One of the things that I truly admire about Bioware as a developer is that they always try to evolve and re-invent their gameplay in each subsequent entries and whereas other developers are more or less content with only adding minor changes to their previously established moulds, Bioware goes all out to overhaul and improve all of the core mechanics' in the most fundamental of ways. And while it's indeed a gamble that does have a hit-or-miss effect in their games, I personally can't help but respect Bioware's evolutionary approach towards gameplay which aims to elevate not just the game itself but the entire genre as a whole.
And while their last entry in the Dragon Age series of games is one of the few titles that actually suffered from this attempt at re-invention, the upcoming Dragon Age Veilguard seems to get this right again in the most optimistic ways possible. Yes I'm mainly talking about the combat which is where Dragon Age: Inquisition had faltered the most and became an example of what happens when Bioware's intended gameplay evolution ends up backfiring and turns out to be a far inferior version of what they were going for. But from everything we've seen from Veilguard so far, it truly seems that Bioware has not only addressed all of Inquisition's quirks but also managed to improve the core gameplay of the series in ways that feel nothing short of groundbreaking and genre-redefining.
This time around, the combat feels far more kinetic and alive than anything we've seen from the series so far (Dragon Age 2 comes the closest) with a huge emphasis on both close quarter melee and long ranged movesets that are equally fluid and effective. It's much more visceral, satisfying and immersive than all of the past games and I can't remember another RPG whose combat is this exciting to look at. It almost seems like Bioware has taken everything that was great about the combat in Dragon Age 2 and dialed everything up to 11, and I couldn't be happier with the results.
And of course the lack of direct control over your fellow companions does take away a key element of the signature gameplay that we've come to expect and love from the Dragon Age games, but if it indeed results in a much improved experience than the past entries, I'm all for it. Mass Effect Andromeda had the same approach and still offered the most rich and fluid gameplay mechanics in the series so there's that.
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| Blending the technical prowess of Frostbite 3 and amazing Art Direction, Dragon Age Veilguard is quite the visual stunner... |
Back to the combat, it seems that Bioware has finally found the perfect blend of Action-RPG and the tactical, slower gameplay that they wanted to achieve in Inquisition but couldn't quite get right. Though this time around, it looks like they outdid themselves and Veilguard's combat seems like a proper evolution as well as a huge step forward--packing all the straight up thrills and nuances of a pure 3rd person action title without sacrificing any of the tactical depth that's a signature of all the past Dragon Age games. And while we still have to wait for the reviews but Veilguard's combat sure looks and flows better than Inquisition's by a landslide, which alone makes it totally worth playing, at least for me.
Another promising aspect about Veilguard is that it's completely leaving behind the Open World structure which had plagued Dragon Age: Inquisition in more ways than one. Bioware clearly are aware of the fact that building massive and intriguing Open Worlds isn't what they do best so their decision to opt for a smaller but more focused experience in Veilguard is completely understandable. And as long as the maps are still huge (which they evidently are besides being drop dead gorgeous) while offering plenty of explorations, it's perfectly fine with me. Also if you look back at all the greatest Bioware games such as Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins, none of them are Open Worlds so Veilguard returning to the familiar 'Mission-based' structure does seem like a return to form for Bioware.
To sum it all up, Dragon Age Veilguard certainly seems to address all the missteps of it's predecessor while making huge strides in it's core gameplay and level design. And while the 3-Companion-Party restriction and the absence of any kind of control over your companions during battles will be jarring for a Dragon Age title, but as long as the combat is fun and engaging along with a story that has all the Heart and pathos of the greatest Bioware games (or even comes close to), Veilguard is a definite win for me.
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