“The Veilguard” review: excellent combat, inconsistent story: NPR

Two friends and a little griffin enjoy a quiet moment of company.

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In 2010, Canadian developer BioWare was at its best. It released Mass Effect 2 to near-unanimous acclaim. win over 100 Awards, just a year after the successful launch of an old-school RPG series in Dragon Age: Origins. The company was the name in cinematic RPG experiences, with a near-flawless collection of classics like Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic (we're not talking about Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood).

But in the years that followed, BioWare's reputation began to falter. Dragon Age 2 was rushed and underbaked. Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age: Inquisition sold well but felt a bit underwhelming – from Dragon Age lightening its dark fantasy setting to Mass Effect not giving players the meaningful choice they expected . Then this came critical disappointment from Mass Effect: Andromeda, that commercial disaster the anthem, guide DeparturesAnd redundancies. BioWare's heyday was almost over.

Now, after a nearly decade-long development cycle, BioWare is aiming for redemption with Dragon Age: The Veilguard. After beating it in 60 hours, I'm happy to report that the game is full of excellent combat, level design, progression systems, gear optimization, and charismatic companions. It is, simply put, a well-made action RPG. However, Veilguard's wildly inconsistent tone prevents it from taking a prominent position in BioWare's illustrious catalog.

Anyone hoping for a return to the series' origins will be disappointed. But if you're looking for a skillfully streamlined blockbuster, Veilguard is a delight.

Controlled detonation

Let's start with Veilguard's strongest feature – action gameplay. Mastering combat and party composition is an extremely rewarding experience from start to finish. I started the game on normal mode and died more than I'd like to admit with my rogue assassin build. After completion Shadow of the Earth TreeI thought, “I'm better than this!” – so I re-specialized until I found the right archery-focused build, stacked gear buffs after gear buffs, assigned the best companion skill combinations, and finished the game I wrecked it in hard mode.

My character's archery skills in their full glory.

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I don't say this to showcase my true gaming prowess (although I'll gladly accept the credit), but rather to show how well BioWare has developed mechanics that encourage, even demand, mastery. Veilguard is undoubtedly their strongest game when it comes to action-oriented combat – and numerous accessibility and difficulty settings allow for a more casual experience if you want to take it easy.

Likewise the level design, which is clearly inspired by 2018 God of warrepresents a wonderful improvement over the boring open zones of Inquisition. Rather than focusing on formulaic checklists, Veilguard features side quests that consistently reward exploration with useful loot and impactful plot points. I was often surprised by the depth of Veliguard's missions, especially when they involved factions or the story of Solas and Mythal (hint: do this).

Avengers gather

Compared to its predecessors, Veilguard often feels ripped out of another franchise. Some scenes are clearly reminiscent of Dragon Age, while others seem more like a Disney film. It's an M for Adults game with a surfeit of tonally contradictory E for All moments. On the one hand, there are blood mages who ritually sacrifice enslaved people, a terrible plague that decimates villages, and ancient elven gods who turn innocent people into monsters. On the other hand, there is a goofy skeleton butler accompanied by soulful music Christmas morning at Hogwarts.

All seven companions gathered at the game's home base.

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There's nothing wrong with packing moments of levity into a dark storyline – God knows The Last of Us Part 2 could have used some – but Veilguard's jarring tonal shifts betray the compelling dark lore on which Dragon Age is based. Ultimately, this does not lead to a coherent, well-realized world.

It's not as it's written terrible. The companions are generally likeable and much of the dialogue feels organic and engaging. Your home base in Fade, The Lighthouse, is packed with rewarding character development, entertaining interactions, and of course romance (not just between you and your chosen partner, but between your companions themselves!).

Relationships are the horse that drives the chariot, not the political and religious complexities of the Inquisition. In that sense, it feels more like Mass Effect than Dragon Age – and that's not always a bad thing. BioWare has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to diverse representation, and Veilguard includes a storyline centered around a character who turns out to be non-binary. You can even have your character “Rook” identify as trans.

A new age

Another crucial element of any BioWare game is player choice. In this regard, I had to take a long, hard look in the proverbial mirror several times. The lasting consequences of many decisions fit seamlessly into Veilguard's stellar finale, and the scale of the possible outcomes feels greater than any previous BioWare game (it's not as great as the ending Larian pulled off). Baldur's Gate 3but it's still pretty impressive). One choice hit me so hard in the gut that I still struggle with it for days after I finished the game.

One of the game's big bads, the corrupted elven god Ghilan'nain.

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But if, like Mass Effect 3, you're hoping that decisions from previous entries will matter, you'll be disappointed. There are only three options you can set for Veilguard's world state, and they all come from the Inquisition – they face the “Dragon Age Fortress” system that recorded your decisions across the entire series. I can understand how complex it would have been to respect every decision made in previous titles, but not rewarding fans who have been playing since Origins is a tragic missed opportunity.

It's easy to see how this wasted potential, along with the sonic inconsistencies, might have arisen from Veilguard's nearly decade of problematic production. David Gaider, lead writer and creator of Dragon Age, left BioWare in 2016. Originally designed with essential live service componentsVeilguard transitioned to a full-fledged single-player RPG in 2021, six years after development begins.

But ultimately I'm hopeful. Even though BioWare didn't quite hit the mark with Veilguard, the anticipated Mass Effect 5 could return the company to its former glory if it could harness its best innovations and follow through with consistent storytelling.

Golden Age BioWare is dead. Long live BioWare.

James Perkins Mastromarino contributed to this review.