GamesRPGDragon AgeDragon Age: The VeilguardUh, Dragon Age: The Veilguard—why do your darkspawn look like that?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesRPGDragon AgeDragon Age: The VeilguardUh, Dragon Age: The Veilguard—why do your darkspawn look like that?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
I’ve got more than my share of misgivings when it comes to Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but there’s one thing that’s been bugging me more than anything else as I get towards the end of Rook’s adventure: why do the darkspawn look so…funky?
From the first moment an ogre bursts in on you, during your early introduction to Bellara, it’s clear something’s wrong. With its cartoonish skull face and glowing eyes it’s unrecognisable as the monster that first terrorised players back in Origins. As it attacks, its rubbery body deforms and warps like a Stretch Armstrong doll. Even with the game’s versatile photo mode, it’s actively difficult to take a shot of it that doesn’t look like I’m deliberately catching it at a weird angle. This thingsucks.
Image1of3As the ogre moves its torso deforms, its ribcage juts out, and its arms seem to stretch. The overall effect is that none of its bones are actually attached.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)Is it just me, or do the genlocks look like they’ve got receding hairlines?(Image credit: BioWare, EA)In earlier games, ghouls were a horrifying reminder of the Blight’s infectious nature. In The Veilguard, they’re just generic zombie cannon fodder.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
Image1of3As the ogre moves its torso deforms, its ribcage juts out, and its arms seem to stretch. The overall effect is that none of its bones are actually attached.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)Is it just me, or do the genlocks look like they’ve got receding hairlines?(Image credit: BioWare, EA)In earlier games, ghouls were a horrifying reminder of the Blight’s infectious nature. In The Veilguard, they’re just generic zombie cannon fodder.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
Image1of3
As the ogre moves its torso deforms, its ribcage juts out, and its arms seem to stretch. The overall effect is that none of its bones are actually attached.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)Is it just me, or do the genlocks look like they’ve got receding hairlines?(Image credit: BioWare, EA)In earlier games, ghouls were a horrifying reminder of the Blight’s infectious nature. In The Veilguard, they’re just generic zombie cannon fodder.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
As the ogre moves its torso deforms, its ribcage juts out, and its arms seem to stretch. The overall effect is that none of its bones are actually attached.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)Is it just me, or do the genlocks look like they’ve got receding hairlines?(Image credit: BioWare, EA)In earlier games, ghouls were a horrifying reminder of the Blight’s infectious nature. In The Veilguard, they’re just generic zombie cannon fodder.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
As the ogre moves its torso deforms, its ribcage juts out, and its arms seem to stretch. The overall effect is that none of its bones are actually attached.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
As the ogre moves its torso deforms, its ribcage juts out, and its arms seem to stretch. The overall effect is that none of its bones are actually attached.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
As the ogre moves its torso deforms, its ribcage juts out, and its arms seem to stretch. The overall effect is that none of its bones are actually attached.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
As the ogre moves its torso deforms, its ribcage juts out, and its arms seem to stretch. The overall effect is that none of its bones are actually attached.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
As the ogre moves its torso deforms, its ribcage juts out, and its arms seem to stretch. The overall effect is that none of its bones are actually attached.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
Is it just me, or do the genlocks look like they’ve got receding hairlines?(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
Is it just me, or do the genlocks look like they’ve got receding hairlines?(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
Is it just me, or do the genlocks look like they’ve got receding hairlines?(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
Is it just me, or do the genlocks look like they’ve got receding hairlines?(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
Is it just me, or do the genlocks look like they’ve got receding hairlines?(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In earlier games, ghouls were a horrifying reminder of the Blight’s infectious nature. In The Veilguard, they’re just generic zombie cannon fodder.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In earlier games, ghouls were a horrifying reminder of the Blight’s infectious nature. In The Veilguard, they’re just generic zombie cannon fodder.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In earlier games, ghouls were a horrifying reminder of the Blight’s infectious nature. In The Veilguard, they’re just generic zombie cannon fodder.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In earlier games, ghouls were a horrifying reminder of the Blight’s infectious nature. In The Veilguard, they’re just generic zombie cannon fodder.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In earlier games, ghouls were a horrifying reminder of the Blight’s infectious nature. In The Veilguard, they’re just generic zombie cannon fodder.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
As it turns out, darkspawn are pretty key to the storyline of The Veilguard. New villain Ghilan’nain controls the Blight, and draws an army of the creatures to her side. At least, that’s what I’m told—I certainly wouldn’t have recognised any of them on sight.
The various darkspawn enemies are labelled as being the same species seen in past games—hurlocks, genlocks, ghouls, etc—but share almost nothing in common with their predecessors, in looks or behaviour. The Veilguard’s darkspawn grow spears out of their backs to throw at me, or sprout giant, glowing pustules like the energy drink mutants from Sunset Overdrive. Ghouls have become hordes of generic grey zombies, somehow spawned directly out of those big red tumours you spend half the game popping. Hurlocks lumber towards me with armour and weapons seemingly born out of blight itself—why do they remind me so much of a World of Warcraft orc in raid gear?
Image1of3You cannot tell me this guy isn’t about to say “Zug zug!” any second now.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)It’s the fleshy, out of proportion hand I can’t get over here.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)In my day, if you wanted an enemy to have a ranged attack, you just gave them a bow.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
Image1of3You cannot tell me this guy isn’t about to say “Zug zug!” any second now.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)It’s the fleshy, out of proportion hand I can’t get over here.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)In my day, if you wanted an enemy to have a ranged attack, you just gave them a bow.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
Image1of3
You cannot tell me this guy isn’t about to say “Zug zug!” any second now.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)It’s the fleshy, out of proportion hand I can’t get over here.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)In my day, if you wanted an enemy to have a ranged attack, you just gave them a bow.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
You cannot tell me this guy isn’t about to say “Zug zug!” any second now.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)It’s the fleshy, out of proportion hand I can’t get over here.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)In my day, if you wanted an enemy to have a ranged attack, you just gave them a bow.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
You cannot tell me this guy isn’t about to say “Zug zug!” any second now.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
You cannot tell me this guy isn’t about to say “Zug zug!” any second now.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
You cannot tell me this guy isn’t about to say “Zug zug!” any second now.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
You cannot tell me this guy isn’t about to say “Zug zug!” any second now.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
You cannot tell me this guy isn’t about to say “Zug zug!” any second now.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
It’s the fleshy, out of proportion hand I can’t get over here.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
It’s the fleshy, out of proportion hand I can’t get over here.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
It’s the fleshy, out of proportion hand I can’t get over here.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
It’s the fleshy, out of proportion hand I can’t get over here.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
It’s the fleshy, out of proportion hand I can’t get over here.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In my day, if you wanted an enemy to have a ranged attack, you just gave them a bow.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In my day, if you wanted an enemy to have a ranged attack, you just gave them a bow.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In my day, if you wanted an enemy to have a ranged attack, you just gave them a bow.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In my day, if you wanted an enemy to have a ranged attack, you just gave them a bow.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In my day, if you wanted an enemy to have a ranged attack, you just gave them a bow.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
The terrifying armies we saw in Origins feel a long way away. The darkspawn as we first knew them were emblematic of the game’s dark fantasy tone—they stood in for Tolkien’s orcs and trolls, but with a nasty edge and a grimy layer of body horror. They were recognisably twisted reflections of the forces of good—human-looking hurlocks, squat, dwarf-like genlocks, lithe shrieks with pointy, elven ears, all wielding crude, filthy weapons and armour in imitation of their victims. Discovering thereasonbehind those parallels in Origins was one of the game’s most disturbing and memorable moments.
The Veilguard’s darkspawn aren’t a reflection of anything. They’re just gooey monster men with skull faces. Their design implies nothing about their place in the world beyond simply being the bad guys, obviously monstrous and mindless creatures for me to slam spells into. The Blight is so important to The Veilguard’s story, and in one sidequest you can even discover its true origins at last, completely changing how you think about the darkspawn—but none of that thematic weight is conveyed in them visually. They look parachuted in from an MMO you’ve forgotten the name of.
Image1of2The first ogre design was a key element of Dragon Age: Origins' marketing.(Image credit: BioWare)In Dragon Age 2, genlocks became hulking gorillas, instead of deformed, goblin-like creatures. Don’t ask me why.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
Image1of2The first ogre design was a key element of Dragon Age: Origins' marketing.(Image credit: BioWare)In Dragon Age 2, genlocks became hulking gorillas, instead of deformed, goblin-like creatures. Don’t ask me why.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
Image1of2
The first ogre design was a key element of Dragon Age: Origins' marketing.(Image credit: BioWare)In Dragon Age 2, genlocks became hulking gorillas, instead of deformed, goblin-like creatures. Don’t ask me why.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
The first ogre design was a key element of Dragon Age: Origins' marketing.(Image credit: BioWare)In Dragon Age 2, genlocks became hulking gorillas, instead of deformed, goblin-like creatures. Don’t ask me why.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
The first ogre design was a key element of Dragon Age: Origins' marketing.(Image credit: BioWare)
The first ogre design was a key element of Dragon Age: Origins' marketing.(Image credit: BioWare)
The first ogre design was a key element of Dragon Age: Origins' marketing.(Image credit: BioWare)
The first ogre design was a key element of Dragon Age: Origins' marketing.(Image credit: BioWare)
The first ogre design was a key element of Dragon Age: Origins' marketing.(Image credit: BioWare)
In Dragon Age 2, genlocks became hulking gorillas, instead of deformed, goblin-like creatures. Don’t ask me why.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In Dragon Age 2, genlocks became hulking gorillas, instead of deformed, goblin-like creatures. Don’t ask me why.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In Dragon Age 2, genlocks became hulking gorillas, instead of deformed, goblin-like creatures. Don’t ask me why.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In Dragon Age 2, genlocks became hulking gorillas, instead of deformed, goblin-like creatures. Don’t ask me why.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
In Dragon Age 2, genlocks became hulking gorillas, instead of deformed, goblin-like creatures. Don’t ask me why.(Image credit: BioWare, EA)
I can acknowledge, at least, that this isn’t the first time this has happened. BioWare has a strange lack of confidence in its darkspawn designs—either that, or it’s deliberately making them worse each time as an act of self-sabotage. Dragon Age 2, released only about a year after Origins, inexplicably did its own complete redesign, turning genlocks into gorillas and hurlocks into gangly goths as part of its overall shake-up of the setting’s art style. You’ll get no historical revisionism from me—I didn’t like that change at the time, and looking back, it still sucks. Inquisition seemed so embarrassed that it mostly just swept darkspawn aside, despite its villain having a direct connection to them, and where they did appear they were sort of washed out, grimier versions of Dragon Age 2’s designs, striking an awkward balance between the two previous looks.
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But even compared to those past crimes, The Veilguard’s take is easily the worst yet, both settling on incoherent designs and putting them front-and-centre in its story. If I never see another grinning mush man or giant, door-blocking tumour again it’ll be too soon. The game may have a lot of other flaws, many of which you could argue are rather more pressing. But this is the hill I’m choosing to die on: these darkspawn areassand it’s not OK.
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Dragon Age: The Veilguard is my third-favorite game of the year, and I don’t care who knowsAfter years of holding out hope, 2024 was the year I finally gave up on BioWare
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is my third-favorite game of the year, and I don’t care who knows
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is my third-favorite game of the year, and I don’t care who knows
After years of holding out hope, 2024 was the year I finally gave up on BioWare
After years of holding out hope, 2024 was the year I finally gave up on BioWare
LatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►
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