Do I Need To Play The First Dragon's Dogma Before DD2?

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With Dragon's Dogma 2 now officially in the works, newcomers to the franchise might be wondering if it will be necessary to have played the original before its sequel, which may very well be the case. For the conclusion of the Dragon's Dogma 10th anniversary stream, franchise director Hideaki Itsuno revealed that Dragon's Dogma 2 is in development. Since it has been 10 years since the original game's release, many modern players are likely to have missed the era in which Dragon's Dogma was popular, and they will likely be at a disadvantage when it comes to fully understanding Dragon's Dogma 2.

The original Dragon's Dogma has become a cult classic in the years since its release, with its popularity even leading to the creation of a Dragon's Dogma anime series on Netflix. The game featured several iconic mechanic systems that, when combined, created a truly innovative RPG experience. Now, after 10 years, fan hopes for a new evolution of those innovations have at long last been rewarded.

Related: Dragon's Dogma 2 Is Officially In Development, Will Use RE Engine

Dragon's Dogma 2 will likely be a sequel set in the same universe as the original, so playing Dragon's Dogma before its sequel will almost certainly reduce new players' confusion and make the game more enjoyable. Since Dragon's Dogma is a fantasy RPG with a vast world, there is a significant amount of worldbuilding and lore development done throughout Dragon's Dogma, which might not be fully explained in the sequel. For example, in the original game, characters that faced previous iterations of the protagonist's struggle played a large role in the narrative, so it's possible that characters from Dragon's Dogma will appear in Dragon's Dogma 2 in a similar capacity.