Dragon Age: The Veilguard follows the harrowing outcome of Solas' ritual

Thedas is in grave danger following Solas' attempted ritual as Shacknews goes hands-on with BioWare's latest for the first time.

The wait for the latest chapter of the Dragon Age saga has been an excruciating one for fans. Once it finally arrives in a few weeks, it will pick up right where Inquisition left off. When Electronic Arts and BioWare unveiled Dragon Age: The Veilguard back in June, they revealed a Thedas in peril. The danger looked to be coming from Solas, who sought to use his magic to tear down the Veil between worlds. Thanks to playable character Rook and his companions, Solas' ritual ultimately fails. The aftermath is what players will experience in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Shacknews recently went hands-on for the first time.

I got to try out several hours of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, starting with the game's prologue. It unfolded just as it did when it was first shown behind closed doors at this year's Summer Game Fest. Those interested in the details can check out our last preview, but to sum things up, Rook and his party was able to find Solas in Minrathous. Solas attempted a ritual to shatter the Veil, but was ultimately stopped. However, the result has unleashed a terrible new threat in the form of two elven gods.

Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain, collectively known as the Evanuris, were trapped in the Fade, but the outcome of the ritual has resulted in them essentially swapping places with Solas. Because Rook bled at the site of the failed ritual, Solas is able to communicate with him through the Fade. Solas makes his case that his ritual was meant to reinforce Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain's captivity. In typical Dragon Age fashion, players can decided through dialogue choices whether they choose to believe Solas or not, but the end result is the same. The elven gods are loose and they're looking to control Thedas. Solas doesn't have his ritual dagger, so he can't escape his captivity, which means Rook and his party must be the ones to deal with the Evanuris.

A new feature on display was the central hub located within the Fade. The Lighthouse will act as a gateway to various points of interest across Thedas. Between main missions, players can spend time in the Lighthouse getting to know their companions. As one might imagine, Rook's standing with his companions and the conversations he'll have with them will vary among the player base. For example, I entered the Lighthouse with mage companion Neve Gallus injured as a result of how I handled the prologue. Others could enter that first Lighthouse sequence with a different outcome, namely returning dwarf companion Lace Harding being the one who was injured in the fight with Solas.

As far as companions go, The Veilguard will allow players to fully explore their own stories, motivations, and plot lines. I only got a taste of it during my time with the game with Neve, Harding, and a third companion named Lucanis. I became most familiar with Lucanis' story arc, something helped by the handy coincidence that my character's origin also made him part of the Antivan Crows. Lucanis is a key member of the Crows, but one who is struggling with an inner curse. Over time, players come to familiarize themselves with Lucanis' internal struggle, as well as his mission to his clan. Other companions will have similar arcs with many of them belonging to various factions that will be encountered over the course of the story.

Of course, players are welcome to choose whether they'll see companion arcs through or not. It'll be good for team-building because part of the Dragon Age experience means that some decisions will prove popular with some teammates and infuriate others. There's a particularly consequential decision that players will have to make a few hours into the game's first act. Whatever the player chooses will have a major effect on various parts of Thedas while also affecting how some of their companions see them from that point forward. Head of Video Greg Burke and I chose two distinct paths and can confirm that our Veilguard experiences were noticeably different from there. Part of this includes what side quests become available, as some might open up while others get closed off depending on the critical choice made. As far as my companion experience went, I had some work to do to get some of them to see Rook in a positive light again.

Part of endearing yourself to companions means letting them tag along on quests. Only two companions can join Rook at a time and each one offers various benefits in battle. Some companions can also help traverse certain parts of the world, but don't worry too much if you don't have the companion you need to open a specific area. In some cases, it will be possible to summon companions remotely to make use of their traversal abilities.

From a combat standpoint, players can expect capable action-RPG battles in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. There weren't many classes to choose from during my time with the game. I opted for the Rogue, though there were options to play as a Warrior and a Mage. However, the constellation skill trees for each of these three classes were vast and branched off toward different specializations based on a player's preferred style. Players can unlock class skills, passive abilities, stat boosts, or weapon-based attacks. Speaking of that last one, different weapons open the door to potentially new sets of attacks. Working with a controller, I was able to mix together light attacks, heavy attacks, unique class abilities, and companion attacks with button combinations, but a new ability wheel feature will also be available for those who would rather use that.

Experimentation will be encouraged throughout the game, as it's possible to refund skill points in order to go down a completely different skill tree path. As much as I enjoyed blowing up enemies and controlling crowds with the Saboteur specialization, I would have liked to see how melee combat would be affected by going the Duelist route. Unfortunately, there's so much to do in The Veilguard and there was so little time available.

Stopping Solas' ritual, freeing the Evanuris, saving some parts of Thedas, watching others fall, and getting to know some of my companions was a full day's work. It was stunning to hear at the end of the day that this was merely all a part of the first act. EA and BioWare have much more planned for the rest of the story. How it all unfolds, as is typical of BioWare, will ultimately depend on the player and whatever they decide. Dragon Age: The Veilguard will come to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on Thursday, October 31.

This preview is based on an early PC build played on-site at Electronic Arts' campus headquarters in Redwood City, CA. Travel and accommodations were provided by Electronic Arts. The final product is subject to change.