Dragon Age: The Veilguard: The First Preview

ign.com:

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is off to an interesting start, to say the least. Coming off the somewhat controversial decision to change the name, BioWare re-introduced the series to fans with a two-minute trailer that drew unfavorable comparisons to Fortnite and Marvel. BioWare quickly followed with a twenty-second tease that was met much more positively – yet another jolting turn in what has been a rollercoaster decade for the franchise since Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Over the weekend, I watched as BioWare finally took the wraps off Dragon Age: The Veilguard over the course of an hour-long presentation in which they showed off the character creator, a broad swath of the gameplay, and the battle system. Director Corinne Busche also took the time to answer some of my biggest questions around The Veilguard’s romantic options and exploration.

First, the graphics. Running on the latest iteration of the Frostbite Engine, at least one source told me that The Veilguard targets 60fps. In a subsequent conversation, though, an EA representative said, “Dragon Age: The Veilguard will feature performance and quality modes on consoles to ensure players can choose the visual fidelity they prefer. We’ll have more to share on exact performance as we finish development in the coming months.”

Whatever the fidelity, it’s evident that The Veilguard is heavily stylized, and whether that look lands is mostly a matter of taste. It’s worth pointing out that Dragon Age has always been a riot of art styles and I’m not so sure that the series needs to return to the blood-spattered style of the original. What matters to me is polish and a cohesive sense of identity, and in that sense The Veilguard seems like a logical evolution of Inquisition, which itself was quite stylized.

Also, The Veilguard actually has good hair this time around, which, finally.

For what it’s worth, there’s plenty of nods to longtime fans, including the return of Varric, who Busche calls the franchise’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” along