Dragon's Dogma 2 is a "seamless fantasy world" that speaks to my Witcher 3-loving heart
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By starting players off with a blank slate – a customizable hero with no recollection of their past – director Hideaki Itsuno says those unfamiliar with the RPG series will have an easier time. “The game starts off with a main character who has lost their memory, allowing us to have characters around you explain things to get you up to speed. So even if this is your first time playing Dragon’s Dogma, you can safely dive in!”
Winds howling
I remember watching the Dragon’s Dogma 2 reveal trailer during thePlayStation Showcaselast May and wondering if I’d been living under a rock. A fantastical open world with swashbuckling swordplay, magic-infused melee combat, and no shortage of terrible beasties to put to the blade; it has everything I loved about playingThe Witcher 3, and yet I’d never heard of it. Still, I was instantly drawn to this gorgeous world that Capcom was dangling before me, and mentally added it to my list ofupcoming PS5 gamesto pick up this year.
For the seasoned Dragon’s Dogma fans, it sounds like you’ll be in for a treat with the sequel. “This game has been developed based on the concept of the original Dragon’s Dogma,” Itsuno says of Capcom’s key influences for DD2. “We stuck with this direction throughout the project.” This dedication to the first game is evident to me when comparing combat gameplay clips. Dragon’s Dogma 2 looks similar and yet undeniably weightier than the original, refining its signature third-person melee action and vocation-specific combat mechanics for a smoother experience that doesn’t deviate wildly from its roots.
Visual similarities aside, Itsuno says there are plenty of changes and reworked, expanded systems that make Dragon’s Dogma 2 a marked improvement on the first. Skyrim fans might be intrigued by the Beastren, a newly-addedplayable Khajiit-like cat person raceyou can choose from the character creation. Capcom has also worked hard to improve the behavior of Pawns, the NPC party members your Arisen can recruit on their journey to help even the odds of battle.
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Player choice really does seem to be at the heart of Dragon’s Dogma 2.
Dragon’s Dogma 2’s improved character creator also sounds like my kind of party. Itsuno touts “missing teeth” as just one new quirk you can afflict upon your poor Arisen if you so wish, though personally, I’d prefer to keep all mine intact. Player choice really does seem to be at the heart of Dragon’s Dogma 2, creating a world where no two playthroughs can ever be the same, and we’ll be putting it to the test on March 22.
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