I’m sitting here, looking at the cover of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, thinking, “It’s not a bad game!” It brings me back to a familiar world—the universe is vast, the characters are interesting at times, and even the quests can be engaging. But Inquisition inevitably comes to mind, a game I once played obsessively. And that’s when the question arises: why does The Veilguard feel less exciting?

Inquisition had a sense of scale. Wandering through fields, flirting with party members—I could lose myself in the codex for hours. That world pulled me in completely, right from the start. With The Veilguard, I hoped for the same depth, but instead, I got a game that, in some aspects, feels underdeveloped. There are good design choices, sure, but something still seems missing.

Maybe it’s just the weight of expectations. Every new Dragon Age entry inevitably gets compared to the ones before it, especially Inquisition, which (even now) is considered the benchmark. Still, The Veilguard offers plenty of enjoyable gameplay hours—especially if you put aside comparisons and take it as its own adventure.

There’s something here, and some of it works. I wouldn’t call it a bad game—I’m playing it, I’m invested, I’m having fun. It’s just that my expectations were higher than what I ended up with.