Following the successful release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, many new fans may be considering exploring the original trilogy. However, a remaster of the series similar to Mass Effect: Legendary Edition may not be in the cards. John Epler, the creative director of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, explained that the lack of knowledge about BioWare’s old engine poses a significant challenge for such a project.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition received praise for its enhancements such as improved performance, visuals, models, lighting, and gameplay tweaks. Many fans believe that the Dragon Age series deserves a similar remaster treatment. Unfortunately, remastering the original trilogy would be difficult due to the unique engines used in the games.
Unlike the Mass Effect trilogy, which utilized Unreal Engine 3, Dragon Age Inquisition was developed using EA’s Frostbite engine, while the first two Dragon Age games were built on BioWare’s Eclipse Engine. Epler mentioned that only a handful of people at BioWare, including himself, have experience with the Eclipse Engine, making a remaster a challenging task. Despite the obstacles, Epler did not completely rule out the possibility of a remaster in the future.
The success of Dragon Age: The Veilguard will likely influence EA’s decision regarding the potential remaster of the original trilogy. The Veilguard saw a strong start, reaching an all-time peak of 89,418 concurrent players on Steam, setting a new record for a single-player EA game. However, BioWare’s current focus is on the next Mass Effect project, with no immediate plans for DLC beyond quality-of-life improvements and minor content updates.
Regardless of the future of the series, Dragon Age: The Veilguard has been well-received. Reviewers have praised the game for its sophisticated storytelling, warmth, humor, and epic scale. The game has set a high standard for BioWare and the RPG genre as a whole. As Epler stated, while a remaster may present challenges, the love for the original games remains within the team, leaving the door open for future possibilities.
