I didn't expect to see "Dragon Age: The Veilguard" at the Xbox Games Showcase over the weekend, ahead of the gameplay reveal scheduled for tomorrow. But its appearance in the CG trailer had many fans, including myself, very nervous about the plastic-looking, poreless character design. Partly to quell that panic, I am convinced that BioWare has released a 24-second "sneak peek" of the 15+ minutes of gameplay reveal scheduled for tomorrow. Take 10 deep breaths, folks. Maybe you can see it better.

As my colleague Robin Valentine pointed out yesterday, the CG trailer unveiled at the Xbox show had a serious hero-shooter vibe, a "Hello, fellow kids" type of dialogue that had nothing to do with Thedas' dry, dark humor.

I was worried, too, and spent the night consoling myself with thoughts of Dragon Age's Sacred Ashes trailer: both DragonAge:Origins' Sacred Ashes trailer and DragonAge2 Destiny's trailer looked nothing like the actual looked nothing like the game. The Vale Guard trailer said "game engine footage," but I'm not sure how much we can trust that.

Anyway, The Veilguard's new 24-second video is definitely in-game footage:

"Rook and Varric arrive in the stunning and seedy city of Minrathous. Little do they know what dangers await them," BioWare said in an accompanying post.

Now, this is a somewhat compressed video posted on X at 720p max, so we don't know if the entire world looks as shellac-covered as Scout Harding's face at that reveal. Neither Varick nor the main character Rook's face is shown, but this looks like it could be called a Dragon Age game.

Dark. Dark. And even if it doesn't have the grimness and ruggedness we're used to, we already knew that the cultural center of Minrath was much more advanced than the backwater of Ferelden, where the series began.

I'll probably continue this scene tomorrow, but for now, Varick and Rook have decided to pursue one of their gaming companions, Neve Gallus, and help him track down Solas, the supposed Vale Guard villain who has lost his name rights because his Dreadwolf title has been superseded We can hear that.

It is interesting to walk through the quest with Varick in this first peak. From yesterday's companion reveal, we had assumed he would not be a full party member again. However, he has not been relegated to the hub area like his advisor in Dragon Age: Inquisition. He still has to get out. For God's sake, let him rest his feet for once, damn it.

I don't think this gameplay peak will completely allay my fears that Dragon Age has lost its identity, as did PC Gamer magazine editor Rob Jones. But it is at least a nod in the right direction.

The gameplay reveal is scheduled to continue tomorrow, June 11, at 8:00 am PST / 11:00 am EST. We'll reserve full judgment until then, but we feel a little less alarmed than we did this weekend.