Dragon Age: The Veilguard vs Baldur’s Gate 3: Which Is the Better CRPG?

Dragon Age: The Veilguard vs Baldur’s Gate 3 can be a topic of hot debate among CRPG fans. But which one is better out of the two?

Dragon Age: The Veilguard title screen after prologue (Source: BioWare)

A face-off between Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Baldur’s Gate 3 was imminent when the former was released this year. Both are considered CRPGs, and the latter one was even crowned the Game of the Year.

Both games play differently and have different lore. However, their comparison today will be based on the key characteristics that one would expect to see in a CRPG. As the title suggests, we will see which one out of the two is the better CRPG.

Long time ago, both of these franchises were integral parts of BioWare. However, the development studio had to give up Baldur’s Gate after its second installment to focus on games like Dragon Age instead. Now that its latest installment comes face-to-face against Larian Studios’ BG3, let’s see which will prevail.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard vs Baldur’s Gate 3: A Detailed Comparison

Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 6 Beta branch is active
Baldur’s Gate 3 cutscene (Source: Larian Studios)

A Deep Character Customization

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is much more friendly to a newcomer in the CRPG genre of games. However, this approach by BioWare couldn’t keep up with the details that a classic RPG may have offered to a true fan. For example, both games have detailed character customizations. However, Baldur’s Gate 3 goes overboard with it when you compare it to the latest Dragon Age.

While DAV has 4 races to choose from, Baldur’s Gate 3 has 11 playable races. The game doesn’t stop there either and introduces at least 2 sub-races for each one except Humans, Half-Orcs, and Githyanki. BG3 offered 12 classes with some subclasses upon release when making your character, whereas The Veilguard has only 3 classes to choose from as of now, with 3 achievable specializations for each one.

Lastly, you will also get to choose a Faction in The Veilguard. There are 6 of these. But Baldur’s Gate 3 has 11 backgrounds to choose from.

Combat System

The hallmark of a remarkable RPG that seems to stick with the fans of the genre is turn-based combat. As we know so far, Larian Studios hit the jackpot here because they stuck to what the players were expecting. Dragon Age, on the other hand, adopted real-time combat instead.

While the latter is more fun for modern RPG lovers, CRPG fans may not completely side with The Veilguard on this one. The dice-based combat is a reminiscence of the D&D everybody knew and loved, and BioWare didn’t stay true to that. We don’t criticize it, but as a CRPG, it may not fit well into this category.

Narrative Choices

Having a lot of narrative choices is never a bad thing in a CRPG, and when we are deciding the outcome for Dragon Age: The Veilguard vs Baldur’s Gate 3, this topic is bound to come up. The former game also has lots of combinations when it comes to the final outcome. Over time, you will make big decisions without often knowing the final circumstances, and the ending will differ. This has been a plus point in Dragon Age’s favor. However, Baldur’s Gate is not losing that easily.

The game has severe consequences for many actions that make you live through the butterfly effect in full action. You can kill off important characters in the game, and somebody else will fill the power dynamic. This is something that fans seemed to love about the game and raises the stakes in this comparison.

The Rich Lore

This is a point where the comparison may be completely unbiased from a player’s perspective. Both games offer a rich plot and have an immersive world. Both the games have been building the lore for over a decade, and it has been a successful attempt. Moreover, the latest installments in both franchises, the two we are comparing today, can be played by newcomers in those specific storylines.

So, we don’t have a clear winner when it comes to lore because Baldur’s Gate and Dragon Age both have a long-running story that can’t be challenged unless we favor one over the other. Both games offer character and story development that allows us to immerse ourselves in their respective worlds.

The Final Call: Which is Better, Dragon Age: The Veilguard or Baldur’s Gate 3?

As we said earlier, we can’t make the final call on which game is ‘better’ because it will be pretty subjective. However, with careful consideration, Baldur’s Gate 3 seems like a game that stays true to the CRPG genre. While the latest Dragon Age game is good on its own, it doesn’t offer as much depth to mechanics when compared to BG3.

If you are somebody who enjoys a classic CRPG genre, you are likely to be a fan of Baldur’s Gate 3 if you haven’t played it already. But if you want to have a fresh experience while keeping things familiar, you may want to try out the new Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

You may not completely agree with this comparison because it involves the writer’s opinions. Feel free to comment with your thoughts below!


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