Game of the Year Awards 2024

Developer BioWare have gone through a lot of turbulence over the past decade, including a few cancelled games, which may explain why it's been so long since the most recent Dragon Age entry. The RPG series started out with a strong debut in 2009 with Origins, and got sequels in 2011 and 2014, but has since been dormant. Thankfully the series is not ready to call it quits yet, with the recent launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Much has changed in the time since the previous entry, and the title reflects that.

Veilguard's medieval fantasy fare falls into a middle ground between the likes of Baldur's Gate 3 and God of War. It doesn't have the chops to measure up to the quality and depth of the former, but it thankfully narrowly avoids the terrible immersion-breaking Marvel-style dialogue of the latter. The conversations have plenty of modern mannerisms mixed with some lore, and it keeps proceedings very brisk and unburdened. Your companions are likable, from the well-mannered necromancer (and his skeletal servant, Manfred) to the stubborn Grey Warden who is reluctantly caring for a cheeky griffon, with well defined personalities.

The level design meshes with the story progression wonderfully. As you return to zones, additional areas become accessible; every revisit in the first 30 hrs is like peeling back an onion. Zones initially appear small but are expanded in every which way, with many fast travel points. Moving around is a bit like a simple metroidvania, with unlockable shortcuts, mixed with the brisk flow. There are minor puzzles here and there, and they integrate well due to brevity, although the climbing and jumping is somewhat clunky.

As a melee fighter, the game really starts to click after a couple of hours, as you engage foes that have blockable and unblockable attack indicators as they swing at you, and you dodge out of the way and roll back into the fray. You can run and jump to deliver a more powerful attack, and with enough damage the enemy stagger meters fill, letting you perform a powerful strike. The special abilities/attacks are a cornerstone of the combat, as aside from dealing damage on their own or creating other effects such as temporary invincibility, they can also be combined. Some attacks apply a special condition, such as sundered or weakened, while others can then detonate that condition for an extra oomph of damage. The game helpfully indicates such abilities on the companion selection screen before missions, without having to delve into the skill trees. This kind of streamlining is welcome, and helps move things along.

The game's art style allows for some rather great fantasy environment design. The levels are quite excellently presented, from the deep forests and dark caves, to the sunny beaches and dark caverns of necromancy. These may be fairly typical locales for a medieval fantasy adventure, but they are wonderfully realized. There is some great framing too, thanks to titanic backdrops, blight infestations, cityscapes, gargantuan statues, massive caverns, and floating islands. Frostbite is used brilliantly and it sets such a great tone.

In a way, each entry in the Dragon Age franchise has been a reflection of the times. Veilguard a lighter and more accessible take on an ages-old formula, and one that is fun to play through. At the end of the day, and the decade, the franchise returns to show that it still has something worthwhile to offer, and it is our 2024 Game of the Year.

Runners-up: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Astro Bot, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Silent Hill 2 (2024), Balatro

Thank you for exploring our 2024 GOTY feature and reliving the year that was. We hope 2025 will deliver even more great titles!