Halloween is usually the best time to play horror games, but this year, you may want to save space for a fantasy epic instead. After a long wait, Dragon Age: The Veilguard finally has a release date — October 31. Pre-orders for the highly anticipated RPG should be available today.
Earlier this week, BioWare shared a calendar of its pre-release plans, including a release date announcement coming today. But just a few hours before BioWare’s release date trailer was scheduled to go live, it was leaked online for all to see. Other than the release date, the trailer features some spectacular action scenes and plenty of its new companions, but it’s the release date we were all showing up for.
Even with that surprise out of the way, BioWare still has several updates in store over the next few weeks. Starting August 19, it will be showing off “high-level combat” and a “PC spotlight,” presumably showing how the game will perform on high-end PCs compared to consoles. The combat showcase will feature gameplay from the Warrior class. That’s a particularly welcome part of the preview, as we’ve seen fairly little of the game’s combat so far.
In its biggest trailer to date, The Veilguard only showed one major battle to give a sense of the player’s abilities, and even then, it took place early in the game. In a more recent interview, BioWare spoke about how mixing abilities between the main character and companions will form the core of its strategic combat, but it wasn’t present in the low-level gameplay already shown off. After next week, we should have a much better idea of how The Veilguard will play once you’re using your full powers.
The next week, starting August 26, will be “companions week,” giving players a better look at the characters they’ll soon be drawing spicy fan art of and trying to get their main characters to kiss. Given how feral fans have gone over the scraps BioWare already revealed, this is probably going to be a popular feature. August 30 will see a Q&A with the developers on Discord, and starting September 3, BioWare will begin testing people’s patience with being drip-fed details on the game via “month-long exclusive coverage” on IGN.
The Veilguard became the year’s most anticipated game after it was revealed that it would finally see the light of day in 2024. It’s had a troubled development history, including reportedly restarting production and several high-profile departures of members of the development team. But the game’s initial reveal seemed to mostly wash away fears that the game wouldn’t deliver after the decade-long wait since Dragon Age: Inquisition. BioWare is clearly confident in what it has to offer, judging by just how much it’s willing to show off ahead of its release. With its launch in sight, eager players are finally getting the close look at Dragon Age: The Veilguard they’ve been waiting for after years of silence.
