Dragon Age star Alix Wilton Regan has shared her personal perspective on 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 her deep disappointment over BioWare's latest release not resonating with a broader audience, despite receiving generally positive reviews from critics.
In a recent interview that covered her extensive portfolio of iconic video game roles, including her part in Microsoft's upcoming Perfect Dark reboot, Wilton Regan reflected fondly on her time as BioWare's Inquisitor. However, she expressed doubts about reprising the role in the future.
"I feel absolutely devastated for BioWare as a studio that they got such mixed reactions to the game," Wilton Regan stated regarding The Veilguard. "I personally thought it was a really strong game. I thought it was just BioWare being more BioWare.
"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 faced a wave of negative reviews online, often labeled as "woke" due to the inclusion of a non-binary companion and the option for players to select a transgender character. This led to a 'Mixed' rating on Steam, with user tags highlighting "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 reported 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. Additionally, other BioWare employees who worked on the game were laid off.
That same month, BioWare indicated that Dragon Age: The Veilguard would receive no further updates, signaling the end of new content for the game.
"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 leaner BioWare team is focusing on the development of Mass Effect 5, though no release date has been set yet.
