Random Thoughts Upon Finishing "Dragon Age: Veilguard"

 I finished my first (but probably not last) playthrough of "Dragon Age:  Veilguard", and I have lots of thoughts I wanted to share.

• Upon first starting the game:  My god, it's full of shaders!
• Varric's beginning confrontation with Solas is particularly poignant, of course, not just because they were friends in "Inquisition:, but because Varric has to be thinking of the other time he confronted a friend who was destroying the world because he thought it was the only way to fix things--Anders.  And it didn't work that time, either.
• I did call the twist with Varric.  I'm very proud of myself, and the game for it not being bad writing.  The clue was Varric never interacting with anybody else on the team.  There's no way Varric wouldn't be in the book club, giving Bellara writing tips, having specific food requests, or giving pep talks to the rest of the team like to Rook.
• I'm guessing this is a deal like the Divine in "Inquisition".  After all, the Lighthouse is in the Fade, or near enough.  It's either Varric's soul (he was Andrastian...), a spirit reflecting him, or there isn't really a difference.
• I don't think Solas was behind Rook forgetting Varric was dead.  That doesn't benefit him.  He wants Rook to still see Varric, but to remember Varric so they can regret is loss (and to be able to pass on his apology.  Always complicated, that guy.)  I'm guessing that was Rook's grieving mind making sense of still seeing him.
• The color of Veilguard seems to be purple (like "Inquisition"'s was green.)
• You can pet cats in this game; it's the best.
• You can pet a griffin in this game; it's the best ever.
• I appreciate the effort it must have taken to hold out until the fourth game for the griffins.
• Harding's character plot was great, but felt shorter than the others'.  I wanted more about Kal Sharok!  They could have been another faction.  It felt like the dwarves got less to do, again.
• The character I had trouble warming up to was Bellara.  She just seemed more like a bunch of cliches than a person.  She got better with more plot, but there was still the backstory problem of the Veil Jumpers.
• Most of the factions we know previously, like the Wardens or Crows, or quickly get explanations, like the Lords of Fortune or Mourn Guard.  The Veil Guard, I'm still not entirely sure what they're about.  They explore the Veil?  Or elven ruins?  Arlathan?  They all seem to be elves, despite background options.  Where did they come from?  I thought there was something to do with the discovery of Mythal's temple in "Inquisition", but it doesn't seem to be connected.
• Sure, some Inquisition folks learned dark truths behind the elven "gods" in that game ('s final DLC), but suddenly in Veilguard everyone seems to know (though Bellara still seems shocked?  It's confusing.)  Even if the Inquisition disseminated the information, there's no way all the Dalish (or whoever the Veil Jumpers are) would so quickly agree.
• The game does have a bit of "Andromeda"'s "go random places all over the game world" quest design, unfortunately.  Why do I have to kill demons in random places to open sections in the Crossroads?
• There's so much random stuff scattered everywhere and I'm not even sure what it's for.  Why do I have the option to buy valuable items?  Wouldn't I just sell them again?
• I could never figure out what was up with the chiming statues puzzle.  Or how to use Ultimate.  This is what happens without manuals, people!
• After the large organization of the Inquisition, it's weird having such a small team trying to save the world.  Yeah, you're working with the factions, but the Lighthouse seems so empty compared to Skyhold!
• While I like how the Lighthouse literally flourishes and how you can decorate it, I wish there was more to do there after you explore and you could open it up more.
• I really don't like the area design with the multiple levels and constant climbing and jumping and ziplines everywhere.  It just makes it more difficult to tell where the heck you need to go.  Why was this necessary?  I miss the wide-ranging environments from "Inquisition".
• I do like having cities to explore, full of shops and people living their lives.  I wish we could explore more of Minrathous and Treviso.
• I like that in this game we get to see all the parts of Thedas we never got to visit before--Teventer, Rivain, Nevarra, Antiva, the Anderfells.  I want more of all of them, but I'm glad we got this.
• My biggest issue with the game is the Inquisitor and the treatment of what's happening in the south.  I get needing to keep the Inquisitor busy so they don't come in and take over Rook's job/plot and making the gods seem a threat, but whoo boy did they overdo it.  A blight over Fereldan?  An Antaam invasion?  Orlesian Civil War II:  Ventori Boogaloo?  That makes it sound like the main fight with the gods is down south, not up in the north with Rook!
• But mainly, the biggest problem is it completely negates the accomplishments of previous games.  Made peace in Orlais in "Inquisition"?  It won't last long.  Kirkwall finally prospering?  It'll soon be conquered again.  And, oh yeah, spend the entire game of "Dragon Age:  Origins" stopping the blight from covering Fereldan?  Turns out, no matter what you do, it'll happen in a few decades anyway!  Who thought this was a good idea?  One or two of these would have been enough--maybe the Antaam invasion, since that was foreshadowed in the last "Inquisition" DLC, plus the Orlesian civil war if you feel like it, would be enough.
• While I understand the need to cut down all the minor decisions (what you did with Bevin's family sword in "Origins" probably isn't going to determine the fate of Thedas--although wouldn't it be hilarious if it did?) it is kind of annoying to have the Dragon Age Keep and see all the possible opportunities for minor mentions of the past that don't happen--at Weisshaupt, with the Crows, in notes from the Inquisitor (this would be an excellent way to show how things are or are not going to crap because of past actions.)  Hopefully modders can adjust, especially the notes.
• "Origins"'s theme is duty, "Dragon Age II"'s theme is, I don't know, everything sucks sometimes, and "Inquisition"'s theme is faith versus fear, but not until the end did "Veilguard"'s theme of working through regret and grief become clear.  It'll be interesting to see clarify on another playthrough.