BioWare released multiple videos this week to showcase their upcoming Dragon Age game, and the game is already a heavy topic of conversation online. Between discussing the shift in art style for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, reactions to the trailer and gameplay overall, and specifically discussing the new companions (and let’s face it, thirsting for them already) and planning romances, there’s a certain nostalgic feeling that arises in watching the internet spiral into madness over a Dragon Age game once again.ย
Videos by ComicBook.com
Thankfully, the videos aren’t the only source of information on the game, and multiple interviews have provided a deeper insight into what players can expect from one of the key features that is undoubtedly a draw to The Veilguard: romances. In an interview with EuroGamer, Creative Director John Epler confirmed romances in this game aren’t only for the player to experience, as the companions may look for love with one another if not pursued.ย
“In Dragon Age games, BioWare games, romance is a core part. We wanted to give each character their own flavour, or their own style, of romance. So some characters may be a little more steamy while some characters maybe a little bit more innocent. But for each one, you can build these relationships,” Epler provided in the interview. “And what’s interesting in this game is, if you don’t romance characters, they may decide to find their own romances for themselves, whether within the team or within the world itself.”
The confirmation that companions may pursue one another if not pursued by the player character aren’t the only additional details regarding The Veilguard’s romances this week, either. In another interview conducted by IGN, Game Director Corinne Busche confirmed several key factors to romances in the game including that all companions are pansexual and romanceable, a shift from previous Dragon Age games that would feature companion romance options locked only to certain genders or races. Busche also confirmed the game will be M-Rated with nudity and spicy scenes later in the game once a romantic relationship has been developed, noting differences in the scenes and overall tone dependent on who the object of the player’s affection is.ย
“Some of them are more spicy than others. Just like real life, our companions have such diverse personalities,” she stated in the interview. “Some of them are more physical, more aggressive, and some of them are more… we have a gentleman necromancer, for instance, that is more intimate and sensual.”
Dragon Age games are largely to thank for the increasingly widespread representation of LGBTQ+ romances in gaming, so it’s nice to see the options opened up further in this particular installment by making the companions pansexual a la Baldur’s Gate 3 party members, a comparison Bosche seemed more than happy to discuss in the interview. “What I love about the two games is I think they live side by side in a really interesting way,” she states. “They’re very different games, but those emotional connections and how the narratives hook you, I think there’s space for both.”
What do you think of The Veilguard after everything we’ve seen this week? Chat with me about it on social media @amazingspidrhan!
