Dragon Age: The Veilguard was a huge disappointment for both fans and EA, vastly underperforming sales expectations. Longtime fans of the series worry that this might be the final nail in the coffin for the once-beloved RPG.
I thought it was a decently fun game in terms of combat, but its weirdly chipper tone and abandonment of tactical combat (among other problems, like its clumsy political messaging) made it feel more like an action game set in a totally different universe.
The game was such a spectacular failure that EA pretty much immediately announced that it would not be supporting the game with new DLC and would be disbanding the team that made it, moving developers to other projects.
So it is very peculiar, indeed, to learn that a new free DLC has just been released. The new DLC is for PC players only, and is only available until April 9th. Normally, it wouldn’t even be newsworthy, but given we were told we’d be getting no DLC at all, it’s worth mentioning. And since it appears neither EA nor Bioware have gone to the trouble of even mentioning this DLC on social media, here we are.
The DLC in question is called “Rook’s Weapons Appearance Offer” and is described on Steam thusly:
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Rise as Rook in Dragon Age™: The Veilguard. This offer includes Rook’s Weapon Appearance Set for all players who own the game on PC. This offer is available to players who purchase the game by April 9, 2025. The items will appear in Rook’s Room when you log into Dragon Age™: The Veilguard.
The consensus on Reddit seems to be that the weapon and armor skins this DLC bundle provides are not particularly attractive, but I suppose when it’s both free and totally unexpected, that doesn’t matter as much. I took my Rook to the wardrobe and perused the offerings and they’re fine, I guess. Lost in a sea of other cosmetics. Nothing special. Sort of like the game itself.
It really is a shame. Veilguard is one of those titles that feels less like a proper sequel to a classic RPG and more like a corporate mandate, designed by committee to appeal to the “modern audience” and younger gamers in particular. It draws more inspiration from the new God Of War games than from Dragon Age: Origins. All EA and BioWare had to do was create another Origins with more engaging combat and hire some really talented writers to bring it to life. Honestly, a full remake of Origins might have done the trick. Baldur’s Gate 3 certainly proves that gamers remain hungry for deep RPG experiences.
Now, barring various miracles, it appears that Dragon Age is, like many ages before it, a thing of the past.
