HomeFeaturesDragon’s Dogma 2
What is my crime?! Enjoying a succulent day night cycle?!
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Capcom
This isn’t one of those irritating tailing missions from, say, Ass Creed either. Dragon’s Dogma 2 appears to feature a very rudimentary detection system for places you’re not supposed to be, but Alfred didn’t mind at all as I spent the next, oh, say, 45 minutes waiting for him to stop busking and trundle off to his next location, which happened to be the pub. He enthusiastically greeted his missus, sat down, and drank until sundown. All this waiting may sound incredibly boring on the surface, but it gave me ample opportunity to watch dozens of NPCs go about their day, each animation and line melding together to what I can confidently say is admirable impression of a fever dream medieval city.
Here are a few things I picked up. Firstly, the water feature in the center of Vernworth is actually a guy cutting off a big lizard’s head, with the water spouting from the recently bereaved neck hole. I’m sure most of you picked up on this immediately but I’m usually sprinting around town trying to climb on things, so the Alfred-watching gave me a lovely chance to catch my breath and take in the sights. Secondly, Vernworth’s citizens have a peculiar habit of announcing to the world that they’re pissing off for an early supper in the middle of the day, which I support wholeheartedly. Thirdly, there’s a bloke at the pub that alternates between lecturing anyone who’ll listen on proper nutrition and shouting “it seems naught can end our desire for oblivion!”, which, coincidentally, is also what I say when buying shots. He is my new favourite NPC and I will probably stalk him later.
I will not spoil the origin of Alfred’s mysterious wealth, not least because the satisfaction I got from the actual quest resolution is secondary to how much I enjoyed just observing how much effort and detail went into the hundreds of entirely unhuman but massively charming people in DD2 . Arguably, they’re quite a minor part of the game, too, at least in terms of how you explicitly interact with most of them. I will certainly feel at least a tinge of guilt the next time I accidentally swing my greatsword through several of them the next time a minotaur decides to pop into the city.
