Despite a years-long (nearly decade-long, actually, given that it started in the year or two following the release of Dragon Age: Inquisition) effort to avoid getting swept up in the hype for a new video game or movie, I’ve fallen victim to the excitement around the latest entry in the Dragon Age series: “The Veilguard.” I missed the initial announcement, so I was a little late to last week’s party, but I apparently follow enough Dragon Age fans on Bluesky that I couldn’t help but run into people talking about it. Since it initially seemed like not a whole lot of information, I decided to take a peek. From there, I’ve slowly slid from my place of peace and balance to my current position in the deep end of the Hype Pool as people keep talking about it, as my book club and I turn toward playing through the Dragon Age franchise, as the Dragon Age social media accounts post more and more about it, and as I’ve slowly given up on trying to keep my cool. After all, I’ve been a fan of Dragon Age games since one of my friends in college got super excited about the second one and introduced me to the series as a result (for which I will forever remember her, even if we’ve fallen out of contact at this point). I have plenty of other series that I’ve enjoyed more and franchises that will always get me to buy the next game, but there’s nothing quite like the release of a new Dragon Age game to get me excited about video games. An excitement that, unfortunately, doesn’t always last past the start of playing the game, but which is still fun to indulge all the same.

The things I’m the most excited for are how snappy combat looks and the fact that not only will good old Scout Harding be a companion in this game, but she will also be fully romanceable (rather than having the faintest echoes of a romance with her introduced via updates and then given a one-line reference in a DLC). The biggest regret I had from playing Dragon Age: Inquisition was that the cute little scout who you could flirt with outrageously (and who, in my opinion, had more chemistry with the main character than anyone else I romanced in that game) was entirely unromanceable (prior to later updates and the DLC, anyway). I never wanted a relationship between my main character and Harding enough to look into the mod scene (which I’m sure is both robust and disturbing to my delicate sensibilities), but it always left me wishing the game gave you a bit more freedom with your relationships, a feeling that has expanded as I’ve grown over the last decade and actually figured out my gender and sexuality. I appreciate games like Baldur’s Gate 3 that let you romance your companions much more freely, even if some people feel like its a bit strange that all of the characters in your party are coincidentally attracted to the player character regardless of appearance, stature, or gender. It works well for me. I’ll admit I’m a little nervous about how much BG3 might wind up being compared to Dragon Age (a comparison I’m not certain that Dragon Age: The Veilgaurd can weather), but they seem like different enough games in my mind that the comparison wouldn’t really be applicable.

While the RPG and interpersonal elements shown off so far seem to largely adhere to the game’s mechanics from the past, the combat demonstrated in the recent gameplay video makes it seem closer to the combat from the recent God of War games. I suspect that the combat in Dragon Age won’t feel quite as heavy or snappy as God of War’s did, but it seems like the closest comparison I could think of, given the combination of activated abilities and free-wheeling combat balancing a dodge and parries as your little attention indicator tells you what kind of attack is in-coming and from where. I mean, I’ll never be a fan of souls-likes as a type of video game, but if the combat feels enough like it is doing its own thing, I won’t mind as much. Plus, I usually wind up enjoying them more from moment to moment than in concept, so I’m sure the same will be true of DA:TV.

Perhaps the most interesting thing I’ve learned over the last few days (as of writing this, anyway) is that the game has walked back all of the live service and online multiplayer elements they were planning to add. It turns out that this isn’t new, given that it was first announced back in 2021, but it was nice to finally learn this and to see the various interviews and media announcements repeat that message. This is going to be a single-player game. It will be a solo experience much like some of EA’s more successful RPG-esque games, like the Star Wars Jedi games, which feels like Bioware has possibly learned from the failure of Anthem and might have started listening to player feedback. After all, the demand for more interesting single-player games has been going strong for well over a decade now, so I hope this represents a change in the business rather than a one-off decision.

All I know about the game’s release date is that it is currently listed as being “Fall 2024.” I have a strong feeling that it will be released in October or November based on nothing but having been a keen observer of the video game industry for over two decades now, but I genuinely hope it doesn’t release any sooner than that. I’ve got a franchise to replay, after all, and so many other video games to get through before I can afford to lose another one hundred or more hours to an RPG. I remember how much Baldur’s Gate 3 took over my life when it came out last summer and while I wouldn’t mind another game of that quality coming out, I would much prefer it if it happened in November when my schedule will be less frantic and I might actually be able to take some time off of work to enjoy a new video game without feeling incredibly guilty. Or to let it occupy me through the holidays. Either one, really.