Dragon Age: The Veilguardhasn’t clicked with me yet, and I’m 20 hours in. While it’s an adequate game, it has a lot of flaws that each make it a little harder to love. Much of theexisting lore and themes have been left by the wayside, the dialogue wheel isawful, the romances aredisappointing, there’sno interpersonal tension between companions,interactions are superficial… I could go on.
The Veilguard’s Characters Are Pretty Boring
Honestly, I could get past a lot of my disappointment if the characterisation had been better. Considering the game was renamed to put more focus on the Veilguard, your party of companions, these characters should have been complex. Instead, they’re mostly one-note – they’re individual enough that they stand apart from each other, but none of them are very interesting beyond the surface level.
This is especially disappointing considering that Dragon Age is so beloved largely because of its iconic characters, who return game after game and are woven into its intricate narrative. Even characters who have been with us the whole time, like Morrigan, feel flat and out of character here. I’m nowhere near finishing the game – I’m not even at the midpoint yet – so my feelings about this might change, but so far, these characters aren’t very memorable and I don’t feel strongly about any of them yet.
Except Manfred. I Would Die For Manfred
I’ve gotten far enough into the story that I’ve fully assembled my team, having just picked up Taash and Emmrich and begun to do some of their side content. I will say that I’m more fond of these two than I am of the rest of the team – Taash’s brash demeanour and Emmrich’s overwhelming politeness are pretty endearing.
But none of the Veilguard has brought me even a fraction of the joy that Manfred, Emmrich’s assistant, has. To get this out of the way, Manfred is a reanimated skeleton – well, kind of. He’s actually a curious Wisp who Emmrich placed into a skeleton, reconstituted from the bones of various people. He has gigantic green jewels in place of eyeballs, and wears a backpack. He makes you tea. He will play rock, paper, scissors with you. He can’t talk, so he communicates only through emotive hisses. He’s a delight, and also my son.
Manfred is obviously the game’s comic relief, but like Davrin’s griffon Assan, he’s more pet than character. He’s likeDragon Age: Origins’ Mabari, except instead of being a huge hound, he’s a walking skeleton who’s equal parts cute and funny. He doesn’t seem to have a stream of consciousness, per se, but hedoeshave a personality, conveyed entirely through weird noises.
It certainly helps that Manfred is voiced by the excellent Matt Mercer, who, as far as I can tell, has never flubbed a role. The man can emote through any means, including, as we’ve seen here, hisses. I’ve talked to all my companions many times, but none of them have made me giggle with glee at a beautifully timed hiss of annoyance.
While this attests to Mercer’s skill, it also makes me kind of sad that 20 hours into a game, out of a whole cast of romanceable companions that I take into battle and wander the world with, my favourite character is the one that doesn’t talk. Again, I’m only about halfway through, so my feelings might change, but even if these characters do start to grow on me later, it shows that The Veilguard has a bit of a writing problem. It’s certainly not up to par with the earlier games, which is a real shame. If more of them were like Manfred, I might not even be writing this article.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
WHERE TO PLAY
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, it focuses on red lyrium and Solas, the aforementioned Dread Wolf.
