If you’re diving into The Veilguard, you’ll find you’re in good company on platforms like PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Your mission? Oh, just the small task of taking down a deity or two.
It took me a while to really get into The Veilguard. Initially, it seemed to scream “video game” at every turn. The areas felt like theme parks—compact and overly designed, littered with coins and resources to keep your reward centers constantly engaged. The experience was a little too reminiscent of “Mass Effect 2, but with a fantasy twist,” which sometimes made it feel a bit too predictable and controlled, almost to the point of being lifeless. However, the intriguing concepts behind some of the characters kept me curious enough to push forward, even if it took time for them to develop into the rich, complex personalities I craved. Take Neve, for example—a fantasy private investigator doubling as a political rebel, armed with ice magic and rocking a dwarven prosthetic for her lower-right leg. That’s downright cool!
After spending many more hours with the game, I’m genuinely invested not just in the characters’ ideas but in the characters themselves and the high-stakes conflict they’re caught up in. Just recently, I went through a siege sequence in the second act that was thrilling enough to rekindle the threat level posed by those rogue elven gods. At times, the narrative’s insistence that each party member has a personal problem that must be resolved feels a bit forced. The whole “I can’t focus on saving the world until we handle my own issue” scenario feels a tad artificial. This trope is straight out of the Mass Effect 2 playbook, and it’s pretty noticeable. Still, if it lets me dig deeper into a character like Neve, I’m willing to roll with it. You win this round, game. You win. — Carolyn Petit
