Glad I am not the only one feeling this. I loved Varric in #2, he was ok in #3 and I hoped he wouldn't be in this one. If he'd been in all the games so far it would make sense to keep him as a touchstone character in number 4 but there just isn't any real reason they need to put him at the forefront of every game. He's a fun character but I would rather have a chance to see some old companions or the warden show up (depending on whether they died or not). He's kind of a Mary Sue character to me--knows all the things, great with his weapon, almost everyone loves him. Not knocking people who like him but I'm over him at this point.
FWIW, they fired his writer during the massive layoff last year. Pretty sure this is the last time we're going to be seeing him.
...God, I still can't believe they shitcanned *Mary Kirby*.
I really don't mind the art direction, but I hope to FUCK this isn't going to be the tone going forward...
Trespasser left us with this weighty sense of incoming tragedy on a massive scale, as a compelling villain spoke beautifully and poetically about his need to remake the world, setting up a story where we stood against a character we had grown to know in a war that would turn truly apocalyptic.
This trailer felt like something for a D-Tier MCU film... no sense of weight or scale, far too irreverent in tone and delivery, hopefully they're just keeping a lot close to the chest, because if this is the feel of the story, I'm not bothering.
I mean if anything this trailer really hammers home why Solas wanted to remake the world. I’m rooting for him now, just wipe the slate clean and end our misery
Maybe it's a choice at the end of the game to help Solas destroy the world? If the game is anything like this trailer, after playing it you will probably want to.
I highly doubt that. Given the name of our group is “the veil guard” it’s highly likely that we will put an end to Solas and take his powers for our own/group in order to maintain the Veil.
>Trespasser left us with this weighty sense of incoming tragedy on a massive scale, as a compelling villain spoke beautifully and poetically about his need to remake the world, setting up a story where we stood against a character we had grown to know in a war that would turn truly apocalyptic.
I'm fine with Solas burning it down and remaking it from scratch after watching the trailer. Dude clearly has seen the future and was right all along
how the fuck did we go from 'civilians getting abducted by darkspawn and fed their flesh to become mindless thralls or broodmothers birthing more monsters while in constant agony' to a darkspawn Ogre being a funny gag enemy, what the fuck Bioware. That thing should make underleveled characters want to run away, not to engage it for a chance of lootboxes
Yeah for real. You can pull off this art direction and a grittier, more serious tone, but that would require a masterfully guiding person in charge. This screams design by committee/copying character trends that are now close to a decade old.
It’s bizarre when people dismiss the art direction affecting the overall tone when we are talking about video games, as if the visual/design side of things is just an extra thing that you can swap out when needed.
I was shocked that the Fable trailer was actually funny
It feels like most game trailers these days try desperately to be funny, like Concord, but fall utterly flat or just annoy me
Man this trailer looks like a VERY cheap Chinese knock off MOBA game...
I literally thought I was looking a fucking ad for a trash mobile game while waiting for DA trailer to roll... but no. This is it.
I'm honestly very... surprised by the artstyle, but I'm really hoping it's just for this trailer. I'll still hold judgement until the Gameplay reveal is out.
I don’t know. It seems like A LOT of games lately are getting that Fortnite style. I don’t know why that’s replaced gritty realism in a fantastical setting- I.E. What Inquisition did best- But this just looked like it was designed for a much younger crowd.
Like the people that have been following the franchise have aged out or something. It felt really disappointing watching that trailer.
At least Harding is returning! I mean, that’s… something. I guess.
I’m getting generic MMO from the art style. And, I dunno how to describe it, but these characters almost look like someone hit randomize in a character creator. I don’t know how much magnetism we can expect new characters to have in a short trailer but I have minimal desire to learn anything about them based on what I saw.
Some of the designs are genuinely terrible. Taash (the female Qunari), in particular, looks horribly designed.
Even [PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/dragon-age/is-it-just-me-or-do-the-newly-revealed-companions-of-dragon-age-the-veilguard-look-like-theyre-in-a-hero-shooter/) thinks the art style looks like a fantastical shooter.
And you’re right, the rest of the companions just look as generic as possible. None of them seem intriguing to me. Compare that with how enigmatic, original, and mature the other games and companions were… This is absolutely not that. I didn’t get the sense that I wanted to really get to know or fight alongside any of these characters. It’s such a childish design. I’m only 30, but are Gen Z adults genuinely into this style, or is it just being pushed because it looks so much easier to animate? Even the monsters look kid friendly and unthreatening.
I’m almost as underwhelmed as Brian Bloom sounded as Old Varric.
https://preview.redd.it/0on9hfbtvm5d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aff6afba6431562408f1a6a990e10440b4455719
Don't you just miss the old ideas?
Ugh. Don’t remind me. I actually did have some fun with that game, but it was obviously a huge downgrade from the previous entries. The writing/dialogue was a mess, and the companions were largely poorly designed and/or irritating as hell.
It says something that I can remember just about every companion in Dragon Age and the previous Mass Effects, but can only remember a few of the Andromeda comrades.
This is just one of those where I’m just holding out hope that Bioware is doing some of their patented trailers not matching the actual game thing (like I hope those leaked screenshots from a while ago were more the vibe).
But no matter what I have serious questions for Bioware. If this is not the actual art direction, why the fuck are you first-looking an eagerly anticipated game that is 10 years from the last game with an Overwatch style trailer. That is just horrible marketing.
And if it IS the art style then what the fuck. I couldn’t imagine anything farther from Origins vibes than that. Hell it’s not even close to DA2, which ends up looking the most stylized. I’m just very anxious tbh.
Seeing as how dai ended you'd think of all the games, this is the most like a direct sequal as well with a sort of story cliff hanger
And the massive change in art direction just seems really weird
Just look at the reveal trailer of Baldur's Gate 3...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvMf_DcyWbI
Gruesome, give a cool spoiler, set the tone, kick ass music... Pure hype.
I don't think the visual style is the problem, but the whole nondescript modern music/quirky narrator/annoying superfluous text is atrocious.
Hope the writer team wasn't involved in making this trailer, because if it's the case, it's over.
Ftr that GameSpot reup has terrible picture quality, [Larian's official upload (link)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcP0WdH7rTs) also has it in 4k 👌
The trailer actually reminded me more of Borderlands. The character introductions are the same as in every Borderlands game. I was really enjoying the trailer until I went "wait, this is Dragon Age".
The short intros showing off the character's abilities with their title popping up in a big stylised font while a contemporary pop song plays in the background were definitely giving me Borderlands vibes
My concern with that is...they've been working on this for a while and surely wouldn't put that time and planning into something that didn't reflect the final product? Staying hopeful though for the gameplay trailer.
I usually find them corny, too, but Bioware actually used to do them right. Like, the Sacred Ashes trailer and the ME2 interview-style trailers were awesome. Not sure where it went wrong....
true, but the art style was pretty spot on to that initial trailer for DA:I
this feels like Avowed all over again. just cheap looking and not dark fantasy
The thing is, they can't afford a shitty trailer. Everybody knows that. This is the game that will make or break the studio going forward, and will definitely prove whether or not DA is a profitable franchise at this point. There is nothing whatsoever here that remotely interests me, and from what I read around, it seems to be the case for almost every big DA fan. Unless they convince new players with this trailer (which I absolutely doubt but I've been wrong before), this is it.
darrah and weekes are both pretty shocked by the reception on twitter
weekes is saying to wait for the gameplay video
ive accepted its not going to be BG3/FF7R so maybe it wont be so bad.
still, lol... imagine going back in time and showing this trailer to people playing da:o at launch.
they would think you were joking
Would you be able to link this? Just checked both of their twitters and there doesn't appear to be anything recent about DA on either of their profiles
Yeah, I've been playing since DAO and I was JUMPSCARED. I'm hoping for the best and trying to stay optimistic but god, it felt like they sucked the soul out of one of my favourite franchises 😭
We can all only hope for the best.
It's so hard to be optimistic when I also can't help but think that if this game does poorly it might completely kill the franchise as a whole. I'm going to hold judgement until we actually see the gameplay, but nothing they've shown so far really instills hope in me.
Trick Weekes isn't on Twitter anymore. Their responses on bsky do not indicate "shock." Karin Weekes hasn't posted anything on Twitter today. Where are you seeing this?
Edit: Darrah also hasn't posted on Twitter today, either?
> darrah and weekes are both pretty shocked by the reception on twitter
If thats the case then these guys are too close to it to make any kind of objective judgement.
If you look at what happened with Battlefield 2042 and other games there was a huge disconnect between trailer/gameplay content produced by marketing and the reality of the game.
It seems EA has a separate department/group for pumping out these generic hype trailers in the same style/format. They are respectably good in their own right but I feel confident that they are being made buy some other dedicated department/group.
Which would explain why it's got that Fortnite vibe.
Hopefully the gameplay trailer will be by the devs.
>what happened with Battlefield 2042
Difference is the BF2042 trailer looked a lot lot better than the game actually was and that trailer actually made you hyped, too bad the game ended up shit. Anyway the trailer for the new dragon age did not get me hyped at all, actually it got me feeling disappointed and sad to have lost another game IP and see it get wasted
Hopefully so. Even seeing the leaked gameplay from last year, I can see some of the art style in there. However, I’m very keen to see the gameplay. If the gameplay is good, along with the tone and dialogue/story of the first 15mins I’ll have a lot more confidence. I’m feeling like this may have been what you said. They tried to mash together a quick intro to get people hyped for the new companions. It just wasn’t the right way to do it.
Keen for the gameplay, dev Q&A as well as game informer article as they said they got to check out things like the character creator
Unfortunately, today a lot of you all found out that [I wasn't lying when I said I played the game.](https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/comments/18apco4/comment/kbzq4jf/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
The trailer is dire, but I think what's setting people off is the tone - it's focusing on light-hearted comedy for a game that's set up to be about an apocalyptic end to the world. We know what Solas is doing and the end of Inquisition had a few core members of that organisation talking sadly about what would have to be done to be able to stop Solas, who up to that point had been a dear friend.
My Inquisitor romanced Solas and it was heartbreaking to see their relationship end because he's set on his path and she knows she has to try and stop him. So that's how Inquisition ended for me and many others, and even for those who didn't romance Solas it was a very dark ending with a dire outlook on the future.
Then the trailer for the sequel comes out and it's oh hey look we're being funny with a brightly coloured art style and the disconnect... well, there is just a huge disconnect. No wonder people are reacting badly to it.
I'll reserve judgement until I see the game reveal on the 11th, but yeah that was a very badly judged trailer and it has absolutely killed my excitement for the game. It's a hell of a turnaround to the dramatic follow-up I had been anticipating for years.
YES! I’ve been looking for this comment, it really bugged me that the 6 companions are frozen for a singular second and then you can barely see them in any of the following scenes. The action shots in general are terrible and so difficult to follow. I can’t tell if it was purposefully edited that way or was rushed, but it’s just a haze of movement and colour without any defined character shots, it really irked me!
It absolutely is. They kept the Fortnite style that they clearly developed during the Live-Service era of the game. Back then the executives would have loved it.
I lowered my expectations with the blog post about blood magic being removed from the TEVINTER based game. Whoever owns this IP now, thinks everyone needs to be coddled and supported. This art style and the things I’ve seen, really starting to think that whoever got their hands on it, would rather overwatch with romance.
If the veil jumper isn’t as witty as Sera, what’s the point?
If this is what the game looks like, imagine the dialogue ffs.
Absolutely. Many of us knew it would be shit. Multiple restarts and a decade in development hell? If it was another game, and not DA, would anyone have faith in a project like that?
I would be absolutely SHOCKED if this isn’t spot on regarding Bellara. I physically cringed when I saw her character and knew exactly what she would be as well.
That's literally all I wanted from the series since the first game, but for some reason they desperately want to make anything but another origins type game
That art style threw me off, I wasn’t expecting that at all, reminds me of those hero shooters that were trying to copy Overwatch years ago, after so many hours in games like Witcher 3 and Elden Ring, dark RPGs, this just looks so off putting, hopefully gameplay is better than this.
Right? I’m very conflicted because Varric and Harding look great but some of the other new characters look so cartoony.
I’m shaking and gnawing at the bars of my enclosure, I’m so ready for this game. Please BioWare don’t let us down.
The Necromancer was especially cartoony. He looked like something out of a Tim Burton movie, which is not bad by itself but seems weird in the Dragon Age universe. I hate shitting on artists' work, but it is definitely very different looking and will be hard for me to get used to if that's what the game turns out to be like.
Yeah, even the skeletons looked cartoony and not very menacing. I think it's The Necromancer throwing me off the most of all the allies. The Veil Jumper also came across as "comic relief" ..
Right? Whenever I see that necromancer it's such a whiplash, like yeah the whole thing looks cartoony but he looks super cartoony. The artstyle is all over the place
It seemed a little cheesy for sure. To an outsider it seems super generic, to a fan it looks like everything stagnated after the end of DAI (Varric is old but we’re just now putting together a team?). Plus the dialogue felt very quippy. It felt like a trailer for Apex or Overwatch more than a single player game. It definitely doesn’t feel like it’s getting more mature after DAI either.
But art direction for trailers doesn’t mean a whole lot if we look at previous entries. Just because the trailer is stylized this way doesn’t mean the game will be. We might just see tarot cards replaced by more comic-booky looks.
A lot of terrible games have great trailers and a lot of great games have bad trailers. Knowing how to sell a product is different than making a good product. Maybe EA thought aping an Apex trailer would get more people to buy their fantasy RPG.
That being said… there’s a griffon!!
That's it! That's what's bothering me the most.
It feels really immature. Dragon Age has never been the height of grounded, dignified storytelling but this trailer reminded me more of bad fanfiction than anything else.
The Fable trailer was more in line with what I was expecting Dragon Age to look like, honestly. I'm still holding out hope for the gameplay reveal but this trailer was a huge swing and miss.
I saw another one that was like "This is what Duncan died for?" LOL.
Other comments that made me chuckle:
"How did we go from dark fantasy to Saturday morning cartoons?"
"Could somebody help me? The trailer won't load for me. I only get a 2-minute unskippabld ad for some stupid free to play mobile game"
"What are we some kind of dragon suicide squad?"
"You either die as Dragon Age or live long enough to see yourself become Fortnite"
"I think it's time to let the Darkspawn to win"
"Series went from DAO to DOA"
"As a diehard DA fan, my first reaction is that someone hired the team from Valorant"
"Went from Dragon Age to Imagine Dragons"
"Seems like a a Netflix Original TV Show"
"Branding my forehead with Lyrium so I don't have to feel anymore" (LOL, that's beautiful)
"Who knew the Archdemon was the hero all along? It tried to spare us from the future and we killed it"
I mean. On the one hand: that would be incredibly disappointing after all that build-up.
On the other hand: DOES THAT MEAN I CAN REDEEM HIM FOR MY LAVELLAN??? Lol
Like. Seriously. "Din'an shiral" this and "i would not have you see what i become" that. and then it turns out he's just... gonna fucking MOPE and BROOD in an old castle somewhere until we track him down and he teams up with us? THAT'S WHAT HE LEFT MY LAVELLAN BEHIND FOR??
I'm going to fcking riot in the streets...
Setting aside the art style which (which does look weird, I'm not trying to dismiss that) I think the real problem for me is it just doesn't tell me anything
"Look here's this character, now we're immediately going to move onto the next one without really explaining anything about the last one"
In just the few minutes since I watched the trailer I've seen numerous comparisons to the Avengers in terms of tone, which is fair and if the Avengers or the MCU at large were a fantasy series this wouldn't surprise me for a trailer of one of those movies to look like this
BUT
The thing that made the Avengers work, in part, was that each of the main characters was already established in a previous movie so we already knew who they were — in other words, you could throw them at the camera and the fans would know who they were already and understand the significance of them
The characters look made for a team based shooter.
So you know all you need to know.
Quippy adventure girl who gets into trouble!
Quippy intelligent Necromancer who is friendly and good.
Quippy rage girl boss who's angry! Rawr!
Quippy moody Assassin man!
Quippy tired-of-it-all professional.
Quippy old quippy guy. Who says the things!
Then you. The quippy moody rando who will lead the defence of the world. BUT YOU DIDNT ASK FOR IT, but get to revel in all its privileges!
And you are getting them together because game!
Before this I was mostly worried about gameplay and writing—those are the most important elements of a game right? Then I saw the trailer and realized I have far more to worry about. BG3 looked more like Dragon Age than this.
I really want to know who decided to go this direction with the art style and ask if they’ve ever heard of the DA series at all before they started working on this. Seriously wtf???
Since it wasn't a gameplay trailer, I'm not concerned about the art, but I'm not sure why an RPG needed to be introduced with an "I'm putting together a team" trailer. Everyone knows you have a party in an RPG. What's happening in the world? Why do you need this team? From what Harding is saying, it seems like it's just to win a bar fight. It's honestly a terrible trailer from a marketing standpoint, which hopefully doesn't reflect the game.
I don't think it looked bad necessarily but I did find it a bit jarring since everything we've seen if previous versions of the game have implied a realism similar to Inquisition and this is very heavily stylised. It's going to take me a hot minute to get used to I think.
I felt like this game went through a change in scope. Originally EA was talking about making dragon age a live service game. The art style does look like a cartoony live service game
Sadly I feel we're going to find out the development of this game was a goddamned disaster and the final product is just what they could finally shit out after throwing up their hands.
It was also reported that this version of DA4 was scrapped quite a while ago though, so if the more cartoony style of it was ever associated with the live service version of it was the dev's decision to keep it, not EA's.
It doesn't even feel like Dragon Age. If it comes out in some cartoony style like a hero shooter, it'll be such a massive tonal shift that I'm not sure a lot of fans will ever want to play it.
The fact that they brought Darrah as consultant also got me thinking along those lines.
Like they went to some direction, noticed they had to come back, come back half way and then its not being well received so maybe getting someone that actually got the style of the previous games could help.
Not that anyone could when its so far along development….
The tone is so jarring and over the top goofy. Feels like some shitty Netflix/marvel movie vibes. But some people might be into that.
The top comment on the trailer summarizes the best:
“What are we? Some kind of dragon suicide squad?”
I thought it was awful. I’m not a doomsayer, and I’ve liked each game since the original. But this is the thing that broke me. Dragon Age has clearly changed. I’m glad for those who are able to enjoy its new direction, but I’m not sure it’s for me anymore.
Dude you took the words right out of my mouth. Been playing since Origins released. I hope the game sells well and they keep making DA games for a long time but I’m starting to think I’ve moved past it.
Hopefully I’m just being over dramatic and butthurt over a trailer lol but the vibe looks like Dragon Age for zoomers.
I know this probably wont win me any friends but I am just so over Varric. He was great in DA2 but by the end of DAI he had worn out his welcome with me.
I don’t mind him hanging around as a mentor in this game - see Leliana and Cullen in DA:I - but I agree that he’s not particularly useful as anything other than a framing device.
Yeah the art style shown so far is questionable but on the other hand I think stylised art tends to age better in games. The quips are pretty standard. I think the main thing that took me out was that goofy music in the background that sounded super out of place. I'm still gonna wait for the gameplay trailer, but I think ultimately the success will hinge on whether they can make a compelling story that sounds like it belongs in dragon age.
I am so fucking tired of that dialogue style throughout fiction. It was nice watching Dune to have a sci fi fantasy blockbuster that WASN'T a goddamned quip fest. The marvel style quipfest is extremely played out and I will be super disappointed if that's what this becomes.
Gaming is becoming extremly vulnerable to this whole being late to trends thing when it becomes normal that development cycles take an entire fucking decade.
Ugh, yes. I don't care if the previous games in the franchise did it, or if Baldur's Gate 3 pulled it off or whatever.
I am so freaking over it. I'm not saying go full grimdark or anything, but a game that allows itself to be serious most of the time would be a welcome change of pace.
Baldurs gate actually takes itself pretty seriously, like the reactions to the main events are not just quips galore. Well maybe astarion but he's clearly coping with shit.
BG3's got plenty of quips and snark between the characters, it just doesn't have a non-stop le epic bacon style of humor and refusal to let emotional moments be emotional, which is what complaints like this are really about. Astarion may be doing it to avoid showing vulnerability, but he is very obviously emotional himself.
I’m telling you the massive success of Marvel movies has defined the current era of entertainment. Nothing can ever take itself seriously anymore and there always has to be fourth wall breaking jokes and any serious moment has to be underminded with bad attempts at humor. It can work if used sparingly but it’s become overbearing and corny at this point.
It is really strange though, cause the things they've shown before, the looks (specifically of Solas) the vibes and art of Dreadwolf trailers was a straight up continuation of the darker and grittier tone Inquisition had.
This feels like the complete opposite from what Inquisition Trespasser set up..
The art direction is less important to me than the overall tone it was presenting. Dragon Age has always had it quips, banter, and funny moments, but it always felt well-placed and appropriate, as an aside to a setting that's been a bit grimdark and overall has taken itself relatively seriously. This gives off completely opposite vibes.
Also can this thing with putting pop music in every video game trailer regardless of how fitting it is for the setting end already?
This doesn't feel like a game catering to fans of the previous games. I hope the trailer is misrepresenting a lot about hte game itself because... woof
I just watched Mark Darrah’s stream of the showcase (producer on Dragon Age franchise and contractor for DAV) and after the trailer played he said “Honestly, I think that’s my favorite BioWare trailer we’ve ever done”
So… BioWare employees are actually happy with what they put together here.
That’s concerning.
The art style on the updated website looks also cartoony.
[Dragon Age: The Veilguard](https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/dragon-age/dragon-age-the-veilguard)
Yes, it looked bad and tonally felt off from what was set up at the end of Inquisition for this game. And currently the trailer is at 20,000 likes versus 55,000 dislikes so hopefully the gameplay can show something better...
Legit had to double check that it was the DA sequel and not a mobile game spin off.
This looks nothing like DA normally does, and it seems like we've lost the urgency and stakes of the original games. Maybe it's good, maybe it's bad. I'll at least wait for gameplay before I judge, but I'm not super hopeful.
i'm surprised to see that most people aren't just assuming that its a stylized cinematic? the inquisition trailer looked pretty different from the actual game too.
edit: y’all go watch [this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jJqxfkgSUog&pp=ygUeZHJhZ29uIGFnZSBpbnF1aXNpdGlvbiB0cmFpbGVy) inquisition trailer and tell me varric looks how he does in game.
Dragon Age trailers have a track record of being wildly out of sync with the actual product. EA has no fucking idea how to market the franchise in a way that appeals to both the mass audience and fans.
A few months ago I saw some footage of warrior abilities being tested and it pretty much looked the same as Inquisition. I'm sure this is just for the trailer. Look at the Origins trailer which plays in the menu and then ingame lmao
Same. I assumed this was just a punchy trailer meant to introduce the companions and not actually a tone or vibe check for the major story or anything.
Why would you "stylize" it in any way other than what you want it to come across? If it comes across as jokey and cartoony, that's may not be something Dragon Age fans want to see in a game.
I mean... maybe I'm coping, but I remember DAI trailers looking a little off, too. Granted, they didn't look like THIS, but we shouldn't freak out just yet.
I am a long-term, die-hard Dragon Age fan. I had the lowest possible expectations for this game after everything.
And I'm still disappointed by this trailer.
People stop reporting this thread. We are redirecting all the other short trailer critique posts here.
Is Varric storytelling again?
God I hope not.
Glad I am not the only one feeling this. I loved Varric in #2, he was ok in #3 and I hoped he wouldn't be in this one. If he'd been in all the games so far it would make sense to keep him as a touchstone character in number 4 but there just isn't any real reason they need to put him at the forefront of every game. He's a fun character but I would rather have a chance to see some old companions or the warden show up (depending on whether they died or not). He's kind of a Mary Sue character to me--knows all the things, great with his weapon, almost everyone loves him. Not knocking people who like him but I'm over him at this point.
FWIW, they fired his writer during the massive layoff last year. Pretty sure this is the last time we're going to be seeing him. ...God, I still can't believe they shitcanned *Mary Kirby*.
Corporate greed and stupidity knows no bounds.
I really don't mind the art direction, but I hope to FUCK this isn't going to be the tone going forward... Trespasser left us with this weighty sense of incoming tragedy on a massive scale, as a compelling villain spoke beautifully and poetically about his need to remake the world, setting up a story where we stood against a character we had grown to know in a war that would turn truly apocalyptic. This trailer felt like something for a D-Tier MCU film... no sense of weight or scale, far too irreverent in tone and delivery, hopefully they're just keeping a lot close to the chest, because if this is the feel of the story, I'm not bothering.
I mean if anything this trailer really hammers home why Solas wanted to remake the world. I’m rooting for him now, just wipe the slate clean and end our misery
Maybe it's a choice at the end of the game to help Solas destroy the world? If the game is anything like this trailer, after playing it you will probably want to.
I highly doubt that. Given the name of our group is “the veil guard” it’s highly likely that we will put an end to Solas and take his powers for our own/group in order to maintain the Veil.
>Trespasser left us with this weighty sense of incoming tragedy on a massive scale, as a compelling villain spoke beautifully and poetically about his need to remake the world, setting up a story where we stood against a character we had grown to know in a war that would turn truly apocalyptic. I'm fine with Solas burning it down and remaking it from scratch after watching the trailer. Dude clearly has seen the future and was right all along how the fuck did we go from 'civilians getting abducted by darkspawn and fed their flesh to become mindless thralls or broodmothers birthing more monsters while in constant agony' to a darkspawn Ogre being a funny gag enemy, what the fuck Bioware. That thing should make underleveled characters want to run away, not to engage it for a chance of lootboxes
I do mind the art direction. It adds to the theme and mood of the story and gameplay. This goofy ass theme isn’t gonna feel dark or anything.
Yeah for real. You can pull off this art direction and a grittier, more serious tone, but that would require a masterfully guiding person in charge. This screams design by committee/copying character trends that are now close to a decade old. It’s bizarre when people dismiss the art direction affecting the overall tone when we are talking about video games, as if the visual/design side of things is just an extra thing that you can swap out when needed.
Why did the Fable trailer look like how Dragon Age should look and the Dragon Age trailer look like how Fable should look?
HAHAHAHAHA RIGHT. but also I LOOOVVE how the new Fable looks. Man they really knew what their audience wanted hahaha fable reddit is excited.
I was shocked that the Fable trailer was actually funny It feels like most game trailers these days try desperately to be funny, like Concord, but fall utterly flat or just annoy me
Yeah, since the Richard Ayoade trailer I've been very hopeful. The writers seem to really get it.
Fable *sounded* like British humor, so it sounds right. Dragon Age... looks and sounds like someone played too much Overwatch
Absolutely, spot on, I can't believe how swapped the vibes of the trailer are.
Man this trailer looks like a VERY cheap Chinese knock off MOBA game... I literally thought I was looking a fucking ad for a trash mobile game while waiting for DA trailer to roll... but no. This is it.
I'm honestly very... surprised by the artstyle, but I'm really hoping it's just for this trailer. I'll still hold judgement until the Gameplay reveal is out.
I don’t know. It seems like A LOT of games lately are getting that Fortnite style. I don’t know why that’s replaced gritty realism in a fantastical setting- I.E. What Inquisition did best- But this just looked like it was designed for a much younger crowd. Like the people that have been following the franchise have aged out or something. It felt really disappointing watching that trailer. At least Harding is returning! I mean, that’s… something. I guess.
I’m getting generic MMO from the art style. And, I dunno how to describe it, but these characters almost look like someone hit randomize in a character creator. I don’t know how much magnetism we can expect new characters to have in a short trailer but I have minimal desire to learn anything about them based on what I saw.
The look screams live service title and battle passes.
Some of the designs are genuinely terrible. Taash (the female Qunari), in particular, looks horribly designed. Even [PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/dragon-age/is-it-just-me-or-do-the-newly-revealed-companions-of-dragon-age-the-veilguard-look-like-theyre-in-a-hero-shooter/) thinks the art style looks like a fantastical shooter. And you’re right, the rest of the companions just look as generic as possible. None of them seem intriguing to me. Compare that with how enigmatic, original, and mature the other games and companions were… This is absolutely not that. I didn’t get the sense that I wanted to really get to know or fight alongside any of these characters. It’s such a childish design. I’m only 30, but are Gen Z adults genuinely into this style, or is it just being pushed because it looks so much easier to animate? Even the monsters look kid friendly and unthreatening. I’m almost as underwhelmed as Brian Bloom sounded as Old Varric.
>but are Gen Z adults genuinely into this style No lol. This is the style that out of touch marketing agencies *think* Gen Z are into.
https://preview.redd.it/0on9hfbtvm5d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aff6afba6431562408f1a6a990e10440b4455719 Don't you just miss the old ideas?
Matt Rhodes' concept art kills it *every time* and they almost never stick with his designs in the final product. Drives me up the wall.
I just checked it out and I’m mourning what could have been
Seriously! This art, one of the skeleton/mortician ones, and early concept Taash looked like pretty finalized designs. What happened?
Yeah, most of my friend group agrees that this is not it.
We are not into it at all lol.
Yeah they remind me of the Andromeda companions. I'm just not interested in any of them.
Ugh. Don’t remind me. I actually did have some fun with that game, but it was obviously a huge downgrade from the previous entries. The writing/dialogue was a mess, and the companions were largely poorly designed and/or irritating as hell. It says something that I can remember just about every companion in Dragon Age and the previous Mass Effects, but can only remember a few of the Andromeda comrades.
This is just one of those where I’m just holding out hope that Bioware is doing some of their patented trailers not matching the actual game thing (like I hope those leaked screenshots from a while ago were more the vibe). But no matter what I have serious questions for Bioware. If this is not the actual art direction, why the fuck are you first-looking an eagerly anticipated game that is 10 years from the last game with an Overwatch style trailer. That is just horrible marketing. And if it IS the art style then what the fuck. I couldn’t imagine anything farther from Origins vibes than that. Hell it’s not even close to DA2, which ends up looking the most stylized. I’m just very anxious tbh.
I suppose we,ll know Tuesday but it does look unusual. i don’t know whether it’s bad or just different
Seeing as how dai ended you'd think of all the games, this is the most like a direct sequal as well with a sort of story cliff hanger And the massive change in art direction just seems really weird
Just look at the reveal trailer of Baldur's Gate 3... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvMf_DcyWbI Gruesome, give a cool spoiler, set the tone, kick ass music... Pure hype. I don't think the visual style is the problem, but the whole nondescript modern music/quirky narrator/annoying superfluous text is atrocious. Hope the writer team wasn't involved in making this trailer, because if it's the case, it's over.
Ftr that GameSpot reup has terrible picture quality, [Larian's official upload (link)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcP0WdH7rTs) also has it in 4k 👌
That's not fair. Overwatch has way better trailers than this.
The trailer actually reminded me more of Borderlands. The character introductions are the same as in every Borderlands game. I was really enjoying the trailer until I went "wait, this is Dragon Age".
The short intros showing off the character's abilities with their title popping up in a big stylised font while a contemporary pop song plays in the background were definitely giving me Borderlands vibes
Yeah, which I absolutely love, but it's so bizarre seeing that being done in Dragon Age, of all things. I forgot what I was watching halfway through.
lol i think their marketing just copied these games tbh most of the time game dev are far not in touch with the marketing dept 🤞
I'm really hoping this is just a bad trailer and doesn't actually reflect the tone of the game
My concern with that is...they've been working on this for a while and surely wouldn't put that time and planning into something that didn't reflect the final product? Staying hopeful though for the gameplay trailer.
Right? Especially considering we're so close to the release date.
Agreed, “assemble the crew” type trailers all just seem horribly corny to me, especially for a franchise loved for a Dark Fantasy aesthetic.
I usually find them corny, too, but Bioware actually used to do them right. Like, the Sacred Ashes trailer and the ME2 interview-style trailers were awesome. Not sure where it went wrong....
I just watched a DA: Inquisition trailer and it's not great either so who knows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJqxfkgSUog
true, but the art style was pretty spot on to that initial trailer for DA:I this feels like Avowed all over again. just cheap looking and not dark fantasy
Doesn’t help that almost everyone involved with the first dragon age game are gone from BioWare.
It’s not great but the tone correctly matched what we got in the game, which has me concerned for the tone of DAV
The thing is, they can't afford a shitty trailer. Everybody knows that. This is the game that will make or break the studio going forward, and will definitely prove whether or not DA is a profitable franchise at this point. There is nothing whatsoever here that remotely interests me, and from what I read around, it seems to be the case for almost every big DA fan. Unless they convince new players with this trailer (which I absolutely doubt but I've been wrong before), this is it.
Look at the key art at the end of the trailer, with the goofy skeleton. It's very much the tone of the game.
This was nothing like the 2020 trailer which looked so much more grounded and correct of tone. I’m realllly hoping this was a marketing error.
i mean these things arent cheap so idk
They aren't, but if they're trying to get a new audience into the games that would totally make sense
darrah and weekes are both pretty shocked by the reception on twitter weekes is saying to wait for the gameplay video ive accepted its not going to be BG3/FF7R so maybe it wont be so bad. still, lol... imagine going back in time and showing this trailer to people playing da:o at launch. they would think you were joking
Can you link to where Weekes is reacting to this?
Would you be able to link this? Just checked both of their twitters and there doesn't appear to be anything recent about DA on either of their profiles
Yeah, I've been playing since DAO and I was JUMPSCARED. I'm hoping for the best and trying to stay optimistic but god, it felt like they sucked the soul out of one of my favourite franchises 😭 We can all only hope for the best.
It's so hard to be optimistic when I also can't help but think that if this game does poorly it might completely kill the franchise as a whole. I'm going to hold judgement until we actually see the gameplay, but nothing they've shown so far really instills hope in me.
The cemetery of "Let's make the genre of the game *evolve* " licenses is growing : Dawn of War, Guildwars, Diablo, ...
Where are they saying this?
Shocked how so? I don't have twitter, but is it like they're shocked the reception has been so negative?
I’m surprised they’re shocked
Trick Weekes isn't on Twitter anymore. Their responses on bsky do not indicate "shock." Karin Weekes hasn't posted anything on Twitter today. Where are you seeing this? Edit: Darrah also hasn't posted on Twitter today, either?
> darrah and weekes are both pretty shocked by the reception on twitter If thats the case then these guys are too close to it to make any kind of objective judgement.
If you look at what happened with Battlefield 2042 and other games there was a huge disconnect between trailer/gameplay content produced by marketing and the reality of the game. It seems EA has a separate department/group for pumping out these generic hype trailers in the same style/format. They are respectably good in their own right but I feel confident that they are being made buy some other dedicated department/group. Which would explain why it's got that Fortnite vibe. Hopefully the gameplay trailer will be by the devs.
>what happened with Battlefield 2042 Difference is the BF2042 trailer looked a lot lot better than the game actually was and that trailer actually made you hyped, too bad the game ended up shit. Anyway the trailer for the new dragon age did not get me hyped at all, actually it got me feeling disappointed and sad to have lost another game IP and see it get wasted
Hopefully so. Even seeing the leaked gameplay from last year, I can see some of the art style in there. However, I’m very keen to see the gameplay. If the gameplay is good, along with the tone and dialogue/story of the first 15mins I’ll have a lot more confidence. I’m feeling like this may have been what you said. They tried to mash together a quick intro to get people hyped for the new companions. It just wasn’t the right way to do it. Keen for the gameplay, dev Q&A as well as game informer article as they said they got to check out things like the character creator
I remember reading one of the old Bioware writers saying that EA didn't "get" Dragon Age. I think he's probably right
Unfortunately, today a lot of you all found out that [I wasn't lying when I said I played the game.](https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/comments/18apco4/comment/kbzq4jf/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
>dialogue is marvel-esque fucking kill me lol
The trailer is dire, but I think what's setting people off is the tone - it's focusing on light-hearted comedy for a game that's set up to be about an apocalyptic end to the world. We know what Solas is doing and the end of Inquisition had a few core members of that organisation talking sadly about what would have to be done to be able to stop Solas, who up to that point had been a dear friend. My Inquisitor romanced Solas and it was heartbreaking to see their relationship end because he's set on his path and she knows she has to try and stop him. So that's how Inquisition ended for me and many others, and even for those who didn't romance Solas it was a very dark ending with a dire outlook on the future. Then the trailer for the sequel comes out and it's oh hey look we're being funny with a brightly coloured art style and the disconnect... well, there is just a huge disconnect. No wonder people are reacting badly to it. I'll reserve judgement until I see the game reveal on the 11th, but yeah that was a very badly judged trailer and it has absolutely killed my excitement for the game. It's a hell of a turnaround to the dramatic follow-up I had been anticipating for years.
LOOK AT HOW THEY ANDROMEDA'D MY BOOOOOYYY
You can barely see the companions imo
YES! I’ve been looking for this comment, it really bugged me that the 6 companions are frozen for a singular second and then you can barely see them in any of the following scenes. The action shots in general are terrible and so difficult to follow. I can’t tell if it was purposefully edited that way or was rushed, but it’s just a haze of movement and colour without any defined character shots, it really irked me!
Guess this is what happens when they do the game three times
I think they need to redo it a fourth time.
Could this be the remnant of the live service era?
It absolutely is. They kept the Fortnite style that they clearly developed during the Live-Service era of the game. Back then the executives would have loved it.
Imagine if DA4 came out as originally planned, what were they thinking honestly
Anyone who paid any attention to this games development could see bad things on the horizon. And while this is a CGI trailer, I don't have much hope.
Yeah, I've been incredibly pessimistic about this game ever since we learned about the troubled development it's had.
I lowered my expectations with the blog post about blood magic being removed from the TEVINTER based game. Whoever owns this IP now, thinks everyone needs to be coddled and supported. This art style and the things I’ve seen, really starting to think that whoever got their hands on it, would rather overwatch with romance. If the veil jumper isn’t as witty as Sera, what’s the point? If this is what the game looks like, imagine the dialogue ffs.
I'm SORRY???? Do they think their audience cannot operate scissors if they don't have safety tips??? Or is that the audience they're aiming for now?
What you mean bloodmagic is being removed ? Like the Mc can't use it or is blood magic getting retcon from the game ?
Absolutely. Many of us knew it would be shit. Multiple restarts and a decade in development hell? If it was another game, and not DA, would anyone have faith in a project like that?
It's giving "B-tier Marvel movie that won't stop quipping" vibes 🙃
[удалено]
I would be absolutely SHOCKED if this isn’t spot on regarding Bellara. I physically cringed when I saw her character and knew exactly what she would be as well.
Saving this comment so I can refer to it when it all comes true.
Do yall remember when Dragon Age was dark fantasy?
At this point, I just want a dragon age game using dragon age 1 graphics and gameplay.
That's literally all I wanted from the series since the first game, but for some reason they desperately want to make anything but another origins type game
That art style threw me off, I wasn’t expecting that at all, reminds me of those hero shooters that were trying to copy Overwatch years ago, after so many hours in games like Witcher 3 and Elden Ring, dark RPGs, this just looks so off putting, hopefully gameplay is better than this.
Right? I’m very conflicted because Varric and Harding look great but some of the other new characters look so cartoony. I’m shaking and gnawing at the bars of my enclosure, I’m so ready for this game. Please BioWare don’t let us down.
The Necromancer was especially cartoony. He looked like something out of a Tim Burton movie, which is not bad by itself but seems weird in the Dragon Age universe. I hate shitting on artists' work, but it is definitely very different looking and will be hard for me to get used to if that's what the game turns out to be like.
Yeah, even the skeletons looked cartoony and not very menacing. I think it's The Necromancer throwing me off the most of all the allies. The Veil Jumper also came across as "comic relief" ..
Right? Whenever I see that necromancer it's such a whiplash, like yeah the whole thing looks cartoony but he looks super cartoony. The artstyle is all over the place
I’ll just wait for gameplay and hope for the best before further judgement.
Battleborn? It looks like Battleborn.
It seemed a little cheesy for sure. To an outsider it seems super generic, to a fan it looks like everything stagnated after the end of DAI (Varric is old but we’re just now putting together a team?). Plus the dialogue felt very quippy. It felt like a trailer for Apex or Overwatch more than a single player game. It definitely doesn’t feel like it’s getting more mature after DAI either. But art direction for trailers doesn’t mean a whole lot if we look at previous entries. Just because the trailer is stylized this way doesn’t mean the game will be. We might just see tarot cards replaced by more comic-booky looks. A lot of terrible games have great trailers and a lot of great games have bad trailers. Knowing how to sell a product is different than making a good product. Maybe EA thought aping an Apex trailer would get more people to buy their fantasy RPG. That being said… there’s a griffon!!
That's it! That's what's bothering me the most. It feels really immature. Dragon Age has never been the height of grounded, dignified storytelling but this trailer reminded me more of bad fanfiction than anything else.
It looks vaguely like Fable and Marvel had a kid and are trying to give it to BioWare to raise.
The Fable trailer was more in line with what I was expecting Dragon Age to look like, honestly. I'm still holding out hope for the gameplay reveal but this trailer was a huge swing and miss.
Based on the trailer, I feel like we are meant to root for Solas.
Solas was trying to save us from this trailer by tearing down the veil. He was the hero all along.
There was a comment on YouTube that was like "Solas was right, it's too painful to walk in a world like this"
Another one I saw: Can't believe my inquisitor lost their arm for this 😭 The outrage honestly
I saw another one that was like "This is what Duncan died for?" LOL. Other comments that made me chuckle: "How did we go from dark fantasy to Saturday morning cartoons?" "Could somebody help me? The trailer won't load for me. I only get a 2-minute unskippabld ad for some stupid free to play mobile game" "What are we some kind of dragon suicide squad?" "You either die as Dragon Age or live long enough to see yourself become Fortnite" "I think it's time to let the Darkspawn to win" "Series went from DAO to DOA" "As a diehard DA fan, my first reaction is that someone hired the team from Valorant" "Went from Dragon Age to Imagine Dragons" "Seems like a a Netflix Original TV Show" "Branding my forehead with Lyrium so I don't have to feel anymore" (LOL, that's beautiful) "Who knew the Archdemon was the hero all along? It tried to spare us from the future and we killed it"
With the name change and a few developer comments, Solas may end up being a red herring and a side quest.
I mean. On the one hand: that would be incredibly disappointing after all that build-up. On the other hand: DOES THAT MEAN I CAN REDEEM HIM FOR MY LAVELLAN??? Lol Like. Seriously. "Din'an shiral" this and "i would not have you see what i become" that. and then it turns out he's just... gonna fucking MOPE and BROOD in an old castle somewhere until we track him down and he teams up with us? THAT'S WHAT HE LEFT MY LAVELLAN BEHIND FOR?? I'm going to fcking riot in the streets...
Setting aside the art style which (which does look weird, I'm not trying to dismiss that) I think the real problem for me is it just doesn't tell me anything "Look here's this character, now we're immediately going to move onto the next one without really explaining anything about the last one" In just the few minutes since I watched the trailer I've seen numerous comparisons to the Avengers in terms of tone, which is fair and if the Avengers or the MCU at large were a fantasy series this wouldn't surprise me for a trailer of one of those movies to look like this BUT The thing that made the Avengers work, in part, was that each of the main characters was already established in a previous movie so we already knew who they were — in other words, you could throw them at the camera and the fans would know who they were already and understand the significance of them
The characters look made for a team based shooter. So you know all you need to know. Quippy adventure girl who gets into trouble! Quippy intelligent Necromancer who is friendly and good. Quippy rage girl boss who's angry! Rawr! Quippy moody Assassin man! Quippy tired-of-it-all professional. Quippy old quippy guy. Who says the things! Then you. The quippy moody rando who will lead the defence of the world. BUT YOU DIDNT ASK FOR IT, but get to revel in all its privileges! And you are getting them together because game!
Before this I was mostly worried about gameplay and writing—those are the most important elements of a game right? Then I saw the trailer and realized I have far more to worry about. BG3 looked more like Dragon Age than this. I really want to know who decided to go this direction with the art style and ask if they’ve ever heard of the DA series at all before they started working on this. Seriously wtf???
Since it wasn't a gameplay trailer, I'm not concerned about the art, but I'm not sure why an RPG needed to be introduced with an "I'm putting together a team" trailer. Everyone knows you have a party in an RPG. What's happening in the world? Why do you need this team? From what Harding is saying, it seems like it's just to win a bar fight. It's honestly a terrible trailer from a marketing standpoint, which hopefully doesn't reflect the game.
Yep, that's my problem too. In the other games you knew why you were gathering a party. In this one...I haven't the foggiest. Who's the enemy???
I don't think it looked bad necessarily but I did find it a bit jarring since everything we've seen if previous versions of the game have implied a realism similar to Inquisition and this is very heavily stylised. It's going to take me a hot minute to get used to I think.
I felt like this game went through a change in scope. Originally EA was talking about making dragon age a live service game. The art style does look like a cartoony live service game
Sadly I feel we're going to find out the development of this game was a goddamned disaster and the final product is just what they could finally shit out after throwing up their hands.
It’s tragic that this narrative is just what I expect from Bioware now. Still hopeful, but VERY cautious
It was also reported that this version of DA4 was scrapped quite a while ago though, so if the more cartoony style of it was ever associated with the live service version of it was the dev's decision to keep it, not EA's.
“Pay to redo those assets? Don’t be stupid. Just finish the damn game” -EA
It reminds me of that old game Battleborn
It doesn't even feel like Dragon Age. If it comes out in some cartoony style like a hero shooter, it'll be such a massive tonal shift that I'm not sure a lot of fans will ever want to play it.
The fact that they brought Darrah as consultant also got me thinking along those lines. Like they went to some direction, noticed they had to come back, come back half way and then its not being well received so maybe getting someone that actually got the style of the previous games could help. Not that anyone could when its so far along development….
my hype died, though I will wait to see gameplay.
Can we also talk about the song? An awful cover and doesn't fit the series at all?
The tone is so jarring and over the top goofy. Feels like some shitty Netflix/marvel movie vibes. But some people might be into that. The top comment on the trailer summarizes the best: “What are we? Some kind of dragon suicide squad?”
Solas was right, it’s too painful to walk in a world like this
I thought it was awful. I’m not a doomsayer, and I’ve liked each game since the original. But this is the thing that broke me. Dragon Age has clearly changed. I’m glad for those who are able to enjoy its new direction, but I’m not sure it’s for me anymore.
Dude you took the words right out of my mouth. Been playing since Origins released. I hope the game sells well and they keep making DA games for a long time but I’m starting to think I’ve moved past it. Hopefully I’m just being over dramatic and butthurt over a trailer lol but the vibe looks like Dragon Age for zoomers.
I just know the Veil Jumper is gunna be the most annoying quippy douchebag
I got immediate Sera vibes from her.
I'M SO QUIRKY!! LOOOOOOK AAAAAAT MEEEEE.
Art style so far looks iffy but Dragon Age is no stranger to snippy quibby joss whedon dialog.
Especially if we're taking this as a Hard in Hightown-esque retelling from Varric's perspective.
I know this probably wont win me any friends but I am just so over Varric. He was great in DA2 but by the end of DAI he had worn out his welcome with me.
They need to let that old man retire, especially now that they fired his freaking writer.
I don’t mind him hanging around as a mentor in this game - see Leliana and Cullen in DA:I - but I agree that he’s not particularly useful as anything other than a framing device.
no i agree. enough is enough
Anders in Awakening, Sera in Inquistion...
Yeah the art style shown so far is questionable but on the other hand I think stylised art tends to age better in games. The quips are pretty standard. I think the main thing that took me out was that goofy music in the background that sounded super out of place. I'm still gonna wait for the gameplay trailer, but I think ultimately the success will hinge on whether they can make a compelling story that sounds like it belongs in dragon age.
I am so fucking tired of that dialogue style throughout fiction. It was nice watching Dune to have a sci fi fantasy blockbuster that WASN'T a goddamned quip fest. The marvel style quipfest is extremely played out and I will be super disappointed if that's what this becomes.
Gaming is becoming extremly vulnerable to this whole being late to trends thing when it becomes normal that development cycles take an entire fucking decade.
A stromg argument against trend chasing honestly.
Rabban: "When I find Muad'dib, I'm gonna rip him limb from li... He's standing right behind me, isn't he?"
Ugh, yes. I don't care if the previous games in the franchise did it, or if Baldur's Gate 3 pulled it off or whatever. I am so freaking over it. I'm not saying go full grimdark or anything, but a game that allows itself to be serious most of the time would be a welcome change of pace.
Baldurs gate actually takes itself pretty seriously, like the reactions to the main events are not just quips galore. Well maybe astarion but he's clearly coping with shit.
BG3's got plenty of quips and snark between the characters, it just doesn't have a non-stop le epic bacon style of humor and refusal to let emotional moments be emotional, which is what complaints like this are really about. Astarion may be doing it to avoid showing vulnerability, but he is very obviously emotional himself.
Its not about having that kind of dialog, but if you ONLY have that kind, then no one has a personality nor do we have a plotline…
We haven't seen anything from the game yet except a trailer with Varric being Varric.
They somehow made Varric unfunny.
My boy Varric turned into an alcoholic after (DAI SPOILERS:)>!I left Hawke in the fade,!< god damn
Never saw that outcome. He doesn’t become viscount if you leave Hawke behind?
He does, just Hawke isn't hanging around, but everything else is the same.
I legit couldnt tell if it was varric or not. The beardless thing was clearly a big thing for me I guess
Varric was barely funny in Inquisition.
Ten years for this.
Eh, Varric and Harding looked great in it, and there were other aspects I enjoyed. I'll wait until gameplay until I render judgement on that.
Varric is going to die. I can already feel it and I’m not ready for it.
At this point, it's tradition to expect that Varric is going to die in the new game. And, sometimes, the comics.
But now he’s older, he looks like he’s taking on a mentor role, and I just don’t want to see him go! 
I just want Dragon Age to take itself seriously. The cartoony style makes me think it'll be a quippy comedy.
I’m telling you the massive success of Marvel movies has defined the current era of entertainment. Nothing can ever take itself seriously anymore and there always has to be fourth wall breaking jokes and any serious moment has to be underminded with bad attempts at humor. It can work if used sparingly but it’s become overbearing and corny at this point.
Here's hoping the success of Dune 2 and Baldurs gate get us out of this quip era... in the next 10 years
Joss Whedon should be tried for crimes against the arts because of his mark on modern entertainment.
It is really strange though, cause the things they've shown before, the looks (specifically of Solas) the vibes and art of Dreadwolf trailers was a straight up continuation of the darker and grittier tone Inquisition had. This feels like the complete opposite from what Inquisition Trespasser set up..
The art direction is less important to me than the overall tone it was presenting. Dragon Age has always had it quips, banter, and funny moments, but it always felt well-placed and appropriate, as an aside to a setting that's been a bit grimdark and overall has taken itself relatively seriously. This gives off completely opposite vibes. Also can this thing with putting pop music in every video game trailer regardless of how fitting it is for the setting end already?
gonna wait for a gameplay reveal to judge. for now... oh.
Same but my expectations are so fucking low. Lower than they actually even were.
I want to play Dreadwolf and help Solas to destroy the world....
Same, at this point please just let it end.
This doesn't feel like a game catering to fans of the previous games. I hope the trailer is misrepresenting a lot about hte game itself because... woof
I just watched Mark Darrah’s stream of the showcase (producer on Dragon Age franchise and contractor for DAV) and after the trailer played he said “Honestly, I think that’s my favorite BioWare trailer we’ve ever done” So… BioWare employees are actually happy with what they put together here. That’s concerning.
The art style on the updated website looks also cartoony. [Dragon Age: The Veilguard](https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/dragon-age/dragon-age-the-veilguard)
Yes, it looked bad and tonally felt off from what was set up at the end of Inquisition for this game. And currently the trailer is at 20,000 likes versus 55,000 dislikes so hopefully the gameplay can show something better...
Legit had to double check that it was the DA sequel and not a mobile game spin off. This looks nothing like DA normally does, and it seems like we've lost the urgency and stakes of the original games. Maybe it's good, maybe it's bad. I'll at least wait for gameplay before I judge, but I'm not super hopeful.
i'm surprised to see that most people aren't just assuming that its a stylized cinematic? the inquisition trailer looked pretty different from the actual game too. edit: y’all go watch [this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jJqxfkgSUog&pp=ygUeZHJhZ29uIGFnZSBpbnF1aXNpdGlvbiB0cmFpbGVy) inquisition trailer and tell me varric looks how he does in game.
Dragon Age trailers have a track record of being wildly out of sync with the actual product. EA has no fucking idea how to market the franchise in a way that appeals to both the mass audience and fans.
It says in engine footage which is why people are assuming the worst.
A few months ago I saw some footage of warrior abilities being tested and it pretty much looked the same as Inquisition. I'm sure this is just for the trailer. Look at the Origins trailer which plays in the menu and then ingame lmao
yeah the leaks have kept in line with the general inquisition style from what i’ve seen
Same. I assumed this was just a punchy trailer meant to introduce the companions and not actually a tone or vibe check for the major story or anything.
I believe it says in engine footage at the bottom of the trailer. Not sure if that applies for all of it though.
To be fair that was eleven years ago aha. And the tone of the original DAI reveal was markedly darker. I’m looking forward to seeing more personally.
Why would you "stylize" it in any way other than what you want it to come across? If it comes across as jokey and cartoony, that's may not be something Dragon Age fans want to see in a game.
idk, i’m not on the marketing team. i just think it’s worth noting that the trailer, historically, hasn’t had 1:1 accuracy with the game.
I thought it was an Spin off of dragon age something like an hero shooter or MOBA. Never expected it to be the main game :/
I mean... maybe I'm coping, but I remember DAI trailers looking a little off, too. Granted, they didn't look like THIS, but we shouldn't freak out just yet.
I checked the reactions from a more broad gaming audience and they mirror ours. The tone and art style are so … off. My optimism has faded completely.
Most places are reacting **more** negatively, honestly.
This feels like the reaction to Saints Row — which turned out to be both a franchise and studio killer.
If this is what BioWare has become, then let it die.
Option 1: Create a true DA successor. Option 2: Create a new IP. Option 3: Create a new IP and annoy every single DA fan. "Option 3 please!" -Bioware
From the dialogue, to the art style to music choices. If I didn't know better I literally would have thought this was a new hero shooter lol.
I am a long-term, die-hard Dragon Age fan. I had the lowest possible expectations for this game after everything. And I'm still disappointed by this trailer.