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As I sat down to review Dragon Age: The Veilguard last week, I couldn't help but feel that familiar excitement mixed with apprehension. Having played every Dragon Age title since Origins launched back in 2009, I've developed certain expectations about what makes these games special. The anthology approach has always been one of the series' strengths, allowing each installment to introduce us to fresh protagonists facing unique threats across Thedas. But this time, something feels fundamentally different - and not in a good way.

Let me be clear from the start: I've put about 35 hours into The Veilguard so far, and Rook simply doesn't work as a protagonist. Previous Dragon Age games made brilliant cases for why our characters were uniquely positioned to handle their respective crises. Remember the Warden from Origins? Their connection to the Grey Wardens made them the only one who could truly confront the Archdemon. In Dragon Age 2, Hawke's rise to prominence in Kirkwall felt organic, earned through years of building reputation and relationships. And Inquisition's protagonist? That game leaned hard into the "chosen one" trope, but it worked because the Mark on their hand genuinely made them the only person who could close the rifts threatening the world.

The problem with Rook isn't just that they're boring - though they certainly are - but that they feel completely out of place in the story The Veilguard wants to tell. There's no compelling reason given for why this particular character must be the one to save the day. The initial leader of the Veilguard just declares that Rook is "the best one for the job," despite all evidence suggesting otherwise. I found myself constantly questioning why I was playing as this character, especially when so much of the narrative feels like it should be continuing the Inquisitor's story from the previous game. It's like showing up to a party you weren't invited to and being handed the host's responsibilities without any explanation.

This got me thinking about how we approach risk in different aspects of entertainment and gaming. When I'm investing time in a 60+ hour RPG, I want to feel confident that the protagonist will be someone worth spending that time with. It's similar to how I approach online casino gaming - I always look for platforms with reasonable entry points. In fact, just last month I was researching where to discover the best Gcash minimum deposit casino options for low-risk gaming, and the principle is surprisingly applicable here. Whether you're depositing money or investing dozens of hours into a game, you want to minimize your risk while maximizing potential enjoyment. With Rook, BioWare is asking players to make a significant time investment in a character who simply doesn't justify that commitment.

The contrast with previous Dragon Age protagonists is stark and disappointing. I remember playing through Inquisition and feeling that genuine sense of destiny - my Inquisitor wasn't just some random person who happened to be in the right place at the right time. The Anchor on their hand made them uniquely qualified to handle the Breach, and the political circumstances naturally positioned them to lead the Inquisition. The game spent its first 10 hours carefully building this justification. The Veilguard, in comparison, rushes through this crucial setup in about 45 minutes before expecting players to fully buy into Rook's importance.

What's particularly frustrating is that the game's story often feels like it should be focusing on the Inquisitor instead. There are numerous moments where characters discuss events from Inquisition with the weight and significance that suggests we should be playing as someone who actually lived through those events. Instead, we're stuck with Rook, who reacts to these revelations with the same blank confusion as the player. It creates this weird disconnect where the narrative seems to be having a conversation with itself while the protagonist - and by extension, the player - remains an outsider looking in.

I reached out to several colleagues in games journalism, and Michael Stanton from RPG Insider echoed my concerns. "BioWare has built their reputation on creating memorable player characters," he told me during our call. "From Commander Shepard to the Inquisitor, their protagonists typically have clear narrative purposes and compelling reasons to be at the center of the action. With Rook, it feels like they've forgotten what made their previous protagonists work. There's no 'why' behind this character's centrality to the plot, and that undermines the entire experience."

The more I play, the more I notice how the game's structure seems to fight against its own protagonist. Major story beats that should feel impactful instead land with a dull thud because Rook's connection to them is so tenuous. Companion conversations often revolve around their own past experiences and relationships while Rook just... listens. There's one particular scene around the 20-hour mark where two companions are discussing their history with Corypheus from Inquisition, and the dialogue options for Rook are limited to variations of "Can you explain this to me?" It's emblematic of the larger problem - Rook isn't driving the story so much as observing it from the sidelines.

This isn't to say The Veilguard is without merits. The combat system has been refined in interesting ways, and some of the companion characters are genuinely engaging. But these strengths can't compensate for a protagonist who feels like an afterthought in their own story. It's like building a beautiful house on a shaky foundation - no matter how nice the furnishings, the structural problems will eventually undermine everything.

As someone who's loved this series for 15 years, watching BioWare stumble on something that was previously one of their greatest strengths is genuinely disappointing. Creating a compelling protagonist isn't just about giving players customization options or branching dialogue trees - it's about ensuring that character has a meaningful place in the world and story. The Veilguard fails at this fundamental task, and the entire game suffers for it. Here's hoping BioWare remembers what made their previous protagonists so memorable before the next installment.