Dragon Age: The Veilguard tasks the player with stopping a duo of elven gods, but I found myself much more intrigued by the lich Hezenkoss in Emmrich’s story.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a game about building a team to fight ancient elven gods, but the more time I spend in Thedas, the more I realize that I’d rather be chasing a different villain. Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain are two of the ancient elven pantheon known as the Evanuris, and they’re up to no good — blighting villages, murdering innocents, and trying to restore their ancient empire. But I find that a total snooze compared to the game’s real villainous star: Johanna Hezenkoss, evil lich in progress and absolute queen.
I should probably explain why I’m not worried about the Evanuris, despite the fact that they represent a very real and urgent apocalypse. There are certainly things I like about their character design, as well as cool story-related moments. Ghilan’nain looks great; whether she’s an unnervingly lithe figure, blinded by blight and grasping with too many limbs, or a giant face in the clouds, I love her design. And I also liked those creepy moments when Elgar’nan whispers in protagonist Rook’s mind, promising impossible gifts.
Unfortunately, these moments are drowned out by the duo’s dialogue, which is pretty basic.
