Dragon Age games usually tend to be rather divisive, so it ultimately doesnt come as a huge shocker thatDragon Age: The Veilguardis yet another example of the series fanbase being split on something. Theres a lot to like in BioWares recently released action RPG, but at the same time, a lot that many have also been let down by. Our experience has been along those lines as well, so here, were going to go over some of the things that we liked and dislike the most inDragon Age: The Veilguard.LIKEDCOMPANIONSFew developers in the world are better at crafting companion characters than BioWare, so expectations fromThe Veilguardwere high in this area- expectations that it lives up to with some confidence. Though the game has its fair share of issues where its writing and tone are concerned (more on that later),The Veilguardscore cast of characters is hard not to fall in love with. Getting to know and developing your bond with each of the core seven companions always remains one of the games highlights, while a solid cast of secondary characters (led by none other than longtime fan favourites in Varric and Solas) helps strengthen the cast further still.Dragon Agegames have always boasted incredible characters, and thankfully,The Veilguarddoesnt buck that trend.LEVEL DESIGNWhen BioWare confirmed prior to its launch thatThe Veilguardwould be a linear, mission-based game rather than an open world, many breathed a sigh of relief not least because of the many issuesDragon Age: Inquisitionhad due to its bloated open world structure. Having now played the game, we can confidently say that that pivot was very much the right decision.The Veilguardsmain missions do leave a little something to be desired in how incredibly linear and railroaded they feel (especially in the games earlier hours), but getting to revisit areas and explore them in much more open-ended and non-linear fashion always remains enjoyable. Unlocking shortcuts, finding looping paths, and using different companion abilities to find hidden areas and rewards- none of that stuff reinvents the wheel, of course, but it does remain engaging nonetheless.LORE AND PAST CONNECTIONSDragon Agelore has never failed to impress, andThe Veikguarddoesnt disappoint in this area either. For starters, its hard not to be enamoured by simply existing in Thedas and learning more about its rich history, cultures, locations, and factions, but on top of that,The Veilguardalso resolves many pastDragon Agegames background narrative threads and lingering plot elements in satisfactory ways. Obviously, being a direct follow-up toInquisition, thats the game that it connects to most overtly, butThe Veilguardalso ties in withOriginsandDragon Age 2in some neat and rather unpredictable ways.VISUALSMileage will definitely vary in this area, becauseDragon Age: The Veilguardsnew visual style has been quite divisive among fans. There are those who dont like the games new stylized look, especially compared to the darker and more grim aesthetic of pastDragon Agegames, but though we do see where those arguments are coming from, for our money, this is a great looking game.The Veilguardboasts some of the most visually striking environmental design weve ever seen from BioWare, character designs that are full of personality, and a stunning level of attention to detail. On top of that, the game is also incredibly well optimized, running like a dream on all the platforms its available on.COMBATSimilar to its graphics,The Veilguardscombat isnt necessarily an unequivocal victory, because there are many who dont like its hack-and-slash action approach. Again, we can see where those criticisms come from (and even agree with some, as well discuss in a bit), but by and large, we likeThe Veilguards combat. It feels fun, fast, impactful, and immediate, and flitting between enemies, unleashing abilities, comboing companion attacks, and dodging and parrying incoming blows always remains enjoyable on at least a fundamental level, even if things can feel a little shallow and repetitive from time to time.DONT LIKEWRITINGThis is probably one ofDragon Age: The Veilguardsmost egregious issues. Were not going to rewrite history here and say BioWare games have always had flawless writing, because clunky dialog and exposition have been a thing in BioWare games for pretty much as long as theyve been around. But even so,The Veilguardfeels like a definite step back. By and large, the game just feels like its been heavily defanged, and though the game does keep insisting that its telling a high-stakes story, very rarely does it actually feel that way. On top of that, you also have the overly quippy dialog and banter. Again, that has always been a thing in BioWare games, but with The Velguardswriting not being up to scratch in other areas, the issues with its overly quippy dialog end up standing out that much more as well.LIGHTER TONEOne ofDragon Age: The Veilguardsmost controversial shifts has been in its tone.Dragon Ageas a franchise has always been heavily reliant on dark fantasy elements, and fromOriginsto2toInquisition, the series aesthetic has always been an incredibly gritty and mature one. The same is not true in this case, however. Sure,The Veilguarddoes still have mature dark fantasy elements, but all of that has definitely taken a backseat, with the overall tone of the experience being much lighter than in previous entries. Combined with how toothless the writing can feel so often, that definitely comes across as a major issue.DE-EMPHASIZED CHOICE AND CONSEQUENCE MECHANICSYou always,alwaysexpect a BioWare game to excel with its choice and consequence mechanics, even if this is an area where the studio has struggled in prominent ways from time to time, butThe Veilguard feels like yet another instance of BioWare missing the mark here. Take the dialog choices, for instance- not only does the game present you with dialog options much less often than you would expect from a BioWare title, when it does do that, the options that it presents end up feeling very limited. Meanwhile, in addition to not having too much control over what kind of personality you want your Rook to have, you often dont even get too much control over how the story will progress. There are, of course, times where youre making significant, large-scale decisions in the manner that you expect to in aDragon Agegame (especially in the fantastic closing couple of hours), but overall, choice and consequence mechanics are heavily de-emphasized inThe Veilguard, much to our disappointment.SHALLOW PROGRESSIONBioWare has often been criticized for streamlining its games and stripping them of their RPGness a little bit too much, andThe Veilguardalso falls foul of that in some notable ways. Take the games progression mechanics, for instance, which have turned out to be surprisingly shallow. Progressing through Rooks skill tree doesnt feel nearly as rewarding as it should, thanks to a large number of the upgrade options being rather uninspired, and the lack of actual, meaningful build diversity is only exacerbated by companion progression somehow being even more pared back than it is for Rook.CANT CONTROL PARTY MEMBERSOverall, were fans ofDragon Age: The Veilguardscombat, as weve already discussed, but not all of its major changes work out for the better. Chief among them is the games decision to make Rook be the only playable character. Controlling party members has always been an important part of Dragon Agecombat, so the complete lack of it is keenly felt inThe Veilguard. For a game that already suffers from being a bit too shallow in everything from its combat to its progression mechanics, party members being removed from the equation to this degree only ends up adding to those problems.