Instead of speaking on my worries regarding a game that has not even been released yet, I want to commend your video style! Starting off firmly with positives and then moving to negatives is a great way to structure your videos and makes me feel like you're not just another KZfaqr looking for ragebait clicks. Keep up the optimism! Thank you for the videos!

Damn that Dorian point is spot on... I was like wtf, where is Dorian? Also, the writing seems a bit sub-par tbh, the whole scene with them trying to break the ritual looks a bit silly... but maybe there's going to be some build up to that

OK, but I also remember the 'gameplay' presentation for Anthem that turned out to be almost entirely dishonest. I'd be a fool to trust them again.

I am optimistic for this game as the guy who Wrote Trespasser is the lead writer for this DA game. The same guy that also wrote Solas, Taash, and also Mordin Solas in ME2/ME 3. So I am actually excited. Personally I like the fluidity of the gameplay combat (not really into tactical stuff). It does give me ME2 vibes so I am again optimistic and excited.😊

You kinda touched on this in your discussion about the combat, but the companions had so little impact on the combat that they may as well have not been there. Like, you could see them there using their weapons, but the enemies basically didn't take damage until the player dashed over and started mashing. That's fine in God of War, but maybe not what I would have gone with in a party-based rpg. But that's just me, and I find it hard to get into the story of a game if I'm not hooked by the stuff that happens in between the talking.

My inquisitor was an elf. I helped the world and made friends along the way but I'm totally here the elf uprising🎉

I completely agree with the idea of having the option to help Solas. My favorite playthrough of Origins was of an oppressed elf with vengeance on his mind

My main reservation stems from its action nature. The genre is pretty hit and miss for me. Even if the gameplay is a problem for me, it’s not a complete dealbreaker if the story is good enough. I found the FF7 remake’s gameplay to be frustrating, but I found the way they brought Midgar and all of the side characters to life compelling enough that I just dropped the difficulty setting down and still enjoyed the play through, but I’d obv. prefer to enjoy all aspects of the game. Based on the title change citing that the game didn’t deal primarily/exclusively with Solas, my prediction is that somewhere in the first act or two Solas is successfully talked down (somewhat) to where he’s still trying to free the elves but maybe he’s willing to entertain ideas other than usher in the apocalypse to do so, but in what he did before backing off of the tear down the veil plan, maybe something slips through that threatens to finish the job, and dealing with that becomes the main thrust of the story. I dunno, just speculation, but that would at least make some sense assuming the name change’s cited reasoning is accurate; it wouldn’t be the first time red herrings got thrown out to keep fans guessing if not, but that at least makes sense to me, especially given Solas’s character throughout Inquisition. He struck me as the sort of person who wouldn’t be uninterested if an alternative plan if a viable alternative to mass death and destruction were presented to him.

Been waiting on your take of this. DAO was my fav dragon age by far, with my interest in the series dropping with each additional game. Thanks for the release!

"Rook" happens to be the name of my first D&D character. He was a Bard, so naturally I'm hoping for a Rapier for either Warrior or Rogue.

One thing I noted was it looked like this was played on a PS5 so maybe the cut scene textures aren't as fuzzy on PC.

I can only assume this "Veilguard" has something to do with protecting the mortal world from demons. Either that or protecting bridal accessories from moths.

It's been a while since I played the other Dragon Age games, but I think there was a resource cost associated with certain skills, and I think I remember in Inquisition there even being a lyrium potion that you could craft and worked like a mana potion for whatever your resource type was, so I don't see the action point resource being a major issue depending on how it builds throughout the game. If I were to guess, you probably get more pips either at certain character levels (maybe 5, 10, 15 and 20?) or from taking certain passive skills in the skill tree, or perhaps even from reaching certain tiers of the skill tree, and the more powerful skills will likely require more pips to activate. Personally, I hope the action point pips are specific to the rogue-type class that the Rook in the reveal was using and that Mages use Mana like in the other games, since I can't imagine Mage gameplay being enjoyable if they are limited to using 1-2 spells consecutively at level 1 before needing to start attacking to replenish their pips. While DAO is still my favorite in the franchise, I've had a long time to accept that the Dragon Age devs don't think of players like me as their core audience, so I've learned that expecting anything out of the stories in Dragon Age games based on the previous games is just setting a foundation for guaranteed disappointment. I'd love for the reality shaping kid storyline from the first game to become canon and be built into something significant in one of the Dragon Age games, but it hasn't happened and it will never happen, which is how I feel about all the previous storylines. If you accept that the trash endings from Mass Effect 3 are how Bioware honors their history, then nothing Veilguard does can hurt you 🙂

7:46 Agreed its good gives them more believability as people. I remember hearing Iron Bull and Dorian would start something but I never got to see it in my playthrough because of the party banter bug that made them trigger very rarely *womp womp* had to end up looking it up on YT instead.

I think Dorian said that seeing Qunari is common in Tevinter. They work as traders, bodyguards etc.

Hallmarks of the Dragon Age series: - The setting and lore is probably the best in mainstream fantasy gaming, even vs Witcher and D&D settings - Difficult, important, ambiguous choices - Building relationships with party members - Expanding my base and/or opening up more of the world - Set-piece encounters that were story and combat combined - Continuity of decisions in and between games The fanbase has shown that we can adapt to different combat/playstyles, but my opinion is that those are the hallmarks of what make a "Dragon Age" game. I think the Witcher series stole some of the thunder from this series by delivering these as well, but am hopeful that we can at least get a serviceable and fun game in this universe again.

I am abstaining myself from giving an opinion. I am keeping my expectations low. And that's about it.

Cant wait for this, great video sir!

Definitely disagree about relationships being bad in DA2. I think it’s one of its biggest strengths and a huge setup from DAO. I love that you can still romance someone if they’re a friend OR a rival, and either way creates a different dynamic. Totally agree about everything else though. I’m really excited about the backgrounds and hope there will be lots of reactivity in dialogue.

I can pretty much echo what you said for pluses and minuses based on what we have seen. In the end, it all comes down to the writing. One positive that I didn't catch until now was the Origins coming back. I thought that was just a sort of background flavor text. If it is like the DA:O system, with quest prologue and continuing impact on the story, then that will be awesome. That was my favorite part of DA:O and really improves replayabillity. One potential negative is that I worry that Solas' story will be wrapped up in the prologue, which is why we see him so early, maybe, since they've retitled the game. I am also hopeful that Dorian will show up---maybe he will be running the keep we'll have--though it is too bad he isn't a companion.

Thank you for all the new information that wasn't in the trailer, much appreciated. I am feeling better about the game than yesterday at least. I really hope the writing is top notch, because I'll forgive a lot of other flaws if it is, I suffered through Witcher 1 because I enjoyed the story a lot. Still hate the limit on party and skills. Melee classes might be ok with dodging and attacking, but I am NOT looking forward to stand in the back with a mage that only knows three spells. Vivienne would definitely not approve. 😝

the combat system sounds like FF7R's combat system and that system was pretty fun

Let's go 🔥

A another great video my friend and I always look forward to your videos.Because they always have a lot of great information.And I am not a big fan of the combat myself,but I am with you on the story.And I would definitely like to see what character creation looks like.So please keep up the great work that you do, and bless you and your family

im glad im not the only one hoping for the chance to side w/ solas, inquisition kinda disappointed me w/ trespasser bc i was agreeing w/ him the whole time so i hope theyve listened to people who said they wanted the chance to chose his side of things

i agree ME gave you some missions where you had to split your team for some story reason or another so you were left with a 2 man team for periods of time I imagine they will do that a lot here

Oh, and I wholeheartedly agree with you regarding the playersexual aspect!

I have fully completed DAO multiple times, completed DA2 once, didn't complete DAI because I got bored about 1/3 of the way through the game. This trailer and gameplay footage confirms my concerns that the series is moving further and further away from what I loved about it (interesting and meaningful story and character interactions) and more towards generic action hero beatemup. The Wardens were not even mentioned, darkspawn are nowhere to be seen, the dialogue seems like it was plucked out of a Guardians of the Galaxy movie. (No hate for GotG, it's just not the type of vibe that fits in the DA setting) This game looks like it was created by someone who has a deep understanding of DA and wanted to make a game that had nothing in common with it on any level. It might even be a good game for all I know, but a DA game it is not.

Thanks for the video

I appreciate hearing your perspective! I am mostly positive on what I've seen and read thus far and will be buying the game on day one. Obviously this is going to be another divisive Dragon Age but I think I will enjoy it myself.

I think it looks great. They've been mixing up the gameplay with each entry so it doesn't bother me. And honestly, I think the faster pace with the dodges and parrys looks fun. Though need to see other classes as well. As for the look, I think its fine. The only real off putting thing is I think the faces/skin needs a bit more texture work. Some of those shots of Varic just looked a bit too airbrushed. Tone wise it seems the same as any other part of Dragon Age to me so far. Will have to see how the rest of it holds up as we get closer to release.

I disagree about purple Hawke. That's my canon, but red Hawke is also a lot of fun and is lowkey just as funny as purple Hawke for different reasons. Purple Hawke also has the least "specialized" options. But I agree with most of what you said. And I like how you're remaining cautiously optimistic.

I wonder if they will bring back specialized classes from da3 or if the larger skill trees is going take care of that. As long as the areas are varied and different from each other, I don't mind it not being open world. Most open world games today are empty and have nothing to do other than getting a little more xp

area design i want is for it to be less like base inquisition, and more like the dlcs jaws of hakkon and the descent. Jaws of Hakkon for the more openish parts of the game, and the descent for the main mission areas.

It was really upsetting not be able to romance harding in DAI, glad i can in this one tho, hopefully.

I hope they somehow bring Hero of Ferelden, I really do...

I agree with pretty much everything you said. I’ll be continuing to watch your DA videos! Thanks for the content

Rook is likely an agent name, like sister nightingale.

I'm overall kind of excited for this. I don't like how spongy the enemies are and wish they took less damage amd dealt out more damage. I like action combat when it's fast and lethal on both sides. I personally kind of like the playersexual charcters just due to how few companions there are and I'd rather have 3 girls to choose from than like 1 or 2. The time was better but still not great. Overall it's a much better showing and moved me from a "stay away" to a "will probably buy providing that the game isn't broken"

Pretty much agree with you, yet, it’s not a game I’m willing to pay full price if it just boils down to a great story and nothing beyond that. I’ll wait till it goes on sale.

The most fun a portion of today’s gamers can have is hating on games.

they did my boy pride demon dirty bruh

No, the origins will not be like they were in Dragon Age origins. That's just not true. They're just backgrounds. You will not get to play 2 hours of handcrafted gameplay and story specifically catered to your background choices/race etc. All these background choices are... are tags attached to your character. Ie. there will be dialogue moments where they reference your background (maybe an extra mission based on that background), but that is it.

Gonna make the first ever qunari grey warden

Call me lazy but I actually like the fact that I dont have to control my companion in combat. Sure I can give out order but I dont have to control their every move. I also like auto level up button. Leveling up without those buttons is tedious. There so much info u need to absorb before u can make the decision.

Thanks for your thoughts as always. Now.... Everyone!!!....I want you to think positive, we are still getting KCD2 this year:D. Peace

What about destroying green vases to get health potion? That confirms no crafting and no healing class/spells

I was pleasantly surprised to not hate the gameplay reveal. If there’s good variety in combos and powers while enemies have movesets complex enough to require smart dodging and blocking it could be a pretty good action system. Impossible to tell at this point if they flop the writing of the story and companions but the gameplay looks like it may turn out alright. Trust me I wish we still had classic in depth rpgs but old bioware is dead and gone so I’m trying to look at this as something new since this is what they’re doing now. what I want to see next is warrior gameplay and the skill trees themselves to see how far this system actually goes.

The gameplay is what lowered my hype for the game. From watching the trailer, this seems to be the 100th uninspired action game that released this year. Why would I pay EA full price to play this when I can buy the daily 19.99$ indie action game from steam and basically get the same experience?

I remain skeptical. Mainly due to the fact that this game has been scrapped multiple times. Additionally I don't believe right now BioWaste still has any good writers. Maybe they have but taking last couple years into consideration and firing of senior writer (the one responsible for Varic in DA2) makes it very suspicious for me. Additionally I prefer my DA games having darker story tones that would be reflected in overall presentation but this one looks quite "bubblegummy" to me.

I want Blood Magic back

you basically echoe'd my thoughts. as for the content. just have fun. we will be in the live stream yucking it up.

I'm really looking forward to the game because I love the franchise, but I really wanted to be able to play unarmed, I don't understand how everyone thinks that releasing a fireball from your hand is normal but punching a monster in the face is not.

Maybe you can do a video about the skill-tree. What does the skills do and are they more range or front combat.

Honestly, I've never really played a dragon age game before but I heard it was good. Was planning on playing the franchise, but I'm a bit skeptical now hearing how much they've changed the game. It's the same problem I had with Mass effect. I was planning on playing the first three and then andromeda came out. So I'm not sure if I should get into a franchise while being a completionist when the latest entries seem to be making the wrong decisions for hardcore fans.

Ibthought "Rook" was just what everyone called you. Sorta like how in the last game, everyone just calls you "Inquisitor". But you still name your character. I guess it would get old fast. Anyway, I'm a bit more optimistic about this game than I was not that long ago. I hope Bioware got their stuff together, because if this flops, we ain't seeing another Mass Effect game.

Do we know who is in that sky fort? Is it Tevinter? Maybe it's Dorian?

16:43 I don't think Rook is your title it's your character's name like Hawke or Shepard. Maybe we'll get a grandiose title later.

I actually like that all the companions are romanceable. While I agree that it removes some flavour from the characters, a huge gripe of mine has been that historically, Bioware made *the most* lesbian-coded characters straight (Jack from ME2 and Cass from DA Inquisition), and it felt really limiting to me. I also agree that the trailers and gameplay style seem to be dumbed down, and it's sad to see game developers doubt the intelligence of their audience, especially with how big of a hit Baldur's Gate 3 was. Anyways, I'm in it for the character depth and worldbuilding, so as long as that standard persists, I'm not too upset about the gameplay or art style. I do wish they would get rid of 'The' in 'The Veilguard'. It's a lot snappier, and DAV is better than DATV. I love your videos, I think you touched on some really good points (I really hope that the slave rebellion is a major story beat), and your laugh is infectious. Subbed for sure, can't wait to see your reactions to the game when it comes out!

As Hawke said "That's the problem with change: things change." It will never be DAO and anyone who keeps wanting that (or throws that complaint around without actually having played it) is going to be disappointed. The original team is long since gone and as a fan since 2009, I'm happy we're getting a freaking dragon age story in the year of our Maker 2024 and I'm there for the plot. I am not getting younger. Seeing the true big bads (if ykyk) is what I wanted and I was properly surprised to see it at the end of the gameplay.

My inquisitor romanced solas. she would be here =(

Personally, I am not interested in any video game romances. If they have to be there though, I agree with you that characters having personalities where they are interested in a specific thing is the way to go. In Baldur's Gate 2 I used to play a dwarf or half-orc because I was tired of Jaheira, Aerie, and Viconia always wanting a piece of my Bhaalspawn. It gives you reasons to replay the game if you're into that sort of thing, and also makes the existing ones more impactful since they were specifically written. I think it is absolutely ridiculous when devs program all characters to be interested in your main character regardless of race, gender and alignment. But, I'm very biased because I want nothing to do with romances in my games... I just want to clear out that undead infested mausoleum or rescue my old friend from that malevolent sorcerer.

Agree about not being able to help civilians in the opener since I typically play a decent character. Showing level 1 rogue combat wasn't a great idea imo, hoping they at least show some mid level combat soon. If the enemies look that tanky on what I assume is a lower difficulty I hate to think about the higher ones. Idk how I feel about only having two companions and not being able to switch to them will have to actually play it to see how it feels. I even hated when Pillars went from 6 to 5 party size. Still I'm just happy to get a new Dragon Age game.

My thoughts are about the same as it was when we first saw the Alpha build maybe it'll be good, that'd be great, but I'm not expecting much instead of me thinking Bioware is about to get pulled off life support right after I saw that reveal trailer lol. Utimately what was shown just wasn't enough for me to really judge beyond it not being what I would've preferred don't know if it'll be good or bad. They've said some interesting stuff like Origins coming back, the character creator, that we have a huge skill tree etc but I need to *see* it before I believe it.

While I'm sad this won't be more of a traditional CRPG, I'm up for playing this as long as the characters are and story are up to the standard Bioware was known for in the past. Hopefully Veilguard is successful enough combined with BG3's massive success that Bioware gets the greenlight for more traditional CRPG games. Given development cycles, I hope we see a rich market for CRPGs in the next few years. The gameplay video is a little weird watching a level 1 character fight like the fantasy version of Batman. But I guess maybe it's a good thing that you aren't a complete wimp at level 1.

👍🏾👍🏾💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💪🏾💪🏾

yes it looks more like DAI, so am less concerned as well. Not going to preorder the game, will wait for it to be released and reviewed by fans of the series.

Varric is greatly overused being in 3rd game in a row, and being a party member twice. Love them but writers, move on already. Great idea having Dorian instead for advisor role. Sarcastic Hawk is my headcanon, for real 💯 "Combat is terrible" sad truth 💀 "Mid-game footage" YES THANK YOU, showing early gameplay don't have enough actions yet so bland first impressions. "Everything is streamlined, dumb down" yeah...barely looks like an RPG, much less an "action RPG", just "action/adventure" like enemies don't even attack your allies, just Rook only, wth so barely party management anymore now.

This game is DOA. Not a shred of tactical, party-based combat left.

I’m worried it’s gonna feel a lot like dragon age 2. And that wasn’t a bad game but the reused areas were not it. Time will tell.

I dislike not being able to control my party members aswell. But resources were always a thing? Mages have mana, warriors and rogue have stamina. Now, given, they were never over impeditive. But they were always there.

I'm with you on both Player Sexual and the Combat. Dorian's homosexuality was a huge part of his background and who he was. Maybe that's why he isn't here? Combat-wise, based on the damage we're seeing from companions they're effectively not even really in the party. MC is hitting let's say for 20-25% of an enemy health bar with a basic attack. Then you see a companion shoot an arrow for... maybe 2%? So you have to fight everything because they're not doing anything (a far cry from the party-based systems of the other games). And then you can only have TWO of them? So not only do they not really help in a fight, I also lose out on most banter and interactions? My expectations weren't very high, but I really don't see anything of interest here for me. They mostly lost me with DA2, but at least the characters and story were interesting enough for me to get through it on Easy (since the combat was just unfun). DAI was better, but way too MMO. Still I completed it and again enjoyed the characters and the story for the most part. Combat was good enough not to put it on Glorified Cutscene, though it was still not great. This game looks just awful to me. Less companion interaction and probably the worst combat yet? I'll live vicariously through others to see how the story goes.

Good luck impressing post BG3 😆😆😆

The characters aren’t player sexual they are pansexual. There was an interview in IGN where the dev specifically said they were not playersexual. They mentioned that they would reference having previous same sex and hetero relationships and such My view on playersexual love interests rests on how many there are. It is good to have some choices so if there are few I do think it’s a better choice unless their sexuality is critical to their story. Especially when there are multiple straight LIs and the only same sex options are bi. Like it sucked in RT that the two same sex options are both bi and manipulative and deceptive. With the male being from a perverse society

Agreed with your opinion on the combat, it DOES look terrible, too much button mashing hack&slash and “streamlined” even further than the already dumbed down DA:I. Only 3 active skills, only 2 party members and no direct control of your party members…that’s bad. Still, I will probably play this anyway (and DA:O will remain my favourite).

Combat and character designs are meh. Overall though it is looking good! Biggest worry is being limited to just 3 active abilties... What is the point of having a 'vast' skill tree if I can only ever use 3 at a time? Give us the skill bars from DA:O back!

I am of the Firm Belief that those that say DATV is not as "Dark and Gritty" As DAO either never played any of the games, Or only played origins and left the game back then (over a decade ago). They are just sliding on the hate train. You can't tell me that You're comparing this to Origins when There have been 2 successors??? You can't tell me DAO was only Dark and Gritty when it had A lot of comedy and Vinbrant Environments.

Parrying spells with a sword? 🙄

16:57 Same for me. Sexuality isn't so fickle- I hated the forced pan-sexuality. People aren't pan on a whim....

I think the True Hero sort of thing *might* be a thing that was cut for brevity? They did say at the top that things were cut for brevity and for spoilers, and little optional fights or sidequests to risk yourself and save some NPCs feel like something they might have cut from the gameplay preview to get it from point A to point B in an efficient package. We'll see, though!

One point: Someone who is attracted to any gender would be pansexual, where asexual refers to someone without such urges =] To the content: I'm honestly gonna wait on this one and see if I hear if it's good. I agree with your points, especially the demons being uninspired. Now they're just slavering monsters where they used to be really sinister, and even outside of cutscenes they'd often have creepy monologuing in a fight. Now they just come off as mindless brutes =/ And while I also rank story and characters way above combat, it's clear that the latter is gonna be a big part of the game. I was getting sick of the repetetive over-flourished animations just a couple of minutes in, I dunno how much worse it'd feel to sink tens of hours with that as the majority of gameplay. Great reaction, though! Always appreciate your measured takes that lean toward optimism while being very upfront about what doesn't impress you 💚

What, no shard collection?!?! 0/10 instant boycott. 😜 Quality takes all around! I've definitely walked back from the edge after seeing the cinematic trailer. While I'm still not sold on some of what I've seen (the design of the demons looking like the reaper-fied versions of Turians and Asari from ME3 as just one example) I'm more confident now we'll get a quality product. Oh, and I thought Inquisition had the best stoic/renegade/jerk dialogue in the series: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/j85xftuktrLUY4k.htmlsi=YP7GAT2iGWOSQOza

Saw the trailer, expectation of the game was 2/10. Then saw the gameplay, expectation rose to 5/10.

Great stuff as always. To date nothing in the Dragon Age franchise has caught my interest, but this one looks like it could be fun. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Fighter class can do since I'm a huge fan of Greatswords in games.

This is all bad. I can't find a single redeeming quality of this. Everything that I loved about Dragon age, one of my all-time favorite franchises, is now absent in its entirety.. I don't even understand how they can still call this Dragon Age. I'm noticing a theme, that people who didn't like dragon age, or never played it, or recently began playing inquisition, are all happy about this. But people who have helped build the BioWare from the beginning, who are longtime fans, 10 to not appreciate what they've done to the series

Your take is pretty much similar to mine. Large skill trees - Awesome But... the combat looks dogshit, tactics are non-existant and there will be no such thing as party play. And since gameplay is a large focus for me, DA:Vg will most likely be a skip. :)) I am the spreadsheets kinda guy, which I have for qutie a lot of games. DA is clearly not the game for me, especially in it's current itteration. Pathfinder is awesome, but it's also not exactly the game for me, as when I try to spreadsheet and test all kinds of builds and combos, it feels like I'll need a PHD for it, or at least a lot of time on my hands. You should give Wasteland 3 a go, I am sure you will love it. The story is great, the party play is amazing, so is the build variety and if you need to spice up your game with some interesting combos, my spreadsheets and builds are at your disposal :P

In the beginning, you said that they have returned to the origins system? I don't understand how.. where, what are you seeing? Solace doesn't care about the current day l. Not the slaves, nor the traditional elves. The dalish. He made that clear in inquisition. I agree with you about the Romancing stuff though. I can't stand when the NPCs have no built-in personality, and are basically just there for whatever the player wants. They have no depth that way., that said though, BioWare has put way too much emphasis on the romance, and it's created this childish almost perverted entire genre where people are ignoring the entire game, and seemed to only really care about the romance crap. It's embarrassing! I wish they would do away with romance and video games, entirely! It's so rare that it's done well, that it has taken away far too much from gaming. I disagree with you about Baldur's Gate 3. Player sexual is never good I cannot agree about to venture. It looks too modern! They have spotlights, they have neon signs above the stores, it's out of place. Also, the dialogue wheel is the worst option ever devised.

This is, in some ways, and FF16 clone and it looks like it’s gonna play like that. Some people like it and some people won’t.

Not that bad as the trailer was showing but still, Dragon Age as a dark fantasy rpg is dead. It was at the brink of fading away in Inquisition but now it is too far gone. The rpg aspect is minimal since DA2 (which I have not played), the crpg aspect in the same time for a more action focus game, and dark-grey-gritty one was not in DA:I. Probably will be a fine game, but at least not a good DA imo.

Zones can be done much better like ff7 remake ☝️ Open world fails like ff7 rebirth ☝️

I was hyped for yhe game before the trailer released. Then seeing the actual gameplay with the amazing art and the story I'm back on board.

Bioware has not had the ability to tell a compelling story with impactful and memorable characters for a long, long time now. The story and the main character's dialogue will be bland, boring and sanitized just like andromeda. Just going by their recent track record, I can almost guarantee, the game will be a flop and not a return to their roots.

Right now it seems trash from both perspectives tactical/action rpg. Writing seems off, setting feels off, characters are unappealing. Of course I'll wait until actual release, but right now I'm not hyped at all

Gameplay is really souped up. Bioware handling their ips like Square Enix when it comes to Final Fantasy. All these traditional RPG series want to be like action games so bad.

I don't understand your frustrations with "Rook". Hawke was naked Hawke in Dragonage 2 but titled "Champion of Kirkwall", so what's the problem of having a character named Rook but titled something else. If anything, I rather my companions call me by my name instead of calling me "Herald" or "Inquisitor" all the time.

But this is a action game so combat is very important.

The game director actually said they are not playersexual, but pansexual/bisexual. So their sexuality WILL be important to their personality and will be addressed.

Mamma mia! I'm definitely not going to play this game...

I don't acknowledge anything in the series after Awakening. This changes nothing for me.

The major point missing from most of discourse is that every single game has a core audience and community they cater to, and studios want to sell to that core audience. Considering bioware has not been a CRPG since origins, with every susequent release of the DA and ME franchise being an ARPG. I'm not sure why anyone was expecting them to go back to that. In 10 years, who has been supporting the game? Who has been doing playthroughs? Who has kept the IP alive? The Fans of DA2 and Inquisition. When you also factor that all their best selling games were ARPG, why would they make a CRPG now? This game was deep in development and likely almost complete by the time BG3 came out. So im not sure why people thought they would scrap the entire project to suddenly make a game that (until Disco or BG3) wasn't selling and wasn't accessible to many gamers. Obviously, BG3 has flipped that idea upside down, but that was after DA was almost complete. Instead of trashing the game for what genre they cery clearly weren't going to go in. We need to be focused on what we do have, and you are right. There are definitely mechanics that seem worrying. However, for it's target audience, I think they nailed it for the Tumblr/Slashfiction/lifesim girlies with an edge, who are now their core player base for this series.