Action-RPG Dragon’s Dogma 2 is an engrossing adventure with a unique multiplayer system and layered game mechanics. It’s one of the most refreshing RPGs of the year.
The blemishes of beloved video games are sometimes referred to as their “jank.” The term encapsulates things in a game that may be slightly broken or inherently peculiar — aspects that should be detrimental to the experience, but aren’t. Ideally, these broken bits are overshadowed by a game’s superior elements, be they intricate combat systems, rich stories, or unique worlds.
To call what makes Dragon’s Dogma 2 special “jank” is unfair to Capcom’s new role-playing game. But Dragon’s Dogma game director Hideaki Itsuno certainly flirts with jank in the latest incarnation of his medieval fantasy series, all in pursuit of vision. Central to that vision, Itsuno says, is “to be in a place where your destination is within sight and not too far away, yet you feel excited about the path there.”
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The path in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is its biggest draw. Travel is done almost exclusively on foot, with fast-travel options being extremely limited and slow-travel options (in an ox-driven cart) slightly less limited. What may seem like an annoyance in a modern open-world game, where convenience of travel has become the norm, eventually becomes pleasing, the way real-world hikes can be. The game world is packed with sights to see, hidden caves to explore, and hundreds of monster encounters. Curiosity has driven me to explore the game’s forests and deserts, finding new treasure and new threats, all at a light jogging pace.
The game’s sense of adventure goes beyond the geographical. It’s also a journey of reckoning with the game’s esoteric and opaque mechanics, some of which seem designed to test players’ resolve. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is not particularly difficult in the way action-RPGs like Dark Souls and Nioh are, but it is challenging in that it requires me to meet it on its terms. Figuring out its quirks makes it special; reevaluating how an open-world game can play leads to discovering its joy.
Moving through this fantasy world and uncovering its huge map, discovering hidden secrets along the way, is a big part of what makes Dragon’s Dogma 2 so intoxicating over dozens of hours. The unremarkable fantasy world of Vermund is full of threats large and small, from packs of wolves and malicious goblins to giant griffins and ogres that can be climbed in hard-fought battles. As promised by its title, there are dragons to fight too, though these battles are rare and special.
Combat drives the game; there is a variety of battle styles to learn, from the straightforward warrior, who wields sword and shield, to more complicated vocations like magick archer, a bow-wielding spellcaster, and the trickster. Adding to the uniqueness of Dragon’s Dogma 2’s combat system are pawns, computer-controlled characters who will aid you in battle. Pawns are hired from other players in a sort of passive multiplayer component of the game.
