Although many characters inDragon Age: The Veilguardreturn from previous entries in the series, some changes have made them feel like a downgrade compared to when you last met them. While not the case for everyone you meet throughout your adventure, some returning faces that seem quite different from what you’d expect. Some decisions in how characters are written have left some feeling a bit lackluster.
One of the most glaring examples of a character’s personality being strangely changed is Harding, who has undergone a shift to her personality followingDragon Age: Inquisition. The writing behind the characters, especially thecompanions inDragon Age: The Veilguard, can be extremely hit or miss in some cases. While one character may be compelling, another may be confusing at best.
Harding Felt Like A Different Character In Inquisition
Past Events Are Rarely Mentioned
The events ofDragon Age: The Veilguardtake place one decade afterDragon Age: Inquisition, with Harding returning as a companion character. In the past, Lace Harding was a Scout for the Inquisition, participating in world-saving events that gradually shifted her character. While once a bubbly, optimistic character,she learned a lot about how optimism should not lead to recklessness.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Which Companions Should You Choose For The Last Gambit?
In the Dragon Age: The Veilguard quest “The Last Gambit,” players must assign companions to help factions, with potentially devastating consequences.
However, when you meetHarding inDragon Age: The Veilguard,it almost seems as if she has regressed back to the character she was before. BioWare seems to have doubled down on the overly immature aspects of Harding’s character, making her even more reckless than inInquisition. On top of that, she struggles to control her emotions as she attempts to get a hold of her unique powers of stone call magic.
Harding is a direct party member inDragon Age: The Veilguard, meaning you get more opportunities to interact with her. This personal relationship may have been designed to make her more open to Rook than the Inquisitor, unveiling more about her personality that she kept professional before.
Although not a problem for those who started withDragon Age: The Veilguard, players ofInquisitionmay feel somewhat confused at this direction in Harding’s character. Harding, to some, may have seemed more focused and mature inInquisitioneven when you first met her. In comparison,it doesn’t feel like the lessons of her past adventures carried over intoVeilguard.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Doesn’t Do Harding Justice
Moving On Leaves Something Behind
Harding’s discipline inInquisitionpainted her as a character worth trusting that your protagonist could rely on in the thick of battle. InVeilguard, it almost feels like Rook is having to constantly prop up Harding due to her instability over her powers. Not only does this take away from Harding’s respectable strength, but it also makes her feel helpless compared to the past iteration players may be used to.
One of the most egregious cases of strange writing choices for Harding is how the character handles romance. Rook’sromance with Harding inDragon Age: The Veilguardis charming enough, as there are some genuinely cute moments between her and your character. On the other hand, when you don’t romance her,Harding ends up with Taash, which can seem like an odd choice.
All Dragon Age: The Veilguard Cameos (So Far)
Players will be delighted to spot some familiar faces in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, bringing together characters from throughout the series.
Taash is an already immature character, so Harding pursuing them romantically almost seems to play into the immaturity BioWare seems to push toward Harding herself. Using this as an anchor point for a relationship between two characters can feel out of place at best. Especially when you consider that Harding may be well over a decade older than Taash to begin with.
Furthermore, Harding barely ever mentions the characters she met inInquisition, or her time spent as a Scout in those times.This doesn’t give any reverence to the heroic actions Harding has done in the past, giving new players no idea how important she was. All of these factors come together to make Harding feel lackluster and disappointing, despite the excitement many feel about her return to the series.
The Veilguard’s Returning Characters Are A Mixed Bag
Visually Great, Narratively Unfortunate
The greatest feat ofDragon Age: The Veilguardis the very impressive visuals of returning characters, whose expressions are incredibly realistic. When you look past the visual depth though, many characters are hit-or-miss on a narrative level. Some returning faces, like Solas, are incredibly well-thought-out, with events from previous games playing a key role into who they are and what they seek to accomplish.
Many characters though, like Harding, suffer from almost feeling shoehorned in for the sake of catching player attention. Dialogue can already feel bland with new characters, sohaving old characters return with less interesting things to say begs the question of why they’re even in the game at all.One of the series' biggest problemsis continuity between games, and this is felt the most in returning characters.
There are references in dialogue to events in past games spoken by many characters. The main problem comes from the lack of impact felt from those events, mainly on the returning characters that experienced them.
No one from past games seems to focus on the events from previous titles that shaped them. Not only does this create plot holes, butit robs many players of reasons to interact with those characters and see how their stories have continued. With no reference to the past, returning characters can almost be interchanged with new faces without anyone realizing the switch.
Cameos can be used well in the right circumstances, especially in such a storied RPG series. At the same time, imposing a new personality and character arc on someone who already has history will only serve to downgrade them, as you may see in some returning figures present inDragon Age: The Veilguard.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is the fourth entry in the Dragon Age franchise and a sequel to 2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition. A classic character, Solas, will return as the new game’s antagonist. The game will retain many of the series' staples, such as multiple dialogue options, party choices, romantic options, and more. Dreadwolf will act as the first direct sequel in the Dragon Age franchise.
