The upcoming Dragon Age title, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is one of the most anticipated game releases. Everything that fans have learnt so far has only made them more eager to get their hands on the game.
But it seems like there are some things that may not impress longtime fans. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is deviating from a companion feature that has long been a part of the franchise and fans may be in for a disappointment.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Has Made a Big Change to Companions
Companions have been an important of the franchise and they will be in The Veilguard too. In a conversation with Edge Magazine Issue #401 via GamesRadar+, the game director of The Veilguard Corinne Busche revealed that the studio has not added one companion feature.
She said that the players will not have full control of their companions. Explaining this decision of the studio, Corinne Busche said, “On the experiential side, we wanted you to feel like you are Rook,” and this was to make players feel that the companions are “fully-realized characters.”
She added that the developers wanted the companions to feel like they were in control of their own actions and decisions. The game director also said that this may feel like a bad decision and if players are taken away a feature it is for the good. She further explained:
I will admit that, on paper, if you just read that you have no ability to control your companions, that might feel like something was taken away. But in our testing and validating with players, what we find is they’re more engaged than ever.
Although the developer says that this decision was backed by playtesting and feedback from the players, this may not sit right with many fans. This feature was available in the previous titles and players loved it, so they may have a hard time making their peace with the absence of the feature.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Is More Demanding, Says Bioware
As per the developer BioWare, the companions will have their own quests in the game that will progress even if players swap them with other members. But this change of not being able to control companions may not be liked by fans.
Especially after the developer also cut the companions from three to two. Another reason behind the change that the director gave is that The Veilguard “is a much higher actions-per-minute game. It is more technically demanding on the player.”
She said that when it allowed players to control the companions, it did not add to the experience and also said it felt “detrimental.” However, despite losing control, players may change their companions’ movements during combat and direct them on what to do in certain situations.
This is a big change but if BioWare is to be believed, it is for the good of the game and the players. It remains to be seen how fans feel about this once the game is out. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments!
