A wizard and a witch walk into a bar, but it's Dragon Age: The Veilguard, so nothing happens. Lucanis may have the reputation of an assassin who hunts wizards, but he's actually a 'don't talk to me until I've had coffee' millennial with a Griffon bite.
This sums up all the partners in the game. After spending hours with the adorable Bellara, the very friendly and forgiving Neve and the bundle of joy that is Harding, I was excited to meet a fortune teller! Surely they would be tougher around the edges? No.
Everyone is too good, too selfish, too heroic. I see that it is against these types of food if it is not for the fact that there are no bad bones in his body. God help me, I'm surrounded by Wylls.
He is interested in Wyll's Dynamic With The Rest Of The Party
Often considered the most boring companion in Baldur's Gate 3, Wyll gets a bad rap. But that's not surprising – the moral hero is a boring character archetype by design. The willingness to save the day at the beginning of the journey leaves little room for growth, so it's hard to stick with his story unless you throw a Mizora-shaped spanner at work or balance it with some kind of selfishness. a few.
Baldur's Gate 3 does it well with power-hungry desperate vampires, racist Shar worshipers who have been deceived and corrupted, and military githyanki who will happily kill you in your sleep. They keep Wyll's good nature from going too far and bring his true nature to life, breaking beneath that heroic shell to find the real Wyll.
This is a major theme throughout Baldur's Gate 3, which uses conflicting motives to not only make the companions more interesting, but to make their interactions more organic.
Take Shadowheart. The 'stealing' of the githyanki artifact and his disparaging comments about the githyanki people immediately drive him and Lae'zel apart, but by solving Lae'zels quest by visiting the creche, and challenging Shadowheart's dogmatic upbringing, the two grew close. and help each other. Contrast has value, because it allows you to dive deeper into who these people are.
Veilguard allies should hate each other
In contrast, everyone is too friendly in The Veilguard the second they walk in, leaving no room for such natural interactions and bonds.
For one, Lucanis is possessed by demons, and there is a lack of tension with Neve, who as a Tevinter mage should be careful with the abominations. On the other hand, you'd expect Lucanis to be less trustworthy of a mage… to be a mage killer. Then we have Bellara, who as an elf, would be uncomfortable with Tevinter mages since they had elven slaves. Instead, he is a fan.
Taash and Davrin are the most interesting friends because, although they are quick to bond and make friends, they take time to open up.
A lack of conflict makes everyone feel shallow and lacking in identity. Even major story decisions that have a huge impact on a partner's home and personal life are ignored. No one holds a grudge! I want these people to be angry with me, to blow up, to have these emotional moments. It makes Rook feel flawless and the bond between the members is meaningless.
Even Wyll has his moments of angering Tav. But in a party full of heroes with an actor surrounded by a wheel of dialogue that delights even the sarcastic words, this is impossible. No one is ready to fight, to argue. It's a toxic emotion in the book: they feel dysfunctional and marginalized by refusing to engage with their emotions, but that's not a narrative choice, it's a result of it being so much fun.
If everyone is good, everyone is boring
Of all the other games, I like Bellara. She's sweet, her excitement is contagious, and her refusal to let go of even the worst of adversity is uplifting like nothing else. But at a party where everyone is nice and excited, it's drowned out. What's surprising is that Dragon Age has nailed it with the previous games. We had party members, close, grow into friends long before Baldur's Gate 3 took over. The Veilguard didn't see that, and I don't understand why.
I swear, Rook gets approval just for breathing. I could punch Emmrich in the face and be happy about it.
The game buries a lot of difficult topics in order to make The Veilguard as inoffensive as possible (my colleague Jack Coleman wrote a brilliant article in more detail). And the main side effect of this desire to be delicious is malnutrition. Nothing sticks in my mind more than the horrible things my party did to each other during our journey, whether it was Alistair telling Morrigan to die in the pit or Anders comparing Fenris to a wild dog.
It was these difficult times that made them stick with us all these years later, because they weren't perfect. They have flaws and feel like real people. It was very easy to bond with them and grow in the arcs because they did not support without meaning, moving like robots. I've never felt compelled by a Veilguard ally, and I'm not sure I ever will.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the long-awaited fourth game in the fantasy RPG series from BioWare formerly known as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. A direct sequel to Inquisition, focusing on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.
