Dragon’s Dogma 2 Preview – Beautiful, fascinating, and a touch archaic
thesixthaxis.comDragon’s Dogma 2 is one of the prettiest games I think I’ve played. It is an astoundingly good-looking game and one where every step I took through the massive part of the open world I had access to was flawless. Flowing rivers, eerily still lakes, amazing forests, a horrible desert area that killed me off a frustrating number of times, and towns that hustle and bustle with the best of them.
As a fan of the original game and someone that’s gone back to Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen in nearly every form, it’s hard. It’s hard for me to describe how excited I am for this game, but I’m also very aware of the flaws that the original had, as well as how far RPG design has come since its release 13 years ago. Dragon’s Dogma 2 does hold onto some of these aspects, too, so what you get, as far as I can tell with my time during the preview, is a game that’s both incredibly modern and surprisingly old-school.
The old-school elements are in things like there being single instance quests and chances, and there being no “convenient” fast travel system. It’s a deliberate design choice that goes hand in hand with things like your health depleting over time until you rest or that your carry load is a constant worry. It’s odd to step back in time with these things, but it’s not bad, it’s just different. It’s different in a way that might be hard for some to deal with, but provides a refreshing tone when compared to the norm.
From the more modern approach, you’ve got the world itself, the combat, and the creatures as well. Everything feels alive, with you stumbling across things like a dragon fighting off a cyclops and just dunking on it, or a group of wolves fighting travellers randomly. It feels a lot more immersive, and that might be why there’s no co-op here, even if I still think it would be an overall improvement to the formula. You’re not alone though, as there are still Pawns that can accompany you and fill out your tactical options. It’s an easy-to-use system, and I like it well
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