Dragon Age: The Veilguard director says the RPG won't repeat Inquisition's most infamous mistake: "You spent ten hours in the Hinterlands"

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GamesRPGDragon AgeDragon Age 4Dragon Age: The Veilguard director says the RPG won’t repeat Inquisition’s most infamous mistake: “You spent ten hours in the Hinterlands"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: BioWare)

Dragon Age: The Veilguard reveal trailer screenshot showing two of the companions, Varric and Harding

Dragon Age: The Veilguard has no plans to repeat the missteps of the infamous Hinterlands from Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Speaking to Edge magazine, creative director John Epler says that the team behindDragon Age: The Veilguard"wanted to build a crafted, curated experience for the player. Pacing is important to us, and making sure that the story stays front and center.”

Before Epler was creative director on The Veilguard, he was a cinematic designer on Inquisition. Earlier this week, he acknowledged thatthe camera system he created for that game might not have been his finest work, but he also says that Inquisition had bigger problems that he’s worked to overcome in its successor.

“One of the things we ran into on that project was an absentee antagonist. Corypheus showed up and then disappeared. You spent ten hours in the Hinterlands doing side quests, and there wasn’t that sense of urgency.”

Age of Dragons

(Image credit: BioWare)

Dragon Age: The Veilguard screenshot showing Solas, a pale bald Elven mage, wielding lightning-like powers while grimacing

Dragon Age: The Veilguard would always have struggled to follow Inquisition’s footsteps exactlysince it’s a “mission-based” RPG that won’t be open-world. Nevertheless, Epler suggests that fans of that formula won’t be entirely left behind: “There’s still exploration - there’s still the ability to go into some of these larger spaces and go off the beaten path to do sidequests. But there’s always something in the story propelling you and the action forward, and allowing you to make decisions with these characters where the stakes feel a lot more immediate and present. And also, honestly, more real.”

The wait is getting shorter, but to help fill the gap, check out ourDragon Age: The Veilguard preview.

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s big bad isn’t bald due to hereditary hair loss, his age, or a stylistic choice: “Solas lost hair because of stress”

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard directors say they would’ve loved to explore “what lies beyond the sea” and add new classes in the DLC we’re never getting

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Nemesis board game models and tokens laid out on a board

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1

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