The Veilguard – hands-on report – PlayStation.Weblog

BioWare’s lore-rich fantasy RPG sequence makes its long-awaited return when Dragon Age: The Veilguard involves PS5 on October 31, after practically a decade because the final installment. The Veilguard takes place throughout the northern area of Thedas, giving gamers an opportunity to lastly discover the magical metropolis of Tevinter. As a first-time customer to Thedas’ world of magic, my latest hands-on with the sport was an enlightening introduction to the deep storytelling of the sequence grounded by the sport’s intuitive real-time fight and enchanting visuals. 

Customise all the pieces

My hands-on journey started by totally exploring The Veilguard’s intensive character creator, following a gap animation highlighting the place the story left off in Dragon Age: Inquisition. The Dragon Age sequence is understood to supply extremely detailed character customization, however I used to be shocked to see simply how in-depth The Veilguard went with choices to customise practically each bodily facet of your character, from numerous head and physique shapes to tattoos (choices for face and full physique), make-up, and facial scars. Particularly, the varied hair textures proven within the number of near 100 hairstyles look so detailed and life like you can see the care builders put into every hair follicle.

As soon as I completed customizing my character for practically half an hour (I may have spent hours on this), I performed round with the brand new lighting preview characteristic. The brand new characteristic means that you can see your character in as much as 4 totally different lighting settings to make sure your creation is trustworthy to your imaginative and prescient earlier than you begin your journey via Thedas.

Much like previous video games within the sequence the character creator is the place you select your combatant’s race and sophistication. Moreover, The Veilguard provides a characteristic to choose between six Factions, together with choices for Gray Wardens, Veil Jumpers, Shadow Dragons, Lords of Fortune, the Mourn Watch, and Antivan Crows. Make sure to choose rigorously as a selected Faction instantly influences a personality’s distinctive backstory and even future dialogue decisions.

Fight with companions

The fast-paced and intuitive fight in Dragon Age: The Veilguard was the cherry on high of my expertise with the sport. As a self-described newbie in the case of most sport genres, the fight controls had been straightforward sufficient to choose up whereas offering a excessive ceiling for the extra superior gamers to place collectively combo assaults with companions.

In Dragon Age: The Veilguard you management your companion’s talents via the brand new Capacity Wheel, versus switching between and totally controlling your occasion members like you possibly can in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Pulling up the Capacity Wheel halts the motion and allows you to set off your private and companions’ talents. Switching between real-time fight and the Capacity Wheel felt pure and served as a fast break from all-out motion, giving me an opportunity to plan combo assaults with companions or set off my very own talents. Punctuating combo assaults by unleashing an Final potential served as one of many extra satisfying tenets of the gameplay expertise, although it was uncommon I used to be capable of pull off such a feat.

Trek via Thedas

Stepping foot in Minrathous, the capital of Tevinter, gamers are met with vivid colours and an impressively expansive depth of area. From the finely tuned particulars of raindrops splashing into puddles and broken-up concrete, to the sky-high structure and statues seen from a distance, the visible constancy of The Veilguard is really immersive and encourages exploring freely.

The graphics particularly shine if you’re tasked to journey via the Arlathan Forest to seek out lacking Veil Jumpers. The distinction in coloration of the shadow-casting timber is highlighted by daylight peering via their branches, exhibiting the eye to element paid by the builders when it comes to lighting and photorealism in assorted environments.

Buddies assist associates

Every companion I met on my voyage via Thedas made an impression and drew me deeper into the story, although my restricted enjoying time didn’t permit me to fulfill the entire forged. 

“The companions are actually the celebrities of the present simply as a lot as anybody else,” John Epler, Artistic Director, BioWare.

Early on you’ll meet Neve Gallus, the confident personal investigator who helps find Solas to forestall a significant disaster from ensuing within the sport’s prologue. Born and raised in Minrathous, Neve’s assured demeanor helps information the group via Tevinter early within the sport, and her Ice Breaker potential that rains down shards of ice on foes was a pleasure to activate.

There’s a lot to chew on in the case of the depth of the character creator, RPG components, and real-time fight in The Veilguard, however with the ability to shortly grasp the motion fundamentals allowed me to immerse on the planet. The Veil between Thedas and the Fade lifts this Halloween, when Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases October 31 on PS5.