The first hour of Dragon Age: The Veilguard looks more fun than that trailer

polygon.com:

It’s tough to be a Dragon Age fan in 2024. It’s been 10 years since Dragon Age: Inquisition, and BioWare has changed a lot since then, having made a very different type of game in Anthem that had fans (and former staffers) fretting that studio had turned away from its focus on narrative-centric games. That might be why, when I saw the first hour of Dragon Age: The Veilguard in a hands-off demonstration at Summer Game Fest, the game’s creative director John Epler said the word “narrative” to me at least a dozen times, as though trying to reassure me this game would not let me down on that score. I ate it up every time, grinning and nodding like a bobblehead. Because, honestly? That’s all I really want Dragon Age: The Veilguard to be, and I don’t think I’m alone.

The first hour of the game drops your player character right in the midst a real bad situation. As we know from Inquisition, Solas has decided it’s time to destroy the Veil, a construct that he himself created long ago that separates the physical realm of Thedas from the magical, metaphysical realm called the Fade. Way back in the day, these two worlds weren’t separated, but Solas separated them because he thought it would be helpful to his fellow elves, and it kinda was, except it also caused a lot of other problems.

Unfortunately, destroying the Veil will also cause a lot of problems, like ghostly spirits and demonic entities coursing out of the Fade and attacking the innocent citizens of Thedas. That massive, sparkly battle is how the game begins, with your character (a newcomer of your own customization) getting thrown in with Dragon Age stalwarts like Varric and secondary character Harding, who has been promoted to party member status in The Veilguard.

Character customization is very extensive here; you can choose from the four races (human, elf, Qunari, or dwarf) and then choose a fighting class (rogue, mage, or warrior). You then choose from several backstories that inform what type of person you were