After the failed reception of Dragon Age: Inquisition, fans have been eagerly anticipating more details about the fourth installment in BioWare’s RPG series, initially announced in 2022 as “Dreadwolf.”
Allegedly in active development for around nine years, the game has likely undergone significant changes and faced changes mid development. Now, EA and BioWare have finally revealed their next installment, titled Dragon Age: The Veilguard, with a cinematic trailer that has captured everyone’s attention for all the wrong reasons.
BioWare has faced significant challenges in recent years. Their recent releases have been met with widespread criticism, with the live service disaster that was Anthem alongside Mass Effect: Andromeda which disappointed just about everyone with its garbage narrative and countless bugs and glitches.
One of the most controversial aspects was the alteration of an attractive actress’s likeness into an unappealing character, coupled with the generally unattractive design of other female NPCs. This approach to character design was a major point of contention among consumers.
Considering BioWare’s recent history of underwhelming releases and the financial disaster that was Anthem, another failure with Dragon Age: The Veilguard could spell the end for the studio. Electronic Arts has a track record of shutting down nearly every development studio it has acquired, so it’s likely BioWare would be next on the chopping block if this game flops.
After years of anticipation, fans were greeted with a cinematic trailer for the upcoming Dragon Age that has been widely criticized. The trailer, which many say resembles a Fortnite fantasy rather than a traditional RPG, has disappointed long-time fans.
The developers, who have been considered “woke,” for years now have clearly embraced diversity and representation in this upcoming installment, leaving nothing to the imagination in a fantasy RPG.
The reveal trailer for Dragon Age: The Veilguard introduces several prominent characters that players will likely encounter throughout their journey. However, the trailer has not resonated with fans, who have outright rejected it.
This is evident from the trailer’s 15.42% like ratio, with only 35,000 likes compared to 192,000 dislikes.
The primary reason for such a massive backlash are the character designs. This new rendition of Dragon Age appears to strictly follow BlackRock’s ideology, focusing heavily on maximizing representation. The characters prominently feature androgynous and masculine “female” designs alongside a diverse array of ethnicities and races, which has not been well-received by the fanbase.
Given that the director of this upcoming installment is a trans “woman” who identifies as a “queerosexual gendermancer,” there is widespread skepticism about potential political pandering in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. With a biography like that, “Corinne” Busche is certainly reinforcing the belief that trans people are mentally ill.
Historically, the Dragon Age series has been known for its gritty and serious design. However, this new installment appears to be the most saturated and vibrant to date. The reveal trailer has left many fans feeling as if Dragon Age: The Veilguard might resemble a hero shooter rather than the traditional RPG experience they expect.
For instance, the character of Lace Harding returns from the previous installment. While her original appearance wasn’t particularly “attractive”, her revised look in this new title is somewhat more “feminine” or as they say today, female representing. However, her design still falls short of being conventional.
Personally, I don’t have strong feelings about her design unless she was depicted as a main protagonist or a central focus. The new design for Lace Harding features more rounded features, making her marginally more feminine in Dragon Age: The Veilguard compared to Inquisition.
Considering she’s one of the first characters introduced in the trailer, the situation only seems to deteriorate from here.
Ticking off the diversity quota, we have Neve, dubbed the detective. She appears to be a generic mage with a dark complexion, leaning more towards Indian than African.
Her design isn’t particularly remarkable it’s rather bland and lacks feminine charm and characteristics. Neve does, however, have a prosthetic leg, further highlighting the trend of catering to “modern audiences” who demand authenticity in fantasy settings.
In a world filled with magic and monsters, there’s apparently a call for disabled warlocks and mages.
Additionally, the trailer transitions to Lucanis, described as a mage killer. Based on his name and design, he doesn’t appear to be depicted as being from a White background, but that’s a minor detail in the grand scheme.
Another central character revealed is Bellara. Her introduction, demeanor, and design come across as overly flamboyant and quirky. Described as a Veil Jumper, she has a brown complexion and elf ears.
Despite having soft facial features, she is relatively unattractive. As is often the case with games designed around DEI and ESG agendas, androgyny seeps in like a cancerous plague, creating genderless hybrids void of typical female characteristics, resulting in bland, if not unattractive, female characters. All by design.
Following her introduction, we’re treated to another common trope in modern games, particularly in the hero shooter genre: the effluent old man, presumably gay. Emmrich the necromancer fits this role perfectly, with a design that appears more flamboyant than wise.
It seems modern game design has a disdain for the concept of old and wise characters with a traditionally masculine appearance. The idea of an elderly yet formidable figure, reminiscent of Gandalf or Dumbledore, appears to be a foreign concept in contemporary fantasy creations.
Is it really too much to ask for such a design? Apparently so.
After Emmrich’s debut, we encounter BioWare’s most lackluster creation: Davrin the warden. Despite being a Black elf, his appearance doesn’t quite capture the essence of a true elf.
It appears as though BioWare crafted a generic Black male character over nine years and merely attached oversized, pointed ears. His design lacks depth and creativity, leaving little else to discuss. In contrast, other fantasy franchises like Elder Scrolls put considerable effort into races like the “Dunmer.”
Davrin’s design comes off as uninspired and lazy by comparison. He’s just a man with dark skin that has some big pointy ears.
Lastly, we meet Tassh, dubbed the “dragon hunter.” Upon their introduction, it’s perplexingly difficult to discern their gender accurately. While their facial features lean heavily toward masculinity, an incongruous heart-shaped chin piercing adds confusion.
Their body design, however, exudes a more feminine vibe. It’s reasonable to speculate that Tassh’s ambiguous and unattractive appearance might be a significant factor in the widespread rejection of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, as they seem to embody unappealing androgyny, the most common trope with modern game design.
It wouldn’t come as a shock if Tassh was intended to be portrayed as female in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Given their prominent placement in promotional material, including the trailer thumbnail, it’s probable that they were meant to represent a female character and BioWare are trying to milk as much virtue signaling brownie points as possible.
As they’ve managed to create a cast of gender-neutral figures to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) standards are met, accompanying players on their fantastical journeys.
The trailer has sparked widespread disdain and criticism largely due to the perceived generic and unappealing character designs. It’s evident that the game’s development has spiraled out of control, especially considering BioWare’s layoff of 50 employees, including esteemed writer Mary Kirby, known for scripting beloved characters like Sten and Varric in the Dragon Age franchise.
With the departure of the original staff, BioWare has undergone significant changes, with progressive and activist figures like director “Corinne” Busche taking the helm, a deluded man who believes it to be a woman.
Many fans feel that BioWare’s recent output has been subpar, with titles like Mass Effect Andromeda and Dragon Age Inquisition failing to resonate with audiences. Some attribute these shortcomings to the adoption of EA’s Frostbite engine, which has proven to be ill-suited for RPGs.
Former BioWare employees have spoken out, claiming that EA’s insistence on using Frostbite has hindered their ability to create compelling games. Electronic Arts’ reluctance to allow BioWare to develop their own in-house engine, potentially due to cost and time constraints, has further exacerbated the issue.
Previous successful titles like the original Mass Effect trilogy, built on the Unreal Engine, and 2011’s Dragon Age 2, developed on BioWare’s own engine, highlight the effectiveness of tailored engines for their respective designs rather than using EA’s own engine because it saves money.
Consumers aren’t merely upset; they’re furious about this announcement. Across various platforms, people are expressing their outrage, ridiculing BioWare’s downfall. Some are even comparing the aesthetics of Baldur’s Gate 3 to what should have been the essence of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
It’s astonishing that BioWare managed to create something even more ugly and less appealing than an RPG that allows you to fuck a bear.
Critics are quick to point out the game’s resemblance to Suicide Squad and Fortnite, rather than embodying the promised dark fantasy. The prolonged development, likely fraught with midstream redesigns, reflects EA and BioWare’s prioritization of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) financing over actual consumer satisfaction, a sentiment reflected in the overwhelmingly negative feedback.
With development stretching over nine years, the associated costs likely soar into the hundreds of millions. While this might seem standard for AAA titles today, Dragon Age: The Veilguard faces immense pressure to sell millions of units to recoup these staggering expenses.
However, with a dislike-to-like ratio surpassing 5.5 to 1, it’s a grim forecast for financial success. The ramifications of its failure will reverberate, particularly affecting Electronic Arts and potentially spelling the end for BioWare, especially if the game fails to make a waves upon its release later this year.
