'Dragon Age: The Veilguard Star Devastated by Backlash, Claims BioWare Critics Wanted Failure'

Dragon Age star Alix Wilton Regan has shared her heartfelt response to the backlash faced by last year's Dragon Age: The Veilguard, attributing the "mixed reactions" to individuals who "wanted to see the game fail, or wanted to see [BioWare] fail."

Wilton Regan, who voices the Female Inquisitor in both Dragon Age: Inquisition and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, expressed to IGN that she was "absolutely devastated" by the game's struggle to attract a broader audience, despite receiving mostly positive reviews from critics.

In a recent interview discussing her extensive portfolio of iconic video game roles, including her upcoming part in Microsoft's Perfect Dark reboot, Wilton Regan reflected fondly on her time as BioWare's Inquisitor, though she doubts the character will return in future installments.

"I feel absolutely devastated for BioWare as a studio that they got such mixed reactions to the game," Wilton Regan remarked about The Veilguard. "I personally thought it was a really strong game. I thought it was just BioWare being more BioWare."

She also suggested that a portion of the negative feedback stemmed from malicious intent. "I also think a lot of people kind of wanted to see it fail, or wanted to see [BioWare] fail, either because they're just really bad people on the internet — of which there are unfortunately many, as we have discovered."

Upon its release, The Veilguard was subjected to review bombing online. Much of the criticism labeled the game as "woke," focusing on its inclusion of a non-binary companion character and the option for players to choose a transgender protagonist. On Steam, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is currently rated as 'Mixed' by players, with user-defined tags including "LGBTQ+" and "politics."

"People were attacking the game before it was released," Wilton Regan added. "It's ridiculous. How can you judge a game, a book, a film, a TV show before it's actually released? You can't. It's an idiotic stance to take."

In January, EA acknowledged that Dragon Age: The Veilguard had "underperformed" by about 50% compared to their expectations, shortly after the game's director, Corrine Busche, announced her departure from the company. Additionally, other BioWare employees who contributed to the game were laid off.

That same month, BioWare indicated that Dragon Age: The Veilguard had received its final update, with no further content planned or announced.

"I only ever want to see the folks from BioWare thrive, because I adore them," Wilton Regan concluded. "And whatever they go on to do next I have no doubt their talents will be richly rewarded. We're really lucky we'll get more gold from them in the future."

Currently, a downsized BioWare team is working on Mass Effect 5, though no release date has been set.