BioWare released a brief character trailer introducing a number of characters that will appear in the company’s upcoming Dragon Age: The Veilguard and players are expressing their concern and distaste.

Neve in Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare

On X, the official Dragon Age account posted, “We’re finally ready to reveal our most compelling companions yet in Dragon Age! Meet the Veilguard.”

On YouTube, the longer form trailer reveals the characters beginning with a female Dwarf named Harding. Next, it reveals what appears to be a disabled black woman as a mage named Neve. Third is a male named Lucanis, who is described as a mage killer.

The fourth companion is a character named Bellar, who is described as a Veil Jumper. She appears to be an Asian woman. The fourth character is an elderly white man named Emmrich, who is a necromancer. The fifth is a black male warden named Davrin. The sixth appears to be a gender confused Qunari named Taash. She’s a dragon hunter.

The character trailer has been massively downvoted on YouTube. It currently only has 31,000 likes compared to 144,000 dislikes. The trailer only has 1.1 million views. That means that over 12% of people who watched the trailer disliked it.

Screenshot of Dragon Age: The Veilguard Official Reveal Trailer showing like to dislike ratio

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Numerous users in the comments roasted the game. The top comment reads, “You either die as Dragon Age or live long enough to see yourself become Fortnite.”

Another questioned “Is this what Duncan died for?”

One user wrote, “This game is gonna sell a lot of copies of Dragon Age: Origins.”

Another questioned, “I’ve waited 10 years for a cartoon?”

Comments on the Dragon Age: The Veilguard Official Reveal Trailer

Still another questioned, “How did we go from dark fantasy to saturday morning cartoons?”

One user posted, “the real reason why Youtube removed dislikes.”

Another compared the game to the financial disaster of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, “Suicide Veilguard : Kill the Dragon Age.”

One predicted that EA would be shutting down BioWare following the release of the game, “EA closing Bioware in 3…2…1…”

Another noted, “Oh yes, Baldur’s Gate 3 looks more like Dragon Age than Dragon Age itself.”

Comments on the Dragon Age: The Veilguard Official Reveal Trailer

On X there was more roasting to be done of the trailer. YouTuber Endymion posted, “None of the characters look very interesting they all look like they’ve been modern audience’d. F**k me bioware.”

 

YouTuber Minimal Effort Gaming wrote, “Lmao y’all Kathleen Kennedied the shit outta this.”

 

MAXMKIII wrote, “This looks like dog water. Everything from the heinous character designs, music, and the overall silly tone. Hard pass on this trash.”

SWT_Channel posted, “One is a gritty, mature Dragon Age we fell in [love] with. The other, a check mark Overwatch clone.”

 

The negative reaction to the trailer comes in the wake of BioWare changing the game’s name from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf to Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The company explained that the change in title is because they did not want to put the focus on the enemy, but rather the player and his companions.

In a blog post the company detailed, “Naturally, the Dread Wolf still has an important part in this tale, but you and your companions – not your enemies – are the heart of this new experience. So, to capture what this game is all about, we changed the name as the original title didn’t show just how strongly we feel about our new heroes, their stories and how you’ll need to bring them together to save all of Thedas. We proudly introduce to you Dragon Age™: The Veilguard.”

A screenshot from Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare

It also comes in the wake of the game’s director a man who pretends to be a woman and uses the name as Corinne Busche claiming the game is “inherently queer.” Back in 2022, Busche stated, “As a queer trans woman, I have a perspective on the games that not everyone has. Dragon Age has long been a place where LGBTQIA+ folks can see people like themselves, represented respectfully. It’s inherently very queer, and it’s such a rare thing for marginalized communities to have representation where we feel proud and powerful in how we are depicted.”

He added, “It’s so deeply meaningful for so many. I often get emotional when I think about what it would have meant for a younger version of myself to see someone like her in a game, and as a hero, no less. I hope we can be a safe place for our queer players to know they are not alone, that they are brilliant and worthy, that they are not only welcome but celebrated.”

Bellara in Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare

Busch also made it clear he is indeed guiding the game to adhere to this vision, “Game directors are sometimes thought of as big personalities who are singularly responsible for the purity of their creative vision.”

“But for me, it’s really about being a steward for the vision that we, as a team, have collectively defined. I get a high-level view of everything as it’s coming together and can steer the project as it does, but ultimately it’s about empowering people to work together, play with ideas, offer critiques, and make decisions, all to help create a cohesive experience for the player,” he said.

Emmrich in Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare

He also noted, “In Dragon Age, you can be who you want to be, explore the possibilities and consequences of your choices, and build relationships that leave a lasting impression.”

“Few games give players that kind of autonomy while also weaving such a rich narrative—I think it really speaks to why our players feel so invested in this world,” he added.

Davrin in Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare

What do you make of Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s characters and their designs?