Return Of The King
HIGH Pranking monsters in hilariously lethal ways as the Trickster.
LOW Dropping below 30fps is borderline unacceptable at this point.
WTF Dragonsplague. Holy yikes.
The interesting thing about Dragon’s Dogma 2 is just how much like the original Dragon’s Dogma it is.
When crafting a follow-up to a cult classic like that one, there’s always the chance (and indeed, the fear) that a sequel will shed the things that made it unique in order to appeal to a wider audience. Hiring Hollywood screenwriters, shoehorning in online co-op, trying to tap into current political and pop culture climates… there are many ways for a unique identity to be lost along the way.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 makes none of these audience-grasping errors.
Instead of turning an eye towards whatever’s seen as the zeitgeist, DD2 basically ignores everything on the market and doubles down — hard — on what made its predecessor such a singular, endearing experience. Those who connected with it before can look forward to more faux-medieval fare such as a script full of aughts and naughts, an open and uncompromising world to get absorbed in, huge beasts to battle, astoundingly unpredictable encounters while traveling on the roads, and more. It’s the original Dragon’s Dogma spirit cranked up to eleven, and it’s excellent to see Capcom’s unbridled confidence in their previous work present in this sequel.
The story is boilerplate, but serviceable. In this third-person open world RPG adventure, the player takes on the role of the Arisen — a person who’s had the bad luck of fighting a Dragon and subsequently had their heart ripped out of their chest. This event marks them as a chosen warrior who can control supporting party members known as Pawns, and who will confront the Dragon once more to determine the fate of the world… only some other bastard’s sitting on the throne pretending to be the Arisen, while the real one’s stuck in a slave pit breaking rocks. Time to choose which kind of warrior they are and set things to rights!
It’s a classic setup, but an effective one. Players begin with little but the clothes on their back before setting out to reclaim their throne amidst a tale of skulduggery and opportunists, smacking down ferocious monsters along the way and having a rollicking good time finding treasure in secluded cul de sacs, clambering up massive mythical beasts to prise their eyeballs out, and getting yeeted off mountainsides by rampaging ogres. Living in this world with its breathtaking mountain ranges and dusty deserts is a treat for the senses, even when being knocked senseless by whatever nasties are trying to chow down on them.
This new world in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is well-suited to presenting the core theme of going on epic journeys. It’s approximately four times larger than the first’s land of Gransys, with gorgeous sprawling vistas, new weather mechanics and varied biomes to travel through.
The excellently-realized day/night cycle returns, meaning that a relatively safe jaunt into the wilderness can turn harrowing once the light dims and the undead start bursting out of the ground. While things are far from safe during daylight given the bandits and creatures, it’s always wise to pack for nightfall — but avoid it if possible. And if not avoidable, for God’s sake bring an adequately-fueled lantern. Attempting to survive a minotaur attack in pitch blackness with only a sputtering flame to see by is quite an experience.
The stakes of traveling are increased by the player now taking semi-permanent damage from bumps and scrapes along the way, which can only be recovered by resting at an inn or campsites in the wild. As someone who routinely takes on multiple tasks at once, I found it common to wind up staggering to safety with about ten percent of maximum life left while carrying an entire wagon’s worth of loot and upgrades. Just remember to keep a tent at hand if sleeping in the wild is likely and things will be fine. Survival in Dragon’s Dogma is stripped to its absolute basics, so metrics such as hunger and thirst aren’t going to intrude on the journey. A tent and a lantern is all anyone needs to become fighting fit once more.
Complementing this world full of peril and beauty, the options for choosing a class are just as developed. Fighters are well balanced, Mages are good at both healing allies and zapping foes, and Archers excel at making things dead from a distance. Sneaky players can zip around as a Thief, tripping enemies up and stabbing them as they writhe on the ground. Warriors smash massive weapons around and Sorcerers can blanket the field of battle with spells that blow enemies into the stratosphere.
So far, so familiar. However, there are also new vocations to unlock and play around with, including the Mystic Archer which does a fine job of inflicting status effects and tracking airborne enemies, the Warfarer which can swap between classes at will, and my favorite new addition, the Trickster. Initially seeming borderline useless due to its lack of direct damage, its strengths lie in buffing the party’s Pawns and redirecting enemy attacks towards summoned shadows. Bonus points if said shadow is placed over a cliff with an illusory floor underneath it, but the pawn buff alone is more than enough to decimate most opponents.
Of course, the online Pawn system from the previous game — one of its most notable features — returns. Each player creates a custom Pawn to keep them company in their world. It’s basically a supporting NPC who acts as their closest companion, yet they will also be available to other real players who may choose to recruit them for their own party. An Arisen can recruit up to two other Pawns besides their own, and these additions offer the accrued knowledge of tasks, locations and enemies they’ve absorbed from their owner’s campaigns. They’ll offer to help lead the player around the map toward objectives, or offer up pertinent information as they see fit.
Not sure where to go in a quest? They’ll run out in front, start waving like they’re hailing a taxi, then lead players to the destination. Did they find a treasure chest in another player’s world? They’ll mention it, then ask if their own Arisen fancies cracking it open. It’s a shared, interconnected discovery system where pawns grow and learn any time they’re off cavorting with someone else.
While this adventure is marvelous, at the moment there is one absolute letdown that can’t be overlooked. In a world where players are used to smooth 60fps framerates on console being the norm rather than the exception, it’s an eye opener to witness the depths Dragon’s Dogma 2’s performance can plumb to when pushed.
I initially thought this would be a dealbreaker for me, with first impressions being very, very skewed by borderline unacceptable performance for an action-adventure title in 2024. However, Dragon’s Dogma 2‘s brilliance in so many other key areas won me over completely long before the credits had rolled. It’s a game that’s far greater than the sum of its individual parts, coalescing into something very special indeed.
Out in the open world it’s normally a fairly solid 30fps. Head into a busy town and it noticeably dips below that with uneven, juddering movement. Get attacked by fifteen monsters at once (two of which are often the size of a small house) and it can go lower, affecting the controls. Grappling onto monsters to stab them in the face or timing a charged up swing can become fairly chonky during these moments (it’s a scientific term) and in a realtime game like this, the sudden lack of precision can be an issue.
At the time of this writing, Capcom had already started work on fixing the performance issues detailed here. In the meantime, turning off the (previously mandatory) raytracing option massively boosts performance, but the devs were clear in saying that overall performance fixes are on their radar.
While the framerate is my biggest issue, there are various other chinks in the armor that could be pointed out — things like Pawns and NPCs occasionally suffering pathfinding issues, Pawn dialogue being strange and stilted, a single save slot might not be enough for some players, quests can be ticking down on hidden timers, some have strange completion conditions for a good outcome, and more. The developers are also, maybe, just a little too content to have players retread certain stretches of ground they’ve already covered many times before, and there are still bloody stealth and escort quests present.
However, every sin here is insignificant when compared to the overall experience of finding the Arisen and their party of Pawns trapped inside a mine with a rampaging Gorechimera trying to rip out their eyeballs after an arduous expedition to reclaim some old books, or having a Griffin spot the oxcart I was hitching a ride on and viewing it as a tasty snack from above. I often found myself playing all night during the review period, with ‘just one more quest’ frequently becoming ‘wait, what time is it?’ instead.
When all’s said and done, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is an outstanding refinement and expansion of every good thing the original — now an undisputed cult classic — brought us, and this sequel is more than welcome, especially since its formula still manages to stand alone when it comes to RPGs.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Capcom. It is currently available on XBX/S/PS5 and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the XBX. Approximately 105 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed with all achievements earned. There are no multiplayer modes, though there are online elements.
Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes and Violence. The official description reads: “This is an action role-playing game in which players assume the role of a former prisoner trying to recall their past and save the world from an evil dragon. From a third-person perspective, players explore open-world environments while completing quests and battling various enemies. Players use swords, spears, arrows, and magic spells to kill human and monsters in frenetic combat. Battles are highlighted by cries of pain and frequent blood-splatter effects. A handful of cutscenes depict gore: a monster decapitated in slow-motion (the head can be carried/used as a weapon); a dragon pulling out a human character’s heart. Players’ character can interact with sex workers, exchanging currency for services; a brief sequence depicts the player sitting on a bed with a prostitute (both wearing underwear), before the camera fades to black. One cutscene briefly depicts characters kissing and rolling around in bed (no nudity). Two monsters are shown with bare breasts, though with no discernible details (i.e., no nipples). The word “sh*t” appears in the game.“
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered and/or resized, though the background opacity for them can be changed. Most of the game is playable without sound, but there are hidden Seeker Tokens littered around the game world that are incredibly hard to find. One vocation has an augment which plays a chiming sound when these are in the vicinity and without the ability to hear this it would be significantly more difficult to hunt them down, as there is no accompanying visual cue. This game is therefore not fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.
The chance discovery of a muddy, burnt out copy of '50 Shades of Grey' in a hunting pit gave him an appreciation for complex plots, characters and overarching narrative, and the unexpected gift of a Spectrum 48k allowed him to indulge in these newfound sensibilities with intelligent, highbrow games such as 'flee from the badly animated spinning turquoise dolphins' or 'avoid the deadly glowing bricks of doom'.
The fusion of both these interests finally culminated with Darren teaching himself how to write by basically guessing at what words might look like when jotted down on paper as opposed to being howled inarticulately at the skies.
Now others occasionally get to read his scribblings. Lucky them.
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