It’s no secret that the grand re-reveal of Dragon Age: The Veilguard (formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf) at the Xbox Games Showcase had a less-than-stellar reception, with a tone that veered hard into “trailer for a James Gunn movie” territory as it attempted to introduce the companions forming the titular Veilguard against the backdrop of a cinematic rendition of We Can Be Heroes. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Thankfully, because the game itself is surprisingly close to hand with a “Spring 2024” launch target, BioWare still had a proper gameplay trailer to show and it’s a much better look at the upcoming and hugely-awaited RPG.
The 20-minute video starts with a custom player character walking through the city of Minrathous alongside a very rugged-looking Varric, before quickly finding it under attack from demonic creatures summoned by villain, Solas. The pair meets up with Harding, another future member of the crew, and gameplay quickly kicks off proper.
Everything you’d expect from a Dragon Age game seems to be intact here with lots of opportunity for role-playing in how you craft your character’s look as well as background and story, dialogue trees and actions with lasting consequences, sharply-written dialogue between memorable characters and combat against all manner of foes.
Combat looks to have been somewhat reinvented once again, looking quite fast and agile while still retaining the ability to slow things down and bring up an action wheel to execute some on-the-fly strategy. Party size looks to be just three now, but fights still seem like fierce endeavours. The game looks quite stunning too, running on whatever the latest iteration of the Frostbite engine, with some especially cool environmental design after the crew steps through a portal around the midway point into a new area.
You can watch the full official Gameplay Reveal Trailer for Dragon Age: The Veilguard just below: