BioWare Explains Why You Can't Control Companions In Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Image: BioWare

One of the most surprising aspects of the forthcoming Dragon Age: The Veilguard was the news that we won’t be able to control other party members in the action-RPG. A feature that’s been core to the previous three mainline entries in the series, its removal has left many wondering what is up. Well, according to Edge, it’s because the action’s going to be far more intense this time.

There’s no question that the Dragon Age games have incrementally moved away from their D&D-inspired origins (pun so very much intended). The first game played a lot like a traditional BioWare D&D game, despite being set in the company’s self-created universe. You could take control of any member of your party, and pause battles to possess each and decide on their next moves. By the third game, Inquisition, while you could still control other characters, the emphasis had moved much more toward focusing on your main, and much more on the action. It seems that transition is now complete.

Talking to Edge, BioWare’s Corinne Busch told the magazine, “On the experiential side, we wanted you to feel like you are Rook.” That’s the pre-determined main character of Veilguard, albeit one you can design to look how you wish. “You’re in this world, you’re really focused on your actions,” the game’s director continued. “We wanted the companions to feel like they, as fully realised characters, are in control of their own actions. They make their own decisions.”

However, that’s not the only reason. (And wouldn’t be the best one, given how much I’ve bonded with my own character in previous Dragon Age games, to the degree where it just felt wrong to be playing as one of the companions.) Busch also told the UK magazine that Veilguard “is a much higher actions-per-minute game. It is more technically demanding on the player.” Apparently during playtesting, it was found that letting people control the companions “wasn’t actually adding to the experience. In fact, in some ways it was detrimental.”

From the early footage, it’s pretty clear that Veilguard is a full-on third-person action game, on top of being an RPG. Which we’re totally down for. But it’s certainly going to be a cognitive shift, losing the ability to direct companion actions—let’s just hope their AI is up to it.

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