by Dragon Age: The Veilguard is finally here, and a lot of people are liking it. And one person who very publicly loves it is Michael Douse, publishing director of Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian, who has praised BioWare’s new RPG, calling it, among other things, “the first Dragon game Age who really knows what he wants to be.
Douse isn’t one to shy away from sharing his opinions on social media, of course, having recently taken a shot at Ubisoft after the underperformance of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, criticized scalpers for “making [people] sad,” and spoke candidly about the current culture of layoffs in the video game industry, noting, “None of these companies are at risk of going bankrupt…they’re just likely to piss off shareholders.” But after launch from Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Douse sings a rather positive tune.
“I played Dragon Age: The Veilguard in complete secrecy (behind my backpack at the office, in front of a giant window, in the kitchen),” he wrote on X. “For my part, You might be wondering, ‘Is this a game that’s compatible with my experience during BG3, so I’m going to approach it from that perspective. The answer is yes. It’s a nine-season heavy series. is a well-made, character-driven, binge-worthy Netflix series. It has a good sense of propulsion and forward momentum. The combat system is honestly. awesome (for me, a mix of Xenoblade and Hogwarts that is a gigantic genius, it knows when it needs a tentpole narrative moment, and it knows when to let you play with your class and exploit some of its elements). the strongest.”
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“Most importantly,” Douse added, “to me, this feels like the first Dragon Age game that really knows what it wants to be… If you want character-driven adventures with a powerful combat system in a universe you know, love, or have heard of it, it’s much better than the average action game, and much less cumbersome than the gargantuan RPGs that can sometimes be intimidating. In a word, it’s. amusing !”
“I will always be one [Dragon Age: Origins] dude,” Douse continued in a follow-up post, “and that’s not it. But at least it’s something it wants to be, and not a hodgepodge of everything. I respect that. I like action games, like RPGs, I like when they collide. I like shooting bad guys with mage magic. Your mileage may vary!”
It’s a positive view of The Veilguard shared by Eurogamer’s Robert Purchese, who slapped Dragon Age’s latest release with five shiny gold stars in his enthusiastic review. “What BioWare has managed to accomplish here,” he wrote, “in the face of all the pressure it has faced since the release of Dragon Age: Inquisition 10 years ago, is extraordinary. From head to toe feet, from wing to wing, The Veilguard is exquisitely realized and full of sophistication across systems and storytelling. It’s warm and welcoming, funny and hopeful, sweet when it needs to be, and of course it’s. is epic – epic in a way I think will set the bar high not only for BioWare in years to come but for role-playing games in general, it’s one of the best of them.
But back to Douse for one final observation: “I’m extremely happy that BioWare can remain – presumably – in these uncertain times (because of idiotic corporate greed),” he concluded. “[The Veilguard is] an existential game, and a fun one at that.
