Although I’ve not played the original Dragon’s Dogma, the sequel feels like a polished reflection of the original in the best way possible. While at times Dragon’s Dogma 2 feels out of date with mechanics that look like they were pulled from decade-old games, they present as charming and it adds to the quirky personality of this fantasy RPG.
Rise, Arisen
As soon as you jump into Dragon’s Dogma 2, you’re met with an intricate character creator that allows you to poke and prod at every single detail of your Arisen and Pawn. Sure, you can create a monstrosity, but you can also go the opposite direction and make compelling and grounded characters. As someone who loves spending time in character creation, this was something I enjoyed doing at the start of my game.
Then once you’re dropped into this world, the story is a little convoluted at first, and you’re not quite sure who you are or how you even got to where you are. It didn’t take long for me to settle into this narrative of an Arisen who has lost their memory but is supposed to figure out how to unravel the secrets of a false Sovren.
While at first, I wasn’t jelling well with the main narrative, the slow unraveling of the main characters you meet and get to know really worked well with me. It started to almost feel like a huge Dungeons and Dragons campaign that you and other players (in this case your Pawns) are experiencing together through side quests with difficult choices that lead to even deeper side quests.
A changing and living world
This is a living and breathing world that, as I said, feels like a nerd’s D&D world come to life. As someone who loves D&D, I couldn’t help but feel like I was going on a true adventure and meeting NPCs who were integral to the world and its stories. NPCs in Dragon’s Dogma 2 all have names, likes, and dislikes. As you revisit cities and get accustomed to visiting them, you also start recognizing NPCs you’ve met.
Capcom did a wonderful job at making you feel like you should care for these NPCs, especially since there’s romance. I started one side quest that seemed like it would end after I made one choice, but an hour later I found the same NPC in a different situation, like I had caused a butterfly effect. I then got to know this NPC more, who just so happened to play a bigger part in the main narrative, unknown to me at the time.
Even outside of the towns you feel like there are mysteries to be solved through villages, caves, and deserted castles alike. Although there wasn’t as much environmental storytelling as I’d like in these areas without NPCs to chat with, I was still excited to check out a fork in the path or a house with a locked door and no other entrance.
An old identity
I know that many players will drop off of Dragon’s Dogma 2 due to how old fashioned the gameplay can feel at times. There’s no fast travel, but you can use Ferrystones to teleport from one town to the next at a cost of gold. There’s also the oxcart for quick and cheap travel, but you’ll often be stopped by monsters on the way. And then there are the timed side quests coupled with no save files.
By no save files I just mean that the game autosaves constantly and you can save at any time, but the only save you can reload is your last autosave or save, as well as the last time you slept at an inn. There’s no chance of you making multiple save files, so if you make a mistake on a quest, you’re stuck with that outcome.
Although many of the gameplay mechanics in Dragon’s Dogma 2 feel like they were ripped out of an old PS3 or Xbox 360 game, working around it and finding the charm in it wasn’t so hard. It proves just how much your choices matter, and you don’t even have too many side quests that are timed. You’re only in a rush when an NPC is in danger.
I’d also like to briefly mention combat since there’s only one aspect of combat that irks me. Overall, I love the combat system, and my Sorcerer feels extremely powerful with her arsenal of spells. But even though there’s a soft lock-on ability, it’s not easy to switch where you’re aiming. If I’m trying to aim for the head of a Cyclops, even when I’m looking at the head it won’t work, and I have to awkwardly aim for the sky for the game to aim at the head. I wish it was a little more manual for ranged-attack Vocations.
Hands-off approach
The one thing that I just couldn’t wrap my head around sometimes was how hands-off this game is with quests. Sure, I like being able to solve a puzzle or quest myself without having an NPC give me all the answers. But sometimes this game will purposefully make quests so vague that you’re left feeling like you missed key information or you’re doing something wrong.
One quest had me find a boy who went missing since he was last seen being taken by a pack of wolves. I had to ask around town, and they led me to a spot, but I couldn’t find this boy anywhere. This was timed, and I searched far and wide without knowing where to look.
As soon as I realized where I was supposed to go for this quest it was too late, and I failed to save the kid. This can be quite frustrating, and most of the quests are like this. I do appreciate it when games don’t hold my hand like I’m a child, but sometimes Dragon’s Dogma 2 took this to a whole other level.
Sometimes beautiful, sometimes slow
When it comes to the graphics, Dragon’s Dogma 2 looks amazing. As a PC player, I had to mess with the settings a bit to get the preferred graphics, and it often looked great. The graphics only sometimes looked grainy in certain situations. For example, I’d be near the water, and for some reason, the lightning on my character looked incredibly grainy and my Arisen had a weird outline.
Other than small graphic issues, it’s an incredibly beautiful game. Leaving a big city to look into the horizon is spectacular, as you can see the mountains in the distance with a large Griffon flying above the peaks. Then you get to combat, where you have a larger-than-life enemy in front of you, while your Arisen and your three Pawns are performing attacks and casting spells.
In these moments, the game doesn’t stutter too much, and in fact, combat runs pretty smoothly. I had only one moment in combat where my game crashed, and the only issue I have with framerate is in towns. Many players won’t enjoy the fact that Dragon’s Dogma 2 sticks to around 30 fps at all times, and it’s quite noticeable in busy areas.
Fantasy at its finest
Overall, Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma 2 was a blast to play and is still incredibly enjoyable to play as I’m making my way through till the very end. Every time I jump back into the game I get so incredibly sucked into the combat, side quests, and exploration that the negatives seem to disappear from my mind. It’s certainly not a perfect game, and at times will feel old-fashioned in its design. But I’ve learned to appreciate the identity Dragon’s Dogma 2 has made for itself.
8.5
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is an incredible fantasy RPG that immerses you into a living and breathing world full of memorable NPCs and terrifying monsters. It often starts to feel old-fashioned in its gameplay design, but you can find the charm in it after many hours of gameplay.
