I hate to say it but I don't think they "missed" these opportunities as much as they just didn't feel like doing them. I think they put the game out in an incomplete form so they could move onto ME4(which I couldn't care less about), which is not only disappointing, it indicates to me that DA players are of minimal value to BW.
People are complaining about the "woke" but that's barely even in the game. the big issues are: extremely limited communication with companions, limited interactions, and limited responses(if there are any). In previous games, like DAI for example, you could go have a a lengthy and in-depth chat with Solas about the Fade, or spirits, or magic. You could chat with Cullen about Templars or Ferelden...we get NONE of that in Veilguard. Hell, if we walk up to a companion in the Lighthouse and they ask us something we can't even answer. All of this makes Rook feel like an outcast and is very un-immersive.
Romances are inconsistent- Lucanis' relationship can BARELY be called a romance at all. You go from a great scene where you nearly kiss and the next time you get any kind of meaningful scene you sleep together. Very weird and VERY disappointing. It's like they decided to tell half a story. Don't get me started on the "nudity setting" when there isn't any. The game is PG-13 at best.
The coupe de gras for me is the fact that not only were they clear that there will be nothing added to the base game content-wise, there will be no dlc which is pretty outrageous considering that the romances are just left hanging- not even a frigging epilogue. The entire game just...ends, abruptly.
Don't get me wrong, I like the game. It has one of the greatest finales I've ever played. I enjoyed the narrative, the combat, and the environemnts, but the hallmarks of a great DA game are roleplay, companions, and romances. I like most of the companions(with one or two exceptions), but there is very little roleplay. Even the best romance(Emmrich's, imo) felt light, though it was profoundly better than Lucanis'. Also, Veilguard was marketed as an rpg which it is NOT. It's an action-adventure game with minor rpg elements. There are few decisions in the game the really matter(which city to help[it only really matters for one of them] or which person to send out and distract in the end game). None of the other decisions feel like they are important at all...just there to make it feel like we're making decisions. I really feel like DA fans got tossed under the bus for ME4. We waited ten years to be shown how little we matter, and I know I'm not the only one annoyed about it.
Spot on!
