I just finished my (long) playthrough of my review copy of Dragon Age: The Veilguardthe long overdue return to the series by BioWare, as they’re simultaneously working on a return to Mass Effect as well after the big Anthem detour.

I can’t say anything at all about my time with the game yet, but I can tell you when I do will talk about my time with the game. The review embargo is Monday, October 28 at 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET.

It’s three days before Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases on October 31st, Halloween, so no “day of” review case that gamers often dread. I will also say that BioWare gave us a lot of time to review the game, two weeks, which as a reviewer who has had to cram dozens of hours of gameplay into just a few days before, this is a welcome change.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a hugely important game for BioWare after the very public failure of Anthem (which I’d love to see resurrected one day, as it had tons of potential) and the somewhat underwhelming Mass Effect Andromeda that left the original galaxy behind one . Veilguard has undergone a name change already once, has a significantly different art style, and will arrive ten full years after Dragon Age: Inquisition. Devoted fans of the series are hoping that it is a solid revival of the series. I can’t say anything! Come back on Monday!

As for the next Mass Effect game, development can accelerate now if Veilguard team members can go ahead and work on it with the existing team. The Veilguard isn’t a live-service spin on the series, of course, and it’s not even getting story DLC, so once it’s out, it’s out. We have no real idea when Mass Effect 4 (5?), which still doesn’t have a real name, is coming. A report from 2023 said it might not get here until 2029, but I find that a bit hard to believe even in this age of extended development times. Hopefully it’s more like 2027 or 2028, but again, we have almost no information after a few teasers confirming that it will return to the “OG” Mass Effect galaxy and feature old characters. Although probably not Shepard, given the events of ME3.

As for Dragon Age, I’m looking forward to the subsequent discussion starting on Monday, as there’s a lot to say about a game a decade in the making. See you then.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.