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Gorechid's avatar
Gorechid
Seasoned Rookie
3 months ago

[feedback] Romances and Companion Interactions Feel Shallow

So far, I have about 100 hours in this game, I have completed the primary and side questlines, and have found that even when your Rook does engage in a locked in romance, you can completely forget about it. This is an opinion, but I do feel like Veilguard has the weakest romance aspect in any of the DA games, and that even some of the romances in Mass Effect: Andromeda seem more thought out than these, which is something I'd never thought I would say. 

I have heard of people being incredibly disappointed with how little thought is apparently put into the companions interactions with Rook, and not just the romantic ones, but how Rook feels like a Fly on the Wall for a lot of the game. And I hate that I somewhat have to agree. I like that the companions seek each other out and have unique conversations and dialogue, I find that very enjoyable, but what it lacks for me, is any depth or proper emotion given to the romances, or even to companion interactions with individual Rooks.

I romanced Davrin, and have seen on forums that a lot of people think he has one of the better romances, and after watching the Lucanis and other romances, I would have to agree. I think this is because he tends to offer and at least somewhat reciprocate your advances through a lot of the interactions Rook and he have together, whereas with some of the others, you completely forget that you started romancing them. I was glad to see how romance could happen organically outside of Rook's choices, the Lucanis/Neve, Taash/Harding and Emmerich/Strife pairings I feel all progressed well. However, they feel as if they were given more time and effort than a single one of Rook's pairings, as they have more depth than Rook's. 

One of the things that I found most damaging to the romance in this game, is that you can't really interact with your romance outside of the missions that they give, like at all. In other Dragon Age games and Mass Effect games, you could typically walk up to a companion and talk to them, enter into dialogue trees, learn more about their characters and backstories and their thoughts and feelings in regards to you, other companions, or the present circumstances, and that is almost entirely missing from Veilguard. Not only this, but the reactions that the romanced character would have to certain things, such as Rook being in extreme danger, are nearly completely missing. The dialogue, and the way the romanced companion regards you outside of their missions where you can occasionally pick the Heart option, is incredibly lacking. It feels as if there is a massive chunk of the game missing just from that alone, that Rook can barely talk or interact with the companions outside of the missions they give you, and I feel like that is one of the main problems this game has. If feels like they kind of slapped and wrote a lot of the dialogue and romances together 3 months before the game release, and that is detracting from romance as a whole. Rook could romance no one, and there wouldn't really be a remarkable change or shift in hardly any of the dialogue or scenes that are given, which is a travesty for a game series that engages in player choices, both big and small. 

I remember in Inquisition, that I could literally just spend an hour of my time going through a couple of character's dialogue trees in Haven or Skyhold, and learn so much about them and what their experiences and thoughts were. This is not present at all in Veilguard, and has, in my opinion, done the game a great disservice.

64 Replies

  • Warfrost42's avatar
    Warfrost42
    Rising Scout
    12 days ago

    Yeah I think they're making a huge mistake by refusing to make a dlc for Veilguard. They could fix some of the issues with the game like completing the romances and giving us a proper ending even if it were just epilogue plates, and it would not only serve as a gesture of good faith to long-time fans(especially those that love DA but don't care about ME), but it could get the series back on the rails, so to speak.

  • Amnixx's avatar
    Amnixx
    Seasoned Rookie
    11 days ago

    A DLC wouldn't fix the issues in the current game. The romances are shallow so why prolong the agony in a DLC. Patching some of the issues in the current game would also not do anything for the issues since it's just badly written with no depth. 

  • WyllRavengard's avatar
    WyllRavengard
    New Adventurer
    11 days ago

    Well, they COULD patch/fix whatever, if they wanted to, but that is the point - they don't want to.  Larian has had voice actors back in for rewrites numerous times. BioWare could do that 1 time and just add a few things into romances that would make them better.  And to not have an epilogue, too.  I just think they care little for their fans.  Larian cares - BioWare does not.  That is the main point.

    I for one will not care anything about ME5 or 4, or whatever they want to call it, when it comes out.  Why would I think it will be any different than this.  Yeah, I know it's a different team.  Whatever, it's the same company.

  • EA_Shepard's avatar
    EA_Shepard
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    10 days ago

    Gorechid

    Thank you for sharing your feedback on the game. Your thoughts on the romance aspect and companion interactions are insightful. It's clear that you've invested a lot of time in the game, and your perspective on how the romance elements compare to previous Dragon Age titles and Mass Effect: Andromeda is valuable as it can provide insights on changing options later on. I'll note your feedback about the depth of interactions and dialogue with companions, particularly outside of missions.

    We appreciate the effort you put into outlining your experiences and the specific areas where you feel the game could improve. I love to see this type of feedback from players. It gets you and others more engaged with a series you love. 

    Happy gaming!

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