I’m heading to Dragon Age: Guardian of the Veil comes as something of a shock to longtime fans who have followed the fantasy series since its beginnings. The game does not apply Dragon Age Keep, an application that players could apply to track their previous decisions made in other Dragon Age games – decisions that could result in unexpected results in a recent title. This browser application allowed players to save their game by viewing both major and minor decisions that could then influence events in the upcoming game. But Curtain cover he abandoned the Stronghold entirely, narrowing the state of the world down to three main questions. It ended up being a better narrative than I expected, and it’s less of a waste than I feared.
The stronghold tracked the decisions made by the Hero of Ferelden (the game’s hero Dragon Age: Origins) and Hawke (z Age of the Dragon 2), which could create some very different scenarios Dragon Age: Inquisition. For example in mine Inquisition in the game, Alistair is the king of Ferelden. For someone else, he might be a Gray Warden that players encounter in the field – and potentially even sacrifice! I saved Connor, the possessed child magician, in Redcliffe, and he showed up InquisitionRedcliffe, assuring me that I had made the right choice. On the other hand, I supported King Bhelen in taking the throne of Orzammar Dragon Age: Originsand Age of the Dragon 2 I learned that Bhelen had systematically hunted and murdered the entire family of his competitor Harrowmont. Yes!
Taking these decisions and paying them off has been incredibly rewarding, but embarrassing Guardian of the Veil to ancient gamers’ canons would be very tough. Instead come all three possibilities Inquisitionlast DLC, Trespasser. These are:
1) Which companion did the Inquisitor have an affair with?
2) Was the Inquisition disbanded or was it incorporated into the Order?
3) Did the Inquisitor condemn Solas or decide that he could be saved?
Trespasser explains the importance of second choice very well; The Inquisition is full of spies and prone to corruption, but has access to combat power and resources. The dissolution of the Inquisition leads to the creation of a much smaller group, but less susceptible to external intrigues. The other two options are much more personal and take place as Rook interacts with the Inquisitor Guardian of the Veil. This petite selection of options is actually perfect.
One of the reasons I don’t mind having a relatively neat slate is this Guardian of the Veil takes place in the global north; we don’t even visit the notable lands of Ferelden or Orlais. Ultimately, the choices players made in previous games about who would hold the Sun Throne and whether to support the mages or the templars are irrelevant to this recent story. This doesn’t bother me – after three games of arguing about the morality of magician circles and the power of the Templars, I’m cheerful to tackle recent issues.
It also frees BioWare’s designers from the sophisticated quantum canon that the Stronghold allowed. Is the Hero of Ferelden an elf, human or dwarf? Are they alive, dead, or maybe a monarch? Who serves as Divinity: Cassandra, Leliana or Vivienne?
There are choices that I admit I wish Guardian of the Veil could be explained, especially the fate of the Well of Sorrows, but with a 10-year gap in between Inquisition AND Guardian of the VeilI understand why BioWare decided to start over. Fortunately, there are plenty of recent areas to explore and I don’t feel like I miss the Stronghold too much. Hopefully, if we get more Dragon Age games in the future, BioWare will find recent ways to integrate previous choices.
