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Fact check: Between reviews for Dragon Age The Vielguard and Assassin's Creed: Shadows, journalists seem intent on turning the phrase "Return to form" into a meme.
1. Summary of the results
The observation about journalists frequently using "return to form" is well-documented across multiple reviews. For Dragon Age: The Veilguard, several major outlets explicitly used the phrase, describing it as "a return to form for this once-lauded RPG studio" [1] and "a true return to RPG form for BioWare" [2]. Similarly, Assassin's Creed: Shadows received comparable treatment, with reviewers calling it a "strong return to form" [3] and "Ubisoft's best game in nearly a decade" [4].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
The original statement overlooks important nuances in these reviews:
- For Dragon Age, while some reviewers praised it as a return to form, others suggested it's more of a "complex reimagining" that "doesn't quite hit that mark" of a traditional RPG [5]
- The game might have actually "fared better without the Dragon Age title" [5], suggesting it's more of an evolution than a return
- For Assassin's Creed, the praise is more consistent, with multiple reviewers specifically noting its "return to stealth roots" [3]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The statement's cynical tone about journalists "turning the phrase into a meme" might be oversimplifying a more complex situation:
- For BioWare, the phrase is being used in context of their specific struggles with games like Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem [1]
- For Ubisoft, it represents their first highly-rated game "in nearly a decade" [4], making the phrase more meaningful
- The use of "return to form" appears to be more nuanced than suggested, with some reviews providing detailed explanations of how these games both embrace and deviate from their franchises' traditions [6]
Game publishers (BioWare/EA and Ubisoft) benefit from this "return to form" narrative as it helps rebuild trust with fans after previous disappointments, while gaming media benefits from using familiar, SEO-friendly phrases that resonate with readers' expectations.