Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a big, epic RPG about the destruction of the world and dealing with your past. It’s a game featuring a large cast of flawed people trying to come together to stop someone who thinks they are doing the right thing, but which will kill many. But who cares about all that? I’m here to talk about kicking people off cliffs over and over again and how much fun it is.
Released last month, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the newest third-person action-adventure RPG from BioWare. After releasing live-service shooter Anthem and open-world checklist simulators Mass Effect Andromeda and Dragon Age Inquisition, Veilguard feels like a return to form for the famous studio. The new RPG is more linear, more character-focused, and probably the best BioWare game since Mass Effect 3. And one big reason I love the game is that it lets me kick enemies, big and small, off cliffs and into giant pits.
Very early into Veilguard, my character was given the special ability to do a powerful drop kick that sends enemies flying. And 40+ hours later, I’m still drop-kicking fools and smiling each and every time. I know the game probably expected me to try out more abilities, and I have, but I always keep the big kick in my hot bar. I can’t imagine playing Veilguard without it.
Run into a big enemy with a lot of armor and health? Drop kick him off a cliff! Dangerous ranged baddie hurting my companions and me? Kick ‘em into a giant lava pit! Tiny monster that I could easily kill with two hits? Sure, why not? Drop kick that small bastard off the edge of a mountain and watch them sail into the void below.
Veilguard’s narrative, combat, characters, and worlds are truly great and I’m loving the game a lot. But I’d be lying right now if I said the drop kick wasn’t a big reason why the new RPG is currently sitting on my preliminary game of the year list.
I’ve talked about this before on Kotaku, with Deathloop, but I give a big thumbs up to any game that lets me instantly defeat enemies by kicking them off cliffs, buildings, or ledges. Veilguard let me end a boss fight in seconds by kicking the enemy off a platform. Wonderful stuff.
Truly, more games could learn from Veilguard. If you want people to have more fun, add a big kick button.
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