GAMINGbible GOTY: Dragon Age: The Veilguard is Emma’s Game of the Year

The passage of time is a funny thing. It can feel like it's gone within a blink of an eye or drawn out like paper thin skin over jagged rocks. The latter is how it felt waiting for Dragon Age: The Veilguard to be released. A decade is a long time to endure when you’re desperate to know what became of a companion you once called a friend, a lover.

Even when I finally had a copy of BioWare’s new title, I was hesitant – what if it failed to move me like the previous games had? To some, such a worry will sound foolish, not to mention extreme; it’s only a video game, after all. To me though, it’s so much more than that. It’s a world to lose yourself in. One overflowing with fascinating lore, stunning vistas, and characters as unique as the settlements they inhabit.

Return to Thedas in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

It’s an expansive adventure that has as many shadows as it does pockets of light, culminating in an immersive narrative you’ll mull over long after you’ve saved Thedas once more. You’ll agree, that’s a formidable legacy to live up to. Yet, Dragon Age: The Veilguard managed to exceed my expectations, even if it didn’t win over the hearts of every fan. I’d go as far as saying it’s one of the best titles of the Dragon Age series, maybe even the best, as controversial as that may be.

My intention is not to cover familiar ground; my issues with the unfair criticism left at BioWare’s door can be read in other features dedicated to such issues. Today is about recognising The Veilguard as not just a Game of the Year contender, but as the rightful winner. I will die on this hill, and likely will once I see the various angry comments in my DMs.

It may be an unusual starting point to begin my argument, but I want to discuss the moment in The Veilguard when I knew that it was my GOTY: ‘The Siege of Weisshaupt’. This is the moment that the game came into its own, ascertaining its dominance as one of the greatest RPG battles I’ve had the pleasure (and pain) of playing through. Intensity grips you from start to finish in a way that had me fearful that some of my companions would die.

Choosing between Treviso and Minrathous had already increased my heart rate as I felt the pang of guilt at having let Neve down. But Weisshaupt was something else. It had such scale unlike anything I’d seen in Dragon Age before, and yes, I'm aware of Origins' incredible finale. This moment beats it. From then onward, I knew that the ending would devastate me in both the worst and best kind of way.

Electronic Arts

The image of me sobbing in my living room at midnight on 5 November, my birthday, having just learnt the truth about Varric will stay with me forever. I wasn’t remotely prepared to deal with the emotions that took hold, leaving me with no option but to stifle my cries so as not to wake my partner. It was such a visceral reaction. Up until that moment, I hadn’t realised how invested I was in the story, nor how much faith I’d placed in assuming everything was exactly as it seemed. There aren’t many video games out there that have moved me to tears, and definitely not with such intensity.

As I sit here thinking back on my very first playthrough of The Veilguard, I’m struck by the enormity of its ambition. BioWare could have faltered, delivering only a half-baked narrative because it didn’t know how to suitably conclude Inquisition’s tale. Instead, it courageously faced down the mammoth beast, unfazed by the potential backlash it could face. In doing so, it carved a path through Thedas that takes many routes, some of which are laced with pure joy, while others deliver another crushing blow.

The final mural we gaze upon is as devastating as it is beautiful. Not every character escapes unscathed; loss is a familiar friend we try to bid farewell to but never let go, and every step taken in the right direction leads to a finale that's bittersweet. There’s entertainment to be found here, but there’s burden that comes with seeking out such performance. That’s when you know an RPG has been done well: when it doesn’t shy away from leaving you a weeping, shaking mess. I doubt this will be the last Dragon Age game we ever get, but if it is to be the end of the franchise, what a way to go.

I pray the Dreadwolf catches my scent again, for Thedas is far from safe. Dragon Age: The Veilguard showed us that there’s more than ancient elven gods that are hellbent on destruction. There's a plethora of evils still lying in wait, biding their time until the next Rook acts without considering the consequences.