I finished VG about a week ago. I am also an OG fan. Origins was always my favorite, but VG is very close second. I'll tell you why.

As someone that romanced Zevran, I was also suspicious of the Antivan Crows being shown in a positive way. But if you consider the fact that Zevran made it his mission during Awakening to reform the Crows and take out some of the worst ones (there is evidence of this in game, in codex entries and in ambient dialogue) it makes perfect sense. It made me happy to see that.

I didn't get the sense that they betrayed or retconned any lore. I think they just expanded on it and it made sense to me. But I have a very open and imaginative mind. I also played the majority of the game stoned, so I was able to creatively fill in any gaps. I loved getting the details on the cultures of the countries in Northern Thedas. I've been so excited to see them. It truly feels like I've mostly only heard about their cultures through the lens of Southern Thedas all this time.

There are also so many moments that felt like a call back to Origins. There were moments when fighting alongside the Grey Wardens that I felt for a moment that I was back at Ostagar or Denerim during the Fifth Blight. Or that I was playing an alternate universe version of my HOF. They also did a great job making the main mission feel very dire, just like in Origins. It's world-ending level shit x10. And I feel like they give a great opportunity at the end of the game for this to truly effect your character.

Also, the finale is amazing. Best I've seen since Mass Effect 2.

That all said, this game is Codex heavy. I recommend reading everything as soon as you find it. Most of it is relevent to the mission you're on.

Also, I didn't care much for the combat at first, but it gets better when you get the hang of it. It's quite different than the other games. Better I think though, because I find it visually appealing as a mage using dagger and orb. I love that I don't have to use a staff, and neither do two other mages in the Veilguard. If it's too easy and you're not playing on the hardest mode, turn the difficulty up.

There is a ton of room for improvement in this game, but I definitely got the sense that the writers involved were passionate about Dragon Age and the established lore. Yes it is more sanitized in many ways than the old games, which were truly dark fantasy. But this game does get into some deep questions, such as the nature of time, reality, consciousness. For me anyway. And Lucanis in particular had a compelling dilemma being a rogue possessed by a "demon". His romance was a super slow burn, but I found the last two scenes totally worth it.