Dragon Age™: The Veilguard (Xbox Series X|S)

Game description:

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a 2024 action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fourth major game in the Dragon Age franchise, and the sequel to Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014). Set ten years after Inquisition, the game features new locations in the fictional world of Thedas for the player to explore. The story follows a player character known as Rook, who attempts to stop Solas, also known as the elven trickster god Fen'Harel, from destroying the Veil that imprisons amoral elven gods. Rook accidentally unleashes two of the gods, who wreak havoc across Thedas in an attempt to conquer the world; supported by companions and various factions, Rook sets out to stop them. Players control Rook from a third-person perspective and travel to various zones via magical portals known as Eluvians. Veilguard utilizes a "hub-and-spoke" world design unlike its predecessor's open world.

Gameplay:

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a single-player action role-playing game. In previous games, a player's role-playing choices in earlier titles were imported from save files or the web application Dragon Age Keep. Veilguard instead allows players to only select three choices they made in Inquisition. Creative director John Epler said that decisions made in the previous games largely did not impact events in Veilguard, which allowed the game's creators "to avoid contradicting" past choices individual players made. During character creation, the player is able to choose a lineage for their player character (human, dwarf, elf, or qunari), a fighting class (rogue, mage, or warrior), and a character backstory with one of six faction associations.

Game review:

Dragon Age: The Veilguard refreshes and reinvigorates a storied series that stumbled through its middle years, and leaves no doubt that it deserves its place in the RPG pantheon. The next Mass Effect is going to have a very tough act to follow, which is not something I ever imagined I'd be saying before I got swept away on this adventure. Enjoyable action combat, a fantastic cast of allies with sweeping story arcs all their own, top-notch cinematics, and moving, nuanced character writing are the wings on which this triumphant dragon soars, pulling out all the stops in a whirlwind tour of Northern Thedas and capping it with a terrific finale that’s built on memorably tough choices and consequences. If we never get another Dragon Age, at least it got to go out on a high note.