I expected the game to be emotional Dragon Age: The Veil Guardian, But I didn’t think it would happen so soon. Almost 10 years have passed since then Dragon Age: Inquisitionand the period since then has been difficult for BioWare, as the studio has been plagued by layoffs, departures of high-profile figures, and underperforming games. This led to speculation, if not outright fear Veil Guardian would be the latest in a series of disappointing releases. I shared these fears. Dragon Age is a special franchise for me, so of course I hoped so Veil Guardian would live up to such expectations.

After 40 hours I can’t say at the moment if that is the case. inquisition became one of my favorite games over the months of digesting, new playthroughs, various decisions, multiple romances, and discussions with internet acquaintances based on our shared love of Dragon Agehave become my dearest friends. Veil Guardian deserves similar consideration. But I can’t say definitely whether Veil Guardian is the RPG I was hoping for. I can say that a few minutes after the game started I felt a jolt, a spark, something unnameable thing That let me know that Veil Guardian has the potential to be just as special inquisition Was. It all started with the character creator.

Spoilers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard below.

My avatars in the previous one Dragon Age Games never looked like they did in my imagination. Dragon Age has always been a franchise where your decisions affect the world around you. But as a black gamer, the choices I could make regarding my appearance were always limited, either by the capabilities of the game’s technology or simply by the developer’s oversight. But one of Veil GuardianThe biggest improvement over its predecessors is the improved character creator. There are a plethora of skin tones, hairstyles, body types, facial features, blemishes, birthmarks, tattoos and even scars from top surgeries. I had fun wading through the choices and creating a tower to my liking.

In Veil GuardianRook is not your name, but rather your title, which you were given when you were recruited to track down Solas, a companion from the previous game who was an elf god in disguise. Rook must foil his plans to tear down the magical barrier that separates the material world from the magical one. But when Rook and her team manage to stop him, they unleash even worse monsters. Now Rook and Solas must work together to stop a pair of corrupt gods and their plans to destroy the world.

None of these Dragon Age Games are direct sequels to each other. Each game only vaguely alludes to the events of the previous one, and sometimes major characters return as supporting appearances. Both inquisition And Veil Guardian Use recurring protagonists to create a connection and add drama for long-time fans. How inquisition, Veil Guardian offers the ability to customize a second character that you don’t control but that will have an impact on the story – the Inquisitor, the main character from the previous game – and their creation blew me away. I felt the same spark of recognition you get when you see an old friend after a long absence. Even though this person doesn’t exist, I knew this woman. She was the figure that accompanied me through some of my darkest days. It sounds so silly, but it meant so much to see my Inquisitor as I had always imagined her, and to finally see the reality that matched my imagination.

The technological leap of inquisition To Veil Guardian is felt beyond the character creator. Companions and environments are so captivating in their design that I couldn’t stop gawking. Lace Harding, one of your companions, is so damn pretty that a large portion of my screencaps are just about her – and I was thrilled to see that the game rewarded my obsession. The first big choice in Veil Guardian is who you must take with you on a dangerous mission to stop a magical ritual. Because I chose Harding, she was seriously injured and her face was bruised. But later, as I continued to visit her as part of my routine of “extracting every funny dialogue from my companions,” I noticed that her bruises were progressively improving. Not only did I get to see a nice visual representation of the passage of time – something I’ve never seen in one before Dragon Age before – but also the development of our relationship. It felt like I was really watching her, like I was a real friend. As her bruises healed, our relationship deepened.

The locations are elaborately designed so that they feel like characters in their own right. Arlathan Forest, the game’s first major quest zone, is breathtakingly beautiful. Someone on the environmental team is clearly a fan of Alex Garland destruction for the forest literally shimmers with colorful magic films and is littered with the bodies of tree people frozen in time. With Treviso occupied by one of Veilguard’s enemy forces, its citizens are destitute and the streets are littered with begging bowls, into which I always make sure to throw a few coins.

With the help of my companions, I really got to know these areas. Neve, my detective companion, took me on a tour of Dock Town and introduced me to her contacts and friends. Lucanis, my assassin companion, did the same for his hometown of Treviso. The game artfully made me love these places as much as my companions, to devastating effect.

I don’t want to give away what happened right away, but all I know is that when the decision wheel popped, I groaned and giggled at the same time. It’s about making impossible decisions that have catastrophic consequences Dragon Age it’s all about that. That’s why I play. I won’t tell you what I chose, just that it hurt to choose, and it felt so good, ironically so comforting, that making a choice in a BioWare game made me feel pain all over again.

In the previous one Dragon Age In games, these decisions usually only had personal consequences that weren’t too serious – damage to your reputation here or a different kind of enemy there. Veil Guardian is the first time that my choice has had a consequence for my character, the world around her and for me as a player.

At the beginning of my time with Veil GuardianI was so afraid that I wouldn’t feel what I felt when I played inquisition. I was overwhelmed by all the beauty and excited to explore all the new places. But it took until the second big decision was made before the game really clicked.

Those first 40 hours with Veil Guardian were a slow burn and I liked the variety. Unlike the other games with big, explosive beginnings – in the truest sense of the word inquisitionthe case – Veil Guardian I took the time to build a world around me before destroying it, just as I was getting used to it. Now to the game Really begins.

Dragon Age: The Veil Guardian releases October 31st on Xbox, PS5 and PC.