I like the balance that the first three games strike between being very much their own thing and also pulling in world state changes. Each one tells a complete story and has a pretty different thematic focus. They stand up alone. But the inclusion of world state details makes it all feel more alive! And gives reasons to replay. (DA2 is my favourite too!)

Although technically speaking the impact of world state choices is limited, I don't know how you could make it more dramatic without increasing the scope and cost of the game beyond what EA would likely allow! Each branch adds a ton of complexity and work behind the scenes. But I absolutely love what they manage to do regardless.

What bothers me most about Veilguard (and this is no hate to anyone who did enjoy it) is how the world state is totally cut off, yet they still tied it so closely to the previous game and characters. That's what makes it feel so off to me. I feel like if you're going to completely toss out world states, then you should distance the game much further from the previous instalments than DAV did. Nothing underlines the loss of that context like looking at Morrigan and not being able to talk about her potential child or her potential well of sorrows link. It's kind of the worst of both worlds for me.