Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a recreation about constructing a staff to combat historic elven gods, however the extra time I spend in Thedas, the extra I notice that I’d quite be chasing a special villain. Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain are two of the traditional elven pantheon often called the Evanuris, they usually’re as much as no good — blighting villages, murdering innocents, and making an attempt to revive their historic empire. However I discover {that a} whole snooze in comparison with the sport’s actual villainous star: Johanna Hezenkoss, evil lich in progress and absolute queen.
I ought to most likely clarify why I’m not apprehensive concerning the Evanuris, even if they characterize a really actual and pressing apocalypse. There are actually issues I like about their character design, in addition to cool story-related moments. Ghilan’nain appears nice; whether or not she’s an unnervingly lithe determine, blinded by blight and greedy with too many limbs, or a large face within the clouds, I really like her design. And I additionally appreciated these creepy moments when Elgar’nan whispers in protagonist Rook’s thoughts, promising unattainable items.
Sadly, these moments are drowned out by the duo’s dialogue, which is fairly fundamental. The 2 of them bellow about drowning the world in blight, infinite energy, the futility of anybody making an attempt to combat them, and their immortality. It’s precisely what you’d anticipate from a world-ending villain, and I discovered myself bored after the second encounter or so. Elgar’nan specifically is a disappointment. Ghilan’nain is ready to lean on her sensible visible design and military of monsters; Elgar’nan’s only a massive man in an impractical hat.
Examine them to Johanna Hezenkoss, a lady who appears remarkably mundane compared. She wears the easy garb of the Mourn Watch, a pair of goggles, and a sensible coiffure. If it weren’t for the ghastly lantern at her facet, you would possibly mistake her for a easy lab assistant. Emmrich, one of many recreation’s greatest companions, asks you to search out Hezenkoss on his behalf. She will get the higher hand — fairly actually, by revealing that the get together’s Hand of Glory is definitely her personal severed appendage — and banishes the get together to the Fade.
That’s a fairly sturdy begin for a villain, however it will get higher as you proceed Emmrich’s storyline. Finally, you study Hezenkoss is having an enormous fancy soirée at her evil necromancer mansion. That is clearly suspicious, so the staff goes to research, solely to search out that Hezenkoss has invited petty rivals, annoying nobles, and her different enemies in order that she will sacrifice all of them and inhabit the physique of a large golden skeleton monster. It’s like The Menu, however for necromancy.
I, for one, recognize the objective of sacrificing a bunch of individuals you dislike so you may ascend to the immortal type of a large skeleton. She jogs my memory of that Spider-Man meme the place the hero is telling a pterodactyl scientist that he may remedy most cancers along with his expertise, and the pterodactyl man — who occurs to be using a triceratops — retorts that he doesn’t need to remedy most cancers, he desires to show folks into dinosaurs.
Hezenkoss and Elgar’nan each need energy, certain, however one among them is far more theatrical about it. I really like a very good mad scientist, and Hezenkoss pulls the function off with aplomb. I gained’t spoil the conclusion of her confrontation with Emmrich, however it’s one among The Veilguard’s strongest moments. A part of me yearns for an alternate historical past the place The Veilguard had a a lot smaller scope and fewer pressing stakes. On this hypothetical various timeline, I feel Johanna Hezenkoss deserves a promotion to essential villain. I’ve already forgotten about Elgar’nan and his schemes, however Hezenkoss will dwell on in my coronary heart — a villain with ambition, targets, and the liberty to chew the surroundings a bit bit throughout her second of triumph.
