Recent reviews by phaseit

This game was a bit of a rollercoaster for me. Having waited 10 years for another entry to Dragon Age series and constantly hearing about the development hell the game was perpetually stuck in, at some point I honestly stopped believing we would get another game at all.

Was Veilguard exactly the continuation of Inquisition I expected, worth the long wait we have to endure? Well...yes and no. I would say that what I disliked the most about Veilguard is how sanitized the game can feel at times. I do not mean that everything needs to be grim and hopeless all the time (this is, after all, supposed to be a heroic story), but the fact that many of the rougher aspects of Thedas (such as slavery, racial discrimination, some factions being morally grey and not just the generic good guys) are straight up erased. There is also very little conflict between Rook and their companions, which is something I adored in DA2. I like my companions to have a bit of an edge, to challenge me and to feel more like real people. Finally, the romances are very short and tame and could use extra content.

That being said.

Once I started a playthrough I found myself glued to the screen. The combat is fun and enaging - an improvement over Inquisition's weirdly static, almost MMO-esque system. Exploring is very enjoyable - the maps are gorgeous and just the right size so they don't feel overwhelming. In previous DA games I found myself playing on the easiest difficulties just so I could get over the slog that was combat to get to another part of the story, which was not the case here.
Certain lore reveals during the main plot were also amazing and answered some questions that were posed a long time ago back in DA Origins, the companions are, for the most part, interesting (with Neve, Davrin and Emmrich being my favorites) and while the writing is a bit of a mixed bag, there was enough dramatic moments, as well as entertaining banters to keep me engaged, especially during companion quests.

I have to say that the final act of this game is a masterpiece, probably the best out of all DA games. It really reminded me of Mass Effect 2 suicide mission, in the best way possible (I admit - it made me cry).

Overall I would recommend this game, with the caveats mentioned above, plus some minor (for me) issues, such as not nearly enough world state choices being carried over or playing an established character with not enough chances to roleplay.