Split the Veil 104: Well, It's Not Good...
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss the most recent layoffs that have taken place at BioWare and talk through what it means for BioWare and the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises.

In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss the most recent layoffs that have taken place at BioWare and talk through what it means for BioWare and the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises.
This episode dives into a detailed comparison of Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Origins, examining aspects from companion writing and combat to overall game tone and the impact of nostalgia. The hosts also discuss recent Bioware news, including the departure of Veilguard's director and the implications for potential DLC. Furthermore, they explore broader trends in the gaming industry, such as the debate between larger, more expensive AAA titles and the appeal of smaller, bite-sized experiences.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan finally get to talk about Dragon Age: The Veilguard in its entirety. We dive into the main story, Solas, companion quests, romance, the lore, the gameplay, the armors, the music, the art, the reviews, the community, and everything else we can think of. Spoilers abound. Also: maybe some Titanic.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss Caitie's hands-on time with the game. We go in-depth on character creator, discuss overall impressions on the game, talk about companions including Caitie's early front runner for favorite companion, flirt options, class abilities, some mostly non-spoiler-y story bits, combat and gameplay, The Lighthouse details, facial animations, overall story impressions, and more! Also: EA's catering.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss the latest trailer for Veilguard, talk about the release date, discuss pre-order bonuses and special editions of the game, as well as the upcoming roadmap for pre-release information. Also: we've been at it for 100 episodes. Also: also: the Titanic is sort of back.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan dive deep into the details about Veilguard that have been revealed in the Game Informer cover article, including character creator, the player home base, gameplay thoughts, discussion about difficulty, and some discussion about what happens early in the game after the gameplay demo section. Also: Dragon Age Inquisition discussion because comparisons.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss their thoughts on the Veilguard gameplay. We talk about the combat, the dialogue wheel, custom character creator, and lots of other details that have been unveiled. Also: we give "photo mode dev" his flowers.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan dive into the latest trailer for Dragon Age: The Veilguard (formerly Dragon Age: Dreadwolf). We also discuss the name change, revealed companions, expectations for the game, and briefly divert into some DA vs. Baldur's Gate 3 discussion.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan return to where they began, revisiting some old wishlist items for "Dragon Age 4" and updating their list of wants for Dragon Age Dreadwolf.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss the latest Dragon Age: Dreadwolf teaser trailer released on Dragon Age Day in December. Also there's quite a bit of talk about how well we think Dreadwolf will end up doing once it's released, and... more BG3. Also: spiders.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan lament the departure of the BioWare employees laid off in August and discuss what it means for the studio. Also: N7 Day teaser and what it means for Mass Effect fans. Also: also: maybe something about the voyages of the "Titanic."
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss the newly released Baldur's Gate 3! We talk character creation, companions, choice and consequence, and everything else to love about this RPG. Also: Dragon Age comparisons.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss the Summer lineup of gaming showcases, give their thoughts on Dragon Age: The Missing comics, and discuss Star Wars: The Old Republic moving on from BioWare Austin developers.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan come back for another "half episode" to discuss the return of Mark Darrah to BioWare! Long time Dragon Age Executive Producer is returning as a Consultant on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. We talk about what that means for the game, for BioWare, and for Darrah. Also: the ghost of Jordan's mic.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan return from a long winter slumber to talk about the latest BioWare blog outlining some design concepts around character progression and leveling up in Dragon Age Dreadwolf. Also: some stuff about Texas and counting.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss the cinematic teaser for Dreadwolf released on Dragon Age Day - AND Dragon Age: Absolution on Netflix. We talk about our impressions of the show, what we thought of the new characters, the cast of actors, and the ending. Also: Geralt and his tendencies around sorceresses in the Witcher.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss Dragon Age: Dreadwolf hitting a major development milestone - making it to alpha stage. Now that the devs have gotten a start-to-finish draft of the game in place, we discuss what's next for Dreadwolf, and how long its main quest might be. We also talk about the end-of-life for mobile game Heroes of Dragon Age. Also: Dragon Age: Absolution, N7 Day, and (very briefly) what it's like to be a musician on the Titanic.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss some new codex entries related to Dragon Age: Dreadwolf - fancy Nevarran tombs, dragon diets, and... other things. Also: old emojis.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan talk about magic and technology in the Dragon Age series so far, what we'd like to see in the future, and what we think may not work so well for future games. Also: Amazon and EA.
In this episode Caitie and Jordan discuss the latest addition to the BioWare writing team - Mary DeMarle. We talk about DeMarle's writing experience on Guardians of the Galaxy, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and what her experience could add to the Mass Effect franchise. Also: a cartoon dog named Bluey.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss the announcement and trailer for Dragon Age: Absolution, the new Netflix Dragon Age animated show. We talk about Netflix and their existing catalog of animated shows, what we expect to see in Absolution, and why expectations for Netflix shows in general can be a tricky thing. Also: we talk about Starfield, Marvel/Star Wars fandoms, and other random things people like to chat about these days.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan react to the reveal of the title for the fourth Dragon Age game - "Dreadwolf". We talk about the implications of the focus on Solas, some of the lore around Fen'Harel, and the color purple. Also: we read the dictionary. NOTE: Audio for this episode is not up to our usual standards due to an issue with our recording platform. Apologies, we'll get fixed it for next time.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan review Mass Effect 3 - we talk about why Kai Leng is awful, why Garrus is great, Tali romance, some of our favorite story moments, gameplay improvements, DLC and more. Also: what happens when a fish slaps a zebra.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss Christian Dailey, former Dragon Age 4 Executive Producer, leaving BioWare. We also discuss the report from Jeff Grubb saying that DA4 is on schedule and doing well, as well as the recent interview with former BioWare dev Mark Darrah. Also: we talk about The Batman.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss Mass Effect 2, get Caitie's reaction from beating the game for the first time in 8 years, talk story, characters, gameplay, and more in order to rate Mass Effect 2 against other games in the series. Also, we talk about Aloy from Horizon and FemShep aesthetics. Also, also: bonus Death Stranding conversation at the end.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss a grab bag of topics including the recent Dragon Age 4 time jump, the Mass Effect "next" teaser trailer that went missing for a second, and the Game Awards. Also: what's the name of our show?
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan review the story, characters, gameplay and overall execution of Dragon Age 2 and all its DLC. Also: we discuss nerd culture and some Mass Effect modding.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss fan perception of and reaction to games development transparency; we contrast different development and release strategies from past BioWare games as well as different kinds of early access games like Divinity Original Sin 2, Baldur's Gate 3, and Star Citizen. Also: what it's like to paint miniatures.
In this episode, Caitie and Jordan discuss the core elements of Dragon Age and "what makes a game Dragon Age game?" We discuss the themes, aesthetics, gameplay mechanics, and use of lore that seem to define a Dragon Age game. We also discuss what it might mean to see another studio make a DA game. Also: we hate on Twitter some more.
In this episode Caitie and Jordan review Mass Effect 1; we cover ME1 in a 1 out of 7 review format and discuss our favorite and least favorite aspects of everything Mass Effect. Also: a little bit of KotOR remake talk.