I've been a Dragon Age fan since Origins. The franchise is maybe one of my favorites--if not my favorite of all time--because it hits the dark fantasy notes I really like but also giving me room to make a difference and be a hero in a world that's very rife with a lot of conflict and political strife. Veilguard is a game I've been waiting ten years for and I, like many fans, have probably been a bit wary that the wait would have ruined any experience we had with this game.

To be honest, the game exceeds my expectations by a landslide. The art style is beautiful and the animations are so much more fluid and detailed than the familiar awkward BioWare animations (that I love, dearly), the combat is fluid and feels like a natural progression for the series and brings us the best of Mass Effect style combat but with satisfying fantasy flavor. I've been playing a warrior and the animations are so fluid and every attack has a real weight to it. The sound design is incredible and I've already openly wept at this game several times.

Thank you, Bioware, for always bringing me the comfort of Thedas when I need it the most.

Post-Game Update: two playthroughs later the entire buffet of companion quests and act 3 consistently reduces me to a waterfall esque curtain of tears. Every companion quest tugs at my heart strings in some way, they're all fantastically written, the game's finale is quite possibly my favorite BW game finale of all time and the late-game gameplay is so satisfying and good with a lot of variety with builds between the actual classes themselves as well as the types of gear you can come across. It didn't disappoint me as a Dragon Age fan who's played a thousand hours of every preceding game and I was very satisfied with this game and look forward to all my future playthroughs when I play the series front to back.

I've been a Dragon Age fan since Origins. The franchise is maybe one of my favorites--if not my favorite of all time--because it hits the dark fantasy notes I really like but also giving me room to make a difference and be a hero in a world that's very rife with a lot of conflict and political strife. Veilguard is a game I've been waiting ten years for and I, like many fans, have probably been a bit wary that the wait would have ruined any experience we had with this game. To be honest, the game exceeds my expectations by a landslide. The art style is beautiful and the animations are so much more fluid and detailed than the familiar awkward BioWare animations (that I love, dearly), the combat is fluid and feels like a natural progression for the series and brings us the best of Mass Effect style combat but with satisfying fantasy flavor. I've been playing a warrior and the animations are so fluid and every attack has a real weight to it. The sound design is incredible and I've already openly wept at this game several times. Thank you, Bioware, for always bringing me the comfort of Thedas when I need it the most. Post-Game Update: two playthroughs later the entire buffet of companion quests and act 3 consistently reduces me to a waterfall esque curtain of tears. Every companion quest tugs at my heart strings in some way, they're all fantastically written, the game's finale is quite possibly my favorite BW game finale of all time and the late-game gameplay is so satisfying and good with a lot of variety with builds between the actual classes themselves as well as the types of gear you can come across. It didn't disappoint me as a Dragon Age fan who's played a thousand hours of every preceding game and I was very satisfied with this game and look forward to all my future playthroughs when I play the series front to back.