I've been a Dragon Age fan since the release of Origins back in 2009. What a fantastic game it is! A rare example of well-written dark fantasy. I enjoyed Dragon Age 2, despite it's flaws, with both games far superior to the very safe Inquisition which followed. Despite all of Bioware's problems over the last decade I'd hoped they'd learned lessons from Andromeda and would give us a good fourth installment of Dragon Age. Those hopes, alas, are for naught.
I spent a lot of time covering Inquisition leading up to its release in 2014 and it's surreal to see old shills re-emerge for Veilguard. Lady Insanity, now known as Ashe, has made videos promoting it with a fake British accent for reasons I can't surmise (all downvoted to hell). When I checked for others I knew then there was nothing to find--Ability Drain nuked her YT channel at some point, while gamermd83 stopped posting about video games in 2022. Jackdaw, who started fanboying on YT about DA in 2016, was best positioned to benefit from Veilguard's release, but took nearly two weeks off until the latest trailer (presumably to dodge the avalanche of criticism from his lore-attached fans). The normal AAA YTers, like MrMattyPlays, were onboard early, but he hasn't posted about it in a month. We'll get into why things have changed momentarily, but the only content creators actually profiting from Veilguard's release are the ones disappointed by what they see. The biggest is Spanish YTer Nuhre, whose rants are not only hilarious but entirely on-point about the game's many issues (and thankfully she doesn't just read articles from That Park Place, like so many others--I'm looking at you Esteldan). Nuhre is another OG fan and lore nerd, so she expresses the pain we all feel in a meaningful way.
The pattern of positive coverage has been consistent, almost as if the talking points were organized beforehand. Everything was sunshine and rainbows (as we can see from MrHulthen), despite having to fumble around after the reveal trailer backlash (which they blamed on the marketing team). Nearly all these personalities have been silent lately, so what happened? I think they saw that most Dragon Age fans were jumping ship, so there was no value in continuing to fight against that. Salvation came for them in the reveal that only three prior choices in Dragon Age mattered (for those unaware, continuity and consequence are key elements in Bioware games). All the people flown out by Bioware must have been well aware of this fact already, but it was an easy thing to pounce on as a problem once it was publicized. It is a problem, but it's being used as a get-out-of-jail-free card to avoid addressing all the other issues the game has. Some people, like Jackdaw, are far too committed to the IP to not continue being positive, but those less attached have moved on.
Neon Knight, who I used to follow for Witcher lore (stopping after he made a terrible Triss vs Yennefer video--go watch xLetalis' instead--a better video and better lore channel), was flown out by Bioware to play the game (something no content creator should agree to, but let's ignore that for now). He played the game, undoubtedly perceived it's many flaws (how could you not?), but kept his mouth shut to see which way the wind was blowing from the fans. Once the game had become a blazing inferno and no one was getting cancelled for criticizing it, he put out his review, avoiding attacking Bioware's fundamental issues to make the softest criticisms possible. Why am I calling his critique soft? Because he claims it's a good game, but not a good Dragon Age game, and the former cannot be justified (just on an aesthetic level, how can anyone compare this nightmare to God of War?). His decision to eject late is somewhat mirrored by WolfheartFPS' to eject early. WolfheartFPS put up a 'defense' video a month ago and then abandoned the topic (this video was apparently not strong enough for Bioware to send him a review code, which has made him quite bitter). Whether intentional or not, he moved on before doing damage to his channel (like MrHulthen did later, he transitioned to the safe confines of Baldur's Gate 3). Veilguard is essentially the Titanic, with content creators all trying to flee while Jackdaw goes down with the ship.
Where to begin with what's wrong with the game? The laughably cartoony characters, the horrific character creator (copy/pasted from Sims 4, cf), the limp enemy design (aesthetics and approach), the awful writing, the tone, the continuity, the gameplay, the horrendous companions, hell, even the marketing has been bad. It represents a continuance of trends seen in Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017; yes, our faces are sill tired) that go all the way back in the Dragon Age 2 DLC Redemption (2011), and in greater evidence in Inquisition (2014). No DA fan who started with Origins or Dragon Age 2 likes Veilguard (how could they?). Those who remain excited for the game are those whose first encounter was Inquisition (the least 'problematic' of the dark fantasy series) and embrace the fan fiction approach to IPs. The only positive in its release is I'm replaying the classics and they remain great.
The only answer to criticisms that come from the defenders of Veilguard is representation. This isn't couched as representation from the lore, that makes sense within the context of the games, or even being meaningful (as in, impacts the game), instead this is Cleopatra levels of representation. It's essentially a group of Karens screaming at people because if they like it, everyone else has too (anyone who doesn't is a bigot). This approach is particularly absurd in the face of Baldur's Gate 3 success, as it's filled with representation and no one cares. Even more amusing is how much representation Veilguard doesn't have, as Nuhre discusses (cf). No game can be fully inclusive--there are simply too many areas to cover and its frankly pointless to try. What actually matters is a good story that fits the setting. It also misses the point that many people want to avoid reality in a fantasy game (or any game), so why service only those who need self-inserts? Bioware never attempts to make an argument justifying the approach, or even addressing the question (the attitude is: if you don't like it, don't buy it, but if you don't buy it, you are a bigot). It's the Ghostbusters's (2016) strategy of trying to shame people into participating, which never works.
What did I want from the game? A return to form. A return to dark fantasy. Either something like Origins or Dragon Age 2 (minus the repeated environments). I wanted Bioware to learn from Larian and stop being afraid of their consumers. There are lot's of things in BG3 which you can object to, but the game doesn't lean on them, so what's good is good enough to ignore the things you don't like or find silly. As I said when talking about that game a year ago, they took Jonathan Hickman's advice: if you include politics, don't talk about it. Bioware made something they knew wasn't popular (even if they liked it internally), and choose to attack those who didn't hoping that would silence criticism. That never works and why the industry refuses to learn that lesson I'll never understand.
Written by Peter Levi
