Veilguard is High Fantasy Rather Than Dark Fantasy

Important takeaways

• Dragon Age: The Veilguard marks a shift to high fantasy for
  Dragon Age
  series.
• The conflict in Veilguard is epic in scope, as in most high fantasy properties.
• The game embraces the Hero's Journey formula and has an upbeat tone.

Players have noticed a tonal shift between earlier Dragon Age titles and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The structure of the story, the characters and themes Veilguard is exploring seems more in line with stories that The Lord of the Rings and games like Final Fantasy than previous games in the series. The world feels brighter, but the stakes are higher than ever. With the whole world at stake and a single group of heroes facing off against gods, how is it possible that the tone of the story is lighter?

All these factors point to a genre shift. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a work of high fantasy as opposed to dark fantasy. These two genres, although similar, have some key differences that make them suitable for different types of storytelling. High fantasy tends to take place in an entirely fictional universe with magical elements (like everything Dragon Age games do), focuses on a single hero coming to terms with his responsibilities, and includes, among other things, a battle between good and evil. Dark fantasy tends to have more morally ambiguous characters, revolves around an anti-hero, may or may not exist in a completely fantastical universe, and sometimes has themes of hopelessness and moral corruption. Dragon Age: The Veilguard fits most neatly, though not completely, into the first genre.

1 There is a clear difference between good and evil

With the big exception of The Dread Wolf

In high fantasy, there is a clear distinction between good and evil. While there are some characters who change their minds about the Veilguard (like the First Warden) or who were once good and have now turned evil (like the Gloomhowler), there's no mistaking which side each character is fighting against during the events of the game. The representations of evil, Elgar'nan and Gilan'nain, are motivated purely by a desire for power: there is little ambiguity or room to sympathize with them.

“Good” characters are also unmistakably good: in previous games, factions like the Antivan Crows did things like kidnap and murder innocents. IN Veilguard, they have been written more as a resistance army than killers for hire. In the preceding Dragon Age titles, some companions were prejudiced against mages or lied to the protagonist outright. IN Veilguard, the focus is on the larger struggle against evil as opposed to the interpersonal struggle between individual characters' morals. There is one interesting exception: Solas, who can either be redeemed or forced to do the right thing depending on the choices the player makes.

2 Conflict On An Epic Scale

The biggest battle yet

In high fantasy, the conflict tends to be “epic:” in literature, this means that the scope is broad and that the themes speak broadly to the larger human condition. This is why the line between good and evil is so clearly established: the real struggle is not between people, but between forces.

In dark fantasy, the conflict tends to be smaller in scale: for example, the climax of Dragon Age 2 is Anders destroying the Kirkwall edge. In that game, the actions of one individual, who is neither good nor evil, is the central conflict. IN Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the climax is fighting the gods, representations of pure evil.

3 There is a hero's journey

Something Veilguard Has Common With The Odyssey

The Hero's Journey is something players may have encountered in high school English classes: it's a structure that's been used in storytelling since there have been stories, and is a key element of the high fantasy genre. It looks something like this, although there are variations:

Rook's development in Veilguard set up in the hero's journey: the mentor is Varric, the sidekicks are the companions, death and rebirth is Rook caught in The Fade, etc. In dark fantasy, the protagonist will sometimes reflect this structure, but it is more common in the genre to have a less traditional arc. The main characters in dark fantasy stories are often anti-heroes who sometimes do not achieve the goals they set out for: think again about the end of Dragon Age 2. IN Veilguard, this formula is followed almost exactly.

4 Optimistic tone

We can do the impossible

At the core of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, there is hope: hope in the face of impossible odds, hope for a worthy cause, and hope for a better future. In dark fantasy games like Dark souls and Fire Ring, hope is never certain. Not only is the protagonist in these games unsure if they will be able to achieve their goals, but they are also unsure that their goals are for the greater good. IN Veilguard, that is not the case. When Rook talks to Solas, there are several lines of dialogue assuring him that they are the right person for the job and that their team is capable of fighting the gods.

This central theme of hope lends itself well to the story Dragon Age: The Veilguard trying to tell about found family, fighting against small odds and heroic sacrifices. This is a common theme in high fantasy properties, such as The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.

5 Good prevails

In one form or another

Whether or not Rook seals the veil together with Solas, good triumphs over evil in the end Veilguard. If Rook has completed the Crossroads quests and received help from Mythal, Rook can convince Solas to seal it himself (thus punishing him for his transgressions while still allowing him to redeem himself, bringing in the clear line between good and pain again).

This happens after the fight with the Elgar'nan: a classic high fantasy final battle between good and evil where beloved characters die, but always in a way that feels meaningful and helpful to the fight. In a dark fantasy story, there would be plenty of pointless death. The end would mean bad things for good people. Instead, Veilguard taking time to honor their dead in the crypt just before the finale: whoever is lost in this battle is nobly lost, and their sacrifice is recognized by the living. Dark fantasy often focuses on the randomness of death, while high fantasy allows characters to have some agency and power in death. IN Veilguard, even in its darkest moments, companions die for the cause and not just die.