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shewolfofvilnius · 4 months ago

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What is your tav’s….

(written from the perspective of post-reboot Dark Urge Tavaria, who will eventually regain and integrate both sets of memories)

Tavaria | Tiefling | F (she/her) | Ages: 24-26 (24-25 in game and Lia/Gale fic, turns 26 in farm fic) Parents: VERY complicated. (

favorite weapon?

Twin blades, a dagger and a shortsword, that she's drawn to in a mysterious chest aboard the nautiloid that have symbols of Kelemvor in the hilts. At first the enchanted blades hurt to the touch, but the dark urge was sated the first time the blades tasted blood, while after the blades were used to stop Orin, she rededicated them to Kelemvor. Both deal a combination of slashing and radiant damage.

style of combat?

Up close and personal as a hack-and-slash melee fighter until late in the game's events. Begins to incorporate low-level druid and bard spells and cantrips by the Netherbrain fight, and has significantly progressed her druidic talents by the events of the Gale x Lia fic and increasingly sheathes her blades..

most prized possession?

The day after Tavaria slays Orin and returns from the dead after Bhaal's murder of her, Rolan permanently gifts Tavaria his mother's cherished necklace with pendant, the same heirloom Tav had helped Lia recover from bullies in both 'good' versions of that childhood event that had led to their first kiss. It's the one moment that unifies both the Tav she was and the Tavaria she is.

deepest desire?

One, she wants to get the fuck out of Baldur's Gate for good. She knows that in this timeline she was the monster that nearly doomed the city to begin with, and in the non-Durge version of events had been one of it's most prolific thieves. She wants to get back to farming, wants to add life to the world rather than take it, and help feed and support that life already here.

She also really, REALLY wants kids with Rolan. Adoptive AND biological. One of her last thoughts before she took Raphael and the Gods' deal to resurrect the Elturians was her heavy with Rolan's child. Which, THAT is going to pose a major dilemma since she's stuck in the timeline where she is, biologically, a direct-line Bhaalspawn. Then again she also refuses to take parenting advice from Jaheira so.

guilty pleasure?

Smutty literature. Even in the throes of Bhaal's dark urge, Tavaria at her core is a sap and a sucker for a good love story. It's why when she proves resistant, that damnable butler tries to get her to kill her love. Of course, if the butler (or Bhaal) had read any of those stories she had been reading or paid attention to a single word they'd said, they'd have known how catastrophically stupid an idea that was.

best-kept secret?

Tavaria manages to keep her identity as a Bhaalspawn - and as the original architect of the Absolute plan in this world not quite her own - secret from Rolan until after she had helped depose Lorroakan and then freed herself from the Urge. She managed to keep it secret from Lia and Cal until Shar began to try to manipulate and twist and groom Lia into her new Chosen, but she holds back on telling either she was responsible for the Absolute, although Lae'zel eventually tells Cal in privacy, while Gale finally convinces Lia that she needs to know who this Tav truly is.

greatest strength?

She manages to hold on to her love for not just Rolan but all of the Elturian tiefling refugees through two reality shifts - with it even managing to leak through into what Orin did to Durge!Tavaria's brain. That love, that desire to protect them, even when she's protecting them from her, is so strong it destroys Bhaal's hold over this new her. It is soul-level, and it is resolute and indomitable, even against the gods themselves.

fatal flaw?

Her desire to protect them leads to her keeping far, far too many secrets even after she recovers the massive gaps in her memories. Lia learns her brother's future wife and childhood best friend is a bhaalspawn months after Tav and Rolan are engaged. Her desire to protect them also brings forth the Urge's second most brutal kill after that dragonborn bard named Quil - that of Lorroakan. In any other world, Dame Aylin's backbreaker would have been vengeful enough. But Tav was surgical, methodical. She kept him just alive enough to feel the pain of her blades slicing him to pieces. Tavaria went to the darkest and bloodiest place in her soul where Lorroakan was concerned, because it was the only time the Dark Urge and her urge to protect the tieflings (esp Rolan) were in total alignment.

favorite smell

The mix of a slightly earthy fragrance mixed with old tomes and scrolls, with just a hint of something more powerful, more primal. Rolan.

favorite spell or cantrip?

The one spell she held onto from her original life was Speak with Dead, and it was both incredibly practical and also very heartfelt to be able to offer a mote of closure to that body's life as it shared it's last thoughts. Post-Netherbrain she starts to develop an affinity for various druidic spells, and discovers the utter delight of permanently learning Speak with Animals - until then she had had to rely on potions, which weren't always practical.

pet peeve?

When someone says they 'can't' do something (usually an artistic talent or a skill that requires practice and repetition). It's not that they're incapable, it's that they haven't learned, haven't tried, haven't tried again, that they believe they can't. Occasionally, rarely, there's a limitation or exception, but when someone says to her they can't grow a plant or play an instrument or whatever it might be - that what they really need is someone to believe in them, and to teach them how. The wanna-be but easily discouraged 'farmers' of Reithwin bring this out a LOT early on.

bad habit?

Thinking a comforting lie or omission is better for those who she cares about - or who care about her - than the truth.

hidden talent?

Post-resurrection Tavaria has retained Durge!Tavaria's knack for indexing, cataloging, and recording data about whatever her object of study, experimentation, or curiosity is. She turns it, however, to more beneficial aims. She manages to improve upon even Rolan's attempts to reindex the tomes and scrolls of Sorcerous Sundries, and after their move to Reithwin she begins actively tracking data on what crops do and don't work on that land, what areas of the region have better luck with different things, how different animals respond to different feeds, and dozens of other data points. She ultimately suggests trying to selectively breed various crops - and animals - for specific traits.

leisure activity?

Besides reading (smutty literature) for fun, she turns her former musical inclinations as a bard as a child into her de-stressing, no-adventure-needed, never-work leisure fun time thing. Rolan considers it the one form of magic he had always struggled to learn.

favorite drink?

Coffee. No creams, light sugar. Future farmer Tav is also working on ways to improve fruit crop yields enough to work on non-alcoholic fruit juices (as Rolan cannot and should not drink) as she's found herself a massive fan of creating non-fermented and sweetened fruit juices from other fruits but it takes a lot of them to produce enough juice. She's especially fond of sweetened (and non-fermented) grape juice.

comfort food?

Sunmelon. She also likes to keep around a small number of salted emergency sausages as snacks - a tiefling usually cannot live on sunmelon alone. She's found the juice of this fruit also quite good, albeit it's a bit more watery than grapes.

favorite person(s)?

Rolan is the love of her life, and Lia is her best friend, and both of these statements have held true since Tavaria was thirteen, and were powerful enough to survive the meddling of gods and devils alike. Naturally, of the three, Cal is secretly her favorite.

favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic)?

Wrapping her hands around her love's dominant hand, lifting it up, and kissing the back of it.

fondest childhood memory?

The entire sequence of events from helping Lia fight off / distract the bullies who had stolen Rolan's stuff and tormented him all the way through to Rolan kissing her (her first) that night, when she was 13.

free-response! Is there anything else about your Tav you'd like to share?

She knew that the Mind Flayer eventually known as the Emperor was deceiving her from the start, as it had drawn on the only remaining fragment of a memory she still had aboard the nautiloid - a shadowed and incomplete map of Rolan's features. Once she met the genuine article again, the purplish tiefling with the blue eyes and just-off-model voice could never, ever win her over. .

what was that timeline / complicated family stuff?

She was born into a non-durge timeline with perfectly normal tiefling parents. Ao 'patched' the universe however and irrevocably broke that world. Raphael was able to save Tavaria's "kind" timeline memories and personality due to her entanglement in several of his contracts, and thrust her into the reborn world, where she had become the instrument of Bhaal and had embraced the urge, killing everyone she'd ever cared about.

Raphael, on behalf of the other gods, then offered to reset the world back to something close to normal but with Tavaria still possessing the Dark Urge in that life. It would be up to her to save the Elturians and the rest, but at least they would have the chance to live. That opens up some genuine mess regarding Tav's parents and who is adoptive and in which timeline, as SHE ultimately gains her full memories thanks to Withers - but everyone else lives in a timeline where Bhaal is her father, he sampled some of Sofija's genetic material to create a baby with his essence, that child was left with Sofija and Mikolaus (bio parents in OG timeline, adoptive father and technically bio-mom in new TL). When they and her brother August die in both versions, Tav is taken in by the same farmers - who Tav either leaves behind (OG) or slaughters (Durge). In the OG timeline the farmers are killed on the day of the mind flayer kidnappings instead.

that was a lot. why do all that?

Two reasons. One, I realized I think I prefer Custom Durge x Rolan over Tav x Rolan, and this was the fastest way there with a character who had already had nearly 20 chapters of one fic with OG!Tav written as main and nearly 30 more with her written as a secondary. Hence why I put in the reset at the now-end fo the first fic, and why I rewrote the Gale/Lia fic around Durge!Tav. and Two, because I had the old version of my Tavaria save get corrupted at almost the exact moment in my fics where the universe reboot arc starts thanks to Larian's Patch 7 and my mod menagerie, and I decided to be obnoxiously meta about it. Also I like that it means we the reader know things about her that she herself doesn't, at least for a while.

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saltminerising · 1 year ago

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I had a dream that flight rising got shut down because undel wanted to reboot it as a hack n' slash dungeon crawler

🌱

#i should make a dreams tag

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videogamerzero1 · 21 days ago

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Well I've done it, I beaten Shadow Warrior (2013) & I gotta say, I really liked it! I do enjoy the new character of Lo Wang & love his dynamic with Hoji, in fact I do like most of the writing & jokes even if it can be a bit MCU-ish plus I love this game's mechanics! It is almost being a character action game kinda like what Doom 2016 & Eternal were like which is cash! The problem I do have...is that I think there were times were the game wasn't play tested specifically one enemy that wasn't supposed to be an enemy & more like a recurring Mini Boss but much like the Ninja Gaiden Hack n Slash Reboot, I'm curious to see what the sequels are like as I look forward to the rest of this rebooted series!

#shadow warrior #shadow warrior 2013 #ninja gaiden #doom #doom 2016 #doom eternal

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knightleon64 · 2 months ago

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The Last Metroidvania Castlevania – Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate Review

1. Introduction

Game Title: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate

Release Date: Mar 28, 2014 (PC)

Game Genre: Metroidvania, 2D Platformer, Action-Adventure

Game Length: 8-12 hours

Overview:

The Castlevania series is a key origin for the Metroidvania gameplay style. However, the series reboot, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, abandoned this classic formula and become a linear, old God of War-like 3D Action-Adventure approach. In contrast, Mirror of Fate, a spin-off from Lords of Shadow, stands as Konami's last Castlevania title to embrace the Metroidvania style. Unlike classic Castlevania entries such as Symphony of the Night and Harmony of Dissonance, which incorporated RPG elements, Mirror of Fate retains only the core Metroidvania aspects: open exploration of side-scrolling maps and the mechanism of acquiring key items to access specific areas and uncover hidden treasures.

2. Gameplay Mechanics

Multi-Character Linear 2D Metroidvania Map Exploration:

Players will explore various areas within Vampire Castle, much like in classic 2D Metroidvania Castlevania games, solving puzzles, navigating traps, obtaining crucial items, reaching hidden zones, and battling dark creatures and bosses. However, the map exploration experience in this title is fairly linear. Players will progress through environments in a set order, lacking the freedom to choose which area to explore first.

Unlike typical Metroidvania games that focus on controlling a single character across one map, Mirror of Fate features three Acts with three unique characters and three unique maps. Each Act plays a different character, each act with unique areas and enemies. Even when revisiting the same locations, the level layouts and traps vary significantly depending on the character being played, providing a constant sense of novelty. Regrettably, the environments in all three Acts are quite small, resulting in a shorter playtime compared to other Metroidvania titles.

2D Platformer Hack and Slash:

The combat in Mirror of Fate mirrors is similar to its predecessor, Lords of Shadow. Players wield the "Combat Cross," a metal whip, as their primary weapon, along with two ranged sub-weapons and two different skills for each character. Various moves are executed by pressing the X and Y buttons in specific combinations.

The combat experience has been improved from Lords of Shadow. Mirror of Fate inherits most of the previous game's moves while simplifying the execution of many, making them more practical in actual combat rather than being difficult to trigger. Enemy hit reactions and stun states are noticeably better than in the previous installment, contributing to a relatively polished combat experience within the 2D Metroidvania genre.

Compared to Lords of Shadow, the frequency of Quick Time Events (QTEs) has been reduced considerably, though the time windows for QTE inputs remain quite short.

The combat in Mirror of Fate has three main drawbacks: 1. Boss numbers are limited, and their attack patterns lack variety. 2. Although each Act features a different character, they share the same weapon and move set, which can feel repetitive. 3. While each Act's characters have unique skills, they are fundamentally similar: the LB button is used for skills that restore health or provide damage immunity, and the RB button triggers skills that increase damage output or add new attack methods.

2D Platformer Jumping and Climbing:

The game features numerous cliffs, platforms, and caverns that players must navigate through jumping and climbing. Many areas include traps, such as fireball launchers or spikes, requiring players to dodge these hazards while timing their jumps carefully.

Compared to Lords of Shadow, Mirror of Fate has fewer punishing timed-trap mechanics, like rising lava. As a result, the difficulty of platforming and climbing is reduced.

3. Growth Elements and Collectibles

Move Unlocking and Skill Acquisition:

Players earn experience points (XP) by defeating enemies, and leveling up occurs when a certain amount of XP is gained. However, leveling up does not increase a character's attack power or maximum health; instead, each level unlocks a new move. All three Acts' characters share the same pool of XP and levels, eliminating the need to re-level when switching to a new character.

Throughout the main story, the protagonists of each of the three Acts acquire their own unique skills. For example, Simon, the protagonist of Act 1, can summon two spectral allies: a female spirit that grants temporary damage immunity and a male spirit that attacks enemies from a distance. Alucard, the protagonist of Act 2, can transform into mist to teleport behind enemies or assume a beast form to boost his base attack damage. Trevor, who stars in Act 3, inherits the Light and Dark Magic from Lords of Shadow. Light Magic allows him to recover health with each successful attack, while Dark Magic enhances his base attack power.

Collectibles and Hidden Content:

There are five types of collectibles scattered throughout each game environment: items that increase maximum health, magic capacity, and ammunition; scrolls that provide backstory; and bestiary entries that detail enemy information. Most of these collectibles are located in easily overlooked hidden areas or zones that require specific key items to access.

4. Unique Flavor

While Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate lacks the RPG elements of classic Metroidvania Castlevania titles, it retains the core map exploration of the Metroidvania genre, along with the Castlevania series' typical dark gothic art style and battles against classic Castlevania monsters like werewolves, skeletons, and vampires.

With no new 2D Metroidvania Castlevania game released in 17 years, Mirror of Fate is the most recent entry in this style. Although Steam boasts a large library of Metroidvania games, only titles from the Castlevania series itself or Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (created by Koji Igarashi) truly capture the classic Castlevania feel.

5. Story and World-Building

Story Summary:

Mirror of Fate bridges the gap between Lords of Shadow and Lords of Shadow 2. Set decades after Gabriel's transformation into Dracula at the end of Lords of Shadow 1, the story follows Simon, guided by fate, as he ventures to Dracula's castle to confront the vampire lord. Simon is aided by Dracula's son, Alucard, and together, they defeat Dracula. The game also chronicles the origin of the iconic character Alucard from Trevor's perspective.

Characters and Depth:

Lords of Shadow reimagined Dracula's origins, portraying Gabriel as a human who challenged the Lords of Shadow to resurrect his wife. In contrast, Mirror of Fate radically reinterprets the backstories of three classic Castlevania protagonists: Simon, Alucard, and Trevor. Simon, traditionally a descendant of a vampire-hunting lineage, is now Gabriel's grandson. Alucard, known in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as the half-human, half-vampire son of Dracula, is now Trevor, the human son of Gabriel (while he was still human) and his wife, Marie. After Trevor is killed challenging Dracula, Dracula transforms him into the vampire Alucard using his own blood.

The game features minimal cutscenes and dialogue, leaving the characters of Simon, Alucard, and Trevor relatively undeveloped. The floating mask that guides the player throughout the game remains unidentified until the bestiary is unlocked upon completing all three Acts, revealing it to be Fate itself.

World-Building:

As a connecting piece between Lords of Shadow and Lords of Shadow 2, Mirror of Fate includes numerous details that align with the lore established in those games. For instance, players visit the Games Room where Gabriel and Laura played chess in Lords of Shadow , and the hidden underground passage from that room is also present.

One of the bosses, the Necromancer, serves Zobek rather than Dracula, consistent with the plot of Lords of Shadow and foreshadowing Zobek's return in Lords of Shadow 2.

In Act 3, Trevor acquires the Light and Dark Magic previously wielded by Gabriel, and during Trevor's confrontation with Dracula, Dracula uses the Void Sword and Chaos Claws, his signature weapons from Lords of Shadow 2.

Additionally, key plot elements from Lords of Shadow 2, such as the "Mirror of Fate" and the "Toy Maker," make early appearances in this game. The overall aesthetic of the environments also matches the Vampire Castle setting seen in Lords of Shadow and Lords of Shadow 2.

6. Visual Experience

Art Style:

Mirror of Fate employs the same dark gothic art style as Lords of Shadow, presented in a 2.5D side-scrolling format.

However, the character designs shift from the realistic style of Lords of Shadow to a 2.5D animated, cartoonish aesthetic. This cartoon style leaves a lasting impression.

Design Consistency:

The new environments and enemy designs in Mirror of Fate are consistent with those found in classic 2D Castlevania titles. Iconic locations like the Clock Tower, Unholy Church, and library reappear in this game.

Furthermore, the environments, enemy designs, and main weapons from Lords of Shadow are largely unchanged in Mirror of Fate.

Detail and Impact:

Originally a 3DS title, Mirror of Fate suffers from relatively simple and rough models for environments, characters, and enemies due to the handheld's technical limitations. This results in a lack of the stunning environmental detail seen in Lords of Shadow, which is regrettable, as this is Konami's final 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania Castlevania game.

7. Controls and UI

Control Convenience:

Mirror of Fate significantly reduces the frequent QTEs of its predecessor, and the button inputs for executing moves have been simplified. Players can execute various moves more easily, resulting in a much-improved combat and platforming experience compared to Lords of Shadow.

UI Interface:

Compared to the elaborate medieval manuscript-style UI of Lords of Shadow, the UI elements in Mirror of Fate, while straightforward and functional, lack a certain refinement.

8. Difficulty and Challenge

Difficulty Settings:

The game's difficulty can be broken down into three areas:

Regular Combat: Unlike Lords of Shadow, where players could grab and execute regular enemies, Mirror of Fate requires enemies' health to be reduced to a certain point before a finishing move can be performed. However, these executions no longer involve QTEs, eliminating the possibility of failure due to missed inputs.

Ranged sub-weapons deal considerably more damage in Mirror of Fate than in Lords of Shadow, allowing players to dispatch many troublesome enemies with ease.

Similar to the Light and Dark Magic system in Lords of Shadow, the three protagonists in Mirror of Fate can expend magic (Mana)to activate skills that restore health or increase damage output. In particular, Simon, the first protagonist, can use Mana to gain temporary invincibility, which greatly reduces the challenge of combat.

Boss Fights: Compared to the boss fights in Lords of Shadow, those in Mirror of Fate feature far fewer QTEs, and bosses have fewer attack patterns. As a result, boss battles are generally less challenging. By learning a boss's attack patterns, players can often defeat them without taking damage.

2D Platforming: The platforming in Mirror of Fate is less demanding than in Lords of Shadow. While some areas with fire-breathing traps pose a challenge, a notable difficulty spike occurs in a section with a giant rolling ball that chases the player, requiring precise and rapid jumps. However, this type of sequence appears only once. Overall, the platforming in this game is largely unchallenging.

Challenge:

The greatest challenge in Mirror of Fate lies in achieving 100% completion of all hidden areas. Unlocking the final story sequence requires players to collect every hidden item in all three Acts. However, the solutions to many of these hidden area puzzles are quite challenging, and I, myself, did not manage to achieve full completion.

9. Summary and Score

Overall Assessment:

Mirror of Fate is a representative Metroidvania Castlevania title. However, compared to the classic 2D Metroidvania Castlevania games on the GBA and NDS, it features smaller maps, less room for exploration, and a lack of RPG elements. Compared to other Metroidvania games on the market, Mirror of Fate offers relatively polished combat and satisfying hit feedback. If you are a dedicated fan of 2D Metroidvania Castlevania games and enjoy exploring dark gothic environments, Mirror of Fate is an acceptable substitute.

Pros:

Classic Castlevania locations and enemies return.

Relatively polished combat and satisfying hit feedback for a Metroidvania title.

A large variety of unique level designs and enemies.

Cons:

Small map size with limited exploration.

Lacks the iconic RPG mechanics of the 2D Metroidvania Castlevania series.

Simplistic graphics.

Repetitive and unchallenging boss attack patterns.

Target Audience:

Fans of 2D Metroidvania Castlevania games and Metroidvania enthusiasts.

Score:

Gameplay: 6/10

Story: 6/10

Art: 7/10

Controls: 7/10

Overall: 6/10

#game review #video games #castlevania #metroidvania #lord of shadows #mirror of fate

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dolceaspidenera · 1 year ago

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I'd like to share some of my thoughts and feelings (I have many) on the new gameplay trailer reveal as an old-time fan of Dragon Age for whoever is interested in sharing their opinions with me.

Overall I'm curious and hyped about all things regarding the plot and the characters and from what I've heard from various interviews this part of the game seems very curated, so I'm really hopeful. However, there are still things I personally don't like and some I'm a bit worried about.

Something I wanted to remark is that I believe it's important to let people enjoy the game and have fun if they are excited about it, as well as to be respectful of the opinion of people who don't like it because they have every right to and should be free to express their opinions.

I loved Dragon Age since Origins and I had to go through a grieving process to accept that we are not getting back the old RPG system and the same dark fantasy vibe it used to have. With this in mind, I was able to approach the new game with a different perspective and expectations and I get why newer fans, who jumped on the Dragon Age boat with Inquisition or are getting a first look at the game for the first time, are excited about it. I also empathize a lot with people who have been here since the beginning and have seen the game completely change and transform over the years... Boy, I get it, it's rough.

More in-depth thoughts about the trailer itself under the cut

First thing first, let's address the elephant in the room: all the layoffs and the incredibly shitty behavior EA reserved toward its ex-employees don't make me particularly inclined to give them money. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here, this game is still the product of years of work and effort from a lot of people, but it is also important not to forget that EA is a very shitty company.

I don't like the hack-and-slash type of combat but I was expecting it and made peace with it. I'm here mostly for the characters and the story anyway. Overall the combat system doesn't look groundbreaking but it seems good, I think people who enjoy this type of game will like it. I wish they had shown more of it from other classes and maybe more advanced levels.

I'm personally not enthusiastic about the stylization of the characters but it is what it is. I can look past it. Also not sure about the demons with neon lights, weird choice.

I'm a bit concerned about the wonky writing. How is it possible that a random guy disrupts a 10-year plan just by throwing down a pillar? Feels rushed and lame. I hope the writing will be more solid going forward.

Solas. I love him. Nothing to say here.

Loved the confrontation between Varric and Solas, very emotional, a lot of feelings there, and very in character for both of them. Wish we could have seen the inquisitor there too.

I'm a bit concerned that the confrontation happened so soon in the story though, I would have liked more build-up. I'm very worried they will turn Solas into a secondary/unimportant character, which would be such a huge disservice to him.

Very excited about the Evanuris and having to fight them! Also looking forward to uncovering more elven lore and maybe the origins of the blight.

I still think that having Solas partially succeed with his ritual would be so cool. It would allow for a soft reboot of the world and a mesh between the physical and spiritual world, a bit like in The Legend of Korra. Not keeping my hopes high for this though, I doubt this is the direction they are going for.

All in all, I'm just happy we'll be returning to Thedas 😊 (and relieved that awful trailer really has nothing to do with the gameplay)

#dragon age #da4 #da4 spoilers #dav #dragon age veilguard

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legiongamerrd · 4 months ago

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#Gamefemerides

Hace 11 años es lanzado Strider (conocido en Japón como Strider Hiryu, ストライダー飛竜, Sutoraidā Hiryū). Es un juego de plataformas-aventura y hack n slash desarrollado por Double Helix Games y Capcom Osaka, publicado por Capcom. Fue lanzado para Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 y Xbox One. Es un reboot del juego Strider de 1989.

El jugador controla al personaje principal de la serie, Strider Hiryu. El ambiente es libre de explorar para buscar armas y objetos. El arma principal de Strider Hiryu es su Cypher, un arma de plasma que puede tomar varias propiedades. Las mejoras de Cypher pueden obtenerse al explorar Kazakh.

#LegionGamerRD #ElGamingnosune #Gaming #RetroGaming #RetroGamer #CulturaGaming #CulturaGamer #GamingHistory #HistoriaGaming #GamerDominicano #GamingPodcast #Podcast #DoubleHelixGames #CapcomOsaka #Capcom #Strider #StriderHiryu #Strider2014 #ストライダー飛竜 #PlayStation #PS3 #PS4 #Xbox #Xbox360 #XboxOne #Microsoft #Windows #Hacknslash #Plataforma

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wardencommanderbrosca · 6 months ago

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a Review

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a good, ambitious, and fun game. With the weight of the series, and perhaps BioWare as a studio, resting on the success of this game, this game had much to do. It pulled through. Dragon Age: The Veilguard, to be called The Veilguard or DATV as well going forward, delivers a complex, satisfying narrative game that combines several aspects from previous Dragon Age games, as well as other BioWare titles, to craft a beautiful experience that makes me want to play over and over again. The game has several stumbling blocks, yet none that would stop me from wanting to play the game again. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a gorgeous and complex game with rewarding combat, exciting skill trees, difficult choices, and a dash of nonsensical writing mixed with very moving companion stories and epic battles. In short, it’s absolutely a Dragon Age game.

SPOILERS FOR Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and the Mass Effect trilogy.

Before The Veilguard, Both In Thedas and in the Real World.

People were not excited for this game until they changed the name, and now it is no longer Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, Trespasser’s sequel, but Dragon Age: The Veilguard, a soft reboot of the franchise. Dragon Age: Inquisition was Game of the Year, yet in many ways it is very much a product of its time. It came about when open world games were spreading their wings over the field of AAA games, and BioWare was insisting on using the Frostbite game engine. It also marked a change from the more tragic tone of Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2, as well as the more classic RPG elements of those games. This is where Dragon Age became more of an action RPG, more similar to a game such as Mass Effect 3 than Dragon Age: Origins. It was a good game, yet many parts of it feel like a frustrating slog. While a good game, it was unfocused, and the bones of what it could have been trespassed on my thoughts. Indeed, the DLC Trespasser seems to bear most of the items that are carried over into Veilguard. The DLC establishes Solas will be our next villain.  For years, silence. We were told the game would be called Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Maybe a teaser where, once again, we were told Solas was the enemy. No progress or growth. BioWare laid off a massive number of long-time employees and writers, and there was no news. Then the first trailer hit. 

The shots introducing each member of the Veilguard corresponded with the change of name from Dreadwolf to Veilguard, and it knocked people’s socks off. After years with little to no news, people stewing on Inquisition’s missed opportunities, and picking apart tertiary material in books and comics to find anything, we finally had a game. It was vibrant, it was colorful, it was action-packed. Many people decried the game for changing tone from the “dark fantasy” of the series. For those people, Dragon Age hasn’t been dark fantasy since early 2011, and also Origins had several silly moments as well. Dragon Age is now epic fantasy, and has been for some time.  As we learned more, the devs of the game told us players showed us things that thrilled us. A robust character creator, several branching and customizable builds and items, the ability to be nonbinary and have it come up in-game, different body types, tattoos, skin tones, and scarring. We saw flashy combat and combinations of abilities, a more hack-and-slash style than previous games. It looked like a refinement of the previous game’s work while still keeping the feel of cooperation and combat from other games.

In terms of other games, the biggest bombshell was that there would be no world state import or use of the Keep, the record keeping system for decisions made in Origins, DA2, and Inquisition. This, understandably, upset people. I was one of them. However, my hubbywife Kellan of @veilkeeper fame revealed its wisdom to me: we were in the Northern part of Thedas, a decade removed from the events of Inquisition. While it is nice to see codex entries or ambient dialogue detailing events of the world, that stuff would, logically, have little to no impact in the day-to-day life of the average citizen of Thedas. It was a bitter pill, but I swallowed. However, there are still some decisions that were sorely missed.There are only three questions that are asked about your world state for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Who did the Inquisitor romance? What happened to the Inquisition? Did the Inquisitor vow to stop or redeem Solas? This makes sense for our sequel to Dragon Age: Inquisition: Trespasser (DLC); those decisions mostly originate from there. However, it overlooks a few important things that come up in the game, such as who drank from the Well of Sorrows. Given Morrigan appears in the game and Mythal’s essence coats the story like a thick fog, it seems odd to exclude this decision, as well as other decisions from earlier games that would shape Morrigan’s story and character.

Southern Thedas, or Lack Thereof

Southern Thedas is gone. This is not hyperbole. The Inquisitor and their impact in Southern Thedas, presented in a cameo that can only be described as, “This meeting could have been an email,” can be boiled down to a few letters detailing how Ferelden, Orlais, and Orzammar have fallen. As the Veilguard plays through the North of Thedas, we learn the south falls through epistolary, Denerim destroyed and communication lost with Orzammar. Kirkwall is evacuated. Skyhold is mentioned only as a place about to be overrun. Morrigan brings us the Inquisitor and regales us with tales of her mother Flemeth as a host for Mythal, yet where is her son? Where is the person that motivated her to never be what Flemish was to her? Where is Kieran, the son my warden had with Morrigan to avert his own death and end the Blight? That decision is gone, wiped away as Denerim is torn from the map and Morrigan’s child is erased. The sacrifices and stories of the previous protagonists and companions are treated as a footnote, letters only differentiated from other missives by the Inquisition’s heraldry staring at you. I do not expect everything to be relevant or remembered, yet there is a certain apathy or lack of respect in the devs’ decision to wipe away our decisions and choices that influence characters that have prominent supporting roles in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

First Impressions, or “Holy shit. This is a Dragon Age game.”

Veilguard feels like a refinement of what Inquisition was trying to do. The combat is reminiscent of Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Inquisition together, combining skills with the attacks of allies and learning to block or dodge various attacks. The combat mechanics are fed to the player at a satisfying pace, and the scale of the danger is immediately apparent as clawed, feral creatures on fire break from the weakened Veil to assault our world of feeling. It feels immediately like an epic fantasy of hard choices and mysterious, powerful threats. It felt like a Dragon Age game.

Act 1, or “Can I Please Have My Companions?”

You might have started the apocalypse. Now, you need to fix it. Exploring Arlathan Forest, Minrathous, Treviso, and the Fade as you explore the world while on your main quests is a far cry from Inquisition. Inquisiton’s exploration felt sort of pointless, less exploration and clever seeking and more errands or busy work that is the hallmark of AAA open world games. Running around these locations made me marvel at the complexity, feeling wonderful to walk through without feeling repetitive. Very importantly, I wanted to come back. I wanted to spend time there. I wanted to climb every trellis and freeze every lock. I wanted to tinker with devices and move stones, I wanted to leap on roofs and build up the rank of the shops. Veilguard makes you love the cities you explore, which makes the climax of Act 1 even more brutal. 

I was more than 15 hours into the game by the time I got to the end of Act 1 with Davrin recruited. I had no time to enjoy the hunk of an elf, however, as I am immediately asked to choose between Minrathous and Treviso, both Neve and Lucanis, and thus the game, presenting heartstring-plucking and logical arguments. This is one the choices that helps define your character and the game for the remainder of the, at minimum 50 hours of game left, more likely another 65 or 70 hours. I as a person would choose Treviso, yet Turab Mercer, my Shadow Dragon Rook, would of course choose Minrathous. The game also does not make you feel as though you are abandoning the city you did not choose, as your other companions still attempt to aid the city. Seeing the devastation of Treviso, though… The game provides multiple perspectives from people in Treviso going forward. Some blame you, some understand why you made the choice you did. Rook can still carry the blame.

At this point in the game, you still don’t have two of our companions, Emmrich and Taash. You are not able to have Neve or Lucanis back as a companion until you recruit everyone, and even then, the one whose city was not saved is hardened. This locks you out of some endings for not just their personal quest, but also their city. The game does have little pop-ups that explain, “Hey, by the way, your choice way back when did this.” The game is very responsive to your choices, and one can very easily chase a through-line. Emmrich and Taash are wonderful companions, and their late recruitment is akin to Tali’Zorah in Mass Effect 2 and 3, where you recruit her quite late into the game as the stakes are getting higher and you need to focus on building up your rapport with other armies and allies. The game, at this point, feels like the scene in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, where Peter Parker, by himself, strains to stop a runaway train with massive amounts of webbing and his own body. The world is careening uncontrollably towards on end, and Rook is holding it back with cunning and resolve, barely staying a step ahead of apocalypse. The whole time, Solas is poking and prodding at your resolve and beliefs, trying to make you make the choices he would make. After all, he’s the hero, and the hero has to be able to make the difficult choices. Even when you show him his way is not applicable, he still smiles hungrily as you speak, like a chef savoring their signature dish.

Act 2, or “Born 2010, Died 2012, Born 2024. Welcome Back, Mass Effect 2 and 3.”

The aftermath of the Siege of Weisshaupt brings several questions to the forefront, including questions of your companions’ abilities and focus, and if their will is truly their own. Additionally, Act 2 focuses heavily on your reputation with the other factions, building up their power and supporting your companions. Your companions bicker and argue, but it’s more like sibling rivalries or grudging understanding… eventually. While no one, as people often pointed to as an example of how the franchise has gone soft, told another companion to kill themselves, loyalties and control are still called into question. The game asks us, as players, to confront the enemies, antagonists, and supernatural forces that have been dragging at our allies. The game encourages side quests, readiness, and completing your companions’ stories not just because you care for them, but because it may be vital to defeating the gods. There is so much to do, from monsters to hunt to treasure to loot to political alliances to forge, that it would be easy to hit the maximum level of 50 far before you finish every companions quest. 

The Crossroads are… enchanting and haunting. I can feel it becoming unstable around me as I walk it. The enemies are endless, and there is an urgency in preserving this place that is home to literal Hopes and dreams. As I went through the Crossroads, unearthing Solas’ regrets and fighting the corruption spread by the Evanuris and their servants, I felt my heart pound in my chest. I felt the steely determination of a general grip my art. I felt the grief and fear of Mythal’s essence and present host. I felt the panic of spirits, spirits presented not as abominable forces but as residents of a home torn from them. Every general and revenant felled was another piece of a puzzle found, and every dragon hunted through story or research into the harrowed past was another bit of chaos and corruption driven from the world. I felt myself disgusted by Solas, emboldened by my companions, and crying at some quests.

Act 3, or “I will remove the gods from my city, and they will never reside here again.”

This act is the finale, and it made me realize something, both through the writers’/Varric’s narration and the game itself: the gods are cowards, Solas especially. Solas has deluded himself just as he forced delusions onto you. Solas has spent the whole game trying to shape you into someone with regrets, someone unable to move forward. Solas wants to make you like him or worse so that he can justify replacing you. When my Shadow Dragon Rook learned Solas was working with the Shadow Dragons, he was enraged. Every choice you make is a hard one, from who you send to lead the distraction to even deigning to work with Solas again. The choices are rough, and I feel like they matter, something I never really felt in Inquisition. Isle of Gods, The Last Gambit, and The Dread Wolf Rises make me feel like the Battle for Denerim from Origins mixed with the Suicide Mission from Mass Effect 2 and Priority: Earth from Mass Effect 3. It feels epic, powerful, and like I will fail. It is brutal and glorious, and when we reach the end, you and your surviving companions succeed where Solas failed. The Ghilan’nain fight, frankly, felt more terrifying than Elgar’nan, for all he was hyped up. Still, it was very satisfying to perfect block a blighted mage that can cause an eclipse and then beat his ass. The final confrontation with Solas, after betrayal and betrayal, is a relief. I feel like I did save Thedas. I feel more accomplished than fighting Meredith or slaying Corypheus. I feel like when I finally slayed Urthemiel in Dragon Age: Origins. I felt like I had made a future for the world.

GAMEPLAY

Roleplay and Socialization, or “Please Let Me Talk to You, Dog” 

I feel as though there are ample opportunities to role-play your Rook. The choices you make for your Rook, companions, and factions matter and matter greatly. Every choice seems to reverberate, and I was almost exactly able to depict my Rook as I wished. There were, of course, some of the “this dialogue wheel option is in no way close to what was actually said,” but overall I feel like the world was very lived in, and my choices had weight. The only thing that was disappointing was not being able to talk to important NPCs and your companions, pursuing dialogue to find lore or just choosing the option to kiss again. It did make the romances feel very light, and I often just… sat in the middle of the street or stood awkwardly in the Shadow Dragon hideout to make sure I got dialogue, both from NPCs and my companions, that ended up revealing stuff about the world. Now, is it more organic than chasing down a particular string of phrases on a dialogue wheel? Yes. Do I miss being able to walk up to my companion and ask for a kissy? Also yes. Lastly, I miss the ability to tell people a firm, “No.” Many of the binary choices in the game are something my Rook would never agree to, or would want to tell someone, “Hey, that’s fucking contradictory.” You can do it to the Solas and First Warden maybe, but never to your companions. And sometimes, you need to do that.

I also have some issues with the assigned Rook backstories. Laidir being an escaped slave is nowhere to be seen in promotional stuff. Your Mercar is the adoptive child of a Tevinter military family… but you can still be an elf or Qunari. There are inconsistencies that make me raise a few eyebrows. Once again, the racism of Thedas, often a common point in storytelling, is super sanitized to make the game palatable. However, I do that my choices matter.

Exploration, or “I Could Walk Around Minrathous for Hours, and I Have”

 The open world is dead, long live the restricted open world! There are parts of the map of Northern Thedas that are massive and complex, to be sure, requiring careful jumps and ziplines to navigate. I am trekking across rooftops and balancing precariously on hovering rooks as often as I am taking a turn past the candlehops on my way to see informants. I am balancing on fallen branches to reach forgotten braziers. The wilds and cities both feel alive, a pulse echoing throughout the terrain (quite literally in places with prominent Blight.) Is it ridiculous Rook can’t swim? Yes, welcome back Pokémon Legends: Arceus. However, the myriad puzzles, devices, and resonant rocks make navigating a rewarding experience. 

My one complaint is the disparity of several of the companions’ exploration abilities. We could have wisps follow us on our own, often not really needing Emmrich. Obviously, his is more niche, but places where Spite can wholesale create unstable platforms are numerous even outside of Antiva. There are also several times where it looked as if I should be able to use a feature (ex.: several heavy, very meltable-looking slabs of metal, or a bridge or crane that is within griffon’s reach) with which we could not interact at all. There were also several puzzles that required looking through a slit in stone and hoping you were angled precisely that your Tab would select to see through the precarious positioned portcullis. However, I felt as though a majority of puzzles were fair, and exploration and returning to locations was made more fun by unlocking more areas as we unlocked companions and quests. Combined with the unlocking of altars to gain health and skill points, exploration was rewarding for story, gameplay, and for how gorgeous everything is. With the quest marker providing not just direction but pathing and the lyrium dagger carrying your companions’ abilities, exploration was a breeze. My advice: look up and around corners, you may see that treasure chest or blight boil you were missing. I would love returning to all these locations you learn more and traipse around… perhaps with someone taller so I can actually have hops.

Combat, or “Mass Effect Strikes Again.” 

The three person squad. After years of four-person squads across Baldur’s Gate 3 and other Dragon Age entries, this came as a shock. Combined with a switch to the more dodge-heavy hack-and-slash Action RPG elements, I can understand skepticism. However, upon seeing the three person squad and the detonations, Kellan (@veilkeeper) recalled Mass Effect: Andromeda’s combat. I would highly recommend playing the Mass Effect games if you want more brilliant storytelling and combat akin to Veilguard’s system. The limitation of squad members made people worry about team composition. Is it safe for me to play a warrior? How will my all mage party fare? What about locks? Can I properly detonate if I don’t have a specific class?

With exploration and damage types tied to each character, you are incentivized to switch out and rotate your party. Due to a variety of build options, Rooks in Warrior can apply sundered as rogues do, so you can both prime and detonate mages. You are the only party member that takes damage, so Rook has potions that can be modified with items and other companions have abilities that heal you. Learning when to dash and how to block is essential, but I never felt that I was limited in combat due to not having a specific class in my party. With the proper builds for companions, the right weapon, and enough cooldown reduction, you can be an all warrior party where the other two members only ever deal fire damage and still kill a dragon or the fire-resistant human mercenaries and Venatori!  (Side note, I’m pretty sure most humans burn to death when exposed to fire. Why are these cultists and random mercenaries resistant to fire.) 

Runes and items are important, and thanks to the many branches and intersections of the skill trees, you can build almost anything and it works. Shield toss specialist? Oh, absolutely, you’re Captain America. Orb and dagger storming the field to get takedowns? Just as viable as a staff user freezing foes in place. Having a number of talents and skills that require your class resource while others cost nothing but have a cooldown means you can carry a variety of damage types and modulate your build for specific enemies. Even early on, blocking and dodging feels smooth and can very quickly offer rewards. The game feels smooth, and every flick of my blade or conjuring of flame felt nice when weaved into my attacks. Combat is very polished, and while I do miss Tactics and controlling companions directly, the game literally has something akin to the Dark Souls 1 hydra as an enemy. You need to focus and fucking dodge! 

Whether you want to spread afflictions across the battlefield, prime constant detonations, stack advantages, chain staggered foes, or just kick someone off a cliff, you will be able to work very well in Veilguard with many builds. And yes, the three person squad is different, but it feels good. As someone that has played games that are RPGs where you can have a six person party? Five is a good maximum, four is solid but always leaves you wanting more, but three… three is nice for the slick, fast-paced action of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

The World (Insert the JoJo meme I guess)

The Factions, or “Why is there so much Purell over here?”

The Factions make Rook feel grounded in the world. The mechanics of gaining reputation with a faction is done often in RPGs, but tying this to their appearance in the story and your party’s advancement is wonderful. Building up the factions is important for the simple thing that it allows all of us RPG players to do what we love: go shopping. Building up a faction unlocks more quests, which allows us to go to more areas to acquire more resources to rank up shops, which lets us buy more items to better our companions’ gear and fill our codex and mementos, which lets us upgrade the Caretaker to enchant and upgrade items, which allows us to customize our build for specific quests for those factions. It’s a wonderful loop and makes finding random junk and resources more fun once you realize how different factions respond to different items.

However, as is more common in AAA games, BioWare has taken out the Purell bottle and scrubbed away at 99.9% of nuance. Several of the Factions are sanitized in-game, made to be nicer than they have been presented previously. Several crucial aspects of factions have been hidden, reframed, or erased. I understand this from a game design perspective; many people don’t want to feel like villains. However, that robs the characters of the ability to reshape their path and legacy, as well as robs nuance from some choices made. This, combined with what I would describe as mismanaged advertisement of what some faction stand for, leads to some factions being much, much stronger than others.

A Rocky Interlude: Kal-Sharok

 I love dwarves in Dragon Age. My first play through of Dragon Age: Origins was of Balsis Brosca, a weapon and shield Dwarf Commoner warrior. I fell in love with the stories you can tell as a Brosca, with the intricacies of Orzammar’s castes and casteless, of the ways in which tradition is the inevitable failure of this once-great civilization. Learning of Kal-Sharok’s survival and involvement, especially given how secretive they are in Inquisition, was thrilling. Kal-Sharok is stunning. Lyrium grows there like grass. The titan’s heart pulses and beast, the manner of the dwarves strict yet understandable. They are direct, brusque, yet still respectful. More importantly, they have survived. They live in spite of the Blight and have created a society so far removed from Orzammar as Ferelden is from Tevinter. It was stunning. It was moving. 

We spend one quest there.

 I will touch on this more when I speak of Lace Harding, but this was finally the answer for the Titans! This was the reveal of what Valta discovered. It was brutal to discover that the Evanuris were responsible for the Blight, the Blight that destroyed the dwarves, by using the corrupted dreams of the Titans. That the progenitor of the dwarves is what doomed their cities. That the Titans we see, massive torsos forming mountain ranges, are dead and doomed to dreamless sleep. That their anger was directed into the Blight. That the gods, Mythal and Solas specifically, are what robbed the dwarves of their dreams. The fact that this is tied to Lace Harding’s quest and ends rather… abruptly feels unsatisfying. It feels as though the writers were aiming for something but didn’t put enough strength behind the throw. We see very little of Kal-Sharok, and though we have answers, I still feel as though I, like the dwarves, am missing something. When Harding shares the Eternal Hymn at the end of her story, my dwarf rook is not included or reacts at all. I miss the Eternal Hymn of the Stone. I miss Kal-Sharok. I dream of times where the dwarves can receive more.

Antivan Crows, or “Guys. Guys, they enslave kids. Guys.”

 I didn’t spare that prettyboy assassin Zevran to let this happen. 

Dragon Age establishes multiple times that the Antivan Crows are bad news, yet a crucial part of Antiva’s political machine. They are brutal and deadly, and while ostensibly they are devoted to Antiva, the Crows’ first loyalty is to their houses and their contracts. Crow Houses are not noble houses with titles, they are business. They invest in other operations, such as alcohol or pearldiving, using money gained through assassinations. They regularly kill their own leaders, such as Queen Madrigal’s infamous assassination in 5:99 Exalted, blades poised precisely. Zevran Arainai himself tells us that the Crows are used to assassinate the nobility of Antiva often. Zevran also details his story of being sold into slavery to be raised by the Antivan Crows. So indoctrinated was he that he killed and spit on the woman he loved based on a flimsy accusation. Andarateia Cantori, or Teia, was taken in as an orphan, now enraptured by Caterina Dellamorte as a surrogate grandmother, her “Nonna,” which not even Caterina’s own grandson Lucanis calls her. Viago puts it nicely. “Viago chuckled. Teia was always trying to make the others like him. She grew up on the streets. To her, joining the Crows was akin to finding a family. Caterina was the mother she never had. Giuli had been her jealous sister. Emil and Bolivar, the rich and drunk uncles respectively. But to Viago, these people were business partners. He didn’t need to be liked—only respected and feared, a little.” (Tevinter Nights, Eight Little Talons, Courtney Woods). 

The Crows are a business. They invest in assassins and expect to be repaid with loyalty. They expect all their members to fulfill their contracts, and that failure carries a heavy burden for assassin and house. We see in Dragon Age 2, more than half a decade later, House Arainai is still chasing down Zevran to kill him in hopes of restoring their reputation. Four Talons are killed in Woods’ story, each killed by another Talon. The Crows are a business of murderers investing in indoctrination and loyal service. Yet, the Veilguard shows them as freedom fighters seeking to defend Antiva. In fairness, the Talons are meeting in Eight Little Talons for the express purpose of discussing how to dispose of the Antaam invading Antiva, and they acknowledge Antiva has no army save the Crows. Governor Ivenci and Davrin both point out, to differing levels of severity, how the Crows cannot be trusted, or perhaps are only saving Antiva to tighten their own grip on the country. While I doubt that is true for Lucanis, given his efforts to punish the guilty and save the meek in The Wigmaker Job, it may certainly be true for Caterina and some other Talons. So, yes, the Crows are defending Antiva, but downplaying their deplorable actions towards children eliminates nuance, and adding in the reminder that they torture orphans may make people pause before allying with them.

Grey Wardens, or “Wow, you guys keep losing forts.” 

The Grey Wardens also underwent a little bit of a scrubbing, and mentions of some of their more heinous acts are things form the past. Your first real encounter with the Grey Wardens is with First Warden Jowin Glastrum who, somewhat reasonable, accuses you of being a conspiracy theorist on par with someone who believes in ancient aliens or a flat earth. Like, yeah, Rook comes and says, “There’s a Blight happening, except it’s different from before due to the Elven gods, who aren’t actually gods, just ancient mages that were trapped, and I freed them accidentally when trying to stop another elven god mage.” Very reasonably, he doesn’t believe you. He also insults your intelligence, morals, and faction. As a note, I played as a Shadow Dragon Rook, where the First Warden directly calls you a criminal for theft and murder. Theft and murder in Tevinter being… freeing the slaves of Venatori mages and killing said Venatori. So, with the First Warden joining the war on slavery on the side of slavery, along with Magister Dorian Pavus stepping in to reveal that the First Warden approved of Warden-Commander Clarel’s plan to train Grey Wardens to raise a demon army in Inquisition, firmly makes you not trust or like this guy. All of this can be personal faults of the First Warden while still being indicative of the type of person the Wardens would recruit.

 However, when Weisshaupt falls and Lavender becomes blighted, Antoine and Evka begin offering the Joining to people that are Blighted so… they can survive. They do not conscript, they just… let them Join. To us longtime Origins enjoyers, this is odd given many of our Wardens took the Joining or were conscripted as a last resort and then immediately had to begin fighting a losing battle. We do learn some heinous shit the Wardens did in the past as part of Davrin’s quest, but that was in the past. While the Wardens still carry some bite, they have definitely been softened.

Lords of Fortune, or “[Varric Voice] Rivaini, what did they do to you?” 

The Lords of Fortune are Rivain’s faction of treasure hunters and moral pirates. Led by Isabela, they sail around and explore the Rivaini Coast, prowling for ruins and wrecks that they can sell and ethically return to their appropriate culture. Oh, also, we have a fighting pit with Antaam, Venatori, demons, and darkspawn! 

All of this is nonsensical. The fighting arena has no reason to be there. In no way would Venatori willingly join a fighting pit, nor would Isabela ever imprison people to use in fights. Most of the Lords of Fortune faction strength comes from… hunting dragons. It would make sense if it gave Taash approval, but why do all Lords benefit? Additionally, their base is in a bar separate from the actual Rivain Coast location, whereas every other faction has their base deeply entrenched in the explorable area. In feels as though the devs had not idea what to do with them. The pitch for the Lords of Fortune from the choice of Faction in character creation is as follows: “A rising Lord of Fortune, skilled at breaking into lost tombs and ruins, Rook killed a corrupt Rivaini noble to prevent an ancient evil from being given to the Venatori. Her/His/Their actions were correct and saved the lives of expedition members, but some Rivaini nobles were resentful.” This implies that the Lord of Fortunes are perhaps more of a Dungeons and Dragons type of monster-slaying, dungeon-delving mercenary. This is vastly different from the boastful adventurers who are out solely for gold and glory, especially given that the Rook background implies the Lords would not sell evil items, yet the lines in game make the Lords seem like reckless thrillseekers as opposed to daring adventurers. It’s a thin line, but one that does make quite some difference.

The Mourn Watch, or “Who you gonna call?” 

The Mourn Watch is wonderful. After hearing about Nevarra’s necromantic fascination from Cassandra, the Necropolis is desolate and eerie. It is haunted by the howling winds of the dead, and the sickly green brings to mind the eerie and sickly I love it. 

Unfortunately, much like the Lords, it appears as though the devs did not know what to do with the Mourn Watch. Very few of your quests take place in the actual Necropolis. Enemies you encounter are the Venatori that got lost in the Grand Necropolis and restless undead, and the missions are mainly running to other places to stop hauntings. Incredibly impressive on aesthetics, items, and locations, very disparate quests.

Shadow Dragons, or “Minrathous is Kinda Important, Guys.”

 Everything happens in Minrathous. It’s the New York City. There are magic neon signs. Meetings with Morrigan and the Inquisition happen here, even if the city did not repel the dragon attack. Your quests are numerous, and they require you to help the common people of Minrathous. You navigate the city and try to bring light from the shadow. Many of the quests are in Minrathous, and the Shadow Dragons somewhat unambiguously want to help Minrathous. The final choice you have on their quest when you saved Minrathous shocked me,.

Veil Jumpers, or “OH, these are the guys that keep shit running.” 

I think the Veil Jumpers were not advertised well. The ad says, “This daring group explores ancient elven ruins in Arlathan Forest. Although founded by elves, they welcome anyone brave enough to face Arlathan's reality-warping magic.” So, this honestly strikes me as more similar to what the Lords of Fortune were also advertised as, just… focused on elven artifacts. I was surprised when I saw the plays stats by how low Veil Jumpers were comparatively, especially given how cool they are in-game. Then I realized something: they were advertised wrong. 

With Bellara and other Veil Jumpers, there is an exploration of ruins, but the thing they are really doing is maintaining and researching the artifacts in Arlathan. They are, in some ways, doing the work of maintaining the Veil and learning about the Fade. It is not as academic a setting as the Mourn Watch, nor is it the dungeon delving the Lords of Fortune are pitched as. They are, essentially, troubleshooters. The Veil Jumpers are magical troubleshooters that are learning about the past of the elves while trying to provide safety for themselves, the Dalsih, and any who would be harmed by the Veil’s instability. They are brave not for ruin-diving, but for protecting the people that explore.

Companions

 The companions truly make the Veilguard. I do not feel like the three person party limited me at all in the interactions, and honestly, the inter-party dynamics are brilliant. People pairing up with each other or NPCs if you do not romance them is brilliant. The way they all seek advice or comfort from each other is moving. There is the combativeness that evolves into grudging respect. We have the relationships of mentor and student, of people of a shared culture with divergent paths, of conflicting parenting styles, and of lovers eager and hesitant both. All the companions are wonderful. However, there is great disparity between the quality of some companion quests.

Bellara Lutare, the Hummingbird Found

I cried. Bellara is the first companion you meet not a part of the Minrathous Job, a Fade Expert to fix your Eluvian. She has the intelligence and flight attitude that caused her brother to nickname her after the hummingbird. In many ways, her drive and determination remind me of Merrill, and I say that as the highest of compliments. Still, she is not just the excitement of a busy mind.

Bellara has rage, a rage born of guilt. She snaps at fellow Veil Jumpers that fail to do their job or shirk work. She gets agitated when a process takes too long. She is uniquely aware she talks too fast, too often. Regardless of whether or not she caused the incident that sent her brother away, she believes she caused it, and that haunts her. Bellara touches on something we all feel familiar with: life is hard, and maybe it’s hard or you’re failing because the problem is you. That you need to work harder to make up for the fact that it’s you. Her story with Cyrian made me cry, and she is one of the most complex, lovable characters I have had the pleasure of having in my party.

Davrin, Monster Hunter and Single Dad 

Davrin, and especially a romanced Davrin, is about finding and believing that there is always a different path. Playing his story, you immediately see he is not prepared for this. Davrin does try, at first, to distance himself from Assan, especially with the insistence that he is merely Assan’s bodyguard. However, that is somewhat undercut by the fact that Davrin literally named Assan. Davrin talks about how in joining the Veilguard, raising Assan, and dating you, he has essentially done something he tells you no Warden should do: get attached. 

Davrin’s story is, at its core, about choosing your own path. He is not disrespectful of the Dalish, he just felt he had to prove something himself. He chose to be a Warden, and even then he carved out his own place as a monster slayer in an order of monster slayers. He was a caretaker of halla, a quintessential duty in a Dalish clan, one that marks kindness. He has great respect for animals and nature while being a hunter. In many ways, being a Grey Warden is a continuation of his beliefs and education under the Dalish. It’s why Davrin is always questioning if there is a better path for the griffons. His harping on Assan to be more focused in combat is ostensibly about training a better mount, yet really it’s so Assan can be safe. So greatly does Davrin respect the world around him that he is willing to let all the griffons go live in Arlathan Forest over their legacy with the Wardens. He forged a new path. 

Davrin doesn’t expect to actually get to walk the path he forged, and when he does find or make one, he finds it hard to course correct. We see it in Weisshaupt when he is surprised he’s still alive. We see it in his romance where he is almost shocked he has dared to think about a future after the Blight and Grey Wardens. Davrin constantly sought a new path or purpose, usually an established thing to which he could devote himself, such as the Wardens or raising the griffons. He has to venture into a new territory, a world where slaying an archdemon isn’t a death sentence, where griffons aren’t the Wardens’ mounts. Where he is in love. He has to live. That’s new, it’s daunting, but he has to. For Assan, for Rook, for himself.

Emmrich Volkaren, Professor in Denial 

I love Emmrich. Unlike most popular culture depictions of necromancers as corrupt, horrifying wizards desecrating the dead, or even Dorian with his initially cavalier attitude towards spirits and corpses, Emmrich is respectful. He cares deeply for funerary rites and the dead. He cleans graves and places flowers. He prepares bodies and helps spirits find either rest or purpose. Emmrich is truly a gentleman scholar, more a mortician than a necromancer. He plays against type, which makes his desire to be a lich, a classic Necromancer Desire, even more shocking. I love how the Mourn Watch frame lichdom as this duty, essentially bound to bone and the Grand Necropolis to continue their work. It’s an interesting take, and it works for Emmrich save for one thing:  Emmrich was never going to be ready for lichdom. 

I am not denying Emmrich is a powerful mage; he is one the most accomplished necromancers in Thedas. Nor do I think he has not done the proper preparations; he very clearly has. The reason Emmrich is never ready to become a lich is because he still fears his own death. 

I chose to have Emmrich save Manfred. The game treats this choice thusly: if Emmrich returns Manfred to unlife, it proves he cannot accept death and cannot be trusted with the power and near-immortality that comes with being a lich of the Grand Necropolis. I actually think this is a very sound argument, and a lich as a bound guardian as opposed to some consuming void is great. The issue is that Emmrich’s main drive is a fear of death, especially his own. Bringing Manfred back means he cannot bear the thought of someone else, especially a loved one such as Manfred or a romanced Rook, dying. Accepting lichdom means accepting death will come for others, and he cannot stop it. 

Except he doesn’t believe that. 

Emmrich mourns Manfred. He cries over him. He got his dream and all it cost him was his son. And, as Kellan points out in its Emmrich meta posts, he still is afraid of death! He became a lich! He panics now not about a romanced Rook outliving him, but outliving Rook and mourning them forever. Emmrich is a compelling necromancer because if he achieves his dream of becoming a lich, the pinnacle of necromancy, it does nothing to lessen his fears. If he raises Manfred, he sacrifices his progress and dreams for a life of teaching. If he follows his dreams, he loses the ability to follow many of his passions. Either way, Emmrich’s heart is walking around outside of his chest.

Lace Harding, Scout and Child of the Stone

 Lace!! The glow up Harding had is wild, man. If you ever want to show people how much the graphics have improved, show them a side by side of Harding in Inquisition and Veilguard. Now, I am excited to see Harding again, and I think her quest does hit home in some ways, fell short in many others Harding is always taking care of other people, leading the charge for other people, pushing it down to be nice. Not good, not bad, just nice. However, they didn’t really bring up her own anger competing with her compassion often enough for it to be obvious or matter, in my opinion. Plus, her quest being so tied into the Stone, yet they didn’t set up the Harding-Titans parallel well enough. I still love her, though, and as she climbed to shoot Ghilan’nain… I knew what was coming. I could see the tentacles coming. Thank you, Lace.

Lucanis Dellamorte, Defiant and Determined 

Guys. Lucanis’ life kinda sucks. He gets sent to magic torture prison by his cousin and his cousin’s blood mage cultist lover. They stick a demon in him for… irony??? He comes back to find his grandmother is presumed dead and the Crows betrayed. Treviso is either Blighted to hell and back or still under Antaam rule. It’s also been betrayed by someone in Antiva. His cousin steals his revenge and then exiles him. His cousin tries to steal the Crows and use them to join the blood magic cult and evil gods. Oh, also, he has some random Grey Warden insulting his ability and mental state while he’s already off-balance from missing his first chance to assassinate Ghilan’nain.

Lucanis’ life is… maybe slightly better if Treviso isn’t Blighted? There is a very strange aspect of Lucanis’ story that stands in great contrast to Neve’s story: several of his hangouts, and perhaps a resolution with Spite, are downright missing if you do not save Treviso. A dream sequence where you meet with Spite is missing. A moment where Lucanis resolves on a course of action with Spite is missing. Meanwhile, Neve keeps her hangouts and quests. Lucanis has a wonderful story, and it is a shame the devs locked so much of it away.

Neve Gallus, Cool Operator

 Neve Gallus is one of the coolest characters in the Veilguard. You meet her early on, as involved in the first quest as you or Harding. She’s a wonderful companion to have early, sharp and witty banter, refreshing as a cool breeze. She hits the noir detective tropes down to the dive bars and street food and up to the taking ill-advised jobs because she actually has a heart of gold. All of her quests having “Case” in the title is a very nice touch. Even part 1 is titled “The Minrathous Job,” truly establishing it as a quest firmly with Neve. As a Shadow Dragon, one of the greatest ways you bond with Neve is commiserating over the state of Minrathous. The serials always end in murder, the newspapers always print the half-truths that sell, the town’s struggling to find some light in the dark. Neve’s attitude, especially if you choose to have her inspire Minrathous, is closest to this:

"It was still dark when we left the Catacombs. The city was hushed, if hardly sleeping, with no idea what had happened. 

“Minrathous is broken,” Aelia spat at me. 

“I know,” I said. “But you aren’t the one to fix it." 

In this excerpt from Neve’s Tevinter Nights story, The Streets of Minrathous by Brianne Battye, we have the exact answer. It’s an answer that Rook gives to Solas often, that he is the best one to do it that someone has to. That is the core of Neve’s story, as a detective, as a Shadow Dragon, as a citizen of Minrathous. Someone has to step up to illuminate the dark places in the city, to defend Dock Town’s people by book or by blow. With Neve’s investigative prowess and thawed golden heart, it’s her that can help fix the city. It always has been, she just needs to believe it.

Taash, the Ludonarritve Confusion

 I love Taash. They’re brusque, they’re tall, they’re athletic, they do not allow anyone to tell them who or what they are, they’re buff as hell, they respect dragons while also being excellent at hunting them, and— wait, what? This character who is all about self-determination and no one being able to control them? We make them choose between their two heritages as part of their quest?

 Trick Weekes is a racist, white reddit atheist of a writer. While I respect them for writing an explicitly nonbinary character, you can tell the writer’s room did not consult anyone of mixed heritage. The Qun and Qunari are based off of SWANA residents and religions, and Rivain seems to invoke imagery of the Muslim-ruled Iberian Peninsula. The Qunari of the Antaam are almost always depicted wearing masks, speaking in Qunlat almost exclusively, and are often shirtless and bigger than Taash or a Vashoth Rook. The depictions of the Antaam and the forcing of Taash to choose between Qunari and Rivaini is incredibly racist and directly conflicts with the Taash using the Qun in their own life while still being Rivaini. With Taash being a character about exploring a nonbinary identity and multicultural heritage, to have them pick a binary option is racist. Also, Trick Weekes, you wrote a Qunari mercenary whose “good” ending is them abandoning the Qun twice in a row now. One, white reddit atheist. Two, get new material. I love Taash, but their quests make no sense.

Gods, of Which There Are None

Evanuris

There are no gods in Thedas. The Evanuris are spirits turned mages. The Titans were beings of Stone that now lie in dreamless death. The Golden City was actually the Blight’s prison. The Old Gods and their draconic vessels were simply servants of the Evanuris. While I think the devs are sipping hard on white liberal juice for not outright saying the Maker is fake, the game appears to state that yes, the Maker is fake and there are no gods.

Good. 

Dragon Age has always been lacking in, if we think of the classic four person Dungeons and Dragons party, the priest or cleric role. This is partially because that magic of any kind in the setting is heavily restricted, even beneficial healing magic. But really, how can we have clerics or priests that use magic when the dominant religion hunts down mages? The power of mage priests of, say, an Old God like Dumat are still as explosive as any other mage. 

This isn’t to say that faith has no place in Dragon Age. The vallaslin of the Dalish has been redefined in their history. The Avvar worship spirts as gods, allowing a willing possession. We know Spirits of Faith very explicitly exist. However, to essentially confirm that there are no gods makes Thedas a far more interesting setting. 

In terms of the gods we face, Ghilan’nain and Elgar’nan were… something. While Elgar’nan’s mental reach was grand, and his telepathic intrusions were haunting, his final fight made him feel like a loser-ass motherfucker. I was perfect blocking his orbs that held the power of the sun and his weird magic blade. I don’t think I had to even use a potion. For all that his power was hyped up, and to be fair, causing an eclipse is relatively terrifying, he was one the easiest gods I have slain. I felt no fear of him. 

Ghilan’nain terrified me. Ghilan’nain is almost a walking embodiment of body horror with a dash of cosmic horror thrown in. For all of Elgar’nan’s talk of rule and tyranny, it was Ghilan’nain’s whispers of turning my companions and my Rook into fodder for her experiments that chilled me to my core. Ghilan’nain is a maestro when it comes to manipulating the Blight, crafting the already-deadly darkspawn into weapons. While it was Solas’ dagger that severed the Titans' dreams and corrupted them into the Taint and Blight out of anger, fear, and confusion, it is Ghilan’nain who mastered the Blight as a source of magic and power. The fear I felt whenever she approached, her tentacles lashing out like so-many daggers to pierce enemies, her very presence unnatural. If you have played Magic: the Gathering, Ghilan’nain reminds me of Sheoldred or Elesh Norn of New Phyrexia, the inevitable march towards progress and perfection through infection and dominance. It was terrifying to see the Blight weaponized as it was. 

The Blight was Ghilan’nain’s weapon, but it was Mythal that ordered it forged. Lest we forget, it was Solas, acting as Mythal’s attack dog, that forged the dagger and severed the Titans from the Fade. They made the Titans Tranquil. Tranquility is often framed as one of the most horrific acts in the series, so much so that Ander’ former lover begs to be killed rather than return to being Tranquil. Mythal authorizes this, perhaps the first instance of Tranquilty. Mythal is responsible for the Blight. The way Morrigan describes her as Benevolence turned to Retribution, much as Soals is Wisdom turned to Pride, begins to make sense, for even an open-handed ruler can still enforce harsh order. Mythal’s essence feels like the early incarnations of Morrigan, where every question is designed to make you feel as though you are making no headway, to force you to stand your ground. However, it is just as satisfying to, as a dwarf, blame her for the Titans dying and take Retribution on Retribution. The Evanuris were corrupt and tainted long before they ever discovered the Blight, Mythal and her pawn first among them.

Solas, God of Lying about having a Plan 

The thing we have to acknowledge about Solas is that he is so full of Pride, all his Wisdom is lost to regret. He is so afraid of being wrong or not correcting his mistakes that is willing to sink deeper and deeper in manipulation, deception, and regret. He is manipulated and used as a tool by Mythal and does the same to his own followers in turn. Every regret of Solas’ we discover only further shows his degradation into a charlatan. So consumed by his desire to be forgiven by Mythal, to continue on in her service, that he eventually kills her and scavenges her. He uses spirits as fodder the same way Elgar’nan or Ghilan’nain use darkspawn and slaves. He taunts Elgar’nan for not having the ability to build anything without June or the other gods, yet Solas also no longer has anyone that would stand by his side. Solas betrayed his friends repeatedly, all the while convinced every “sacrifice” is yet another reason he cannot turn from his path. Every choice, from the sacrifice of spirits to Varric’s death, is one more regret that forces Solas to feel as though it is too late to turn away from this path. 

Solas’ regrets are what trapped him in the prison that he made for the gods, and so he tries to shape Rook to have as many regrets as him. The way Solas states he abhors blood magic, yet is using it to shape Rook’s perceptions. The way Solas does not relent prior to the Siege of Weisshaupt until you either say you’ll take control of the Wardens or otherwise do what needs to be done. Solas accusing you, perhaps rightfully so, of being responsible for releasing Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain. The way Solas immediately weakly covers his ass when you accuse him of releasing the gods due to his ritual by saying, “I had a plan.” Lastly, when he pulls the rug out from under you and place you in a prison of regret right as your team is decimated, finally revealing Varric’s demise, leaving you questioning Lucanis’ fate, and bringing the loss of Davrin or Harding and Bellara or Neve to bear. He planned this whole time to force enough regret and doubt into you that would be swallowed by the prison that held him. But Rook, much as their name implies, takes the straight, direct path forward. Solas tried to replace Rook and become the hero again, proud of his plan and manipulation of Rook. This is why he fails.

Solas’ plans never work. For as intelligent as he is, his Wisdom was long ago supplanted by Pride. He is too proud to turn back, too proud to realize his plans always kind of suck. He sealed the Evanuris away, not really considering what separating the worlds would do. He gives Corypheus the Orb of Destruction (yes, that’s what it’s called) and then is surprised when it goes wrong. He says thousands or tens of thousands of lives is minimized damage. He goes into his balding Dread Wolf form and gets his ass kicked by Lusacan, your blighted mage companion having to save him. He tries to trick you again with the clever wordplay of the Fade not falling by his hand, yet his betrayals are so predictable that plan also fails, either due to you pushing past his pride to force him to see Wisdom or by using his Pride against him. Solas tried to form Rook into something of regret, a thing more bound by loss than Solas, and Rook cut through it.  I think tricking Solas is the more fitting ending. It is poetic justice. It is what he deserves. However, him binding himself to the Veil means that, hopefully, he won’t be seeking revenge later. Regardless, Solas’ pride blinds him to the fact that none of his plans, all of which center around is ego and intellect, can win the day alone. His pride is the undoing of his wisdom.

Conclusions

 I did not expect to like Dragon Age: The Veilguard. I really, really like it. The game’s morality have been sanitized from Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2, and everyone feels too clean, the enemies cartoonishly evil. In spite of that, I love the companions I found in the game. I love the flow the combat. I love hearing the sound effect as I perfect block an attack and send an enemy reeling. I found Rook interesting, an established character more akin to Hawke than the Inquisitor. I found the world more lived in and welcoming than that of Dragon Age: Inquisition, a refinement of that title taking into account some of the feedback of fans. However, the clumsily handled choices of the game and EA’s own despicable practices make it hard to enjoy certain aspects. I’ll probably always wonder what the world would look like if the grime and blood hadn’t been stripped from the factions.

But I like the game. It feels like Dragon Age.

#dav #spoilers #dragon age #datv #mine

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