I spend a lot of time searching for the most immersive role-playing games imaginable. You know the type of game I’m talking about. It’s where you actively choose to walk instead of sprinting through the environment because it’s more immersive. I’ve pushed through so many RPGs without finding such a feeling, but Dragon’s Dogma 2 immediately captured my attention from the start. I couldn’t help but explore every nook and cranny, speak with all the characters I met, and thrust myself into its impressive and expansive game world. Let’s dive into our Dragon’s Dogma 2 review!
Editor’s Note: The developer’s PR provided a copy of Dragon’s Dogma 2 for this review, though this does not impact our impressions.
A World Worth Exploring
When you finish with the prologue and gain some agency, Dragon’s Dogma 2 proves itself as a top-tier RPG worth exploring. You’re set loose in a massive open world, with trails branching off from the main path, caves and mines to explore, goblin ambushes to survive, and resources to pick and craft with.
This environment is meant to feel alive, and it works. The various NPCs you meet go about their business, looking busy enough to fool you, and towns recuperate from attacks if you give them enough time to rebuild. Sometimes, those characters have quests for you, leading to one of my biggest gripes with Dragon’s Dogma 2.
When you receive a side quest from an NPC, it’s not an exclamation point on your map or an icon hovering over their heads. Instead, a character will stop you randomly as you walk by to blurt out some dialogue. Or, even worse, they’ll come sprinting out of nowhere to hand you a quest and then casually walk away like it’s the most normal thing in the world to ask a random passerby to live in their house for a week.
Is this game-breaking? No, absolutely not. It’s not even a problem worth deducting points over, honestly. But I’d like to remain upfront about such gripes, no matter how small.
However, the randomness of NPCs isn’t the only bit on display in Dragon’s Dogma 2. I still think back to a session in which I crafted a thorough plan. I finished a side quest, slayed a handful of goblins to sell their horns to merchants in Vernworth, and purchased a new armor set in preparation for my next adventure. But as I’m leaving the city, what do I see? A minotaur rampaging through crowds of civilians, with soldiers desperately trying to stop the attack.
My party and I jumped straight into the fray. I took hold of the minotaur, clambering up its back in my shiny new armor, sword held high over my head, and thrust it deep and downward. I felt like a savior knight. That is until the minotaur thrashed about and tossed me to the side like a ragdoll.
Despite the overall premise of the story, in which you are this world’s chosen one, you never feel like the ultimate power. You feel normal. You’re an average adventurer.
A Party I Was Invited To
You would think that constantly traveling with a party of Pawns who interact with you, each other, and their surroundings would make for a heroic experience. After all, you’re the party’s leader. But it cements the feeling of being just another adventurer. You almost feel equal despite your standing. And when the most formidable enemies of the game, the towering dragons and rampaging minotaurs, rear their ugly heads, you fight as a group—as a kingdom.
With the minotaur fight, I wasn’t alone. With the dragon in Melve, I didn’t fight alone. The community came together, with guards, merchants, and citizens arming themselves to stand and fight back against monstrosities plaguing their lands.
But in any case, this was all a convoluted way to say that the Pawn system in Dragon’s Dogma 2 enhanced the experience. It felt like a genuine adventure. I think that’s the developer’s goal—an immersive, genuine world where you can lose yourself.
I started out creating my right-hand Pawn, modeled after my wife, and then quickly stumbled upon two more out in the wild. They were wandering outside a village, roaming the woods with their bows and arrows, awaiting targets. I now travel with a trio of women, all ranged users, who complement my in-your-face fighting style as a Fighter. Their banter and backup help immerse me further in this fantasy world.
Sword-Swinging and Spell-Slinging
A big part of an adventure is its combat. You’re not an amateur with a sword and shield, nor are you unwilling to venture deep into the woods to fight trolls, goblins, and wolves. Dragon’s Dogma 2 features a dangerous world, with monsters around most corners waiting to tear your limbs apart. Don’t let them!
Overall, very few fights in the game provided much of a challenge. Even many of the boss fights against towering creatures felt manageable alongside a party of other adventurers. The only time I genuinely failed at a fight and grew frustrated happened because of my negligence. I didn’t rest in an inn before traveling, so my health slowly degraded following multiple deaths against a dragon. In the end, I overcame the flying lizard alongside half the town.
In the first Dragon’s Dogma, I fondly remember the combat’s overall jank feeling. But in Dragon’s Dogma 2, it’s far more refined and fluid. It feels on par with many top-tier action RPGs we lovingly play today.
An Experience I’ll Return to Over and Over Again
As this is my day job, I typically play games long enough to write reviews and guides before it’s time to move on to the next release. It’s the nature of the job. But now and then, a game comes along that I can’t help but return to play. For instance, a few indie games, like Dredge and Cult of the Lamb, keep their hooks in me. I suspect Dragon’s Dogma 2 will, too.
It’s an extraordinary experience, an immersive RPG worth every minute that I don’t want to stop playing!