DA fans, what do you think so far of the game?

I'm about 16 hours in now, probably still scoring around a 3.5. Hours 8-12 I played some boring quests and felt the writing went off a cliff but after that things picked up a lot and it is feeling much more like a DA game.

I've found the Lighthouse to be a bit disappointing in general. There isn't your usual "go around and talk to everyone after a main quest". You'll be lucky if one or two of them have something to say and it will probably have no relevance to the big plot event that just happened.

That said, the main questline is getting good and have enjoyed some of the companion quests outside the Lighthouse (although some have tutorial vibes to them as well).

Environments look awesome and nice to have photos mode. Starting to get more side quests now as well while exploring.

Minor nitpick I can't stand that weird hands on hip pose Rook does during dialogue sometimes.

Pretty sure that Multiplayer game was Anthem. I think we know how that story turned out 

Well they did have SWTOR. And they've dabbled in Multiplayer elements (outside of the ones you listed) such as with Mass Effect 3 MP (which was VERY popular), Inquisition Multiplayer (not so much really), and Andromeda Multiplayer (same as Inquisition). I think they had this concept of a co-op focused game that they did a prototype demo for years ago, but it didn't pan out.

I think it is something a part of their team wanted to branch into, but given the release criticism of their recent titles, I think they ultimately chose to play it safe with Veilguard by keeping it strictly single-player. 

What do you mean by RP standards?

not everyone throws out their back to do it like 

I legit don't care about the auto dialogue at all, I think it's great and makes the scenes flow more naturally. What I'm much more concerned about is how similar the choices we have when we actually get a choice.

But there are a few cases I was pleasantly surprised by how much options we got.

The game is picking up a little after 13ish hours in. The side quests are fun and the linearity is fading a little. Some of the writing is better, but you can tell Bioware is far too worried about offending the overly sensitive… there is little depth to the evil or morally greyness of factions that were once far more complex. Maybe they’ll tack away for the next ME and DA since the culture towards “being offended” has taken a stark reversal the past two years.

I still hate the inability to talk to companions whenever. This feels like a remnant from the shitty live service push that gave a simlilar feel in Anthem. Let’s hope they go backwards to 2014 for the next games and companions.

The combat is okay, but it’s not Andromesa levels of awesome. Wish they spent more time and money on the role playing aspects.

We’ll see how the next few hours goes. Hope it picks up some more.

The Crows so far are just too clean and played more heroically and even the Qun is being hinted at as something noble since they have “rules” compared to those that leave. And the inability to be more blunt and pragmatic is a problem. I have chosen what would have given Hawke a more ruthless vibe in DA2, but it still sounds caring and worrying. Like, let me not sound like the kind aunt of the group, please.

This game feels less like Dragon Age and more a weird sequel to Anthem in terms of tone, delivery, and design. I hope it’s an unfortunate side effect of the bad decision to try live service for a few years and the next games will be wholly free of it. There are times when it feels Dragon Age, but sadly it is equaled by the times when it feels nothing like Dragon Age.

Also, weird aside… is Bioware afraid of tits or something? Every size of ass imaginable is abound but every woman has the same small breasts. Isabella would blow northern Thedas’ minds if she showed up. It’s been jarring given how they did a great job in body variety in nearly every other way. Unless Varric is overcompensating for his exaggerations in 2……

I mean the Qun does have principle to the point where the Arishok nearly started a war over it. The Crows for all intents and purposes ARE the army for Antiva so therefore they dictate the terms and they presumably decided that Qun occupation isn't good and decided to do something about. It's clear that they are assasins but as we saw with the Qunari in DA: 2 and to some extent DA: I they can be VERY ruthless. As for rump size, you clearly haven't seen Neve or Harding's rump.  

It’s looking like a great game!

Little things that annoy me:

- Animations: Typical BioWare, still using manly male animations for a female Rook, disappointing at best. Idle, walking animations… Rook looks like she's got a pair of Volcanic Aurum balls that weight like 200 hundred pounds and a d*ck as big as Emmrich’s, and we know that’s ginormous. Facial animations are still so weird, as well. Create the best-looking Rook ever, and watch them look absolutely insane in cutscenes. Just awful.

- I’m very annoyed at how the game renders blonde/light hair in some environments/ in the shade (my platinum-haired Rook has jet-black hair in the Arlathan Forest and Bellara’s room. That’s not how blonde hair works, even in dark enviros. (This changes if you disable Strand Hair but then the meshes look like crap). None of the lighting options in the CC indicates that. I’m still in Act 1, but so far a good 60% of the game has it. And it sucks @ss.

- I haven’t played the entire game obviously, but the tone is definitely… different than previous titles. I’m enjoying it though, but that’s just fact. Plus, the art style, but this horse has been beaten to death, so let’s not. Whatever, who cares. This sh*t's stupid, ugh...

- A lot of the clothes have horrible, horrible fitting. And the body customization (while I appreciate that we have it at all) is disappointing.

- The game has streamlined some RPG aspects, for example, class flavor. Outside of combat, it’s barely there. Rook is super physical, no class-specific interactions with the world, like in inquisition, DA2… and I can’t help but feel like something special is being lost here. Why do I need Neve or Harding’s magic when I’m a mage? Why is Rook getting involved in bar brawls with no magic in sight? Etc etc… it’s freaking dumb, and just like the bodybuilder male gorilla animations, kills immersion. But hey, you can define that you’re non-binary, so at least that’s covered… 🙄

I just purchased the game two hours ago and just finished the prologue. I will post no spoilers here but I will say my Rook is an elven mage and I found it strange as well in the opening scene when they show him brawling.

Also I know next to nothing about this games development only that it was originally called Dreadwolf. Does the game start right after Inquisition or years later? The reason I ask is because Varric looks much older than in Inquisition and DA2.