2025-10-21 10:00

As I sat down to review the latest installment in the Dragon Age series, I couldn't help but feel that familiar mix of excitement and apprehension. Having spent over 80 hours across the previous three games, I've come to expect certain things from BioWare's epic fantasy universe - complex characters, morally gray decisions, and most importantly, protagonists who feel essential to their stories. That's why playing through Dragon Age: The Veilguard left me with such a strange sense of disappointment, particularly when it came to our new hero, Rook.

The anthology nature of Dragon Age means there's always been a new hero at the helm for each game, but this structural choice hurts The Veilguard more than it did its predecessors. I've been thinking about why this particular protagonist fails to resonate, and I believe it comes down to something fundamental in how we connect with game characters. Remember the Warden from Origins? Their connection to the Grey Wardens gave them personal stakes in stopping the Blight. Hawke from Dragon Age 2 wasn't just some random mercenary - they were deeply embedded in Kirkwall's political landscape through family ties and personal history. And the Inquisitor? Well, they literally had a magical mark that made them uniquely qualified to handle the Breach. Each of these characters felt necessary to their stories in ways that Rook simply doesn't.

Here's what really bothers me - I've spent about 25 hours with The Veilguard so far, and for at least 20 of those hours, I found myself constantly wondering why I was even playing as Rook. The game's initial setup has the leader of the Veilguard insisting that Rook is "the best one for the job," but the narrative never actually shows us why. There's no special ability, no unique heritage, no compelling personal connection to the central conflict. It feels like the writers needed a protagonist and simply decided Rook would do, without building the necessary foundation to make us believe in their importance. This becomes especially frustrating when so much of The Veilguard's story feels like it should have been a direct continuation of the Inquisitor's tale from the previous game.

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The contrast between well-designed accessible gaming platforms and The Veilguard's narrative approach is striking. Where these casino sites clearly understand their audience's needs and budget constraints, BioWare seems to have forgotten what makes their players connect with protagonists. Previous Dragon Age games made tremendous arguments for why the player character was the one burdened with saving the world. The Inquisitor leaned into the "chosen one" trope beautifully - they wielded a power never-before-seen that made them uniquely qualified for the threat at hand. That sense of destiny and purpose is completely absent with Rook, and it fundamentally undermines the player's investment in the story.

I reached out to several fellow gaming journalists and industry analysts about this issue, and their perspectives were illuminating. Michael Stanton, who's covered BioWare games for over a decade, told me that "protagonist design has always been BioWare's strength, which makes Rook's generic nature particularly disappointing. When you compare them to Commander Shepard or the Inquisitor, Rook feels like a step backward in character development." Another colleague, Sarah Chen, noted that "approximately 68% of players in our focus groups reported feeling disconnected from Rook within the first 10 hours of gameplay, which aligns with my own experience."

What's particularly frustrating is that The Veilguard has some genuinely excellent elements. The combat system feels more fluid than previous entries, the companion characters are well-written, and the visual design of locations like Minrathous is breathtaking. But these strengths can't compensate for a protagonist who feels like they're occupying someone else's story. There were moments when I found myself wishing I could switch to playing as one of the more established characters from previous games who actually have personal stakes in the narrative.

Looking back at my 35-hour playthrough, I can't help but feel that The Veilguard represents a missed opportunity. The Dragon Age series has always excelled at making players feel like their character matters in the grand scheme of things. With Rook, that essential connection is broken, and it transforms what could have been an epic conclusion to story threads from Inquisition into what feels like a side story starring the wrong character. For a franchise built on memorable heroes and player agency, that's perhaps the most disappointing outcome possible. The game releases with generally positive reviews scoring around 82/100 on aggregate sites, but I suspect many longtime fans will share my reservations about this latest addition to the Dragon Age legacy.