#“She has a sidequest for you!”
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dragonsruby · 2 months ago
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I need to share with y'all this picture that my brother took.
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We've never seen that cat before or since.
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eerna · 1 year ago
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reached the end of the tears of the dragon questline. I knew it I had a feeling ever since my discovery yesterday I had a feeling and I am so so so sad and horrified but that was badass what a great idea A+ game you have such a good story opportunity here please please grab it
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scopophobia-polaris · 2 months ago
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first female loz director and the gerudo seem to be written fine enough? wow... there ain't no way I thought we were in the worst timeline after totk
Yeah got through the main quest with the gerudo, it wasn't painful! It wasn't even bad! Still got them outfits but for the most part it was like oh cool!
I would say a lot of that oh cool is from the fact they didn't do a lot to even fuck it up to begin with, I'm gonna be real with yall this game is NOT worth $60USD
Edit: lemme say one thing, you know when people were being like damn totk story wasn't dark or mature at all why was this compared to Majora's mask again? And then all the zeldatwt people came out and said zelda is just a kid series domt expect good writing uH
This one feels like a kid's game. That ain't to say it's terrible I would say, hell I'm not far in it if I get something crazy that's like OH FUCK I'll reblog this post and say something but uh.....game for babies I'm gonna be shocked if anyone struggles with any puzzles cuz you CAN CHEESE THEM EASY ITS 🫢🤭
EDIT EDIT: I SWEAR IM NOT EVEN TRYING TO BE A DOWNER..... @ezlo-x HAS BEEN THERE THE WHOLE TIME IVE BEEN PLAYING....THEY KNOW I HAVENT BEEN A PARTY POOPER.....
#its......seems quick#the sidequests are very boring tbh#like this game should of been 45-50 max not 60#its cute i like it so far but oh my god the optimization and game design could of been way better#and after botw/totk like....how do i put this#its like nintendo heard hey we need a LITTLE bit of rail roading and then#😬#basically...example#for a main quest i have to go to 2 places to get people#i went to the 2nd place first and it......didnt update the side quest even though she should of gone to the meeting place#thTs apart of the quest but no i had to go to the 1st guy no matter what#and its like.....hey botw not totk would do that#most GAMES in general now wouldnt do something like that#also yall gonna hate the fact there is no organization or favorites tool for the echoes#game is fun so far but uH#i got through the first dungeon FAST FAST like this is not a return to form#minish cap dungeons i dont think were that fast and theyre simple#also anyone that says this dorsnt have mechanics from the wilds games yes it does#tri has an ability thats JUST ultra hand#oh and its not good in this game#yall gonna fucking hate it#unless somehow a pirated version doesnt allow you to rotate the fucking item or move it in a way that goes behind me#without me locking off and then back on again after repostioning myself#im worried its a feature and not an anti piracy measure#me and GC are gonna finish this up this week but dang i havent even done the whole first part of the main quest#if i had this on the switch i could see how fast i could play through the game WHILE talking to people and having fun and exploring#also oh my god the zora side quest very cute but when eveeyone knows how the game goes ill make one complaint in the tags one day#funny thing its not story....ITS GAMEPLAY#yhe story in the game is fine and i say that cuz its....very simple#HELL A LOT OF NPCS DONT GOT NAMES THAT ARE VISIBLE
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windor-truffle · 28 days ago
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if I had a nickel for every sidequest involving Sophie and the death of a child/childlike humanoid I'd have... wait 5 nickels?? jesus christ Sophie I'm so sorry 😟
#dolphin plays graces again#to list em all first there's Moira the daughter of a rich family in Yu Liberte. Her mother thinks Sophie *is* Moira#...because she's refusing to accept the truth that her daughter died. You have to go find her bones in the desert 😟#Then there's Lara the girl who collects plushies. I never finished that one in my first playthrough so I didnt know the ending#SHE WAS A GHOST THE WHOLE TIME WTF???????#That quest even ends w Sophie apologizing to Asbel for disappearing in front of him 7 years ago bc now she's lost someone that way 💔😭#there's an unnamed ancient Fodran girl who's bratty but gives Sophie a flower brooch to make her feel more human#and then is PROMPTLY killed by a monster ��� rip#There's Lambda's humanoid body you find at the crash site. After he explodes Sophie wants to bury him 😭#And finally there's the humanoid whose parts wear out while the others are searching for replacements#She says she's jealous of Sophie for being more human-like but she also seems to have a soul. She has a will to live anyway 😭#That's the only one w a happy ending tho! In another quest Pascal can put her memory drive into a new humanoid she made#And that's how you unlock Mecha Sophie :)#But my god why are all of Sophie's quests so fucking sad. This game is usually so silly but they like to make Sophie suffer 😭#But in L&L Sophie gets a sidequest witnessing the birth of a baby!! feels extra poignant now 💜#I mean that quest is meant to go w the themes of that arc. It's called Lineage and Legacies for a reason 😅#But also god the girl really deserves to witness some life after all of this death 😭😭😭
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silverselfshippingchaos · 29 days ago
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I keep having to pause the game because. Wow. He is so pretty.
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konfizry · 3 months ago
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because who's gonna vouch for her existence? who can say for sure that she is a real person who existed, say, 5 months prior to the game's events?
no one!!!!!
#like all the other party members have acquaintances (and sometimes family) that you meet#more often than not in the main plot; sometimes in a sidequest#heck even alphen who woke up from his Big Nap not too long ago has ppl in mosgul who have spent the past year with him#and like im sure if you think of any other character from the franchise#they have acquaintances that the party meets#but for shionne the only ppl we meet who know her from before are balseph and some of his goons maybe#THIS IS SO WEIRD#and like she implies(?) that she used to have a family but i guess i cant complain that theyre out of the picture#and you could argue “well thats the point. shes always been alone so naturally youre not gonna meet her buddies she doesnt have any”#i would argue that they stiĺ could have made a subquest where you meet a couple doctors/researchers who used to “care for” her#or a rando on lenegis who tells you how he once bumped into shionne as a kid and the memory forever remains with him bc it was#the worst pain hed felt in his life and omg is that her with you right now stay back stay back aaà aaaaa aaa#Like they dont even let you meet her doll#she refers to it as her only friend gdi#regardless of whether thats also alphens doll. can we see it?#can we come in contact with one thing that cements shionne's presence in this universe prior to the events of the game?#no????#all that coupled with the fact that the logistics of her arrival on dahna are such a headscratcher that fans had to ask tomizawa about it#and he refused to answer lmao#IM LOSING MY MIND GIVE SUBSTANCE TO THIS GIRL'S BACKSTORY BLEASE#arise curse#(not to mention that balseph and shionne' relationship is strictly Tom&Jerry-esque.#and it's impossible to parse for how long exactly he's know (of?) her)#(at least the few words they exchange pre-battle are still somewhat engaging and inform us on like. the Renan worldview. cool.)#shionne posting
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jpasionr · 1 year ago
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Vinyl, Shine, and Rave
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stellarsightz · 2 years ago
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What is the flavor of fear?
Sublime, my Brother.
(Alternate version under the cut)
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#murder cult almost got wiped out. but we stay silly :3#no hes not bald. yes he has hair. i was just too lazy to draw it#anyways. new art experiment featuring my altmeri listener called lynwalynn from my second skyrim playthrough#(no i havent finished playing it lol)#he and his twin sister used to be part of dark brotherhood in cyrodiil before the unrest. fled the country. got separated#lynn did some crazy sidequesting and became the archmage of winterhold. got bored so he joined the thieves guild. became a nigthingale#banged brynjolf. got into an argument w him and had a messy breakup. left the guild bc things got really awkward w bryn#eventually re-joined the dark brotherhood and became the listener. and now hes just chilling and doing illegal shit w cicero by his side :)#he and his sister (named baltana; my first skyrim babygirl) accidentally reunite and catch up. he discovers that his sister also#did some crazy sidequesting on her own and that shes the dragonborn the vampireslayer of dawnguard and used to be the harbinger#of companions (but left bc she fucking hated their racist nordic supremacy bullshit)#yes he is fucked up yes hes almost like any other listener you can find on ao3 i dont care#i made a self-sacrificing almighty hero on my first playthrough and thought it was bland as fuck so i just said#yknow what. how about i made the wettest most pathetic nasty fucked up guy instead. AND they split the titles bc theres no way only#one person can do all of those things. like i get it but i think its just. boring if you're the all-powerful big strong good guy#skyrim tes#the elder scrolls#dark brotherhood#artists on tumblr#digital art#my art#long tags#oc: lynwallyn
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mantisgodsdomain · 10 months ago
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We should bring back low% time travel at some point it has some INCREDIBLY interesting intersections of knowledge. Timeline where they've never been back to Snakemouth Den since their first expedition, have NO IDEA about any of Leif's Request, have never so much as ventured NEAR the Underground Tavern let alone used any of the Medals, have never once spoken to Maki beyond a handful of lines in the Swamplands, probably don't even know what a Yin is, and then get shunted back in time to relive their entire adventure with no fucking context beyond the path they went on last time.
#we speak#context: bug fables time travel au where they completed like. the Absolute Minimum required content to finish the game before time travel#did they complete the chapter bosses? yep. did they finish the main plot? absolutely. did they finish a SINGLE sidequest? no.#this au time travels back Everyone With Magic so hoaxe also has time travel knowledge but he has Significantly More Context#thinkin abt it again while tinkering with febuwhump plans just bc like. hey we could use that for things#also bc of timelines like “fuck around a tower for a year. world ends. time travel. you have no clue what happened.”#and fun notable timeline changes like “they actually get sent back like a week before canon events”#“which means like a week of both kabbu and vi worrying about if the other remembers them to the point that other people notice”#and then vi in particular (didnt tell anyone fuck shit for the entire previous timeline) (planning on not telling anyone shit to save face)#gets bullied into returning to the tavern specifically bc people are Worried About Her after a week of her Worrying and being off meds#(the meds are painkillers. for Hive Agonies. avoided in prev timeline bc Oh No What If They Judge Me For Not Liking Being In Pain)#(and also the getting them through illegal means but tbh. the fact that she got them illegally barely even registers to her)#(at no point in time has she had access to perscription level painkillers through normal means shes just like)#(worried about how she'll be perceived if they know that shes taken Drugs To Not Be In Abject Pain When The Agonies Are Bad)
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potatoesandsunshine · 2 years ago
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me after i misremember something in da:o for at least seven years: welp. i guess that’s just true for me now.
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petitexmagician · 4 months ago
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So I'm at the part of Skyward where I have a dislike about these side quests. The Unwanted Admirer one is my biggest hate for two reasons - Peatrice's old man is a overprotective of his daughter not only that but Peatrice herself isn't a favorite of mine.
If she gets rejected by Link her old man is weirdly happy over it and Peatrice is just bitter when you try to store your stuff, if you accept her feelings in the end of it Link is down on the starting ground work for Hyrule with Zelda while she's up in the clouds "willing to wait". It's sad but the girl is out here calling Link "Darling" and it bothers so great to me its not even funny.
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fragmentedblade · 1 year ago
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I'm playing Bailu's sidequest again and, well, same story
#Fragments and scraps#Traces#I talk too much#I should probably delete this later#Borges' line about how everything is the repetion of the same story over and over and all that but... I mean#Baxia saying she knew she was breaking the laws of the vidyadhara and that she'd be punished for it#but that she couldn't let her beloved die#How she talks about how horrible she deems becoming immortal of it means transforming into something that will forget her beloved#or have him not recognise her. I mean...#Not to be 'whatever happened with the High Cloud Quintet‚ with Baiheng‚ Dan Feng‚ Yingxing and Jingliu in particular' about this but...#This is whatever happened with the High Cloud Quintet all over again#And not to go back to the craftsmen in this arc but I truly love how this game made the sidequests‚ NPCs#and overall worldbuilding enhance and even throw light onto the stories of the main characters#How through the scattered fragments of the lives of NPCs you can deduce by establishing parallelisms a little more of idk Blade's story#And I adore how that goes with the story#How the very fragmentary storytelling we get through different sources of diverse trustworthiness works with the thematics#of a fragmented self and fragmented memory#Form is subject#Anyway... I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just love Blade/Yingxing a lot. I can barely think of anything else lately#Banxia is moved by Liangmu's drive to live in the little amount of time he has no matter the cost or the consequences#She calls him a shining star#I don't know... I'm the Pepe Silva meme. The Incredibles teacher meme#I am aware that I suffer the blinded of who sees what they love in everything because that's what they seek to see#But I can't help it. I can't help see him here too. I want to check this in Chinese#Liangmu's interest in immorality not being immortality itself but the means to achieve his ambitions also is just so... Ugh#I can't stop thinking of Yingxing and his little kid frustrations. God I love that moment haha#Oh if you don't tell him the truth you never learn that Liangmu was a prick#I almost prefer this. He seemed so nice and understanding and patient with Bailu. He seemed even worth it#I thought we were seeing a bit of the man Banxia had loved but no. We get to know. He's still a prick. Really the scumbag Bailu calls him#Edit: given Jingliu's character story I think her story recalls this quest. The parallels between Blade and Jingliu goodness...
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chaostudee · 2 months ago
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how you get the girl, lando norris.
summary : lando norris reveals in a interview that his celebrity crush is y/n. the majority of the grid teases him over his little crush but little do they know it is mutual. faceclaim : hailee steinfeld warnings : language?? a/n : aaaaagh 2nd win for lando im so happy :) hopefully ferrari can get on the podium in monza. also inspired by how you get the girl by taylor swift.
y/nusername felt cute. might delete later.
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liked by zendaya, florencepugh, landonorris and 1,719,910 others.
zendaya 🔥🔥
florencepugh damnnn girl
user01 goddamn
user11528 wowwww
sabrinacarpenter obsessed with u always
username_90 DONT DELETE GIRL PLEASE
user22 how tf is she single?!?!
y/nfan LITERALLY LIKE WHAT
user92 pick me choose me love me
mclaren new video out now !!
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liked by landonorris, zakbrown, f1fan and 479,929 others.
user828 OMG LOVE U MCLAREN
user01 they know what we want hehe
f1fan oh yesssss
username982 oh we are so backkkk
user_72 landoscar !!!!!
y/nusername
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》 user929 omlll she's so pretty wtfff
》 user00 so gorgeouss ughhh
》 y/nlover i cant wait for future projects hehe
》 y/nusername something coming soon 🤫
》 username_89 yesss y/n active era
f1updates lando norris reveals that his celebrity crush is y/n y/ln !!!
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liked by f1fan, f1lover, justaninchident and 129,920 others.
user01 stan oscar for calling him out hehe
f1fan UM WHAT
user472 he's so real for that acc
f1lover Y/N NEEDS TO SEE THIS PLSSS
justaninchident brb changing my name to y/n real quick
user555 so not normal about this
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y/nusername SPIDERMAN INTO THE SPIDERVERSE OUT JUNE 2ND !!!!
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liked by florencepugh, tomholland2013, zendaya and 1,293,920 others.
florencepugh yayyyy i cant waittt
zendaya eeeek so excited
tomholland2013 won't be better than homecoming.....but i have fate
user829 OMG OMG
user739 Y/N AS GWEN OH YES
username_777 i know where i will be june 2nd
lando.jpg
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liked by alexalbon , oscarpiastri, georgerussell and 282,710 others.
alexalbon bros a photographer now
landonorris just a hobby :)
user829 ugh his style lately 😩😩
user119 obsessed with him alwaysss
username_425 bros doing sidequests now
f1fan aagh we need more content like this plsss
f1lover im love his jewellery smmmm
oscarpiastri this week was a good one 😜
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liked by landonorris, y/nusername, georgerussell and 618,910 others.
landonorris :)
user289 your honour i love them !!!
user_19 ughhh they are so cuteeee
justanichident pookies
f1fan mclaren podiums are my favs :)
f1lover but carlando podiums 😚
y/nusername premiere in la last night
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liked by landonorris, florencepugh, zendaya and 917,291 others.
landonorris stunning
y/nusername tyyyyy
user82 oh this look im obsessedddd
f1fan not lando commenting plss he wants her so baddd
user910 she's so hot omg
florencepugh my bsf is so gorgeee
zendaya you ateee so baddd
jimmyfallon interview with y/n y/n out now !!
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liked by landonorris, f1fan, justaninchident and 628,019 others.
user8292 YES THIS IS THE CONTENT WE WANT
user00 okay truthfully i dont like jimmy fallon all that much but he ate with this one u fear
f1fan lando in the likes 🙈
f1lover heheheheheheehhe
username_29 girl was trying to keep it cool but she was blushing so badddd
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y/nusername miami gp 🏎🏁 @ mclaren
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liked by landonorris, mclaren, oscarpiastri and 828,001 others.
mclaren amazing having you in the garage today !!!
user929 EXCUSE ME WHAT
f1fan convinced lando invited her
user82 oh defo
user728 giggling
username_299 oh she's a menance for this
f1lover wait....are we going to get a lando and y/n pic???
justaninchident whos cares about the gp now I ONLY CARE ABOUT Y/N AND LANDO CONTENT
y/nusername finally met my celeb crush 🤭
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》 user899 I LOVE HER FOR THIS
》 f1fan SCREAMING
》 user11 LANDO HAS TO SEE THIS PLS I BEG
》 f1lover i just know that lando is dying rn
》 user0_811 no2 this is why i love y/n
》 georgerussell can confirm that lando did infact scream when he saw this.
landonorris first win feels.
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liked by y/nusername, oscarpiastri, charlesleclerc and 2,893,467 others.
y/nusername so happy for you !!!
landonorris thanksssss
oscarpiastri well deserved mate 🫶
georgerussell congrats !!
user929 EEK SO PROUD
user191 wdym we got y/n and landos first win today......best day everrrr !!!
username_19 i sobbed when he crossed the finished line
f1fan he's come so far 😭😭
justaninchident wdymmm lando just got his first win wtfff
user000 im convinced y/n was his lucky charm
username_10 this 🙌🙌
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landonorris guess it's not a secret anymore 😏
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liked by y/nusername, georgerussell, charlesleclerc and 2,729,920 others.
user72 help the emoji he's so unserious
user11 ughh i love them sm all ready
georgerussell reminder to never doubt you again
charlesleclerc i like to think that i had a part in this
y/nusername <3
username829 awwwww
justaninchident im sobbing acc
f1fan speechless
f1lover829 AS A MARVEL AND F1 FAN IM NOT OKAY
user243 screaming crying throwing up
y/nusername i love u sm baby
landonorris love u more angel
taglist ⭑.ᐟ
@mxryxmfooty
@lottalove4evelyn
@heavy-vettel
@llando4norris
@hadidsworld
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homunculus-argument · 1 year ago
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This is one of those ideas that someone's probably already done, but I came up with another concept for a game:
A game where most of the cutscenes are flashbacks of memories the protagonist has, and the "skip cutscene" button says "repress this memory". You can play through the whole game while skipping all of the cutscenes, you don't need to watch any of them to complete the main storyline and get the main intended ending.
But watching through them doesn't just give you a more thorough - and occasionally, even completely different - understanding of the whole game, and information that makes you see certain characters in a different light, but it unocks new options in the game. You watch through the cutscene flashback of the protagonist's mother doing something fucked up, and suddenly all your conversations with her now have the dialogue option to go "hey mom remember when [the fucked up thing] happened?"
This particular conversation branch doesn't seem to lead anywhere, she'll flat-out deny that the thing ever happened, and she calls you crazy for having ever imagined that, but later on you can stumble upon something else that you clearly saw in the flashback, that you couldn't have found out any other way. It's one thing to wonder why you would remember something that never happened, but how would you have known that this passageway was here, and opens exactly the same way you remembered it?
There are passages in the game that aren't required for the completion of the main storyline, that aren't blocked off by anything visible and obvious, but have text like "you cannot go through this way, this hallway is too noisy", and it takes a completely unrelated flashback for you to recognise what that specific sound reminds you of, which opens up a whole sidequest of you figuring out why you can't stand hearing that noise. Once you've made the connections and finally remember, you can go through the hallway. There's nothing on the other side that you need for the main quest, but things that may help unlock some other mysteries.
The main game is simple and straightforward, you can just play through that one and be done with it. But that's not the whole picture, the full story. There are answers peppered thorough the whole game, answers to questions you might not even think of to ask. Explanations of why the protagonist is the way they are, and things that make you see characters you interact with - and your interactions with them - in a completely different light. Most of the relevations are grim. The only question to ask yourself is
Do you want to remember?
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chanafehs · 5 days ago
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My Veilguard review:
Note - I will be honest in saying this is very long and very negative. If you enjoy this game please don't let me be the one to ruin that for you and skip on this post. I will be discussing spoilers. This is just my opinion so please don't crucify me for it.
I think my thoughts about this game were shaky to begin with as I had been exposed to different spoilers and information before the launch. I wasn’t actually expecting this game to be amazing but as someone whose favorite Dragon Age game is Dragon Age 2, which is arguably the weakest in the series (until now), I still went in with the impression I would have a good time regardless. I did not have that at all, in fact towards the end of Act 2 and the beginning of Act 3 all I wanted was for the game to be over. 
The problems for me really started right in the beginning with the Inquisitor character choices and their characterization. No choices for your Warden, no choices for your Hawke, and only three choices for your Inquisitor out of the dozens you made in Inquisition. The romance option just felt like a very polite way of asking if you romanced Solas or not, especially after completing the game where your non-solas romance will only get one letter for you to read, outside of that, the Inquisitor will not even mention them. Disbanding the Inquisition meant basically nothing and vowing to stop Solas felt like it had little bearing on what my Inquisitor said when she showed up. 
The time frame to make Dragon Age 2 was just over a year and somehow included more choices from Origins than Veilguard did with over ten years of production. That is the information that's been banging around in my head throughout this entire game. In Dragon Age 2, we get the consequences of our decisions with Alistair’s fate and we get extra dialogue concerning Isabela/Zevran/Leliana/Anders/Nathaniel + some sidequests. Veilguard couldn’t even give us so much of a mention of our Inquisitor’s friendships and the consequences of those friendships outside of Solas. The Inquisitors themselves are locked into one personality type as well, and regardless if you choose to stop Solas or not, they are very amicable toward him. 
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During the second cut scene you get with the Inquisitor in Dock Town, they will go on to ask you about your progress and then go on about Solas. Mind you, my Inquisitor is extremely unsympathetic to Solas and I chose the option to stop him no matter what, so why is it that every time I speak to her, she keeps trying to ask me if Solas is being genuine and that he was her friend? That doesn’t sound like someone who has vowed to stop him. They will also try to draw parallels between you, Rook, and Solas. Even at the end of the game, they will still try to appeal to you to see reason with him. That is essentially all the Inquisitor is there for. Incredibly frustrating. 
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Throughout the game you will get missives from the Inquisitor detailing the devastation that is being brought to southern Thedas and every letter feels like more and more of an insult. To keep it short: Southern Thedas as we know it has been essentially wiped out. I think that deserves more than a footnote in some missive most players aren’t even going to see.
So the setting we spent all three games in, that we saved countless times, had our companions and protagonists die for, gets demolished in the background where we cannot see it. Skyhold had to be taken back from demons and whoops, that's not actually something you can do anything about. Nothing the Warden, Hawke, or the Inquisitor ever did mattered at all and it renders everything from the previous games absolutely irrelevant. 
With that aside, the companions are also another issue for me. I found myself having trouble getting attached to any of them and every single time I recruited one I had the internal question “Why are you even here?” None of their companion quests really tie into the story at large, save maybe Harding and Davrin, and they are incredibly boring save for a few cool moments.
The main appeal of Dragon Age for me is the companions, it’s why Dragon Age 2 is my favorite of the series. Despite the overused environments and the rushed production I still had a great time with it because of the companions. I was actually eager to do the companion quests and learn more about them and how they all fit into the main narrative. Even characters I didn’t like, I still understood why they were important to the story. Like I can’t stand Anders but I know why he is there, he has a purpose.
Every companion is painfully amicable towards you even if you decide to be “stern” towards them. I found myself not caring what dialogue option I chose about them because it made absolutely no difference. There is nice, funny nice, and gentle parenting. That is really all you have to work with in terms of the dialogue wheel. It was more difficult to get disapproval than approval and I can probably count on my fingers every time in this game I actually got companion disapproval. There is only one companion in my playthrough that became hardened, Lucanis, and it had virtually no impact on his character other than the fact he leaves for a couple of saves and comes back to kissing your ass. 
Something I actually really liked about BG3 and the previous Dragon Age games was working for your companion approval - this meant actually learning about your companion and what made them tick. If you don't understand them well enough you get disapproval, when you actually listen to their ideas and thoughts you get approval - there is an active effort to get these things. In Veilguard this does not exist and you are essentially promised approval no matter what, meaning there is no encouragement to know who these people are if they're just going to support you regardless.
I have to agree with the Skillup review they made about this game saying that every dialogue option feels like it was made with HR in the room and I one hundred percent agree. This is not how real people talk to each other. This is how teachers talk to toddlers when they want to explain the virtues of sharing toys with their classmates.
It felt honestly insulting at times to be treated like I don’t understand the concept of bigotry, I still have no idea what they were trying to go for with this, like were they trying to appeal to a market of high school boys who hadn’t discovered what empathy was yet? There is zero trust in the player and every dialogue and decision you make in these moments feels handhold-y and preachy. Like Pixar levels of life lessons you learn.
In the moments where I had to settle arguments over coffee and companions not respecting each other's interests, I could not honestly believe this is the same universe with Loghain Mac Tir, Meredith Stannard, fuck even Corypheus. Humor has always existed in Dragon Age and I love the comedic banter between the characters but it was always humor that served as an escape from the oppressive and dark situation around you, here the dark and oppressive situations feel like an escape from the unrelenting friendliness and tone deafness of your companions. 
The companion I probably had the most issue with was Taash and the way they were handled. I’m not going to get too deep into the Bharv scene because even thinking about it makes me cringe but If someone messed up my pronouns and then immediately dropped to do pushups I am most definitely killing us both. Isabela’s explanation is extremely preachy and she proceeds to do the exact thing she says she hates about people messing up pronouns. Anyways. Moving on. 
Taash I think is a good example of how to not write a multiethnic character. I don’t expect a white person like Trick Weekes to understand the first thing that comes with being multiethnic or having strict parents that intersects with that identity but it is most definitely not whatever the hell this is. 
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The only thing I can offer here is that as a multiethnic person (my father is Palestinian and my mother is mainly Irish and Seminole) is that there has never been a point in my life where I felt like I had to choose what culture I am let alone give that choice to someone else in my life I just met.
That’s not what being multiethnic is. I do not have to choose between anything - I am whole and I don't need to cut myself into halves and quarters to be accepted.
It also feels subconsciously like you are supposed to choose Rivain as the Qunari are depicted as bigoted and oppressive as they always have been in this game. Knowing all of this really tainted my experiences with them as a character and I understand a lot of other non-binary individuals love the representation they brought on that level but personally, I’m just tired of “queer representation” always coming with racist undertones. Again, this game feels like it always had white queer people in mind, not lgbt poc. 
These kinds of comments are really only made worse knowing what the Qunari take inspiration from - primarily Black and Brown SWANA Muslims. Why should Trick Weekes have any authority over a questline like that is beyond me. 
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Also, this sucked. Especially because they said it to Neve too. I don’t really want my non-binary representation sprinkled with Misogyny as well, especially since we can’t really call Taash out on this comment unless you’re playing a woman (as far as I know).
Aside from Taash, I thought the writing around Harding was strange. Don’t me wrong, I love Harding, but I do not remember her being this friendly and people-pleasing in the Inquisition. If you play as a Dalish elf the first thing she says is she’s surprised that you would care about anyone else - there is absolutely no inclination of this kind of perspective in Veilguard. Additionally, despite knowing everything Solas has done and the consequences that had on her ancestors, she still tries to push you to reason with him?
All of her quests about learning about the Titans, experiencing and embracing their anger, and you still want to appeal to Solas? That was another thing I found so weird about this game, throughout the entire story you are being told again and again that Solas cannot be trusted, he is to blame for everything, and will stab you in the back and yet it seems like every companion tries to push back on you if you agree with this viewpoint? 
Also, something I didn't know at this point of the game but I do now is that Solas had killed Varric and she does know this so why is she acting like this knowing Solas had killed her friend who she spent years with?
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Genuinely this whole game felt like: Devs: Solas is a villain
Rook: okay understood
Devs: actually nvm you don't understand him if you think he's a villain
The only companion quests I was actually genuinely interested in were Emmrich and his thoughts around death and becoming a lich. Lucanis' quests had the best boss fights for sure. Outside of that, it felt like “Go here with Bellara” or “Go here with Taash” and it got so grating I couldn’t wait for these quests to be over so I could progress with the main story. It felt like an annoying back-and-forth game to finish a main quest just to finish all the companion quests and then go back to the main quest. Like a list of chores to get through before you can have any fun. 
The inclusion of characters like Morrigan and Isabela in this universe was extremely hollow and they do not feel like the Morrigan and Isabela we know at all. With Morrigan there is a bit of an explanation to this with the essence of Mythal however she reiterates that it is still herself and it is only the memories of Mythal that remain inside of her.
In my canon playthroughs of Dragon Age, I romanced both Morrigan and Isabela, so I was curious to see how the developers would address their pasts with our Warden and Hawke. Unfortunately, the answer is that they don’t address it at all. Morrigan hardly mentions her past, leaving us to wonder if Kieran even exists. The game implies that the relationship between Morrigan and the Warden is insignificant; a codex entry oddly suggests, in a very slut-shamey way, that Morrigan had more lovers than there are trees in the forest. Isabela doesn't reference Hawke either, as she fondly remembers Kirkwall for found family and friendship. It seems that if you romanced Isabela or Morrigan, congratulations—your canon doesn’t exist.
I will echo the statement others have made about all the cameos feeling like mascots because that is really what they are. There is no substance to any of them, Isabela only feels like she is there to be a supportive voice for Taash, Morrigan will only really talk about Solas and Mythal-Dorian is the only one who actually gets a substantial quest related to him. I thought he was fine minus the "illegal slavery" bit because what is illegal slavery Dorian. Next up we will discuss legal murder.
Another thing that genuinely broke the immersion for me in this game is how awful the armor is. It is a Dragon Age game so I wasn't expecting Haute Couture but the design is all over the place and nothing looks right. Not to mention the extremely weird orientalist undertones that follow the Lords of Fortune everywhere. The outfit Isabela is wearing is even worse in person and I tried to give this game the benefit of the doubt by thinking we would be getting some underwater mission with her and that would be the explanation behind her bikini outfit - this did not happen.
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The belly dancer-esque outfits with the coin-bedazzled turbans were pretty egregious and made me want to limit my time in Rivain as much as possible. For a game released in 2024, I am disappointed we are still dealing with the same Orientalist fantasy tropes. Even the Qunari are more naked in this game than I had ever seen previously. At least DA2 and DAI gave them pants. But hey the Antaam are all blighted and evil so who cares right.
Speaking of the Antaam, a lot of the antagonist motivations for this game genuinely did not make sense to me. The Antaam are suddenly giving up their fear of magic to pair up with...the Venatori? To fight for the elven gods? It honestly felt like they had no idea who to make fight for the Evanuris so they just pulled two of the baddies from the Inquisition and went "We can just use them and call it done". When you press for information on why this is the answer is always a mustache-twirling dialogue about power. Nothing much deeper from that than any of the villains besides Solas. All of the villains, especially Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain, are extremely one-dimensional and have no motivations other than being evil and striving for power. At least Corypheus had cool lines.
I'm not going to get too deep into lore changes since I know a lot of things happened in the comics, books, and TV show (all of which I did not read or watch) but I honestly do think it's a bad idea to have a "soft reboot" while needing to read several books to understand everything. That's not being welcoming to new players that's homework. If you wanted a soft reboot probably don't start off with half your plot and characters coming from various comics and novels people need to catch up on.
The portrayal of the Dalish in this game is inconsistent. When we inform them that their gods are evil and planning to overthrow the world, they respond, "Okay, heard you." How can they accept this explanation so readily? In previous interactions, Solas shared that the Dalish did not listen to him and even threatened him when he revealed this truth. Yet, when we present the same information, they believe us almost immediately. Is there no pushback or skepticism? The Dalish accept everything about the evil elven gods meanwhile Andraste’s followers remain completely unaffected by these revelations.
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I think what frustrated me even more was watching our elven companions express grief and regret over the actions of the elven gods like they had something to do with it, painting the Dalish as adjacent to oppressors when they themselves are oppressed in every way. The only thing that remains consistent is the sad boy Solas act about it.
At the end of the game, two of my companions - Harding and Emmrich- were killed. Emmrich's death was unfortunately overshadowed by a zoom-in on a rock and I had no idea he had died until I got the popup. Still, all I can think about is just going "Rock moment" when he died. I don't really have anything negative to say about Harding's death other than the way she went out was fitting for her narrative. Bellara got blighted and there were no consequences for this and she walked away from it - forgive me but I am still under the DAO impression that if you get blighted that's game over but all the rules about the Blight have been changed in this.
I decided to trick Solas, and honestly, I don’t have anything negative to say about it, except that Solas should have noticed me holding the fake dagger since it was clearly in his line of sight. I liked the idea of outsmarting the god of trickery. While it wasn’t extremely satisfying, but I’m okay with how it turned out.
Even as the credits began rolling I still have trouble believing rook's role in any of this. Just the persistent nagging idea that they really just have no place in this story at all. In the beginning I wanted to see how Rook is looped into all of this and how they become central to the fight against Solas but just like with most of the companions, I have no idea why they are here. This should've been the Inquisitor's story to finish.
I'm not going to pretend that everything about this game was irredeemable and terrible. There were genuinely parts I enjoyed and had a good time with. The romance ending scene with Neve was fantastic, even though it took a long time to get there. Davrin was an unexpected aspect of the game that I actually liked, as I never cared much for Grey Wardens before, but he changed my perspective. Harding's mention of the Inquisition was also very sweet. Although I wasn't particularly invested in Emmrich, I loved the conclusion to his quest when he became a lich lord.
While I'm not the biggest Solas fan, I actually really enjoyed the cutscenes between him and Rook because one of my aims with this game was the ability to be mean to Solas and kick him while he was down. They definitely delivered there even though everyone else kept disagreeing with me.
The worlds are beautiful and the CC is definitely the best we've gotten in any Dragon Age game, I spent probably a solid hour in there. The hairstyles are great and the four unibrow choices? Bioware you shouldn't have <3.
Overall I definitely didn't have the best time with this game and towards the end of act 2 I was incredibly bored and the combat became repetitive and stagnant enough that I turned down the difficulty to get through it faster. I can't see myself replaying this any time soon and I am unsure what my stance on Dragon Age is now, do I Ignore this game ever existed or do I carve out everything I liked and pretend this is the Dragon Age I love? I have no idea, I am disappointed at how this game leaves us off and I really wanted to sit here and say It's good but I can't.
I think this game will reach out to and resonate with a different group of Dragon Age fans than me, I just wish I could enjoy it as much as I see other people doing. I was originally going to give this game a 3/10 but knowing you can pet the cats I will give it a very generous 3.5/10.
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silverselfshippingchaos · 1 year ago
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SHE'S SO... AJSJAJSJA
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