It’s no secret that I have a long, winding history with the Dragon Age franchise. I cite Origins as one of the few games that really did change the course of my life, and Inquisition as my first real taste of what a sprawling, MMO-style RPG could be. Since Summer Game Fest and Veilguard’s official reveal, I’ve been on the edge of my seat waiting for more news about its release. Finally, after a couple of months of waiting, the Dragon Age: The Veilguard launch date is out in the open, and I can’t wait.
Ahead of Summer Game Fest, Bioware was all but silent on the next installment in the fantasy RPG series. While it announced it was changing the game’s name ahead of its SGF reveals, we didn’t know much beyond that – no Dragon Age: The Veilguard release date, much to my disapproval.
Now, however, we’ve seen a sneak peek of its companions, and I took a look at the game in action during SGF itself. Mixing up the RTS elements of Origins with the quickfire hacking and slashing of its sequel, Dragon Age: The Veilguard looks like the perfect blend of old meets new.
We’ll be visiting new locations that have only been spoken about in previous games, with chaos in the Tevinter Imperium kicking off our journey. Blending the Imperium’s ominous, almost cyberpunk-esque magic with huge towers and oppressive alleyways, it’s a gorgeous environment that I can’t wait to explore.
And, of course, there are the companions. You’ve probably seen them all over X (formerly Twitter), and have no doubt already chosen which one you want to romance. My SGF hands-off gave me a tiny peek at how your choices will impact gameplay (will you take Harding or Neve with you to help Varric?) and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
The Dragon Age: The Veilguard release date is set for Thursday, October 31. I’m about to go and book an entire week of work – I suggest you do the same.
While we wait to dive back into the magical world of Thedas and contemplate how to go about smooching Neve (sorry not sorry), we have a list of all the best fantasy games to tide you over. Alternatively, if you’re into the previous games’ heavy narrative focus, here are some of the greatest story games out there.
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