I’m trapped in a cave with House M.D, a healer mage pawn designed after the iconic Hugh Laurie sitcom character that I summoned from the Rift to assist me on a small quest to rid the local forest of a goblin menace. My own pawn, the fearsome beastman Jub, died after being crushed by a giant boulder and Marc the Archer was useless so I dismissed him half an hour back.
It’s fair to say I’m in a bit of a predicament. If I rested half an hour ago, I wouldn’t have a maximum health pool of 30%. If I returned to revive Jub, I’d have an extra party member. If I never chose House M.D as my healer, I would at least have someone less grating to share my final hours with.
Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a journey in ways that games usually aren’t. Getting to a mission area is often more treacherous than the mission you’re going on. On my hour-long trek to find the Nameless Village, I battled Cyclopes, found an underground temple filled with treasure, awoke an army of skeletons that messed me up and got lost a handful of times - that’s just one mission.
Less of a sequel, more of another stab at the same idea as its precursor, Dragon’s Dogma 2 puts you in the role of the Arisen, an undead soldier who’s heart was eaten by a dragon, locking you in an immortal battle against the winged creature. Following the snacking of your most important organ, you’re given the ability to summon and command an army of pawns from across the multiverse, building out a party of followers created by other players to help you across your journey.
There is a general plot, and one that’s suitably more cinematic and accessible than the original, but while it’s engaging enough, it’s not really why you’ll love Capcom’s thrilling adventure. The general premise is this: a false Arisen sits on the throne, puppeted by the Queen Regent Dias. With the ability to command Pawns against their will, you’ll have to find a way to prove you’re the true Arisen and take back the throne, but that’s just the inciting incident.
Even early on, Dragon’s Dogma 2’s main campaign has some awesome missions with the variety you’d expect, but rarely see, from open-world games. You’ll infiltrate a Masquerade ball inside the castle, rescue a minister from the gaol (that’s old English for jail), and rescue a village from a dragon attack. That’s all introductory, with missions offering even greater journeys and battles as time goes on.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is at its strongest when you’re going on your own journey, picking a path and trekking across the perilous, monster-filled landscape with your party of Pawns. You’ve been dropped into a fantasy world, and you can leave your shire and pick your Mount Doom whenever you want, but the journey and scraps along the way are by far the most satisfying you’ll ever have in an open world.
Capcom’s fantasy masterpiece is tied together by a sense of physicality that can’t be rivalled. Whether you’re a greatsword-wielding warrior slicing a horde of bandits or an archer blasting explosives at a harpie, every fight sends bodies flying with fall damage, playing an important part in battles against some of the larger creatures in the world.
Everything has a physical aspect to it: you can grab a small enemy and launch it off a cliff for an easy kill or climb up the body of a cyclops to get an easy stab at its single eyeball, an obvious weak spot. These can also be used against you too, as wolves grab you with their mouths and steal you away from your party to turn you into a quick snack. It’s a fantasy hiking adventure frequently dotted with amazingly visceral Monster Hunter-like skirmishes, every one adding a new memory to your hundreds of hours of exploration.
Every battle in the world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 feels grounded with an intense sense of weight and realism that I’ve only ever experienced in one other game: the first Dragon’s Dogma. While Dark Souls offers some similarities ”combat that matters and a stamina system” Capcom’s fantasy adventure is far more open, and sometimes even more difficult if you don’t prepare accordingly.
With that said, Dragon’s Dogma 2’s difficulty is entirely player-dependant. If you, like me. think you can journey for two hours without resting and take on a dungeon, you’ll find yourself becoming Sauron’s food eventually, and a lack of multiple save slots can make mistakes like this a costly adventure. However, for every frustration, the sense of elation when you manage to claw your way out of an underground temple by the skin of your teeth (and the sacrifice of a pawn or two) is second to none.
The more you explore, the more rewarding Dragon’s Dogma becomes. You’ll change vocations, discover new favourite weapons, swap out pawns and battle all manner of beasties. There is a fleeting sense of disposability and impermanence as you frequently swap out pawns for higher level ones, your main pawn being your only real companion (and even then with limited voice lines), but the world around you is your true companion, and it’s often one that enjoys punishing you.
Nevertheless, Dragon’s Dogma is still one of the best gaming experiences you can get, and one that takes full advantage of its medium. Capcom has created the ultimate fantasy adventure, your very own simple walk into Mordor, and another RPG that will be adored for decades to come, just like the original.
Reviewed on PC with code provided by the publisher.
