In a new interview published today by Game Informer, Dragon Age: The Veilguard Game Director Corinne Busche reckons the upcoming game has the most complex and fully realized companions ever crafted by BioWare.
That's a tall order, given the studio's legendary track of roleplaying games, which includes Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age itself. Busche has an explanation, though:
They're complicated, they have complicated problems, and that's what's interesting. As much as I adore the companions and the journeys I've been on with them in past Dragon Age titles – previously, it feels like companions are going on an adventure with me, the main character, whether it's the Hero of Ferelden or Hawke, you name it. But in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, in many ways, the companions are so fleshed out that it feels as though I'm going on a journey with them. I'm exploring how they think and feel; I'm helping them through their problems. We're working through their unique character arcs. They feel like my dear friends, and I absolutely adore them.
We've really moved into a place where you can have the highest of highs, and it can be colorful, it can be optimistic, but also, you can have the lowest of lows where it gets gritty, it gets painful, it gets quite dark. But throughout it all, there is a sense of optimism. And it creates this delightful throughline throughout the game.
[...] In our base of operations this time, our player hub, the Lighthouse, each of the companions has their own room. And what I love about it is it becomes a reflection of who they are. The more time you spend with them, as the game develops as you work through their arc, their room and their personalities will evolve and flourish and become more complete as they trust you more and you understand them better.
[...] The companions also develop romantically and I'm not just talking about with the main character Rook; I'm talking about each other. There are moments in the game where two of our companions fell in love with each other and I had to make some pretty challenging choices as it related to the quest we're on. And it broke my heart, it absolutely did. I would say, as you're adventuring with them, as you're returning to the Lighthouse and getting to know them – all these decisions and conversations and things you learn about them – it endears them to you in a way that I honestly haven't experienced before. And sometimes that fills me with joy and sometimes it breaks my heart.
As a reminder, Dragon Age: The Veilguard has seven companions (that we know of - BioWare might be hiding something....): the Veil Jumper Elf Mage Bellara Lutara, the Grey Warden Elf Warrior Davrin, the Mourn Watch member Human Mage (Necromancer) Emmrich Volkarin, the Inquisition member Dwarf Rogue Lace Harding, the Antivan Crow Human Rogue Lucanis Dellamorte, the Shadow Dragon Human Mage Neve Gallus, and the Lords of Fortune member Qunari Warrior Taash. All of them will be available for romance regardless of your player character's gender and race.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard currently has a generic Fall 2024 launch window for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X. To learn more about it, read our roundup article.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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