to come out of Nintendo nowadays.

[@mace7077]

Yeah that's not even being picky, you are completely correct. Over 80% of the original company is gone, and those in charge now are very carefully guided by EA no longer biowares own creative vision, and it's incredibly apparent in everything they have made since DAI. Bioware is gone, it's like blizzard now, a corporate shell that mostly puts out slop, with the magic being long gone. Dragon age lost its whole identity, this new entry will be the Disney star wars sequel trilogy to George Lucas' Star Wars.

[@CHARIF_Omar]

Anthem's demo wasn't downgraded, it was straight up fake

[@F34RDSoldier805]

The demo itself was said to be real when they showed it. The part that was fake at the time was the entire game apparently. They had that one part playable, and after they showed it at E3 or at the EA CEO guy, near E3, that when they started working on it. So yeah, it wasn't really the demo, but the entire game that was made up and sold to players up until release. It's why the spot from the demo was in the game, and the walker was in the game as well, but destroyed or not functional. Because the demo part was apparently the only part that existed at the time from what I remember.

[@CHARIF_Omar]

@@F34RDSoldier805 yes just like like cyberpunk 2077 and dying light 2, Ubisoft was notorious with downgrades

[@Kmaitland89]

@@CHARIF_Omar Cyberpunk wasn't really a downgrade. It just never got finished. Well, it was okay on PC but consoles it just wasn't acceptable.

[@CHARIF_Omar]

@@Kmaitland89 no we are talking about the demo, cyberpunk's demo shown at E3 i believe was completely fake, the game was barely made at the time, so it's not downgraded, it just never existed

[@Venomx-nb1jr]

@@CHARIF_Omarfake is probably not the correct term. It was a purpose built demo to be indicative of the final product. And id say the final product is indicative so, I wouldn’t say that’s fake.

[@cyberpunkdarren]

Dragon Age Origins was the Baldurs Gate 3 of two generations ago

[@lucasLSD]

and just like BG3 all companies will pretend it sold despite it's deep rpg systems, and not because of it, AAA will never learn.

[@violentpursuit]

And now modern Dragon Age appears to be a mix between Hogwarts Legacy and Guardians of the Galaxy in terms of gameplay, progression and UI/UX. That character menu and UI elements looked like they were pulled straight from Hogwarts Legacy with a bucket of purple paint thrown on them

[@Mkrause762]

@@lucasLSD there’s going to be more terrible fallout 4 style romances in games because of bg3 I can see it

[@Ronnet]

​@@violentpursuitDA2 already moved in that direction. DA:I tried to be a weird hybrid. What I like about Veilguard is that it doesn't try to please both sides. It clearly picks a side when it comes to its combat. Whether that's good or bad is up to every individual to decide. But at least it doesn't become mediocre by default because of indecisiveness.

[@sixgunsuperman]

It was literally a spiritual successor to those games, so they could capture the same bg1 and 2 audience without having to pay licensing to use the D&D setting and lore.

[@MrRagemanPL]

34:54 - It's not how DA: Origins works. You don't have to micro-manage every little move for you companions. You can easily set up their behaviour in the tactical menu, specialise them in whatever type of combat you want and never switch from your main character during gameplay. It is a feature Inquisition lacks.

[@MrCowabungaa]

You still had to babysit companions bigtime despite being able to set up an AI routine. Every time I thought to ignore some companions for a second thinking they'd manage something happens like Wynne just waltzing through a spotted flame trap, blowing herself up. Companion pathing was uhhh... rudimentary.

[@morganrollins2036]

@@MrCowabungaa Out of all the complaints I've been seeing, yours is actually valid. Alot of things could be set up and party AI was actually pretty solid when comparing to other CRPGS, but damn they should've just left traps out of the game if the AI had no way to react to it. Wynne blowing herself up on a trap is like a core memory for me.

[@danielaskew6828]

That requires thought and strategy. Can't have that in a modern Bioware game.

[@Cloud92390]

See if you can set tactics or partner actions, AI should be good enough to be fine. Balancing multiple characters in non turn based combat is too Much unless you’re an RTS

[@UltraFlea]

Honestly Dragon continued to downgrade after Origins...i liked have ways to customise my companions and even change their style of fighting based on how i chose make my character. With just 4 abilities i wonder how fun my archer will be

[@dabluflcn]

When I first saw the Veilguard trailer I seriously thought they were about to announce a Dragon Age 5 vs 5 hero shooter.

[@DuctTapeJake]

I mean... reportedly the original concept for Dreadwolf was that it was going to be a Live Service Dragon Age game... Then Anthem faceplanted out of the gate and they hard pivoted, rebooting the whole development.

[@DGenHero]

​@DuctTapeJake No. It was single player. A smaller mission based game that took place in Tervinter. You would haven part of a criminal hang. That was forced to change when EA wanted a multi-player project. Then it was changed again about 4-5 years back to be a single player game, when EA let them change course.

[@DuctTapeJake]

@@DGenHero Really? I never heard about the Tevinter concept, I just remember hearing about the multiplayer focused model years ago. That's interesting.

[@ppitassi]

@@dabluflcn dragon age was officially announced as "bioware's take on high fantasy", i guess a hero shooter isn't that far

[@DrShocktopus]

@@DGenHero Bruh imagine having EA as a boss, "um lets change your project to a multiplayer one". couple months late: "you know what I change my mind, lets make this single player again"

[@ninjafohhiya]

I'd just like to point out that The Veilguard 3 party system, combat "ability wheel" and not having direct control over the other characters was also done in the OG Mass Effect trilogy. Like, it's almost identical. I don't understand how it's never mentioned.

[@Taicligh]

Don't forget their super hard push about primers and detonator combos which is mainly ME terminology even though combos have existed since DAO it just wasn't ever said in such a way. The way they're talking about it in Veilguard is like it's some whole brand new cool thing and it's literally not as it's been in DA since the start and ME since the start. I just hope that we can at least tell companions where to stand otherwise the AI is going to be annoying to deal with since tactics are probably long gone.

[@RandomWandrer]

Probably planning to use this system in ME4. I'm OK with it.

[@ardendragoon]

​@@Taiclighnope. No control.

[@GreyLion86]

The devs themselves said ME2 was a major inspiration for Veilguard’s design. And considering I’m way more of a ME fan than DA fan, I’m fully onboard for that.

[@ardendragoon]

@@GreyLion86 you haven't been paying attention. You have zero control over party members. They do what the devs programed thats it. The core of the dragon age series has been gutted. No tactical combat, no control of party. It's a generic action game now.

[@ProphetTruth95]

Hey Luke, you should be aware that DAI was also made in Frostbite & interviews yrs later said that almost 50% of dev time was just getting an RPG in general to work, simple stuff as UI & Inventory were major developments holes

[@rykehuss3435]

Ya because Frostbite has no support for inventory management, or levels. Also it has no animation system support. Those tools had to be build from ground up and it was not easy

[@sharodintv4036]

Yeah i remember some of the major design choices in andromeda like no medpacks/consumables and once again uncontrollable party members where made because they straight up couldnt get this stuff to work in engine. Thats why i think that whole apm and focusing on the character stuff is a whole bunch of bullcrap. They just lost the few people from inquisition that got that stuff to work and are to lazy to figure it out again.

[@rykehuss3435]

@@sharodintv4036 Probably the devs arent lazy. Its just that the execs/publisher doesnt want to give them the resources to do a proper job. Or dont understand what it takes, and theyre understaffed, again. One of the major reasons Andromeda's animations sucked so much is because the anim department was severely understaffed for the whole production. Not the fault of the devs. Whenever a game is bad, or has issues, its pretty much always the fault of executives or the publisher. Whoever is pulling the strings and making the decisions. Its not the fault of some random schmuck animating or coding.

[@sharodintv4036]

@@rykehuss3435 yeah i meant it less in the sense of the developers perse are lazy more the company in total

[@proteuswest1084]

@@sharodintv4036 Inquisition is probably the least fun in terms of combat in the Dragon Age series, but a lot of people hold out that for Mass Effect, Andromeda was one of the most fun experiences combat wise. Veilguard looks a lot to me like a Dragon Age version of Mass Effect 3 mixed with Andromeda, where you get the fun combat and the build diversity, but also some level of companion control. Suggesting that mixing together elements of the best combat systems BioWare has ever done is "lazy" certainly is a take, but not one I'm going to agree with. Taking control of companions in a "real time with pause" setting is viewed by way too many people as a feature, but in reality, it was always a lot of tedium that you were forced to do because generally, your companion AI and the behavior systems weren't always reactive enough or smart enough to prevent their own deaths without your intervention. So for all the people pooping their pants over not being able to take control of their companions directly, I don't share your fears or your desire to return to that system.

[@rorygrimshaw2348]

Dragon age Inquisition was the 1st bioware game on frostbite, and for that reason and many others, it was in development hell for years.

[@Ashbrash1998]

I remeber the mod community was in having a difficult time just making decent hairs due to frostbite.

[@MjollTheLioness-o4y]

@@Ashbrash1998 yes. Getting good-looking hair for the Inquistitor can still be a pain in the butt today even with the frosty mod manager.

[@raresmacovei8382]

Mass Effect 1: 2007 Dragon Age 1: 2009 Mass Effect 2: 2010 Dragon Age 2: 2011 Mass Effect 3: 2012 Dragon Age Inquisition: 2014 What "development hell for years"?

[@sheikyerbouti39]

​@@raresmacovei8382Yeah, I wouldn't say development hell, especially since it didn't begin development til 2011, or actual production until 2012. They did have a lot of issues technically in those 2 years though trying to work with Frostbite. And to make it worse, EA decided mid-way to also release it on previous gen consoles (PS3/360), making the tech issues even more challenging.

[@Mkrause762]

@@MjollTheLioness-o4y I tried playing inquisition again and I couldn’t get past the character creator no matter what I couldn’t stop my character from looking like a mutant

[@Remi-bo7tn]

"Modern audience" games make the mistake of trying to please the broadest amount of people, instead of focusing on a niche loyal audience. BG3 is very niche with narrative roleplay and turn based play, yet because it was good and focused on its vision (DND) it managed to satisfy hardcore players and the modern audience.

[@WhosThere26]

That was the case like 5 years ago. Now days "modern audience" games try to please the Twitter goblins that complain about bs while having 0 legitimate interest in playing it.

[@BenkaiDebussy]

I'm pretty sure it didn't succeed with the broader audience because it "focused on its vision," but instead because it had a massive budget and development time that allowed them to create very well produced party dynamics, quests, etc. Otherwise you'd see similar levels of mainstream success from other games like the Owlcat ones. Basically BG3 could have been an action RPG and it would have experienced at least the same level of mainstream success.

[@ILoveGrilledCheese]

It’s not a mistake at all. Making games is a business and as such they must make their games as broadly appealing as they can. This is not a bug it’s a feature.

[@proteuswest1084]

Yeah, BG3 had a 6 year development time and a 3 year early access time where all they did was spend time listening to player feedback and making changes to please the largest number of people. Believe it or not, but Dragon Age has largely done the same as a franchise and BioWare has been largely responsive to feedback from the community over the years. A lot of people who complain about the "changes" to Dragon Age either never played it, or they played Origins once 15 years ago and they don't remember anything about it, because they seem to remember that it was turn based when it wasn't, and that the combat was awesome and reactive, when it wasn't, or that it was fully dark and gritty with no humor, which it wasn't. Then there are people who have played all the games, who have provided feedback throughout, have seen the evolution of the games based on that feedback, and see the next game as a further evolution of that. I liked Inquisition, but I have a ton of problems with the game, and they've answered almost all my issues with it so far.

[@Vulgarth1]

​@@proteuswest1084DA:O and 2 were both turn-based with optional action mode. Or action with optional turn-based, depends on how you look at it. Inquisition was the larger change.

[@chrisspink8873]

Damn that inquisition score still slaps though. All DAs have had great soundtracks hope veilguard atleast gets that right.

[@MjollTheLioness-o4y]

Fr. I still seek out the Party Camp theme from DAO from time to time. Man that score was beautiful. Also, Trevor Morris' Lost Elf theme from Inquistion is one of my favorites in the series.

[@LorkhansLetsplay]

Hans zimmer doing the work in veilguard so it probably will be awesome

[@biggydx]

​@@LorkhansLetsplayHanz Zimmer and Lorne Balfe, though it's believed that Lorne Balfe will be composing most of the soundtrack.

[@BenkaiDebussy]

Yeah I'm bummed at the composer changing. Hans Zimmer is fine, but I really felt like the Inquisition score was perfect for this series.

[@ryanc5572]

​@@LorkhansLetsplayHe composed the masterpiece that is Aurora. I've got high hopes for him

[@null5489]

Asthetically, this doesn't feel like Dragon Age at all. The art design just feels "off" to me. Some of the characters even border on uncanny valley, imo, especially some of the faces.

[@stefansibbes2440]

@@null5489 thing is every Dragon Age is so radically different from the other. Its hard to say what even looks like "Dragon Age" anymore. This one looks even more different from the others though. It looks better than DA2 thank god, that is one ugly game.

[@koshetz]

I mean it reminds me of DA2 because that game also had more cartoony style in comparison to both DAO and DAI

[@Mewsashi-cz9fo]

Not only it's cartoonish borderlining on fortnite like graphics but the cartoonish feel absolutely removes from the dark fantasy, 2000%, while the acting is also very cringe and removes even further from taking this seriously

[@thallus23]

Does the aesthetic put you in the mind of Fortnite?

[@TheAzulon]

The thing about the party "having their own behaviour and how they interact in combat" is that, by my experience, the party never behaves how you want/need them too. They will aggro monsters that you don't want them too, spent abilities on stupid situations, NOT use abilities when they should and so on. Then my mind goes back to Dragon Age Origins in which, even if you didn't want to pause, control a party member to do something, unpause, pause again to move another member, you could still fine tune their behaviour to an amazing degree. You could create rules like "if this party member's Hp reach 25%, use heal", "If an enemy does this, use that spell" and how amazing it felt.

[@CurtOntheRadio]

Yep. Seems they've essentially removed your control and replaced it with "full automatic setting" for your companions. And those are always garbage. It removes all tactical approaches and it's just going to be run at the opponent and start combat in the same way, every time, by the looks. Junk. Why do they think DA players want that? Who would ever imagine DA players want that?

[@BenkaiDebussy]

I don't get why there's such confusion about this - it's basically the same as the Mass Effect games (or the comparison this video made to something like Atreus in GoW). You can also directly control companion abilities in Veilguard (I'm pretty certain you'll be able to set them to not use them unless you tell them to) as well as tell them who to target. Again, Mass Effect is the main point of comparison here (though I'm not sure if Mass Effect has the "tell party members who to target" option).

[@TheAzulon]

@@BenkaiDebussy Oh no, I understand it perfectly. Thing is, in mass effect I would just jump in and ignore the party. Dragon age was a different beast. In DA I would take a lot more time giving the party the right skills to synergize well and deal with the enemies. That level of depth is what I'm disappointed the game will miss.

[@coolbeach18]

Really.....because i can remember placing my tank in the doorway to get enemy aggro,even use skill that was said to get enemy aggro, and the enemy just freaking running through my tank.Dragons Age never had good combat.

[@proteuswest1084]

@@CurtOntheRadio Yeah, none of this is remotely how it works. You don't take direct control of your companions, but you do get to choose who they attack and what abilities they use. It may surprise you that the majority of DA players rarely switch from their own playable character unless they die and are forced to do so, so giving people an easily accessible wheel where they can direct companions and use their abilities means that for the vast majority of the playerbase, this game will offer more control of their allies than they've ever had in a Dragon Age game.

[@DrDaveDavington]

I hate this false dichotomy between "keep it the exact same" and "radically change it" that dragon age inspires. What happened to looking at the flaws and iterating on the formula? BG3 proved that "slow and clunky" can be a best seller.

[@gottinrod]

There is literally nothing clunky about the combat and spell systems of Bauldurs Gate. I think you are wrongly associating "turn based system" with clunky. But i agree, this approach of lets break the wheel and make a new one for every outing is just wrong. Illogical even.

[@Wodki]

@@gottinrod I think you need to reread what the op wrote before commenting.

[@stormdivision617]

​@@Wodki I think its fine actually.

[@Jinkypigs]

More of ... interesting combat system with full range of combat option that emphasise character skills and allow player decision on how to make use of said skill, in character, sells for a rpg

[@DrDaveDavington]

@@stormdivision617 My point was BG3 is NOT "slow and clunky" but the same people doging the origins fans for wanting something closer to origins. Would've called BG3 "slow and clunky" before it smashed those assumptions. If Bioware wanted to they could've updated and upgraded their system like Larian did through DOS 1 and 2. Instead, they spent every Dragon Age game trying to make Dragon Age appealing to everyone but the people who bought the original game.

[@Thomas-Bradley]

I wished they made something similar to Dragon Age Origins but with improved graphics. I'm not convinced still by their art direction and the ubiquity of purple throughout the game. Actually, so many colors for the skills of the characters in this game that it reminds me of Immortals of Aveum.

[@sixgunsuperman]

Don't get me started on the "lavender" guard bar that enemies have

[@Ronnet]

They need to make the game that fits who they are now. I dont think the current Bioware could make a Origin style tactical RPG. The game looks good for what it is though.

[@Thomas-Bradley]

@@Ronnet I suppose so. But what if who they are now is not what makes Bioware the great game developer that it was once known for? I guess we'll see when this game is released. I have my doubts and I sincerely wished my doubts are proven wrong.

[@Digitalcanvas77]

Also reminds me of Saints Row the Third…which should not be the case

[@BradTheAmerican]

@@Digitalcanvas77 The identity crisis with the Saints Row franchise was my Vietnam. Veilguard might be my Vietnam 2.

[@luizgustavosantana8401]

Luke, Inquisition was made on Frostbite, you gotta adjust your narrative

[@ddmaster08]

He needs to research better

[@jacobhuppertz5625]

And Inquisition was still a dumpster fire of a developement if you actually look at it

[@Wodki]

@@ddmaster08 Nah he needs to be "sceptical". Like how he claims that tactical-action mix of DAI is outdated when FF7 Remake did it and was successful.

[@ddmaster08]

@@Wodki i can't give my opinion on that friend. i hate inquisition's combat. for me is the worst of the trilogy

[@diplomatic.haircut]

Yup. BioWare managed to make a GOTY winner on Frostbite.

[@Rocxtarr]

The art style especially the character models look very fable-like.

[@rickc-arelsii6276]

The thing that gets me visually is that the environments look amazing. The textures and colours and abience. The characters though.... they seem...smooth? They've no pores, dimples or differing complexion types. They remind me of going to Hero Forge and creating a mini, if that makes sense. There's just something slightly off about them to me. Maybe that'll change when the game releases and I'm able to get my hands on it and begin actual gameplay, but for now, it's the thing that keeps me with one raised eyebrow.

[@krillepille2004]

Graphics on anthem wasn’t ”downgraded”. What was shown at reveal was a cgi trailer as was evident for everyone with eyes and a resemblance of a brain.

[@Things_n_Stuff]

It would be like if Bethesda released two back to back flops after their greatest successes… oh wait

[@lucifer0247]

I mean they actually patched and updated F76 to a decent game and continue to make it better. The playercount isnt that low, like on steam alone 12-15k average. they did a kind of NoManSky with F76. And they kinda do it with Starfield too. Starfield already got a lot of updates. They gonna release the DLC which focuses on a single handcrafted world with tighter narrative, darker and creepier story, like Far Harbor. If they even add like more spacetravel and maybe no loading screens between planets, they could turn it around a lot. Plus they have all those mods for Starfield. You can not compare those two with Andromeda or Anthem, both are practically dead and nobody plays them (you cant even buy Anthem anymore lol) F76 has avg players overall plattforms of maybe 30-40k thats not bad. Starfield seems to be big on Xbox and Gamepass if you trust google metrics. So No. If you want to compare it, take for example Bf 5 and Bf 2042 :D

[@Vulgarth1]

No, the comparison still stands. Starfield and 76 were garbage, and still are ​@@lucifer0247

[@dragonslayer4747]

I mean, you can call them bad or mediocre games. But "flops"? I don't think so.

[@jaredray7034]

I don’t think that’s entirely fair. Fallout 76 was not a great success, but it isn’t universally hated today. They put enough patches and DLC into it to make it playable. I have a friend who is greatly enjoying playing on it right now. Granted, he didn’t get it when I first came out or into the hype. The moment that Todd Howard announced it as an online only multiplayer game, I turned off the screen and moved onto the next thing. I completely ignored the fallout 76 fiasco and focused on Starfield. As for Starfield, it has been a commercial success, and while it has generally been considered somewhat dull in comparison to Skyrim, it is by no means a bad game. I thoroughly enjoyed Starfield for a few months, but it did grow boring much more quickly than skyrim. This hasn’t been helped by the fact that the launch of the creation kit was so much later than Skyrim, and the release of the first DLC is almost a full year after the game itself was released. Combine this with the fact that there’s a lot of controversy around the creations system right now, and it’s not helping the PR side. All of that said, Starfield still has immense potential for future enjoyment, and the potential has already been started on through the use of mods, free updates, and now shattered space.

[@M98747]

​@@dragonslayer4747Yes, financially, both FO76 and Starfield were considered flops. Zenimax expected Skyrim and FO4 numbers.

[@YTwcher]

35:00 what a dumb statment from them. FF7 Rebirth was released this year and I can control every party member. Veilguard's combat is simply not gonna be good enough

[@kenpachiramasama1139]

Yeah I was really unpressed. It great it not inquisition combat cause it was pretty bad(a lot spamming no strategy) but it look really generic. I mean your party members can’t even pull aggro and combat just seems worst then xenoblade 2 or game like it.

[@MrMilla22]

Controlling party members has negligible impact on game combat what would make or break the combat would be pacing of combat and skills to go with it just like every other rpg

[@DanielSan1776]

bingo! whatever BioWare is now, fundamentally doesnt understand Dragon Age Im not playing DA for a 3rd person action game Im playing for a story based, tactical party controlled game.

[@ThwipThwipBoom]

Yeah that's a good point. I think FF7 Rebirth has the best combat system in any game i've ever played. I never felt overwhelmed switching to my 2 other party members to use their skills and stuff.

[@stavroskoul8782]

Funny cuz in DAI most people only controlled their inquisitor or very rarely took control of another party members

[@dulljdullesen5654]

The writing is everything in a game like this. It will affect how we view the combat and gameplay. Sooo right now i'm pretty sceptical.

[@Mikx100]

Yeah current Bioware has no previous merit on anything the old Bioware has done. The desk is clean and they need to show what they can do.

[@melodiasrojas8428]

the game looks fun for me and cool but yea i need reviews saying how good the story is .....

[@antarcticanman]

Hope the side quests are better than inquisition

[@EastyyBlogspot]

There was that side quest that spanned near enough the whole game....and my god it was not worth it lol

[@Maubari]

@@EastyyBlogspot These damn shards, yeah? By the time you actually get them all you only get loot that was already worthless to you at the halfway point of the game.. lmao

[@EastyyBlogspot]

@@Maubari Was so long ago so not sure what i got i am fairly sure it was literally the most basic bog standard few items like a sword

[@Mkrause762]

There’s no open world so idk

[@kiwipops]

They've talked about this in the Q&A - they said no grinds, all side quests will be narrative focused based on the area you pick it up in & any companion involvement.

[@Thordrel]

I hope it'll turn out to be good but I do not like the shift in combat, it looks too simple, way flashy. Also this window pop up when do you want to manage your companion abilities messes your whole screen. And you are trying to tell me it's better than an active pause? Dragon Age: Veilgard for me is a mix of Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition. I would rather to have deep RPG mechanics and full party management like in DA Origins but i guess it's too hard to execute and the marketing is directed towards the new players, "modern" audience. I do not think I'll buy it day one, but rather going to wait and see for a sale to check it out. I would love to get positively surprised 'bout this one but I do not see it coming based on the presentation.

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

Do note that most of the people that made Bioware special, the devs that made those beloved games, are no longer with Bioware. This same thing happened with Arkane. Same thing with Dice. This is happening everywhere. The talent leaves while the studio keeps the fame.

[@Thomas-Bradley]

That is indeed unfortunate. It is clearly seen in the trailer for the Veil Guar. Too colorful and the character design is giving mobile game aesthetic. Gone is the dark undertone of Origins.

[@SeventhheavenDK]

Sad, but very true.

[@Wodki]

The lead writer for DA even left.. so yeah this is DA in just name only.

[@sonnenblumefrau2048]

​@@Thomas-Bradley I still will play it like I did the previous three.

[@dizzyMongoose]

It happens at every company. People retire or leave, new employees get hired. Anyone who expects the original devs of games from 20 years ago to all still be at BioWare to work on every sequel has unrealistic expectations.

[@TheNightquaker]

My face is tired

[@ryanc5572]

@@TheNightquaker of dealing with.... Everything.

[@Ralentis4788]

I am absolutely certain that once released there will be many telltale signs of changes of direction from the live service base that was being worked on for so long.

[@MjollTheLioness-o4y]

Agree. Just like DAI with it's single-player MMO vibe and damage sponge enemies. That was really the only thing I didn't like about Inquisition, all of the MMO elements left behind. I'm afraid it's going to be the same with this game. One of the reasons I'm choosing to wait.

[@Mkrause762]

@@MjollTheLioness-o4ydai is a worse single player game than swtor which is an actual mmo lmao

[@pands.a]

DA Origins was multiplayer too at some point, so I hope they remove MMO style sidequests that they filled DAI with.

[@DGenHero]

The project changed twice. It was single player. Then EA forced a switch to Multi-player. Then EA let them make a singleplayer game, which is VG.

[@lucasLSD]

Definitely, gotham knights still had the stink of a pivoted live service on it.

[@bgamingnerd]

My concern with the combat is when you have AI only companions, balancing becomes an issue. If companions have health bars and have bad AI in response to agro and positioning, they will get themselves incapacitated without fail in hard encounters. If they have no health bars and can’t get hurt, they fall entirely in the support role meaning you either can sit back and let them kill or they can’t do anything without your say-so making them useless on cooldowns. I think Mass Effect 1-3 was the only ones to find good enough balance but I don’t trust modern BioWare

[@DuctTapeJake]

Agreed. One of my pet peeves is when companions in a game basically do nothing because a designer decided that 'you need to feel like the hero', so your character has to do all the work and kill 9/10 of the enemies. But making a competent AI system that allows companions to actually hold their weight is very difficult, and also makes it feel like the game is basically playing itself.

[@BroBomba]

This is, unfortunately, exactly the problem this game will have. Going purely off of the gameplay reveal, the companions were stupid, would easily miss attacks, did little to no damage, and had no identifiable status bars nor were they ever targeted by enemy NPCs. They're only valuable for their skills used at the players' discretion, which is why it bugs me when they try to pass the companions off as self realized individuals. They're just your extended tool bar, and you can expect to do all the work because the game is fundamentally not designed with a party in mind.

[@sixgunsuperman]

The companions from the gameplay i have seen are little more than just there to provide background banter, while the player does all the work with slow attacks and laughable damage unless you key up one of their "special skills"

[@BenkaiDebussy]

I get the impression companions might functionally just be extensions of the player in this. I'm not even sure if they have health bars? Mass Effect seems like the main comparison, where companions are mainly just extra sources of skills + minor DPS (and aggro management in this case).

[@RandomWandrer]

Looks exactly like ME. I'm OK with it.

[@craskpillord]

The best move for their marketing team is to eventually release a playable demo, especially for people who are skeptical. Pretty sure BioWare has done demos in the past, so there is a precedent for this. This would be better than any gameplay video or talking head video about the game, there’s nothing better than hands on experience.

[@dieyng]

I don't want to be mean, but you could have researched this one a bit better. Not realizing that DAI was the first Frostbyte game from Bioware might fit your narrative better, but is still a major oversight. DAI had a troubled production due to that, basically the same problems Andromeda had and at release it was quite buggy. It wasn't quite as severe as Andromeda AND they definitely managed to fix it up better, but it was already a sign of things to come. One problem as I understand it was that they basically had to coerce the engine into doing what they wanted it to do, without setting up regular processes, more like applying band-aids to make it work. Which of course meant when it came to Andromeda, they had to start all over again AND it was even worse because it required even more new things for the engine to handle.

[@Icipher353]

I love the Dragon Age series, but I have zero hope for this game.

[@jeice452]

Same 😓

[@M98747]

I love Dragon Age Origins. I didn't care for DA2. Inquisition was good, but not nearly as good as Origins. I wish another company owned the rights, and just made only Origins cannon.

[@renderlifestyle]

Have you been following anything about it? It looks phenomenal. Check out the gameplay videos. New one released again. If you played the other 3 games and not just Origins then you should like this one.

[@Icipher353]

@@renderlifestyle I've played them all and seen the promotional videos. Nothing I've seen about Veilguard impressed me.

[@Axterix13]

@@renderlifestyle The first one was enough to know the game is of no interest to me. It just looks pretty meh, a generic console game.

[@tonydeluna8095]

I honestly thought that dragon age inquisition was decent and its combat. I had a great time taking down mighty foes such as dragons . This one, looks ehh I may give it a pass once the price drops

[@andrews.5212]

Inquisition is underrated.. i had not that big of a problem with it being bloated with content since i DON'T care about MOST sidemission in most franchise. They are mostly useless.. Especially fetchquest. If you don't like it, don't do it. I probably complete 60-80% of most games i play and i still ended up with still a 90h+ playthrough for Inquisition... that's more than plenty IMHO in fact is pretty story relevant how after a bit even your Inki would stop care about random npc who need random quest.. i mean.. let somebody else take care of it i have more important business.

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

Inquisition combat was so boring my favorite in the series is 2 and the new combat system looks better

[@SeventhheavenDK]

I don't like Inquisition much. But I love Origins and 2.

[@all3skl4r]

Its probably the only improvement over Origins, every thing else is just plainly worse

[@claudiohenrique7684]

The worst thing about Inquisition is the combat. They finally got the Veilguard right.

[@anon7596]

Dont agree with the section on combat. Many players do want that ability to micromanage thier team. It just reeks of over casualization. From what ive seen the combat is just medieval mass effect. Just having 3 moves per character aint tactical.

[@exidrial431]

BuT iTs InVoLvEd You click the same 3 attacks 20 times per minute each!! That's 60 Actions per minute!!! Such involvement! /s

[@OccultEclipse]

Almost nobody used the tactics or tactical cam in inquisition. Why would they waste time and resources on it? They adapted combat to function the way people were playing inquisition’s. And you don’t have just 3 moves, you have 3 abilities, an ultimate, 6 innate abilities, a rune, light and heavy attacks, finishers, etc. There’s skepticism, and then there’s reductive cynicism. Your comment is the latter

[@antont4974]

Source needed on this one

[@АлександрРоманишин-е6с]

I think it’s because Mass Effect sold better as franchise than Dragon Age as franchise. So it’d be cool. I think that’s the idea. But it’s not deep, such approach suited better for fast action game with shooting, when you had to think on the spot. In gameplay of DATV there wasn’t that much action. No one was attacking you with shooting speed of Avenger M-8. Just regular attacks like Inquisition.

[@Taicligh]

@@exidrial431 BuT yOu CaN cOmBo WiTh CoMpAnIoNs. You could always combo with companions that's what the tactics page was for, this ain't some new feature for Veilguard EA come on.

[@siecjac2285]

I love dragon age. The first game especially meant a lot to me. It was the last game me and my old man played before he passed. Its gonna hurt like hell when this game probably ends up sucking lol

[@Preston241]

I feel that. RiP.

[@Pxinkill]

So far it really looks like a game I'd play when the complete edition with all DLC when is on sale for 20 bucks max but I get the vibes it won't even deliver on those expectations.

[@0110-q6n]

Can't believe I've lived to see Inquisition labeled as part of "Old Bioware". Inquisition, along with ME3, was essentially the first "nuBioware" titles released. DA2 was kind of an inbetween, but could be excused by the absurdly tight deadline forced on them by EA.

[@kablard]

Dragon Age 1 and 2 and Mass Effect 1, 2 and even 3 (despite everything) are fantastic games and I'm happy I got to experience them back in the day. Dragon Age Inquisition was OK, but not one I talk about when remembering great games. I'm not even gonna talk about Mass Effect Andromeda. I feel like BioWare is in a situation where Veilguard will either save them, or end them for good.

[@oscaroska7613]

Mass effect 3 was perfect, the finale

[@goeddy]

pretty big correction here: Dragon Age Inquisition was already built on Frostbyte Engine. Even though that game was apparently held together by chewing gum and ducktape, they still managed to pull it off with "Bioware magic". So you can't blame their downfall on the tech really.

[@thacoolest13]

Pulling it off with "Bioware magic" is probably not something to say while also saying tech was fine

[@goeddy]

@@thacoolest13 of course the tech was not fine, but during DAI Bioware still had the capacity to deal with it. the point is more; what changed between GOTY and 2 failures was not the tech, Bioware changed. A lot of the people that made Bioware what it was left after Mass Effect 3 and DAI.

[@val7885]

The problem is that "BioWare Magic" is massive crunch and burned out developers.

[@goeddy]

@@val7885 yeah it totally was, and probably one of the reasons so many people left after ME3 and DAI. It made Bioware what it was and it destroyed Bioware as it was.

[@robertnomok9750]

Pull it off? Game was horrible at launch, A broken buggy mess. If anyone cared about that game it would be a cyberpunk level scandal.

[@TheodoricFriede]

Look, you say 'don't be cynical"... My man, I have EARNED the right to be cynical here. I have watched the Bioware decline in real time. I have kept up with the development of Dragon Age 4 since Bioware devs were showing off test videos in the now defunct Bioware forums. This games development has been rebooted AT LEAST 3 times. It's been 10 years. Virtually none of the original writers are still around. I was already not a fan of the direction the gameplay and story was going with Inquisition. We have the whole behind the scenes Bioware nightmare management. It's an EA game. AND Bioware has had two back to back flops in a row.

[@monthc]

You're not cynical. You're just looking at the plethora of evidence that's out there. This "we have to wait and see!" idea is such a cope. Sure, there's always a possibility it comes out okay. But the weight of evidence is not backing up that possibility.

[@DeShawnMcDonald]

​@@monthc its the mindset of people who get paid to play games rather then pay to play them

[@xRichieeex]

@@DeShawnMcDonald Facts B

[@faulkner146]

We can always hope BioWare has another accounting error and Larian Studios can develop the DA we deserve.

[@subermario]

Dreadwolf sounds like what a DA:Origins sequel should have been called. Not the rushed DA2, not the mobilegame missiontable and vacuous open world of Inquisition. The name Dreadwolf exudes testosterone, violence, fury, vengeance, bravery. It most certainly doesn't sound like a game for "modern audiences". I could imagine "Dreadwolf" being a Dragon Age game where your character is an outlaw/rebel, wrongfully framed for a crime but owning up to the persona of being a villain when it suits you or as a dramatic element of the story.

[@Poctyk]

>4 rectangles UI >that purple color it's like horsemen of lazy design.

[@kokomal]

I hate that they are changing the combat. Dragon Age 1 combat is the best for me. I loved the advanced tactics where you could automate the actions and reactions of you companions. Veilguard is not an RPG. And fuck modern audiences.

[@theweddingsinger1970]

The tone is all over the place, world ending threat but goofy monkey island looking skeletons and neon purple everywhere.

[@MsRafaelRGO]

not a world where a Broodmother exist that is for sure.

[@stavroskoul8782]

About the weird colored mobs, devs said they look like that for story reasons that will be explained in game

[@exidrial431]

@@stavroskoul8782 Doesn't change the fact that the mobs look goofy.

[@exidrial431]

@@stavroskoul8782 Doesn't change the fact that the mobs look goofy.

[@sharonc9618]

but it has exciting vapid button mash combat.. and not.. "clunky" older versions.. per him. This is like making a CIV game but adding in mechanics to make it a RTS

[@nickjohnson398]

I love Baldurs Gate 3 is just essentially a beefed up BioWare game akin to dragon age 1 and was a smash hit game of the year instant classic. So BioWare decides they aren’t going to go back to their specialty that’s proven to be “in-demand” just a dog shit company now all the staff that made the great games have left and I hope the fucking go under and finally put these great franchises to rest.

[@CurtOntheRadio]

Yeah, crazy. A resurgence in 'proper RPG' (and a smash hit in BG3) but they decide to dump all that to instead go for a generic hack and slash actiony thing. With no blood. Garbage.

[@BenkaiDebussy]

You're misremembering - Bioware's biggest hits were the Mass Effect games and DA *Inquisition*. I keep seeing people talking like "DA/Bioware went downhill after Origins" is some fact of the universe everyone accepts, instead of a pretty niche opinion. It's also very silly how so many people think BG3 reflects "a mass demand for tactical RPGs," when that absolutely isn't the case. High quality tactical RPGs have continued to be released outside of BG3 over the years, with the Owlcat games probably being the best example. What actually lead to BG3's mainstream appeal was "very high production values + characters/writing people enjoyed." It showed that there's a large market for "highly produced Western RPGs," and I strongly doubt that it actually matters whether those RPGs are "tactical" or action-RPGs like Mass Effect (or even turn-based).

[@DBaronVonV]

The Andromeda "my face is tired meme" shall forever haunt my nightmares.

[@UltraFlea]

I remember reading some now departed Bioware devs saying they wish Inquisition had failed because it might have haulted to push to use Frostbite for rpg games.

[@viperarum5538]

for a company that is all in on inclusivity I, as a slower tactical player, dont feel represented in this combat system I dont have ADHD and cant drink enough coffee to have fun with so mcuh action-per-minute for more than a few hours

[@JoeBauers]

I just don't like the look of it--the color scheme, the cartoony-vibe, and the arcade action.... Yuck. But if reviews are solid, I'll be thrilled and buy it day 1

[@marcusclark1339]

never buy day one, buying early for the worst version of a product, never worth it and take any review with a grain of salt especially early ones

[@DuctTapeJake]

I think the issue is that it feels very weird to have a story that is a direct continuation of Inquisition, but completely change the gameplay, tone and visuals in a way that seems to indicate they're trying to attract a new, different audience. In my opinion that's why they changed it away from the objectively cooler 'Dreadwolf', as having a big focus on a character from the previous game being the villain will stop people from buying it if they didn't play Inquisition.

[@F_Around_and_find_out]

The trailer was literally a Disney movie.

[@paulszki]

"literally" - do you even know what that word means?

[@F_Around_and_find_out]

@@paulszki Yep it means gamers gonna get exactly what the trailer had shown: A girly Dragon Age game. Time changed and for the worse this time.

[@inframatic]

@@paulszki when one has nothing to say about the topic, they criticize, grammar and spelling

[@inframatic]

@@F_Around_and_find_outbased

[@paulszki]

@@inframatic Oh, I have so much to say. But misusing words hasn't got anything to do with grammar or spelling. In any case, the trailer being a bit like "guardians of the galaxy humor" is not indicative of the game. Especially since everyone who actually got to play the game was surprised by the different tone of the trailer and how it liked like an entirely different team made it. The new trailer is very different as well. To then go and say "oh it's gonna be a GIRLY dragon age.", whatever that is supposed to mean, is ignorant at best and dishonest at worst. And that's ignoring the weird attitude that things can be "girly" and therefore... bad...?... because REAL gamers aren't girls and can't possibly like what girls like or whatever inane hot take that was supposed to be. And it was girly/disney/woke because it... was lighthearted? It was tonally a mismatch with dragon age, but that didn't make it "girly". Everyone watches comedy, maybe HE doesn't but that doesn't make it girly. PS: You put commas in your sentence that don't belong there. Edit: nice, you went back and corrected it. So glad I get to be a positive influence on people. 💕

[@Plague_Doc22]

They're doing the same thing that made Darkest Dungeon 2 not as good as the original. You take a good concept of a game and decide you need to alter it so much that eventually you lose what made it great. DD1 is a fantastic game, DD2 is a solid game.

[@Mulberry_Mojo]

As a cynic, I take some issue with your assessment of cynicism. A cynic is not a contrarian or pessimist by default. A cynic is someone with no faith, usually due to their faith being betrayed one too many times. I couldn't care less if this game succeeds or fails. All I saw in the combat was a lot of flash. If they show me they can still make a good RPG, then they'll have piqued my interest. Btw, stripping out everything that makes something unique in order to gain broader appeal is usually a recipe for soulless garbage. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but I'm sure as hell not holding my breath.

[@dewaynegray6400]

I think if this game came out a few years ago before Anthem or close to the time Andromeda was released it would have fared better, but since they have had two massive flops in a row i dont see them recovering from this one. The game looks okayish so far but only time will tell

[@sixgunsuperman]

"First day, they come and catch everyone. Second day, they beat us and eat some for meat. Fourth day, we wait and fear for our fate. Fifth day, they return and it’s another girl’s turn. Sixth day, her screams we hear in our dreams. Ninth day, she grins and devours her kin. Now she does feast, as she’s become the beast." -Hespith on Broodmothers. This game does not even look to capture even a fraction of the darkness inherent in the earlier entries into the series.

[@jaredray7034]

True. The inherently dark setting of origins was part of the draw. None of the following games have quite managed to pull it off, despite DA2 admirable attempt to capture the horrors of blood magic. I’d say the single biggest success of origins was right there in the name. The origins. BG3 did a very similar thing with its race and class system, allowing so many variations in replayability. every time you played the game, there was something new.

[@CatastrophicDisease]

I mean neither did Inquisition. I doubt the game will be as good as Origins but it does seem better than DA2 or Inquisition at least.

[@trevalyan006]

Dogg, I loved Origins, and I would have run away screaming if that was in the promo materials.

[@stefansibbes2440]

I can't get over the limit of 3 special abilities. How are you gonna play a mage with 3 spells lol.

[@Ahov]

Yeah, I'm never paying for this shit

[@gooseycooch7108]

They released some footage and tweets showing that weapons, runes, and equipment will affect mage spells so you won’t have just three technically. I’d wait for more gameplay before jumping to that conclusion

[@HDGaminTutorials]

Because healing and shield are basically probably nonexistent since idk if your party members can even die.

[@stefansibbes2440]

@@gooseycooch7108 that doesn't really count does it. It might make each of your three spells more unique and customizable but you'll still be limited to three spells.

[@gooseycooch7108]

@@stefansibbes2440 I don’t find it that big of an issue personally. Anything is better than spamming m1 in inquisition to throw some little volleys. Nothing has really been shown for mage besides the Nividia early game mage combat. I’m feeling pretty optimistic about it. But I’m also a dragon age fan that’s been waiting for so long for the story that combat is the lesser of my worries

[@MortiXD09]

abdromeda was funky af, but i still had a blast with it.

[@sergeymelkumov9232]

they did not even bother finishing DLC with minor races arriving late on their ark ship despite hinting at it... :( and it was cancelled like 4 weeks after game was launched, around the time I bought it :(

[@Mkrause762]

@@MortiXD09 the combat was fun and the open world stuff was decent but the cast of party members and story was the worst BioWare has ever done by far

[@Mkrause762]

@@Panssel like people still talk about tali garrus and mass effect 1 liara, nobody is talking about any of the characters from andromeda because no one likes any of them

[@koshetz]

I think biggest sin if Andromeda were bugs and facial animations, but game wasn't so bad. It's a shame DLCs got cancelled.

[@MortiXD09]

@@Mkrause762 yeah, if only we knew what was coming😂

[@ThwipThwipBoom]

Came for The Veilguard, stayed for the Bioware history lesson

[@MrDay53]

When a new Dragon Age game releases it's like the cycle from Mass Effect with the Reapers returning. There are fans who's favourite is Origins and has fans who hate it, fans who's favourite is DA2 and has fans that hate it, fans who's favourite is Inquisition and has fans that hate it, and with the upcoming release of Veil Guard the cycle is set to repeat itself having both fans that will view Veil Guard as their favourite and have fans that hate it. The cycle continues...

[@Kross415]

The cycle is about to end 🤣 EA is gonna make sure this doesn't happen again.

[@geth7112]

This is how I explain dragon age to my friends

[@ppitassi]

@@MrDay53 who the fuck hates origins?

[@koshetz]

As an old fan of Dragon Age (DA2 is my favourite) i see this cycle for like third time now, like i live in a loop 😭 Even current backlash reminds me of all discourse pre DAI release (especially about Dorian reveal or female companions look, black character in the cast etc). It all happened before.

[@MrDay53]

@@koshetz Yeah I myself was initially very disappointed when DA2 when it initially released but it has become my second favourite game in the series overall though It is my favourite for plot and story and best combat for dual wield rogue, mage combat is also fun in DA2. Not sure if it would be my favourite mage combat since all three games mage class are awesome to play as.

[@kungfuey4202]

This is a very layman's perspective on a very complex topic. It doesn't tell the whole story. More research was necessary into EA, the frostbite engine, and the developers at BioWare.

[@Megaphy]

Game is made for the modern audience, clearly.

[@lisek0205]

8:04 inquisition was made on Frostbite 3

[@585marek]

I don’t get why they would go back to Frostbite? Are they contracted to that particular engine in some way?

[@kapixniecapix3869]

Enemies feel to spongy, maybe it just me but I am sick of grinding down healthbars with atacks that looks powerfull but they really not.

[@Thristed]

they changed the whole game period, this is a new franchise and not dragon age anymore

[@Viper3220]

They're doing the same thing they did to mass effect 3 > andromeda. They're making it hyper fast paced but all that does it take away from the tactical rpg aspect of the gameplay.

[@_Kaurus]

I find it amazing that there is so much content about newly released games that these developers who are paying 100s of millions to develop a game continue to get it wrong. It's as if none of them have spent any time researching what the market wants and what has failed miserably.

[@dphack22]

I keep saying it. The combat almost reminds me of Kingdoms of Amalur. Which personally I enjoyed. 360 era and all.

[@danieldanderson3208]

The gameplay shows the truth behind their lies. Companions are absolutely useless the characters are cringe and I honestly have zero reason to care since the mc changes every game. Bioware died years ago this is just a bunch of trust fund kiddies playing with their corpse.

[@TheWefikus]

BioWare of old is gone. This is all what remains. Some parts, a hollow shell that echoes the greatness of old times. But overall, it’s essentially a brand new studio that happens to own the IP. It could work if they were to split apart from EA and go back to their roots. But as is - no.

[@elyfinn00]

48:21 - I disagree. The reasons why AAA or “AAAA” games get crapped on these days is because they ultimately fail at what they were trying to do. These games you’re referring to here have BIG problems with them that affect the playability and the - fun - of the game. All the while, they are trying to collect as much money from the players as possible so they can “try again” in a future title. I agree with you that there are those people out there that are plainly cynical and will always find a reason to crap on a game - even the smallest of reasons (i.e., the quality of the character’s hair). However, I think it’s unfair to say that a AAA game has to be “perfect” and “flawless” to succeed. BG3 for example had some broken quests than I ran into very early in the game. BUT - the game was FUN - the story was amazing. No game is flawless. The reason why the masses of players crap on AAA games is because they are crap, not because we’re being picky on the small stuff. Always be skeptical. I hope every game that releases is fun and successful, but these days it’s becoming less common.

[@HELLISHHANDZ]

It looks way too light hearted.

[@CharlesVanNoland]

If they were smart they wouldn't just force a studio to use a new engine just because they own it, they'd give the studio all the time they need to screw around and become familiar with the engine - they'd invest in making sure that the devs knew how to properly wield the engine. After all, Frostbite has been used to make some great solid games, has it not? The problem isn't that they're using a different engine, it's that they didn't have the time to become familiar with it.

[@littlereyrey858]

Sadly, the Dragon Age francise has moved on a long time ago from what i personally felt that it should be. Dragon Age Origins was for me the very essence of what it should feel, look and play like, but that vision was abandoned shortly after given that no subsequent Dragon Age even came close to that vision. It was the Baldur's Gate 3 of that generation. Sadly, the fortnitification, marvelization, action centric archetype of an experience seems to have affected BioWare right down to its core. The tragicomedy of this story is that Baldur's Gate 3, the sequel to the games that have forever solidified BioWare in the hall of fame of gaming industry, was a massive hit and proved that there was still room and love for this old school DnD rpg that captivated the minds of gamers 20 years ago. And that is exactly what Origins did for the next generation of gamers, which i was a part of. Damn, i feel old and left behind, man.

[@АлександрРоманишин-е6с]

You are not alone mate. I am doing a third walkthrough of BG3, and can’t comprehend how great new dragon age could be in hands of Larian

[@SeventhheavenDK]

Dragon Age Origins was a game in a class of its own when it was released. Later Dragon Age games were just one game among many.

[@cheesedanishable]

My prediction is Veilguard will be OK, but underperform on sales and Bioware will stay on shaky ground for years to come

[@fireflyry]

29:25 is telling. Nothing breaks my immersion as much as mobs having exactly the same animations, including getting hit. It's 2024 after all. Outside that, assumption only given what we have seen so far, is the build/skill variety looks to be both limiting and generic.

[@Mrkalm007]

The combat of the first was one of the best things about it, if they can make BG3 work for a 'modern audience' you could refine that system. Dragon age 2s combat was so mass effect simplified i quit. I can predict this combat for veilguard. May still try it but will def wait for reviews

[@CurtOntheRadio]

BG3 sells great to a modern audience.

[@ignaciomelo1934]

i hate when game make u chose your class like warrior but you end having skills and powers like a mage , it breaks my inmersion very hard and thats what i saw with the gameplay

[@amampathak]

Hey Luke, Dragon Age Inquisition received POSITIVE feedback after launch, its only after Witcher 3 released in 2015, that the discussion surrounding that game turned sour and everyone realized it wasn't as great as people thought it was. Basically, something similar happening with Starfield, after BG3 and CP Phantom Liberty.

[@Eraiyna]

I disagree with the control of party members; if there is already a system in place where you can direct all your party members, just leave it in for the players that love that tactical challenge. If there's an "Auto mode" where your party members do what they want, allow that to be an option too. I mean, Dragon Age has always had that anyway. You could play the entire previous games never really telling your party members to do anything specifically or you could micromanage them, so.

[@heineslederio8466]

I'm done on pre-ordering games, because the last one burnt my behind raw, I'm looking at you Dragon's Dogma 2😅

[@IsItFunorNot]

@@Panssel only reason i do is if they offer early access due to having to randomly work 6, 12 hour shifts in a row and would like to play the game before I don't have time too.

[@PuggiTheGreat]

If modern Devs were engineers in the motor industry they would have all been sacked a long time ago because incompetence and mass recall due to faults. I’m a customer and expect a product I buy to work, Simple as that! It’s not only the gaming sector either, many other software sectors are similarly plagued by shitty releases and updates. The software industry is in a bloody shambles of mismanagement, incompetence and greed.

[@NobodyNothing-f5c]

Cynicism and skepticism go hand in hand. Like a lonely white girl gushing over Solas. Anthem is a criticism. They pulled a bait and switch on the graphics, and world size of Anthem.

[@nytesla_punk3327]

Us lonely white girls gush over Solas for good reason. His voice actor has a dark metal band. Worth the gush

[@Locaneo]

If there's one thing I learned to accept is when something like a company or franchise has gone through a full Ship of Theseus moment, complete or nearly complete replacement from top to bottom, like Dark Souls taught "Let it die, it's not the same anymore and its rotting from the inside as long as you keep it alive. Worse yet it's puppeted by people who don't care or think entirely differently from those that were before."

[@xChedder]

20:33 this was the first rpg I really played. Played every starting race, gender, class. Played all of the narratives, good, bad and stupid. There was so much to do and passion put into DAO and you could feel it. From becoming the Dark Wolf for the first time or realizing you don’t have to sacrifice at the end, it was all just an amazing time…. Basically very worried about new game

[@RDFitzwater]

I personally would love a DA game that didn’t look like I am seeing the world through a whiskey haze.

[@Zardigan]

When you talk about the combat and they mention that it would be "too much" to let you use the other characters I can't help but think about FF7 rebirth and how seamless it is to switch from character to character and use all the skills, even if you take away the menu where time slows down, you can bind a lot of skills and magic to buttons and it just works incredibly well... Sorry, but I call BS.

[@TyLe0n]

I disagree with the notion that the previous combat system was outdated, particularly in light of the massive success of BG3 and how Square Enix handled FF7 Remake and Rebirth. One could argue that the combat system in FF7R is similar in some ways to that of the first three Dragon Age games, while still allowing full control of your party with ample spells and abilities during combat. It’s understandable that BioWare might have shifted towards a more action-based approach before knowing how well BG3 and FF7R would perform, and it might be too late to course correct. However, they had a system that worked for years and was generally well-received by the community; all they needed to do was refine and address the issues present in Inquisition and Origins. Completely pivoting to an action-focused game feels like a step in the wrong direction for the series, as it seems to be an attempt to appeal to a different audience while potentially alienating the existing fanbase. While it's obviously too late to make any major changes, and we’ll see how it turns out upon release, from what I’ve seen so far, it looks like a game I’ll likely pass on and just watch a streamer play or something.

[@BearSonOfBear]

Is there even anyone left at Bioware who worked on BG1 and 2?

[@Scarecr0wn]

I feel like people forget that Veilguard is still salvaged live service game. Yeah, it seems EA gave them a lot of time to transform it to what we see now but still, it was being built as live service. That explains some things, like why the combat is much more action oriented.

[@AlexanderWinship]

I do worry about BioWare and what happens to them if The Veilguard doesn't do well. I know they're different to the BioWare from many years ago, but I don't want them to be shut down or gutted by EA. I really hope The Veilguard does well. I'm sceptical about it but I'm rooting for it.

[@soapboxgames5455]

I also have a lot of attachment to their games, those early games really help shape a lot of my tastes. That said, I think if they nail the combat and writing, critically this could do well enough for them to stick around. Sales wise? Idk Like I still think it’s pretty nuts they announced ME4 before Dragon Age was extensively shown.

[@EthanG298]

I’m optimistic about this one. I don’t think BioWare will ever be the same company there were 15 ish years ago, but from what they’ve shown veilguard looks like it will at least be decent, which is more than we can say for andromeda and Anthem

[@fl4g]

None of the people that made the classic Bioware games still work there. Only the name of the company is the same

[@fl4g]

@@EthanG298 i don't know, Anthem looked great before release

[@EthanG298]

@@fl4g In what way? I remember being impressed with the visuals but that was about it. I think most people were pretty concerned that BioWare were straying away from their roots and trying make a live service action game

[@spyrosgkoumas5339]

Honestly, as long as the story is at the level the dragon age name implies and the gameplay is at least somewhat enjoyable I will be satisfied.

[@Preston241]

Story is king.

[@pencilswordfish]

I dont like this trend of some AAA RPGS going from controlling a full party into... just controlling the main character - essentially becoming an action adventure game. FF16 has its defenders, but man I hated that you're just playing as a bland dude, and you can't even use your party, not really. Good thing FFVII Remake hasn't fallen into this. But now DA is doing the same thing, you're not controlling a party again, it's another glorified action adventure game. DA's been mediocre for years, and Bioware has been bad for years, people have lowered expectations to the point of saying "it's just like Mass Effect, which isn't a bad thing". NO. That's ME, this is supposed to be Dragon Age. That's why BG3 hit the spot, it's EXACTLY what fans asked for and they got it. And here's Bioware, again, fans asking for the franchise to return to roots of Dragon Age 1 and they're still deaf to it. It's like... a decade of the franchise and Bioware will do ANYTHING except make the game that fans have been asking for. Good luck to them, I guess.

[@blarghmcblarghson1903]

"The Old Bioware" The old Bioware in my memory was the one that made Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 (with Black Isle's help), Jade Empire, and Mass Effect. The "old" Bioware you're talking about here is the one that emerged after EA's aquisition, it's the Bioware that put so little polish into DA:O's expansion that you needed to disable the DLCs to play it, because they didn't realize the DLC's item tables overrode the expansion's item table (so DLC items were dropping instead of quest items); it's the Bioware that put out that slop DA2 to attract COD players and used some loose definitions of "non-linear" and "choices matter" to sell an incredibly linear game where choices only affected what order you fought the last two bosses in; it's the Bioware that promised all of our decisions in ME1 and ME2 would have impact, then instead gave us a RGB ending in ME3 that was _entirely based on war score_ (which you could grind up through the multiplayer mode). EA's Bioware was a powerhouse in name only, DA:I wasn't the standard, it was an aberration, Anthem and Andromeda's failures weren't surprising in the slightest, and I expect Veilguard to be forgettable at best.

[@MerrillDragonAge]

Playing Mass Effect right now and it's so boring it's taken me months.

[@Celandur]

Back at launch it was something else. Nowadays it’s kinda dated, clunky and a chore gameplay wise; it aged the worst out of all three games (gotten sliiiightly better with the updated version). Played through it couple of months ago for the umpteenth time; still outdated, still loving it. Never picked up DA:O again though for some reason..

[@oneinchpen2372]

Saying your decisions in mass effect don’t come into play in 3 is just a total lie

[@Ingel_Riday6690]

@@oneinchpen2372 That's not what he said at all. Go back and re-read his post. Bioware promised that the player's decisions in ME1 and ME2 would have a big impact on the ending of the trilogy... and then the ending of the trilogy consisted of choosing between three short, poorly made, RGB color coded choices. It was awful. Sure, your choices in ME1 and ME2 came into play during the main story missions, but the ending was the same three awful RGB choices, regardless. In the end, none of it mattered. Everything boiled down to mediocrity. People complained so loudly and in such vexation that Bioware had to make a free DLC to fix the ending. Added extra cutscenes depending on a few key choices you made, tweaked around a few of them to imply that the player character lives through it all, and so on. That's EA Bioware. The doctors should have never sold their company. "Old Bioware" for me is mid-to-late 1990s up to when they sold out to EA. Also, the team behind Dragon Age: Fail-guard aren't even EA Bioware. They're replacements of replacements wearing the hollowed-out skinsuit that EA Bioware used to masquerade in.

[@Ascend_Gohan]

You're absolutely spot on with this.

[@gottinrod]

1- Playdough characters on "realistic" environs; 2- Ugly designs with cringe personalities; 3- Designed for "modern audiences" (probably all of the 66 people that bought Dustborn...); 4- Dumbed down combat being taunted as "too hectic for your little monkey brains" if they were to add the basic feature of allowing you to control other character while yours is, in turn, set to auto pilot; 5- EA; Nah im good...My chance was given prior to the trailer, all of the time they had to cook and impress was up to that moment, that atrocity of a trailer just pulled their rug straight away.

[@claudiohenrique7684]

Dragon Age never had realistic graphics, it was always Cartoon

[@MrRagemanPL]

Baldur's Gate 3 is the closest thing to a Dragon Age sequel we'll ever get. Ironic. Also, what the hell is going on with the overwhelming amount of purple colour in Veilguard?

[@torikazuki8701]

It is... well... frankly terrifying to me that people can become SO emotionally attached to an IP that Stockholm Syndrome is the norm, rather than the exception. On top of that, that players will take their emotional attachement to the GAME and extend that to a Corporation, a business that could care less what you feel, as long as you give them money. Players keep getting used and abused and have for many years, but keep coming back for more. Truly Disturbing.

[@sharonc9618]

Disagree in part. ME:A had wayyyy less support, praise, and sales. why? the company had burned their players with bad ME3, and those that tried other things encountered more bad. DA:I is not good. it scored good. but who is replaying it? so few. Anthem, etc etc. Sure, there are some who will praise simply because name on box.. but Bioware appears to have not learned from ME:I (that over time people can forgive animations.. boring dull cookie cutter story they cant)

[@torikazuki8701]

@@sharonc9618 Thanks for the intelligent reply instead of the normal online snark. While I agree some of BioWare's 'Feelies' have been burned, it might not be as much as you suggest. Worse, I've actually seen a disturbing trend over the last few years to significantly DOWNPLAY the catastrophe of ME3. With many younger players not caring about the ending at all. Re: DA:I, I actually found myself enjoying it, believe it or not. I'd give it a 6.5-7 out of 10. It's not a BAD game, it's just not anywhere near as good as the 1st. I think for me, since I'm disabled and can do little, I don't mind the grinding, which I know was a major objection to many.

[@CaptainRx-ss3rt]

Wait until you learn about gacha game where people are so down bad for the fictional character that they’d accept anything the company throw at them

[@Ronnet]

Baldur's Gate 3 showed that tactical slow paced "clunky" gameplay still had broad appeal. Having said that, this new Bioware isnt the same team that made the original BG games or DA: Origins for that matter. So what they're doing with the combat is different from DA:I but if this is what they can make well then they should do that. If this team suddenly tried to make BG4 I think it would spectacularly backfire. For the first time in a decade it seems EA allowed them to make the game they wanted to make and I'm interested.

[@BenkaiDebussy]

That isn't true - BG3 showed that "very highly produced character/narrative-driven RPGs" still have broad appeal. If the tactical gameplay was the appeal, you'd see similar success from various other modern tactical RPGs (but instead those all stay relatively niche). BG3 probably would have been similarly successful if it was an action RPG, as long as it kept the same high level of visuals, character interaction, reactivity, etc.

[@CammyAlwaysWins]

I’m still mad they redesigned Varric… don’t even get me started over that Disney-esque trailer…

[@katydid19]

Redesigned? It’s been ten years since inquisition. Bro just got older.

[@CammyAlwaysWins]

@@katydid19 he had red hair, now he suddenly has brown hair. He should get gray, not brown