Dragon’s Dogma 2 Review

thesixthaxis.com:

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is finally here after a full 12 years after the release of the first game. We’re now two console generations on from the original’s release, Skyrim has been re-released roughly 27 times, and the media landscape is even more about IP hoarding and franchises. So, it’s quite novel to boot Dragon’s Dogma 2 up and find that the title screen doesn’t seem all that interested in telling you that this is a sequel. It makes a bit of sense, when awaits you as you set foot into this expansive open world is clearly so much more than just a straight successor to what went before.

I genuinely can’t stay enough good things about the world of Dragon’s Dogma 2. It’s not only absolutely beautiful to behold, but also so full of secrets, caves, encounters, and stories that only you will get to tell, that it’s almost wild that there’s a story at all. To pick out one example – a very mild spoiler, so skip to the next paragraph if that concerns you – I was right in the middle of a fight against a cyclops when it very rudely destroyed the bridge I was about to cross. With no other way to get across, I tried to take out my frustration with it by pushing it into the void. What actually happened was that it tripped, fell, and grabbed onto the other side of the gorge, resulting in a bridge made entirely from cyclops to cross over. Incredibly cool in just about every respect.

The world is filled with touches like this, both big and small, and it seeps into the quest design as well. NPCs will run up to you with their problems asking you to help out, and while some are petty and can be ignored until you feel like it, others have a time limit of sorts, because someone is in danger. That’s how things should be, because time is real, and going off to spend three hours cooking spicy fish dishes when someone’s life is in danger is just bad manners – we’re looking at you, Link. Quests will often give you information about what you need to do, and a rough area you need to be in, and then