Available on: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S

Following the best-selling installment in the Dragon Age franchise was always going to be a challenging act to follow, but piece-by-piece I found myself thawing to Dragon Age: The Veilguard's story and heart. While the franchise's fourth installment wasn't a blazing return to form, it was a love letter to the missing pieces of Inquisition, with just enough snappy dialogue and combat intricacies across classes to keep me coming back for more. Veilguard was more closely related to the Mass Effect formula of BioWare games: Build a team of exceptional party members, bond with them one conversation at a time, and hopefully save the world. Trying not to cry as the chips fall where they may was optional, but for me, unavoidable.

Veilguard is a story of grief, loss and redemption packaged in sometimes-cringe dialogue and missions that give glimpses into years of lore, yet somehow it was enough to hold even the weakest moments together. Opting to pull on franchise lovers' heart strings, primarily surrounding the players relationship with returning characters such as Varric, Solas, and the previous lead of the series, The Inquisitor. In many ways the ending of Veilguard was the conclusion of Inquisition so many of us waited 10 years for, and regardless of the choices you made along the way, it was impossible to not feel the familiar pull of BioWares proclivity towards the dramatic. Solas, The Dread Wolf, is not just a villain but once again an ally leading a path of regret right up to the game's final moments, and Rook stumbling along, desperate not to join him in his centennials of grief, created a dynamic I never anticipated as the game's central theme.

Each party member of the titular Veilguard managed to settle into the cracks of my heart against my better judgement, and several have even joined ranks of my personal BioWare hall of fame. When all was said and done, it felt like Dragon Age. While my personal ideals for the title were unreachable, I walked away with one thing confirmed: This game did have a soul.

-- Shelby Reese