To say that Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s gameplay trailer was met with backlash from fans would be an understatement. Tons of criticism fell upon BioWare’s shoulders, though the original creator of the franchise has stood strong in the game’s defense.
David Gaider, creator of Dragon Age and leading writer for the franchise in the past, created a series of posts on his social media regarding the latest Dragon Age: The Veilguard trailer. Contrary to the community, he praised it instead of launching a series of negative feedback, becoming an exception in the discussion.
Fans criticized a lot of things when the video was revealed at the Xbox Showcase on June 11. Their feedback ranged from making comments on poor story elements and boring gameplay to odd-looking character design and the world’s darker tone. Some of these aspects, like the setting and plot, were taken under the microscope by Gaider.
“I’d say this made for a better introduction than the reveal trailer,” Gaider wrote on Twitter/X on June 12. “We see some story, and tone-wise it feels a lot darker and more DA. Like I said, trailers often need to be taken with a grain of salt, and my impression is that many fans are relieved. Which is great.”
At the same time, Gaider admitted he “could pick on a few things,” in particular, gameplay and character design. “The stylized characters will take some getting used to, but the DA art style has changed every game so that’s nothing new. Combat is more action-y, without any tactical elements, but it seems fine,” the former Dragon Age creator wrote.
Additionally, Gaider dove into the dialogue and its versatility, the story, and the world-building, mostly praising these features, especially the latter. “Utterly gorgeous, sells the breadth and tone, such great work,” Gaider said.
Gaider left the studio in 2016, two years after it launched Dragon Age: Inquisition. Besides being the lead writer for the 2014 title’s production, he was also behind the steering wheel for Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II, which were released in 2009 and 2011, respectively.
While BioWare developers might certainly be relieved to see Gaider’s comments, they need to watch out for what the community is saying as well. Judging by the initial reactions, a lot of players are skeptical of whether the company is going in the right direction with the Dragon Age series. For now, there’s hardly anything more to do other than wait and see how the game changes and what it looks like during its 2024 release. An exact release date, though, remains unknown at time of writing.
