In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you will only control one character – your own. The companions do everything on their own.
When you think back to the first Dragon Age, you probably remember the great story and the challenging, tactical RPG combat. You could take control of every member of the party and plan every move in the fight in great detail.
However, that won’t be the case in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. You will only be able to control your own character. The reason: you would otherwise be overwhelmed.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard introduces your companions in the trailer
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What was said? In a conversation with Edge magazine, game director Corinne Busch spoke in more detail about the companions in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. They are supposed to act quite independently (via gamesradar.com):
You’re in this world, you’re very focused on your own actions. We wanted the companions to feel like they were complete characters who were in control of their own actions. They made their own decisions.
This makes Dragon Age: The Veilguard very different from previous games in the series. They were already increasingly action-packed, but this time they’re going to take it up a notch, as it goes on to say:
[Das Spiel] requires significantly more actions per minute. It places more technical demands on the player. When we tried to give you control over your companions, we realized that it didn’t help the gaming experience. In fact, in some cases it was detrimental, considering how demanding it is to control your character alone.
Or to put it another way: you would simply be overwhelmed if you had to control the companions as well.
How was it before? In the first Dragon Age, it was common to switch to a tactical view during combat. Here you could select an action for all characters, including companions, in turn and then let the time continue. For many, this was a “true RPG experience” that required significantly more planning. In the second part, this function was still present in some form, but the tactical view and strategic approach were simply not necessary in most cases. The second Dragon Age played more like an action RPG in the style of Diablo, and “Inquisition” only reinforced this trend.
However, it remains to be seen whether it really seems as though you are already completely occupied with controlling your own character. After all, you can modify the characters in Dragon Age: The Veilguard a little and equip them with your own skills – at least if you are friendly to your companions.