Dragon Age: The Veilguard Preview – BioWare’s Back, Baby

Thanks to EA and BioWare, I was treated to a special, extended, hands-on preview of Dragon Age: The Veilguard . I first previewed the game at Summer Game Fest 2024 in a hands-off group demonstration earlier this month, and I walked away in a frenzy, eager to get my hands on it. Well, they went above and beyond, giving media and creators nearly six hours of gameplay across various levels, with the ability to play every class and race and use every companion we know of. This was more hands-on than I usually see at a preview, and I don’t think it was enough to tide me over until Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases on October 31 ^st .

In all my time at CGMagazine, there are very few franchises I’ve put a claim on. We have Final Fantasy fanatics, indie lovers, fighting game experts and more. I, however, have always stayed true to a few select franchises that have kept me waiting since my early twenties, at least: Fable , Mass Effect and Dragon Age . The time is finally here for me to stake my claim, and I am so glad that I was patient . Dragon Age: The Veilguard is, and you can quote me, EVERYTHING I have been waiting for over the last decade.

I have found myself in a gaming fatigue, where story-based games were hard to connect with, or slipping into a good farming simulator felt like a better way to wind down at night. Dragon Age: The Veilguard has lit that fire in me back up, and I might have to take the month after the release date off work so I can revel in all that it is. Okay, that’s enough gushing, but you get my point.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard has clearly ignited a new spark within BioWare, as the ten-year development period has resulted in a stunning, expansive world that will thrill any Dragon Age fan. But let’s start at the beginning—the character creator. In our preview, we were given free reign in the creator, and many of us spent far longer than we should have, tinkering with our characters.

There are sliders for everything from jowls to shoulder width to eyebrow arches and more. The characters are very realistic and feature options like vitiligo, heterochromia, and a wide array of freckles. The eye, hair, and skin colours have presets and multiple options like undertones to customize your look. You can choose your pronouns, and there are 88 hairstyles that aren’t locked to gender, plus 42 eyelash styles, 22 face tattoos, 22 body tattoos, scars, and more. Many players will spend hours in the Dragon Age: The Veilguard character creator.

“Dragon Age: The Veilguard is, and you can quote me, EVERYTHING I have been waiting for over the last decade.”

From there, you head into your class and race, which can be Warrior, Mage, or Rogue, and Human, Elf, Dwarf or Qunari, respectively. There are also a huge number of factions with their own backstories available: Grey Wardens, Veil Jumpers, Shadow Dragons, Lords of Fortune, The Mourn Watch and Antivan Crows. I wanted to play something I normally wouldn’t, so I went with a Human Mage from the Lords of Fortune faction – their aspirational armour looked so cool!

You also have a variety of difficulty levels to choose from: Storyteller, Keeper, Adventurer, Underdog, Nightmare, and Unbound, the latter being a customizable difficulty. The final choice is your Inquisitor from past games. You can change their race, appearance, name, voice, romance, and friendships to shape the world you’re now living in.

“Dragon Age: The Veilguard has clearly lit a fire under BioWare as well, as a ten-year development period has left us with a stunning, expansive world that any Dragon Age fan will be thrilled to explore.”

We played our preview on PC, and Dragon Age has never looked better than it does in Veilguard . I was in awe of the flowing hair and cape, and the rain graphics were incredible. I hope this level of detail carries over to consoles. While the game isn’t open world, each area is connected and feels purposeful, filled with detail and personality.

I did notice a few minor issues, like walking through a companion, and it seems no game has yet mastered mouth movements. Another small issue was the movement of clothes and hair. While it looks amazing, when your character runs, it feels overly bouncy, making it seem like you’re running a marathon with hair flailing everywhere.

Combat feels fluid and fast in Dragon Age: The Veilguard , even when playing as a warrior. The only time it felt slow was when using a Mage with a staff, but once they introduced the Orb and Dagger, the ability to swap between close and ranged combat made the Mage a force to be reckoned with. The art style behind combat, as well as movements like opening a chest or picking up an item, is very “extra”—it’s the best way to describe it.

Combat is a bit different this time around because you don’t control your companions in the same way as in Inquisition . I’ll go into this in more detail in the review, but you can still tell your teammates who to attack and when to stand down. You can also use their abilities, giving you access to three of your own and three from each companion during combat. Some abilities can be used in combination, adding an extra layer of strategy to combat.

Animations are large, bright and colourful, and remind me a little of the style that Final Fantasy XVI uses. There are both special moves and finishers, too. These are both triggered by pressing the right buttons at the right time, and they enter your character into a mid-battle cut scene. I was able to test them as each class, though the special moves can vary even further, and there were never any that didn’t look completely badass.

Even the audio in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is impressive. Hearing your companions carry on their banter like you would expect in a DA game (which was as quick-witted and sassy as ever, by the way), was always clear, though it occasionally would cut if you ran ahead to quickly, etc. You can even hear your character’s heavy breathing while traversing.

“We were offered a major decision in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and please know that some of these choices are catastrophic to some and world-saving to others. Heavy is the heart that holds the dagger.”

BioWare has set Dragon Age: The Veilguard up for success by creating an incredibly in-depth game with various outcomes and storylines. Thanks to factions, classes and companions, there is ultimate replayability here, which easily turns an RPG into hundreds of hours of playtime.

Who you bring with you on a mission has a great effect on the game, and who you make choices in favour of does, too. We were offered a major decision in Dragon Age: The Veilguard , and please know that some of these choices are catastrophic to some and world-saving to others. Heavy is the heart that holds the dagger.

There are seven companions you can befriend or fall in love with: Neve, Belara, Davryn, Harding, Lucanus, Emmrich, or Davrin. Each represents a different faction, which can help, hinder or change the story as well, depending on who you take with you. Taking the right faction member could make things easier, while the wrong one could be wrong. Companion’s needs will often conflict, forcing you to choose sides, too. I’m personally eager for the chatter that Dragon Age is famous for during missions or cutscenes.

I could go on for thousands more words, but I should save some for once I get my hands on the game for the full review. Right now, there is no doubt in my mind that Dragon Age: The Veilguard will be a contender for Game of the Year this year. With outstanding design, deep, expanded lore and combat that feels fast and exciting, I am waiting impatiently to head back to the world of Dragon Age this fall.