“This game isn’t dark” [Spoilers]

[CreativePr0cess]

Go to the city you didn’t go to in the aftermath of the Blight Dragon. Especially Tevinter. If you know you know. I was expecting the game to be less dark than before, but pleasantly surprised that they’re willing to not hold back and remind us the universe is still ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up.

[Ignis Imperia]

Honestly that moment was good but I expected more. I chose to save Dock City instead of Treviso and while it was sad moment coming to Treviso, I hoped it would be way worse to compensate for the otherwise heavily Disney-ified story, there should be a lot more of tragic moments and they should be more impactful. Think Thessia from Mass Effect 3 levels of impactful, I was fully prepared to have to fight to save Lucanis and risk losing him entirely but no instead I get buffed version of Lucanis who just takes a short holiday.

[Doom972]

Does it keep that dark atmosphere consistently through the rest of the game?
Because I saw a lot of clips from the game suggesting otherwise.

[Jackal]

bro its literally 1 cutscene and walking sim for all of 2 minutes. then you go back to 10 hours of mobile fortnite fantasy rpg

[Drake Duckson]

Art-style and constant "comic relief" companions killing all the dark atmosphere even in those few places.
It's ok if you like it this way, you don't need to justify that to those of us who don't like how game looks/plays.

[Okat]

The problem is that there is a discrepancy between what you see (messed up body horror, executions, etc.) and the tone of the text, which is never actually sombre or introspective (the closest it gets to that is characters saying it's messed up and shouldn't happen). It is also a type of violence easily palatable to a teenage or young adult audience. Dark doesn't necessarily mean obvious physical violence: in a truly dark setting, that's just the visual cue for what is actually wrong with the world, but in this game, that's where the dialogue ends.

Having said that, I don't think that's the real problem that people have with the text. It's not that it's not "dark", it's that it is very safe and refuses to engage in any real moral nuance. The good guys are unambiguously good (even the group of contract killers, somehow), and the bad guys are entirely bad. The previous Dragon Age games were by no means adult, but they still portrayed a certain moral ambiguity to the world and characters that is absent from this entry.

To be clear, I am still having a ton of fun with Veilguard, but please let's not pretend its content is in any way difficult to digest for even a young mind.

[CreativePr0cess]

Originally posted by Jackal:

bro its literally 1 cutscene and walking sim for all of 2 minutes. then you go back to 10 hours of mobile fortnite fantasy rpg

Nope, actually! It’s a whole branching narrative that changes the entire city, from layout, to quests, to- well, everything. Can’t really know without playing it ya goob

[CreativePr0cess]

Originally posted by Helldivers™ 2:

It's like "dark" events in marvel movies. Still for 12 year olds, just doesnt work

The hangings, carte of bodies, bloody torn apart rooms are… For… 12 year olds…?

[CreativePr0cess]

Originally posted by Okat:

The problem is that there is a discrepancy between what you see (messed up body horror, executions, etc.) and the tone of the text, which is never actually sombre or introspective (the closest it gets to that is characters saying it's messed up and shouldn't happen). It is also a type of violence easily palatable to a teenage or young adult audience. Dark doesn't necessarily mean obvious physical violence: in a truly dark setting, that's just the visual cue for what is actually wrong with the world, but in this game, that's where the dialogue ends.

Having said that, I don't think that's the real problem that people have with the text. It's not that it's not "dark", it's that it is very safe and refuses to engage in any real moral nuance. The good guys are unambiguously good (even the group of contract killers, somehow), and the bad guys are entirely bad. The previous Dragon Age games were by no means adult, but they still portrayed a certain moral ambiguity to the world and characters that is absent from this entry.

To be clear, I am still having a ton of fun with Veilguard, but please let's not pretend its content is in any way difficult to digest for even a young mind.

I’m more glad that the universe itself is still dark, which is why I said it the way I did. I’ve yet to see the game engage with what that means exactly, yes. I think it goes deeper than just physical violence, and that the narratives were seeing actually are saying something. Or attempting to, depending on your outlook.

Is it that deep…? Probably not, though I’ve rarely felt Dragon Age was super deep in that regard. Sometimes even carelessly shallow (the City Elves/Dalish Elves come to mind). It varies though, and I’ve yet to sit with Veilguard long enough to see if its saying anything.

… But that’s neither here nor there. I still think Veilguard is a bit cleaner than the other games (more or less, that Minrathous scene really just sits with you imo…), I’m just glad that it’s not a whimsical fantasy adventure, and we’re reminded the universe still sucks.

[Alucard]

If it doesnt let me roleplay as evil or morallly grey, it isnt dark. Then there are the companions, who are so annoying and childish that the immersion is constantly broken. Im not even sure if you can dump them.

[Quacksalber]

Originally posted by Drake Duckson:

Art-style and constant "comic relief" companions killing all the dark atmosphere even in those few places.
It's ok if you like it this way, you don't need to justify that to those of us who don't like how game looks/plays.

This comment I do not get. The companions in the older games are far funnier.

[Free Luigi M.]

Remember that the people saying it isn't dark are always the ones who do not own or have ever played the game.

And that makes sense.

[Alucard]

Originally posted by Joe Chip:

Remember that the people saying it isn't dark are always the ones who do not own or have ever played the game.

And that makes sense.

We can watch gameplay.

[Free Luigi M.]

Originally posted by Alucard:

Originally posted by Joe Chip:

Remember that the people saying it isn't dark are always the ones who do not own or have ever played the game.

And that makes sense.

We can watch gameplay.

Case in point.

[Sakura]

Originally posted by CreativePr0cess:

Go to the city you didn’t go to in the aftermath of the Blight Dragon. Especially Tevinter. If you know you know. I was expecting the game to be less dark than before, but pleasantly surprised that they’re willing to not hold back and remind us the universe is still ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up.

Gets even gloomier once you're far enough to explore the Anderfels.