Dragon Age 4 intends to go in a very different direction than previous works, so for good reason, an element that divided players has been removed.
We saw it in its first gameplay presentation, but also in our preview, among others: Dragon Age 4: The Veilguard will be much more nervous than its predecessors. The tactical aspect of the BioWare license will therefore take a back seat. The proof lies in particular in the removal of an already controversial functionality that fortunately no longer seems relevant.
Dragon Age 4: a nervous action RPG with a camera in hand
In the previous games of the license, and even in Inquisition, which was already breaking away from its roots, the gameplay showed strong similarities with the first two Baldur’s Gate, also developed by BioWare. This led to real-time combat, but with tactical pauses to better control our companions. In return, a tactical camera allowed us to gain altitude. However, this caused headaches both for the developers when implementing it and for the players. Dragon Age 4 will happily ignore this point. BioWare’s next game is more of an action RPG than a C-RPG and will therefore be closer to the gameplay of Mass Effect from the same studio.
We only have to control our avatar, in fact. The only way to give orders to your companions is to use a radial menu to slow down an action that we are told would otherwise be frantic. All this is done through a camera firmly attached behind the shoulders of Rook, the character we play. Fans of isometric RPGs and old games might therefore be a little left out. But this new direction proposed by Dragon Age 4 should greatly delight action RPG fans on the other hand. However, this does not mean that the tactical aspect of the license is completely dead. It is just rendered differently.
One less headache for BioWare
In addition, the tactical camera seemed to pose major problems for BioWare itself in previous Dragon Age games.” The amount of work required to operate such a camera in such a fast-paced game, especially indoors, would have been a real pain. “, John Epler, creative director of the game, told Edge Magazine. We can also expect that working on Dragon Age 4 will facilitate the development of a highly anticipated Mass Effect 4. So the tactical camera was sacrificed on the altar of a good cause? Judgment a priori current end of October for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series.
Source: Edge Magazine
