Ten Years Before Elden Ring, There Was Dragon’s Dogma
Epic boss fights, mind-bending magic, a plot that doesn’t hold your hand, and a world that encourages exploration. I’m not talking about Elden Ring, but a game that came out ten years ago today - Dragon’s Dogma. It’s a JRPG in the style of a Western RPG and it fucking rules. If you’ve recently finished Elden Ring, instead of starting it again, give this gem a go.
In the opening moments of Dragon’s Dogma, a dragon rips your heart from your chest and eats it. Instead of dying though, you become an Arisen, someone chosen to challenge the dragon and reclaim your humanity. Now that’s metal. It’s a better dragon game than Skyrim, the dragons here are actually dangerous. Did Paarthurnax ever rip someone’s heart out? I don’t think so. Alduin the world eater? More like shite eater. The dragon here taunts you with your own heart by having it glow in its chest. Now that’s a dragon.
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As well as the epic quest, there’s political intrigue, romance, plenty of interesting side missions, forest witches, and everything else you’d expect in a Western fantasy setting. Where it all gets a little bit FromSoftware is in the quest design. Unless you’re following a guide you will absolutely miss stuff in your first playthrough. For someone like me who likes to try and complete everything a game has to offer, this is a pain. However, it also makes the world feel more alive - it doesn’t simply wait for you, shit happens.
The Soulsborne nature of the game goes even deeper thanks to its utterly fantastic boss design. Fight Chimera, Trolls, Griffins, huge Hydra; all sorts of mythical monstrosities are just waiting to be bested. It’s got elements of Shadow of the
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