The Trailer Looked Bad, Right?

Dragon Age: The Veilguard received a trailer at yesterday’s Xbox Games Showcase. While plenty of people (myself included) are very excited, there’s also been a lot of criticism.

The trailer depicted each of The Veilguard’s companions in a lighthearted, Borderlands-esque manner. This has drawn criticism, with people saying the series is moving away from its dark, gritty roots.

“I really don’t mind the art direction, but I hope to f*** this isn’t going to be the tone going forward,” a commenter replied on a thread expressing disappointment with the trailer. “This trailer felt like something for a D-tier MCU film, no sense of weight or scale, far too irreverent in tone and delivery…”

A Different Look

The ‘Thedas Calls’ teaser from December was more in line with what people expected. A massive conflict, a compelling antagonist and very high stakes.

“I’m really hoping this is just a bad trailer and doesn’t actually reflect the tone of the game,” another commenter said.

Another pain point for people is the art style of the trailer, which is unlike any of the series’ previous entries. It’s fluffier and more ‘cartoonish’ than people in the thread expected, and comparisons to Fortnite and Overwatch are common. That being said, Dragon Age trailers rarely follow the same visual style as as the finished product.

“I’m getting generic MMO from the art style,” one commenter bemoans. “Some of the designs are genuinely terrible. Taash (the female Qunari), in particular, looks horribly designed,” says another.

“This was nothing like the 2020 trailer which looked so much more grounded and correct in tone. I’m really hoping this was a marketing error,” a commenter replied.

There may yet be hope for the people critical of the game’s tone, as people who have got their hands on The Veilguard have only positive things to say about the game, saying it’s as gritty as Dragon Age has ever been.

Industry insider Shinobi602 reports that, from what he’s seen, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is “absolutely still plenty, dark, gritty, and a huge step forward in quality for the series.”

A lot of these concerns will be put to bed (or exacerbated) when we see 15 minutes of gameplay on BioWare’s stream on June 11.

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