I won't be surprised to see the game ending up as GOTY. It received high praise right here:
I’ve been playing Dragon Age: The Veilguard in complete secrecy (behind my backpack at the office in front of a giant window, in the kitchen). From me, you may be wondering “is this a game compatible with my experience during BG3” so I’ll tackle it from that perspective.
The answer is yes. It is to a heavy, 9 season long show what a well-made, character driven, binge-worthy Netflix series is.
It has a good sense of propulsion and forward momentum. The combat system is honestly brilliant (to me, a mix of Xenoblade & Hogwarts which is giga-brain genius). It knows when it needs a tentpole narrative moment, and it knows when to let you toy around with your class and exploit some of its stronger elements.
More important, to me, it feels like the first Dragon Age game that truly knows what it wants to be. In short, if you want some character driven romping with a strong combat system in a universe you know, love, or have heard of, it is much better than the average action game, and much less heavy than the gargantuan RPGs that may intimidate at times. In a word, it’s fun!
To me, I’m extremely happy BioWare gets to stick around - presumably - in these uncertain (because of moronic corporate greed) times. An existential game, and a fun one at that.
That is Larian Studios publishing director's post on X. The movers and shakers. He is old-school too, his gaming taste. I will possibly buy this game once it is released with all its DLC, but it is clear to me that the gaming industry wants this game to succeed.
I don't know what to say about "woke" elements. At this time, it is a trend which is going to show again, and again. I do expect all upcoming role-playing games to be woke. CDPR, ever since establishing themselves in the US is leaning strong that way. Since their acquisition, Bethesda has been increasingly moving into that direction. Generally games are becoming more political, hence becoming ever more divisive. Baldur's Gate 3 did it too, and it succeeded. These elements aren't new, but they are becoming ever more rooted in character development. I guess it has to do with inclusiveness (or what is it, DEI?)
The best advice I can give as always is to go into this with an open-mind. Unlike some other genres, I haven't seen a popular RPG IP buckle. Some did not hit their launch targets, but they made it to getting a sequel. The next Cyberpunk, even though against its maker's vision, taking inspiration all over, is being pushed to be more "inclusive" American.
Technically though, VtM: Bloodlines 2 will not be an RPG, so... eh. The Veilguardrd is seemingly something between an action game and an RPG, but which is not an ARPG.
The game I want to play next is Avowed, and will likely be woke too, but PoE was too good to ignore this title in the same universe. TES VI will go down this road too.
All what is happening now is people cashing in on "woke" opinions either by appealing to the masses or to their audiences.
I won't take a dump on the game. First I need to play it to deem its worth. I don't approve alienating some reviewers though; that is indeed a message.
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