How Dragon Age: The Veilguard devs strived to keep franchise’s “DNA” intact

The floodgate of Dragon Age: The Veilguard information has been opened and I sat down with the devs to ask the most important question: What makes Veilguard a Dragon Age game?

We’re close to a month from the launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard but the prerelease period has been a tumultuous one. Players were quick to judge the game based on its initial reveal trailer.

Critiques of the game’s visuals have been a common cause for concern as well as its perceived tone. I’m happy to say that after a lengthy hands-on preview of the game, my own doubts have been completely assuaged and I’m genuinely excited to return to the world of Thedas.

During my time with the game, I was fortunate enough to speak with Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Game Director Corrine Busche, and its Producer Jen Cheverie. The two devs took the time to explain where this latest entry in the franchise draws from its predecessors, as well as where it departs.

The Dragon Age DNA

While Dragon Age: The Veilguard has a clear visual distinction from previous games in the series, the team behind the game has worked hard to maintain fascets of what came before. Going through the series in order, Director Corrine Busche detailed Veilguard’s many inspirations.

“We knew we wanted to do backstories similar but different to Origins,” she began. “The Grey Wardens play a very large role in this game and that was really a call back to the themes of DAO.” The iconic group serves as one of the key factions of the game and you can even have your player character hail from their ranks.

“When it comes to Dragon Age 2, that was a more active form of combat. and the team really drew a lot of inspiration from that on the baseline foundations of the game,” Busche continued. “When I turn to Inquisition, the depth of the characters, how personal it felt, and also how those companions existed with you out in the world stand out. We drew a lot of inspiration from that.”

All of this was keenly felt in the seven-hour preview of the game that I played through. Particularly the importance of the companions that make up the Veilguard and how integral they felt to the whole experience.

For Dragon Age: The Veilguard Producer Jen Cheverie, the franchise’s legacy lives on in this new game’s content. “There’s so much nostalgia you know. Little bits and pieces for the factions like the Great Wardens and things that players who have been through the whole series can call back to and understand that these references are there for them,” she elaborated

“The influences don’t just stop with Dragon Age,” Busche added. “There’s a lot of Bioware DNA in the game, tributes to how we’ve evolved over the years, and really kind of honoring that evolution.”

It isn’t just Bioware that’s evolved of course. Dragon Age: The Veilguard represents an evolution of the franchise and for the devs, there’s one particular facet of the game that they feel represents this.

Uncharted territory

Veilguard has eschewed the open worlds of its predecessors but the experience is anything but on-rails. While the new locales you’ll visit are less sprawling and more focused, the ability to return at any time and pick up on a side quest or investigate one of the numerous branching pathways you’ve yet to wander down incentivizes adventuring.

“One of the new things I’m really excited about for the Veilguard is the exploration side of the game and the immersive storytelling,” Busche revealed. “The way that everything you’re doing in these new areas, and things you’re doing off the beaten path still give you that world-building and insight into the different groups, characters, and factions that you’re interacting with.”

While this new direction is seen as a departure by Veilguard’s developers, it still exists with fans of the previous games in mind. “I do wanna caveat this,” Chevrie chimed in. “If you are that lore junkie, that long-time DA fan, the bits of information, the callbacks, the environmental storytelling, the answers to some of your burning mysteries, you’re gonna find it through this exploration.”

Players will be able to see where Dragon Age: The Veilguard draws inspiration from older titles and where it breaks from them when it releases on October 31, 2024.

If you’re looking to lock in a copy ahead of time, check out our guide on the game’s various editions and pre-order bonuses.