Thanks to EA and BioWare, I was treated to a special, extended, hands-on preview of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. I first previewed the game at Summer Game Fest 2024 in a hands-off group demonstration earlier this month,

Leaning on companions? Borrowing from the structure of Mass Effect 2 and 3? References to Final Fantasy 10 and 12 for RPG systems? Pinch me.

Nevertheless, the devs have shared that they have learned their lessons, and Dragon Age The Veilguard will most probably be their return to form. In 2019, Anthem was intended to be BioWare's bold step into a new genre,

Back in June, during Summer Games Fest, I was able to sit down for a behind-closed-doors preview. However, that session was strictly hands-off; we were only able to watch the presenter go through the character creator and play the game's opening prologue. My hands-on at publisher EA was significantly more eye-opening -- and exciting.

Veilguard playtime. During that, we got a good feel for how it plays and its general structure that’ll inform the rest of the game. To immediately echo early buzz from over the summer, the combat is very impressive.