Finally ... what an arduous journey it has been through the "new" Bioware game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard (DA4).
A headache of "What could have beens" and "What should have beens".
As always with reviews, this is my personal opinion. I do not force this opinion on anyone else.
Why is this my first written review, you ask? Well because I've always admired DA games but now they no longer give the satisfaction that they used to and I felt the need to express this to a broader community.

I'll start with the TLDR;
If you want a classic Bioware game, don't waste your money on this one.

Now onto the more detailed analysis.
So this new Dragon Age game has, as all long time fans will have noticed, gone a different route.
Which some people might enjoy, others .. not so much.
I'll divide my analysis in the most prominent categories to keep it "short".

Glad to see they've kept the broad customization from previous game.

While not bad in and of itself, it felt like it been forced upon characters without giving them, the characters, much meaning/agency in what happens.
I imagined the story writers had to think about what can be said by who instead of the more natural feeling of who says what in a given situation/scenario.
Another aspect is that it felt more like a feel good movie than an actual realistic story. In a Bioware game I'm used to everyone having their own motives and goals accompanied by our gasps of surprise or curses when we felt betrayed.
Those concepts are sadly long forgotten in DA4.

The lack of connection to the story of DA4 made me reminisce about the choice I made for Alistair to become king in DA:Origins. The well written dialogues that expressed Alistair did not want to become king, made me feel like utter ♥♥♥♥. I felt it was the best decision story-wise but man did I hate having to make that decision.

In short: it could have been another random Joe on the street as your companion and I wouldn't have noticed the difference.
The companions lack dept, reactions and agency.
Every companion has 1 major thing going on in their lives and aside from that I didn't really notice they were there.
In dialogues with NPCs the only thing you see is if someone approves or disagrees.
No more comments or witty reactions. You could kill a cute bunny in front of their eyes and they would just blank stare at you and somewhere on your screen you would read they approved or disagreed.

Another thing is the dialogues you have with your companions.
However cringe and too politically correct I might find them, they do touch modern and controversial topics. Bioware has always been ahead of its time regarding relationships with your companions, so it shouldn't come as a surprise they incorporate subjects like gender identity and gender roles in their new games. Some topics are more below surface and others are a part of a complete companion arc.
It was nice to see they haven't strayed from that path.

At first I was skeptical about the new combat mechanics since they were leaning more to action style with reactions vs tactical decisions like in the previous games.
They didn't completely abandon the tactical overview though.
However the only thing you can decide what your companions do is 1 of 3 chosen abilities and if the companion in question would be out of range for the given target, they suddenly teleport next to the enemy.
Which is good for an action style combat but it didn't really sit right with me.
Nonetheless I have to admit the combat was fun for the first half of the game.
I spent a few hours figuring out an optimal build (I went with warrior/champion + Blight Bane as my main damage source).
Afterwards combat felt too easy and somewhat boring.

Graphic wise, some of the most astonishing scenery DA has ever gotten. I was thrilled in exploring new environments but they quickly grow dull since you will be revisiting the same areas over and over again.
So the exploration was regretfully short-lived.
Sometimes you would encounter some small puzzles .. but I wouldn't really call them puzzles since you can solve them with half a brain.

So here I am, sitting behind my desk. Mourning the loss of what Bioware used to be.
To me it felt like DA4 was their last chance at redemption after the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ that was Anthem...

I sincerely hope this review can give some clarity as to why older DA fans have an aversion towards this game.

Finally ... what an arduous journey it has been through the "new" Bioware game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard (DA4). A headache of "What could have beens" and "What should have beens". As always with reviews, this is my personal opinion. I do not force this opinion on anyone else. Why is this my first written review, you ask? Well because I've always admired DA games but now they no longer give the satisfaction that they used to and I felt the need to express this to a broader community. I'll start with the TLDR; If you want a classic Bioware game, don't waste your money on this one. Now onto the more detailed analysis. So this new Dragon Age game has, as all long time fans will have noticed, gone a different route. Which some people might enjoy, others .. not so much. I'll divide my analysis in the most prominent categories to keep it "short". [h1]Character Creation[/h1] Glad to see they've kept the broad customization from previous game. [h1]The Story[/h1] While not bad in and of itself, it felt like it been forced upon characters without giving them, the characters, much meaning/agency in what happens. I imagined the story writers had to think about what can be said by who instead of the more natural feeling of who says what in a given situation/scenario. Another aspect is that it felt more like a feel good movie than an actual realistic story. In a Bioware game I'm used to everyone having their own motives and goals accompanied by our gasps of surprise or curses when we felt betrayed. Those concepts are sadly long forgotten in DA4. The lack of connection to the story of DA4 made me reminisce about the choice I made for Alistair to become king in DA:Origins. The well written dialogues that expressed Alistair did not want to become king, made me feel like utter shit. I felt it was the best decision story-wise but man did I hate having to make that decision. [h1]Companions[/h1] In short: it could have been another random Joe on the street as your companion and I wouldn't have noticed the difference. The companions lack dept, reactions and agency. Every companion has 1 major thing going on in their lives and aside from that I didn't really notice they were there. In dialogues with NPCs the only thing you see is if someone approves or disagrees. No more comments or witty reactions. You could kill a cute bunny in front of their eyes and they would just blank stare at you and somewhere on your screen you would read they approved or disagreed. Another thing is the dialogues you have with your companions. However cringe and too politically correct I might find them, they do touch modern and controversial topics. Bioware has always been ahead of its time regarding relationships with your companions, so it shouldn't come as a surprise they incorporate subjects like gender identity and gender roles in their new games. Some topics are more below surface and others are a part of a complete companion arc. It was nice to see they haven't strayed from that path. [h1]Combat[/h1] At first I was skeptical about the new combat mechanics since they were leaning more to action style with reactions vs tactical decisions like in the previous games. They didn't completely abandon the tactical overview though. However the only thing you can decide what your companions do is 1 of 3 chosen abilities and if the companion in question would be out of range for the given target, they suddenly teleport next to the enemy. Which is good for an action style combat but it didn't really sit right with me. Nonetheless I have to admit the combat was fun for the first half of the game. I spent a few hours figuring out an optimal build (I went with warrior/champion + Blight Bane as my main damage source). Afterwards combat felt too easy and somewhat boring. [h1]Exploring[/h1] Graphic wise, some of the most astonishing scenery DA has ever gotten. I was thrilled in exploring new environments but they quickly grow dull since you will be revisiting the same areas over and over again. So the exploration was regretfully short-lived. Sometimes you would encounter some small puzzles .. but I wouldn't really call them puzzles since you can solve them with half a brain. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] So here I am, sitting behind my desk. Mourning the loss of what Bioware used to be. To me it felt like DA4 was their last chance at redemption after the shitshow that was Anthem... I sincerely hope this review can give some clarity as to why older DA fans have an aversion towards this game.