Early Dragon Age: The Veilguard impressions call it a "comeback" for BioWare, a "definite GOTY contender", and the series' "Mass Effect 2 moment"

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GamesRPGDragon AgeDragon Age 4Early Dragon Age: The Veilguard impressions call it a “comeback” for BioWare, a “definite GOTY contender”, and the series' “Mass Effect 2 moment"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 screenshot featuring Neve, one of the companions

Early Dragon Age: The Veilguard impressions are uniformly positive. I spent a good amount of time searching the web specifically for anything other than a glowing preview, and I came up short. We usually wouldn’t make room for a news round-up on hands-on previews because journalists haven’t had the time to complete the game and thus are unable to score it definitively, but in this case the response is so overwhelmingly enthusiastic and, after two whiffs from BioWare with Anthem and Mass Effect Andromeda, so pertinent that it stands out.

Our friends over atPC Gamerwere similarly enthused to see their concerns put to rest. “Dragon Age: The Veilguard is going to be called BioWare’s comeback,” reads PC Gamer’s preview. “It isn’t built on the multiplayer trend-chasing that plagued Anthem, and from the six hours I got to play during a hands-on preview event this month, Veilguard didn’t seem to be the buggy mess that Mass Effect Andromeda was, either. It has all sorts of features that prove BioWare was listening to its players. And critically, it’s BioWare doing what it’s meant to be best at: gorgeous, intense, intimate RPGs.”

Elsewhere on the internet,Eurogamersaid Dragon Age: The Veilguard “feels like the series' Mass Effect 2 moment”, and I don’t need to explain what a compliment that is to anyone who’s played Mass Effect 2 or has had the displeasure of not having played Mass Effect 2 but being friends with someone who had.

GameRant, meanwhile, was bold enough to say Veilguard will be a “definite GOTY contender” after playing it for six hours. Noted Dragon Age super fanShinobi602gave his own detailed impressions on Twitter, ultimately agreeing “this feels like BioWare is back.“IGN’s writersaid she’s “excited for it in a way I haven’t quite felt about another game in quite some time.”

This could go on and on. It’s too early to make any definitive judgments, as again no one outside of BioWare has actually played through the full game, but needless to say, these previews have shifted the conversation around the next Dragon Age and given fans of the series new reasons to be hopeful.

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on October 31.

Meanwhile,Dragon Age: The Veilguard creative director answers all of our important questions and some less-important ones: “I am a Final Fantasy 10 diehard; I love the Sphere Grid”.

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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

Nemesis board game models and tokens laid out on a board

1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

1

Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

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5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”

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Shadow brandishes a gun in Sonic The Hedgehog 3

1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

1

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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”

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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

3

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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

4

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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”

5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”

5

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1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”

1

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2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”

2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”

2

Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”

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3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

3

Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

4

Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

5

Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

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