Every time a newDragon Agegame comes out, its extremely different from the one that came before.
Veilguard is no exception.
Thelast game was an open-world RPGwith a bunch of mindless side activities.
This one is mission-based and significantly more streamlined than any other game in the series.
The previous games emphasized group tactics.
This one is more focused on individualized action.
The previous games had muted colors and realistic graphics.
This one leans into saturation, expressive lighting, and more stylized visuals.
I think this point is, generally, overblown.
Veilguard’s graphics areslightlystylized.
In that way, Dragon Age is a whole lot likeSerious Sam.
The thing you better know about Sam is that he fights way more monsters than any other shooter hero.
The only other games attempting to do a similar thing are musou titles likeDynasty Warriors.
Serious Sam 3 was an equally hard swerve in the opposite direction.
Though every DA is a character-driven RPG with a recurring cast, they change in basically every other way.
It wasn’t open-world, and instead had you traveling between towns on an overworld map.
The combat (on PC, at least) was real-time with pause, like the classic CRPGs.
Dragon Age 2 traded out real-time with pauses in favor of straight action combat.
And, as we know, Inquisition went open-world, while The Veilguard has returned to a mission-based format.
No game in this series really prepares you for any other game in the series.
I’ve tried to think of analogues, and I’m coming up empty.
Minecraft, kind of?
But Story Mode, Dungeons, Earth, and Legends are all spin-offs, not sequels.
Serious Sam is the only other one I can think of.
Congratulations, Dragon Age.
You’re in, uh, weird company.
