Controls and Immediate Movement
The controls feel snappy right out of the gate. Pressing the attack button produces an immediate slash, and your character Rook transitions into a sprint without awkward startup lag. For an action game on Steam, getting the basic physical connection right is half the battle, and here the direct input handling works properly.
The camera stays glued where you want it during standard brawls. English voice work and interface text are fully supported out of the box, so navigating combat settings and skill binds is completely painless. You can cancel certain swing windups directly into an evasive roll, which gives close-range skirmishes a surprisingly twitchy pace compared to older tactical entries in the series.
Hitboxes and the Combat Rhythm
Melee strikes connect with solid weight. When an enemy demon swings an axe, the hitbox matches the blade geometry instead of lingering invisibly in the air around you. Parrying attacks rewards strict timing, giving you a clean window to stagger incoming mobs and follow up with a heavy cleave.
Recovery animations after heavy attacks can lock you in place just a split second too long when crowds swarm your flank. Darkspawn archers like to pick at your health while you commit to long combo finishers. You have to watch enemy windup animations carefully, because trying to break out of specific animation tails will leave you wide open to cheap stray hits.
Companions and Battle pacing
You lead a team of seven companions across locations like the back alleys of Minrathous and the overgrown paths of Arlathan Forest. In practice, you spend most of your time micro-managing their ability primers and detonators through a tactical command wheel that temporarily halts the fighting.
Stopping the brawl to trigger companion spells cuts into the natural momentum of the swordplay. It works well enough for peeling armor off shielded targets, but the AI allies rarely control space on their own. They mostly act as walking cooldown timers while you do all the heavy lifting with your own blade and dodges.
Boss Encounters and Value
Battling towering dragons and the corrupt ancient gods gives the combat system its best workout. Large bosses force you to track clear telegraphs, jump shockwaves, and sprint out of burning zones. The hitboxes on massive claw swipes are mostly clean, though the camera can struggle to keep giant limbs in frame when you get pinned against an arena wall.
At a standard retail price of $59.99, the campaign provides a hefty amount of running between objectives. Too many minor skirmishes pit you against identical packs of fiends in narrow corridors, turning what could have been a razor-sharp action title into a bit of an endurance run between standout boss arenas.
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Heads up: if you're a completionist, the review's 'padded objectives' are going to be your problem. Those corridor arenas repeat so often you'll lose count before the halfway point. I'm not touching this until someone maps out the missable stuff. The command wheel alone could kill a speedrun.
I usually play these to wind down (not that I'm any good at them, but getting wrecked is part of the charm for me). The repetitive corridors don't bug me much because I just wander around and look at the scenery half the time. no stress either way (just my two cents though). Does anyone else walk past the fighting just to see how far you can get before the game drags you back? (I do that constantly).
Wait, so the dodge rolls are responsive, but the command wheel pauses the fight in the worst possible moment? Did anyone else get flattened by a boss while trying to open the command wheel to use something, or was that just me? I've died to menus in enough games that this feels personal.
Has anyone tried playing through this one at a slower pace, like stopping to check every nook and cranny before the next fight? I lean toward games I can wind down with, and constant arena fighting sounds a bit much. Does the difficulty even out if you take your time?
@bkw92Reckon you could take it slow, but y'all are fixin to overlook the hitbox weirdness the reviewer keeps brushing past. Clean dodge rolls don't mean much when a heavy finisher leaves you standing there like a scarecrow. Also that command wheel font looks like it was designed by a man with a grudge against my eyes.
@bkw92I did exactly that. The corridor encounters get repetitive fast if you just rush from mob to mob, but slowing down between the fights made the pacing feel way better. Just taking a breather instead of sprinting into the next pack helped a ton. Don't rush through it.
@bkw92try taking it slow, the arenas feel less repetitive if you soak in the scenery between fights. hte boss telegraphs are readable, so watch the windup and roll then, not on sight. also, dont open hte command wheel mid-swing, that's where the review's right.
Heads up: if you're a completionist, the review's 'padded objectives' are going to be your problem. Those corridor arenas repeat so often you'll lose count before the halfway point. I'm not touching this until someone maps out the missable stuff. The command wheel alone could kill a speedrun.
@Tariq_100pctWait, so the dodge rolls are responsive, but the command wheel pauses the fight in the worst possible moment? Did anyone else get flattened by a boss while trying to open the command wheel to use something, or was that just me? I've died to menus in enough games that this feels personal.
@bramley_danY'all got flattened because you opened the wheel mid-swing. I almost did the same, then I started baiting the telegraphs and punishing with the heavy. Works fine. The game's fair if you respect the enemy's windup.
@bramley_danGot flattened by a boss trying to heal from the wheel too, mate. Fair dinkum, that bloke's windup reminded me of my year 8s pretending to be zombies in the corridor. The review's right about the dodge roll being clean, I just need to remember to use it before I open menus.
@Tariq_100pctu make no sense rn. a command wheel killing a speedrun? that's user error. dodge roll's tight n the telegraphs r fair, so react instead of openin the wheel mid-fight. if anything the repetitive corridors r the real run killer.
I usually play these to wind down (not that I'm any good at them, but getting wrecked is part of the charm for me). The repetitive corridors don't bug me much because I just wander around and look at the scenery half the time. no stress either way (just my two cents though). Does anyone else walk past the fighting just to see how far you can get before the game drags you back? (I do that constantly).
$59.99 is a lot for a campaign the review itself calls uneven. I'll wait for the price to drop, and even then I might ask around first. For those who've played it, is the base game enough or is there a must-buy extra down the line? The review doesn't mention one, but launch-week coverage never tells the whole story. Wishlist status: still waiting for a deeper sale.
Guess you could say the Veilguard really guarded my heart lol. No spoilers, but that ending completely wrecked me.
I've only had the thing for twenty minutes and it's proper brilliant, mate. The dodge roll feels so chunky I keep baiting fights just to use it again. Proper good fun.
That dodge roll had me baitin' fights too. Once you respect the windup and punish with the heavy, most bosses fold. The command wheel's still clunky, but you can live with it.
The review's bang on about the repetitive arenas. What gets me is losing the tactical pause, though. I used to love dialling up abilities and watching everything chain in the old ones, now I'm just rolling around hoping the dodge works. Reminds me of the late nineties when the manual would walk you through every system. Proper classic vibe, but not the one I wanted.
I still like the idea of taking it slow. Has anyone tried stopping to look at the scenery between fights? I'd rather not rush through just to hit the next arena.
$59.99 for repetitive arenas is like paying for a mediocre pub burger that's mostly bread. at least the dodge roll has some meat on it. the command wheel's still a pain, but i'll give the review credit for calling it.