Dragon Age: The Veilguard seems to have demonstrated once again that expectations matter more than reality
The presentation film for Dragon Age: The Veilguard has produced divisive reactions, often based on distorted expectations.
Many reacted in a truly disjointed way to the presentation film of Dragon Age: The Veilguard , which turned out to be more divisive than it should have been. The main accusation is that of being too action, which is associated with others such as the extreme ease and not having looked at Baldur’s Gate 3 , which theoretically for some should have been taken as a reference model by BioWare given the success it had , convincing the developers to return to a game system more similar to that of Dragon Age: Origins.
Above all, it seems that The Veilguard is yet another victim of the distorted expectations of a certain segment of gamers who, when they see their expectations disillusioned, go crazy and scream at the rubbish, without giving any possibility of redemption to the object of their hatred.
Judgments or prejudices?
As always, the question is not that Dragon Age: The Veilguard necessarily has to be liked, because that’s not the case (naturally it will have to be played). Much more banally, drawing conclusions on the little that has been seen, having exaggerated reactions, making them become a prejudice and shooting bile at the game making any discussion on the matter unsustainable, is at least incorrect, where in any case it is not wrong to keep one’s guard up , in case you are convinced of something.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard seems to have demonstrated once again that expectations matter more than reality
Dragon Age: The Veilguard – Gameplay presentation video
Directly addressing the stone of the scandal, many of the opinions expressed on Dragon Age: The Veilguard for now leave the time they find, because the tutorial was shown, moreover with a character already made . So we don’t know what flexibility you will have during character creation and we have no idea what the gameplay will be like once the adventure gets underway. Something was said after the presentation , but everything will have to be verified. Therefore, if I can agree that it was a mistake to have proposed that phase, it is equally a mistake to think of being able to give sensible evaluations after looking at it.
Let’s take the difficulty. Is it too low? It’s the tutorial, it couldn’t be otherwise. Usually tutorials are not phases designed to challenge the player, but to give him the fundamental tools to start playing. These things shouldn’t even be specified on a site frequented by gamers, but evidently they are not so obvious to everyone, given that it is one of the most widespread criticisms of the film.
Another criticism: it’s too action-packed and not in line with the series and the studio. Whoever moves it has evidently forgotten that Dragon Age: Inquisition had already gone in the same direction, albeit in a less radical way, moving very far away from the first two chapters. Furthermore, BioWare is not a new software house to action role-playing games , considering the old Jade Empire, the Mass Effect series and Anthem. You may not like it, obviously, but this doesn’t mean we can talk about a software house that betrays itself, given that for years now it has been combining openings towards action with traditional role-playing systems.
And Baldur’s Gate 3? Sorry to be blunt, but this is the most ridiculous accusation of all. The Larian Studios title was released in 2023, by which time Dragon Age: The Veilguard was practically completed (certainly last August it was already in the finishing phase), after several years of development, with also a reboot of the same behind it, which led to wasting three years of work. What was BioWare supposed to do? Trash everything again and start over a second time to chase Larian?
For those who were wondering: no, it would not have been possible to adapt the current system to a turn-based one, unless we made a mess, considering how all the internal systems of a video game are interconnected . So, let’s say if he had thought of doing it, the timing simply wouldn’t have allowed it (they would have declared bankruptcy sooner).
But Baldur’s Gate 3 didn’t come out in 2023, as Early Access had been going on for years, I hear someone say. Sure, but the success of the game in Early Access was excellent, but not of a level that would encourage other studios to pursue it . Incidentally, it became a phenomenon after the launch of the final version in August last year, since before that it was mostly talked about in enthusiast circles.
By this I’m saying that Dragon Age: The Veilguard will be a difficult game? No. Am I saying it won’t be action? No. Am I saying it wouldn’t have been nice if it had followed the style of the first episode? No. I’m just stating that many seem not to have fully understood what they saw or, worse, to be the victim of prejudices which they wanted to see confirmed in the tutorial at all costs. Perhaps it would be appropriate to evaluate video games for what they want to be, whether good or bad, rather than what we hoped they would be.