Dragon’s Dogma 2 Director Says Affinity is “Almost the Entire Reason” Why it’s Open World

We know that Dragon’s Dogma 2 has a much larger world than initially claimed, “more interesting and engaging Vocations” over the first game and up to three simultaneous bosses on-screen. With all the details about Pawn Specializations, the Dragonsplague and Vocation Maisters, one has to ask: What about Affinity?

Affinity in the first Dragon’s Dogma measures a character’s relationship with the Arisen. It can be raised with gifts, completing specific quests, and even talking to them. Of course, it can also drop if you do things the other person dislikes. Speaking to Automaton-Media, director Hideaki Itsuno confirmed there will be “a lot of it” and it’s “even more pronounced.”

“It’s almost the entire reason why we made the game open-world. There will be many events that occur/don’t occur depending on Affinity, and relationships between NPCs will also be important. For example, if you raise your Affinity with the parent of a child, your Affinity with the child will increase as well.

“On the other hand, NPCs can also fall out with each other. We’ve ‘powered up’ the Affinity feature a lot…and sneaked in a lot of things,” he concluded with a laugh.

Given how role-playing games like Baldur’s Gate 3 are pushing the limits of reactivity with their systems, it should be interesting to see just how profound the impact of Affinity can be. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is out on March 22nd for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, so we won’t have to wait too long to find out. Stay tuned for more details, and check out the free Character Creator.