I don’t plan on this being in any way a political blog. Sure, I have my views. So do you. Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s companion character, Taash, pretty much insists social issues that have played a huge role in political discussions and agendas get talked about.

That is part of the point of Taash in the first place, and part of the problem with that character, for those having a problem at all.

Objectively

DAV is a major shift from the more traditional high(er) fantasy style of previous Dragon Age games. Obviously.

A major change is a shift in focus from character development stories being something a player could explore or ignore to being a major part of the team-building required for successful progression. Again, DAV developers seemed to follow the general framework of Mass Effect 2, where one had to gain favor with each party member in order to unlock special abilities and improve the game’s outcome rather than just level up.

It’s not quite the same, but if you’ve played both ME2 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard, then the similarities in structure are unavoidable.

As unavoidable as Taash’s identity crisis.

Most of the review bombing taking place on sites like Metacritic are unhelpful: “Woke trash!” and “Degenerate filth” are typical comments accompanying a zero-star review. (Keep in mind, you don’t need to prove you’ve purchased or played DAV to leave a review on Metacritic.) Much of the same occurs in the Steam forums (since the site requires proof of a copy through sales or a prerelease through official channels), but some of the Taash-trashing has produced a few good points.

The most important of which is the loss of player agency in Veilguard throughout. Cullen’s lyrium crisis and Cassandra’s desire for a new chapter of her favorite bodice-ripper are no longer cute asides like they were in Dragon Age: The Inquisition. Like the crew of the Normandy from Mass Effect 2, each character has a personal mission the player is strongly advised throughout needs to be completed before heading for end game.

Getting to know Neve (the Veilguard counterpart to Vivienne in many ways) isn’t a matter of optional dialogue and side quests, but of tantamount importance to gaining Neve’s loyalty and favor, thus increasing her power as a teammate. Character building is… character building.

And just like Mass Effect 2, everyone was fine with all of this until it came to (psst!) … sex. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you don’t know Jack.

Fox News hated Jack, a tortured soul wrapped in tight, nipple-highlighting gauze. The rumor was that Jack was supposed to be pansexual, and potentially involved in some sort of three-way. The cancel culture started immediately. (Don’t ever let one side tell you it’s only the other doing the cancel culture thing. Just ask gay people about Anita Bryant, Lon Mabon, or the Defense of Marriage Act. Ask the Dixie Chicks while you gulp down your “freedom fries.”) True to form, FNC went wild on a panel and (according to the article I linked) the character of Jack was changed.

Mass Effect has always seemed like it might draw more of a libertarian and right wing crowd than its fantasy counterpart, Dragon Age. The military theme is stronger and more closely resembles modern military and government (and anti-government) sentiment than Dragon Age. For every Kaidan Alenko, there’s an Ashley Williams. There’s a choice to play through as being very open to alien involvement, or being very species-centric. With various consequences, of course.

Also, with voice acting provided by names recognized at the box office, like Carrie-Anne Moss and Seth Green, Mass Effect attracted a larger audience in general and probably had a bigger budget.

It’s no wonder that Dragon Age had openly bisexual and gay characters before Mass Effect did, or that they largely went unnoticed by the media at large until now.

Just like ME2, dealing with all the companions’ problems is a central part of the game in Veilguard. And just like ME2, people seem fine with all of it right up until you get to Taash and it becomes about identity and the current trend for or against “woke” politics. Until it involves sexuality, like it did with Jack.

An objection in general against the lack of player agency seems valid. Not only is developing the team crucial to a successful outcome, but as team leader Rook seems very restricted in the type of responses available. All seem to be some shade of supportive.

The question is: why? The ending of Veilguard suggests no certainty of a future appearance for any of the characters at all. If the Dragon Age team continues following the Mass Effect framework, then the companions from Veilguard might show up in subsequent chapters of the saga, but with side quests at best, or even just an appearance at a party. None of the companion characters introduced in ME2 were necessary for ME3, though they did make ME3 more interesting to play.

The lack of player agency ended up hurting the Mass Effect franchise not one bit. ME2 is widely credited as being the strongest of the first three games in many respects, with character animation and development always receiving primary acknowledgment. But I will admit the first time I played through ME2 I felt extremely restricted compared to its predecessor. For me, ME2 only succeeds as part of the Shepard trilogy. As a standalone, I find it to be a much weaker game and the lack of player agency is a big part of why.

If the only objection one has to loss of agency in ME2 is Jack, or Taash in Veilguard, then it’s about the subject of the story, not the fact one has to play it through. I think that’s a stupid objection, but people will do anything they can to stir up some #$%^, and if the angry comic shop guys of the Internet decide a game is “woke trash” just because there’s a non-binary person in it experiencing the feelings of being non-binary, then they aren’t going to care about context. Or that Dragon Age: The Inquisition had gay and bi characters, and that the bi character had a transsexual sidekick.

“I don’t want to see it or hear about it” is an over the top reaction to a story in a video game you really don’t have to see or hear about unless you buy it, install it on your computer, accept the TOS, and then play it. If you’re a long-time player who had no problems with Krem, and your only current objection to “loss of agency” is Taash, then… deal. Just like Jack, you can ignore the character, but at your peril.

Even if Dragon Age deviates from its own history towards a more Mass Effect-like framework (possibly in an effort to consolidate framework development, but let’s all hope it ends there if so), then any character pulled forward from Veilguard will be a side note. A little bit of color. Something to tie games together, but that you can safely ignore if it crumbles your cookies that badly.

Subjectively

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with BioWare RPGs. On one hand, here I am with a level 35 character in Veilguard (it’s my second time through) and my party members are constantly shouting things like, “You’re being targeted!” and even “Don’t stand there!” I mean… con-stant-ly. Last night, I did the first big encounter with a certain disavowed necromancer and the final battle took over 20 minutes of basically dodging my little mage ass off while waiting for cooldowns to reset. And being lectures by both my party members the entire time. “Move!” Oh, @#$% off.

On the other hand, this was the fifth apparently final battle to that quest. It only become apparent during the final final encounter (which I was relieved to find out was the final encounter after all the previous ones) that I really should have leveled up a bit more before that point. That point being 100 minutes into a very lengthy and involved quest that proved manageable the previous 99.

I could have used a heads-up.

So BioWare doesn’t trust me to dodge without prompting, but it trusts I’ll make it through five demonic encounters for another chance to die trying?

After two weeks of Veilguard, I’m a little tired of Rook reminding me that he’ll “need a wisp for that” every time he passes a very obvious wisp-triggered device. THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME! I KNOW WHAT THEY ARE! SHUT UP!

Mass Effect Andromeda was filled with reminders from Ryder that one needed to use the control panel to trigger the attached alien device… the same as 100 times before that.

The Blight is a central theme to Veilguard, but Rook needs to be remind me that he has to burst pockets of blight to clear the area? “My name is Rook… I own a mansion and a yacht…”

The point I’m making is that BioWare is often heavy-handed with the lecturing, but not at all even-handed. They often don’t even make good choices about what we need to hear. Constant reminders about how the game functions? That’s dialogue that needn’t have been recorded at all. On the other hand, five quest objectives appearing on the map with a guide leading us toward each… the exact same guide. WTF?

It’s unsurprising to me that part of Taash’s story seems a little preachy. For those who have some problem with trans or non-binary people, I’m sure the preach is all that comes through.

Take the scene … (and here’s a spoiler alert) … where Taash and Rook are hanging out with the Lords of Fortune and Taash’s friend “pulls a Bhlarv” by misgendering Taash as “she” rather than the established “they” Taash prefers. The result? Taash’s friend happily jumps up from her seat and does 10 push-ups, explaining that a Bhlarv was a LoF way of making amends for offending someone, even accidentally.

Taash notices their favorite snack is gone, and Bellara (in my playthrough at least) cops to eating the last one, then apologizes as she knows they are Taash’s favorite. Bellara does a Bhlarv in a ham-handed attempt to show that offending a person is offending a person, whether it’s eating the last of their favorite food at a party or accidentally misgendering them while telling an old story.

Likewise, there is an awkward moment at the beginning of the game – separate from Taash entirely – involving Varric’s mirror. While placing keepsakes in his (in my playthrough) room, Rook stops to remember the importance of each one. When Rook comes to Varric’s mirror, there are several dialogue options the Player can choose: to simply express struggling to like oneself, or one can explore a gender-affirming dialogue. One can also explore a similar dialogue about body art, should the player have a Rook with tattoos.

Personally, I feel BioWare really missed the mark with the second Bhlarv. I get the “it’s all about consideration, not just any one thing” message they were trying to send, but I think it would have set better with those who found it awkward if, instead, Taash had been the one to eat the last snack and have to do the Bhlarv.

BioWare could have also conveyed the message that consideration and respect go in all directions, not just toward a specific person or specific group.

I liked Taash. Other than cringing at BioWare’s occasional lack of nuance, I was happy to play their story through along with all the other companions. Just like I did in ME2, even though I ended up finding Jack extremely abrasive for much of the game (for entirely different reason than FNC). Just like I did in Dragon Age: Inquisition, even though Cole’s rambling pseudo-poetry drove me batty and Sera was such an obvious trope I expected to find she grew up on Coronation Street. As a gay dude, I found Dorian as a romance option an annoying stereotype.

I still loved that game.

I played through all these things I didn’t like about other BioWare games because, for the most part, I was having a blast. I try to imagine the shoe being on the other foot. What if Ashley Williams were a crew member of the Normandy 2, for example. What if I had to have dinner with her and her right-wing Christian family; be supportive of her xenophobic philosophy in order to gain her support in the game?

In part, it’s an apples-and-oranges comparison in that Ashley’s pushy beliefs were about how she viewed others, whereas Taash’s pushy beliefs are about how they view themselves. Plus, of course, you can kill Ashley off if you don’t like her.

Still, people in favor of Ashley’s character probably aren’t in favor of Taash’s. Or maybe that’s just me. I’d have problems encouraging Ashley to be more herself. It wouldn’t ruin my play, and I don’t think I’d review bomb a game just because it has a conservative Christian in it. I mean.. I didn’t. Even accidentally romanced her once as it was too late in the game to back out.

My brief encounters with Ashley Williams didn’t ruin Mass Effect at all, nor did they lead me to conclude that BioWare was foisting a far-right ideology on me than being trapped into a conversation about God in Andromeda led me to believe BioWare was trying to convert me. They were annoying, and seemed somewhat awkward and out of place. Right up until I remembered that I was playing a video game in which I could fast forward through the dialogue options choosing whatever response best suited the direction the relationship with that companion needed to go, and all without even needing to pay attention much less consider a (gasp!) alternate point of view, or another perspective.

I try to imagine a version of Ashley Williams showing up in the Dragon Age universe, and then being forced to play through a story supporting views I just don’t support. Sure, I’d do it. We’ve all done it no matter our underlying beliefs. We’ve all encountered the pivotal character we just can’t stand. But now? In 2024 just after the most contentious presidential election in modern US history? With social issues and talk of “wokeness” being pivotal to everything going on in the real world right now, I think I might very much feel like BioWare was trying to tell me what to believe, rather than present a variety of characters with a central theme of: you have to get along because this is who answered the call.

BioWare RPGs have always included a variety of personality types forced to get along under desperate circumstances. My personal favorite is Aria T’Loak, voiced to beyond perfection by Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity from The Matrix if you’re a noob at life). Aria is amoral and greedy, abrasive and degrading. Unlike every other character in the entire Mass Effect saga, she fails to recognize Shepard as some sort of demi-god and bosses him around like Shepard is a misbehaving dog on a leash. The best part? Not a damn thing you can do about it except go along for the ride. Through two entire games, Aria throws her weight around and you want to shoot her…. oh man do you want to shoot her.

But you can’t. Rule number one on Omega? Don’t #$%^ with Aria. I’m convinced Carrie-Anne Moss took the part because Aria always wins. Screw the basement dwelling broheims who can’t see a woman as anything other than “pound or pass,” and who can’t deal with a woman both physically more capable (with her biotics. Check out the scores in the Citadel DLC) and with more power than Shepard.

Hating Aria with a passion and no recourse is exactly what made me love Aria so much.

I’m not saying those anti-Taash folks will ever come to the same conclusion about Taash. I’m just saying with BioWare games especially, there will always be that one guy. That one character. That one storyline. That one aspect that you just have to hold your nose and play to get back to the good parts. (None of the Veilguard companions made me hold my nose. The closest I came was Bellara. BioWare is just a little over the top when it wants to stress a personality type.)

What I am saying is that BioWare is looking to change things up. I really don’t think it’s about pushing a political or social agenda in one direction or the other. I expect that Dragon Age will continue to appeal to a slightly more liberal crowd, and Mass Effect to a slightly more conservative one with plenty of crossover.

It also seems like BioWare is trying to catch up with other gaming companies in design and expectations, and to cater to a younger audience with stories that are more personal and important than helping Leliana track down a spy in your spare time. It was a non-binary character that stood out this time. Maybe next time around it will be someone with strong religious convictions, or someone whose trust you can’t earn no matter what choices you make.

Or, Dragon Age 5 will be much more like Inquisition, with a new worldview based on the events of Veilguard and nothing much will have changed except the names.

It’s impossible to see that far into the future.

At any rate, it seems like Taash has become something of a symbol in the gaming community one either vehemently supports or opposes. All the venom seems really to be about real world stuff I’d just rather not have in my versions of Thedas and… Andromeda, I guess. So mostly I don’t. I accept that Ashley Williams was who she was and I got along with her just fine. I accepted that I as a male Shepard punched a woman in the face just for asking impertinent questions… twice. I accept the fact that I’m going into deadly combat on a daily basis with a necromancer whose biggest fear is … death? HOW THE HELL DO YOU TRUST … never mind. I accept.

At the end of the day – every single day – Veilguard is a game. I’ve never met a game with good character development that had at least one character I didn’t like all that much. I sat through years of Doctor Who hating Amelia Pond every second (the character. Karen Gillan played her beautifully.) Didn’t make me hate the Doctor.

Just like you can turn off Veilguard and walk away if it annoys you, you don’t have to drag all the baggage of the real world along for your journey to Thedas. Separate Taash from real world politics, and they are just a person in a universe that has always had bisexual elf assassins (who are easy lays), gay magisters rebelling against their fathers because liking men produces no heirs. The characters have stories. That’s what make them good characters. That’s why you care.

The stories aren’t written just for you, or for me, or for any subset of “them” one might imagine.

The whole point of all BioWare RPGs is gathering a team of different people, then herding them like cats until they’re ready to take on the big bad. Jumping ship after years of fun seems like pulling an Isaac Hayes; spending years cashing in on mockery, then storming off in a very loud huff as soon as the mockery touches his religion.

If you can deal with randy elves and horny quanari being indiscriminate in the sex of their bed partners, and if you can tolerate a conversation where a trans man taunts said qunari about his “pillowy man bosoms”, then it’s ridiculous to think a few moments of conversation about pronouns is going to burn it all to the ground.

A lot of people seem to expect even the “deviant” companions in Dragon Age to follow acceptable rules. Like Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, which seems like a Dorian Pavus analogue cranked to 11, who in turn seems like he was voiced by someone who spent his youth watching Rocky Horror Picture Show over and over again. It all sounds like Tim Curry impressions to me, which is ironic given that RHPS is now widely held in disrepute. Why? Because it disrespects transgendered people.

Players today seem to want more complicated endings and more complicated characters. Everyone is sick of the foregone conclusion and “white knight rides off into the sunset” broadcasting that often occurs in video games from miles away. Likewise, they seem to want character development with more important stories, rather than frivolous side quests easily ignored during an ng+. They also want a connection to the what they know and care about.

There was plenty of story in Dragon Age: The Inquisition about the role organized religion can and should play in society. And in the Dragon Age games before that. No one saw that as a push by BioWare to either endorse or subvert a church. But Veilguard shifts to a much more modern vernacular than its predecessors, and the ties between Thedas and the real world are a bit thinner this time around.

It’s harder to see the life lessons taught in Veilguard as various points of view and not the point of view when the scope of player reactions is severely limited by the framework of the game, and when the speech used by characters could be stuff you just read on Twitter or saw in the latest Avengers movie.

If I found Taash problematic, it would be hard to maintain any level of upset over a game in which I’ve already invested 120+ hours of play, maybe a combined 10 minutes of which was spent on Taash’s identity. There’s just no there there. If you don’t care, then move the eff on for pete’s sake.

And people complaining about a game they haven’t played at all are just unhinged. Go away.

Now, let’s move on to serious issues. What do you suppose the nudity switch was even for, anyway?