As the launch ofDragon Age: The Veilguardlooms, I’m trying to keep my expectations in check. I adore BioWare’s fantasy series. I even have a nug tattooed on my arm. But I can’t deny I have some trepidation given the rocky rollercoaster of development The Veilguard has undergone over the years. The initial companion trailer did not help to assuage those fears, butafter our very own Stacey Henley reviewed it, I have reason to hope once more.
I know it won’t be the same asInquisition. I don’t think I ever expected it to be. After all, Inquisition wasn’t like Dragon Age 2, and neither were like Origins. The series has evolved over the years and it’s a no-brainer that it will continue to grow and change with time. I’m not opposed to switching things up so long as The Veilguard’s narrative is strong and does the existing lore and characters justice, and I’ll likely be pretty forgiving about any potential gameplay complaints.
However, there is one thing I hope The Veilguard retains, and that’s the secret content youreallyhave to dig for. Things that most players will miss entirely, which naturally means you savour it all the more by feeling like one of the precious few who ever stumbled upon it. Inquisition had some fantastic secret content, and some parts of the gameplayers didn’t even realise they could affect at first.
While The Veilguard might be the first game that lists Lace Harding as an official romance option, Inquisition actually had a pseudo romance for our favourite female dwarf, providing you had the Trespasser DLC. While this romance doesn’t unlock an achievement or trophy like the other companion romances do,it was undeniably a romance path, complete with romantic heart icon in the conversation choices.
One of the most surprising things I didn’t realise until a subsequent playthrough is thatyou can influence who becomes the next Divinein the final scene based on seemingly inconsequential decisions you make over the course of the game. Ultimately, you could ensure that Vivienne, Cassandra, or Leliana could become the next Divine. Considering how under the radar that particular plot thread went, I’m unsure how it will be handled in The Veilguard. Is there a canonical Divine? I guess we’ll find out in a few days.
In fact, Leliana has two options as another little secretallows you to “harden” or “soften” her character, affecting her personality.
There’s also a range of secret unmarked side quests you have to literally stumble upon rather than starting them by speaking with an obvious NPC and being tracked in the menu. My favourite, and the most elusive, is The Tiniest Cave. This quest was so secret, no one knew it existed until a Bioware developer revealed it to the world.
The chance of anyone figuring this out by chance is nigh impossible. You have to find a miniature cave in the Emerald Graves, jump on it over 50 times to trigger some specific lines from a mysterious voice, and then place ten Crystal Grace flowers atop the mini cave. At this point, the voice gives you a clue to find your reward for your strange efforts: you get the Ardent Blossom head gear from a secret area in Emprise du Lion. It’s a flower crown, so I trust you realise how much fans love it.
Secret content like this is pure gold. Aside from the enjoyment you get from discovering the lesser-known ways you can play the game, secrets like this leave fans digging for more clues and secrets for years. It becomes a joint community obsession, a collaborative international treasure hunt, usually only halted when the developers announce every secret has been found.
Of all the things that may change in The Veilguard, I sincerely hope that it continues to tap into this same sense of exploration and discovery, rewarding players with interesting and weird little wonders to uncover along their journey. It will be a big loss to the fandom if The Veilguard is exactly as it presents itself, without any extras you can uncover by testing out different choices or uncovering unmarked quests. Just don’t make me jump on another miniature cave 50 times again.
