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Dragon’s Dogma 2 review: an action RPG anecdote generatorIt’s like the first one, but better
It’s like the first one, but better
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom
You know when you remember a game really fondly and instead of ageing alongside you, it becomes more modern in memory? TheDragon’s Dogma 2experience is, essentially, how I remember its predecessorDragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen. To me, DD2 feels like a remaster of the first, except it looks nicer, is more expansive, and features some rejigs to things like your AI pals.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom
All in all, I’m into the wider geopolitics of the fake Arisen plot, especially as you’ll encounter different factions like the Elves and the Beastren who all hold differing beliefs on what the Arisen’s awakening means for the world; the TLDR is that they aren’t all fans of your appearance. While I wouldn’t say the story grants you deep connections with characters, or that conversations hold the same weight as peak Game Of Thrones wine sips, I do think it does enough to keep you motoring forwards with a raised eyebrow.
I experienced quite a lot of frame drop in the busiest of cities and a quest bugged out on me early on. I also attempted DD2 on the Steam Deck with all settings on Low, but it turned out to be totally unplayable. I’m not fussed about the frame drops or the quest bug, as I’m sure they’ll be fixed quickly, but I’m a bit sad about its state on the Deck. Here’s hoping it gets verified one day, maybe? |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom
And when it really comes down to it, dogma of the dragons or not, the story’s key players set you on a journey thatgenuinelyfeels like an adventure. DD2 eschews the convenience of anytime, anywhere fast travel for a system that’s reliant on you setting up your own makeshift network with Port Crystals and valuable Ferrystones. You can’t hammer along without a care in the world, oh no. Prolonged time on the road will slowly eat away at your maximum health, and nightfall means barely being able to see ahead of you. So, you need to make camp at regular intervals. Travel while the sun’s out. Keep your lantern oil topped up. Survey the landscape. Know when to run from a big ogre that’s just come bursting out of a forest with a literal tree in its fist.
Those light survival elements aren’t ever a faff, though, they’re more like manageable things you’ve got to be aware of before you depart. And they lend travel what I reckon is DD2’s greatest strength: a sense of responsibility. Whether you’re exploring grassy plains or, later, Battahl’s dusty crags, it captures the sense of being on a calculated foray into the unknown, where you’re running on the supplies in your packs and the confidence you’ll find somewhere to pitch up afterwards.
Again, what’s neat about these quests isn’t so much the task at hand, but how you’re able to reach their conclusions in interesting ways. If you take too long to find a missing lad and it might result in him succumbing to illness - but if you’ve got a Wakestone you might be able to revive him there and then! Or if not, you could visit the local morgue later and try again. And when you sneak into the masquerade, you might need a suitably fancy outfit to dupe the guards. You could visit a local shop, but fancy clobber might set you back thousands of gold you don’t have. But maybe those fancy looking houses might have the goods inside them…
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom
There are player-made pawns and Capcom-made pawns, and you’ll find them roaming around as you explore if you can’t find a Rift to get to. Hop into a Rift and you can browse loads of player-created pawns, monthly leaderboards, and even set quests so when another person who’s recruited your pawn completes it, you’ll receive a bunch of pawn points (to spend on things like hiring pawns a higher level than you), and they’ll get rewarded in turn. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom
As you level up, you’ll regularly recruit up to two pawns, swapping them out as you outgrow them. What’s neat is the ability to send them back into the Rift with a parting gift for their owner, alongside a rating that’ll determine their place in a global leaderboard. I sent one back with some rotten meat once and I still feel bad about it.
Pawns can get a bit confused sometimes, but for the most part they’re programmed with just the right amount of intelligence, and are easy to command with button presses like “Go!” and “To me!”. On top of the strategic element of choosing a combination of pawns with vocations (classes) that suit your setup, their behaviours often delight. They can catch you if you’ve fallen from a great height, high-five after a battle, or lead you to a treasure they’d discovered previously while out exploring with their actual creator. There really isn’t anything else quite like it, and I cherish my pawn Bronco, with his friar tuck haircut and World Of Warcraft default human energy.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom
When Dragon’s Dogma 2 truly shines is when the hefty combat, your pawn pals, and your current travel plans all collide. Or rather, in my case, a griffin who I’d fought roughly an hour earlier splintered the Oxcart I was riding into pieces, and then we tussled until the sun set, totally throwing off my camping plans. Or that time when I wandered past some graves as night fell, only for a skeletal mage to erupt from the earth, rain down electric orbs, and throw my evening’s stroll into disarray. Somehow I found a way to survive.
“Finding a way” sums up Dragon’s Dogma 2 pretty nicely, I think. The game’s an anecdote generator, where all of its AI and combat and day-night-cycle systems coalesce into bouts of chaos that’ll test your improvisation skills but never your patience. And while it retains some of the original game’s aged quest design and open world repetition, they simply aren’t a problem at all, because the act of discovery is just so, so involved.
P.S. Bronco would love to go on adventures with you all. He’s very sweet and good at killing! Great at killing!
