We're all so confused by BioWare's answer to this question.
Game Informer has seen boobs—specifically, the magazine has seen a topless character in Dragon Age: The Veilguard's character creator, which it previewed as part of a recent slate of exclusive articles. It's the most overt nudity the Dragon Age series has featured so far.
"This is a mature RPG," game director Corrine Busche told the magazine.
The character creator didn't show any below-the-waist private anatomy, however, and Game Informer reports that when it asked BioWare whether the RPG will include full nudity—say, during romance scenes—the developer said that it wants fans to discover that for themselves.
I had to read that a couple times to be sure I'd understood it correctly. BioWare wants players to discover for themselves whether or not there are penises and vaginas in Dragon Age: The Veilguard? What a weird and whimsical answer! Game Informer itself noted that it was an "interesting answer, considering we're talking about genitals," but didn't come away with clarification.
Not too long ago, I would've just assumed that the answer would be no. There was once a full-on cable news buffoon freakout over Mass Effect's half-clothed characters awkwardly climbing on each other, and I've come to expect caution from the big publishers. But Larian held nothing back in Baldur's Gate 3 last year, and if there were any negative consequences, they haven't been obvious.
So it was a reasonable question, but I can't say the same for the answer—whether or not you can see testicles doesn't seem like something that should be treated as a spoiler, but maybe the story really goes places. Either way, it's something lots of people probably want to know before they play: Baldur's Gate 3 is upfront about its nudity, and includes a setting to hide it.
That being the case, my guess is that The Veilguard will probably not show any below-the-belt particulars, but I suppose it's something we'll discover together. It will definitely include toplessness, we've now learned, although I'm reluctant to connect that with whatever "mature" tone they're aiming for, being of the "free the nipple" persuasion—a bare masculine chest isn't assumed to always imply sex. (Well, in a BioWare game it probably does imply sex, but you get the point.)
Thanks to Game Informer's coverage, we've also learned some new details this week about Veilguard's difficulty options—which let you turn off death entirely—and how we'll develop relationships with companions. They've got more on the character creator, too.
