Dragon Age: The Veilguard Doesn't Need To Be Baldur's Gate 3, It Needs To Be Golden Era BioWare

ign.com:

When BioWare announced that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf had been renamed Dragon Age: The Veilguard, general manager Gary McKay explained the decision was rooted in a wish to reflect the game’s “really deep and compelling group of companions.” It's a logical pivot considering the immense cultural effect Baldur’s Gate 3’s collection of misfit heroes triggered last year. BioWare no doubt hopes that at least one of the Veilguard will resonate at a scale akin to Asterion, Karlach, or Shadowheart.

A camp of companions is about as far as the similarities with Baldur’s Gate 3 goes though, if the recently showcased 20 minutes of gameplay is to go by. Dragon Age: The Veilguard appears to be a cinematic fantasy adventure with linear momentum, action combat, and huge set-piece moments. Little of what was shown could correlate with Baldur’s Gate 3’s expansive and reactive world. And that’s okay because Dragon Age is not Baldur’s Gate. BioWare is not Larian. And nor should they be. Rather than attempting to hit Baldur’s Gate’s lofty standards, Dragon Age: The Veilguard should instead be seeking to resurrect BioWare’s golden era. An era that produced very different RPGs to what Larian does.

Before we start, it’s worth recognising that the term ‘BioWare’s golden era’ will mean different things to different people. For some, it’ll be the Infinity Engine years – the time of deep, crunchy CRPGs like the original Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale. For what I suspect is many more people (myself included), it’s the 2007-2014 period of epic and emotional choice-driven storytelling, best demonstrated by the Mass Effect trilogy and Dragon Age. Seeded by Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’s need to offer a choice between the light and dark side of the Force, BioWare became more interested in the narrative spun by good dungeon masters rather than organic player-driven adventures. As a result, the studio found itself progressively less invested in systemic rules and dice rolls, instead putting all