Over a decade after the release of the original, Capcom is back with Dragon’s Dogma 2, and early previews of the game have provided plenty of encouragement.
The countdown to the release of Dragon’s Dogma 2 is now well and truly on, with just a couple of weeks remaining (at the time of writing) before we can all get lost in the vast world Capcom has crafted for us.
We’ve mulled over plenty of the Dragon’s Dogma 2 previews to highlight five particular things that stand out and make us even more excited to adventure across the world of the Arisen.
No loading times
Nothing breaks immersion in a game more than waiting for an area to load, but this shouldn’t be a problem in Dragon’s Dogma 2. PlayStation Blog stated there are “no loading times”—leading to long-distance travelling without even realizing.
Though this means you can easily jump into action, the flipside is that there is no escape, and if you anger a Dragon or another strong beast, you won’t be able to find respite in a local village. Instead, the angry Dragon will continue to chase you.
As a result, it’ll be much harder to escape from battles you regret starting. Given there is only one save file and you won’t be able to save scum, you need to be really careful with the choices you make.
Traveling is fun
Game director Hideaki Itsuno made headlines previously with his reaction to those that claim travel is boring in gaming, saying it’s not true and the way to counter those criticisms is to “make travel fun”—which Windows Central says has been done successfully.
Though you can build your own fast-travel points using Port Crystals, you need to work towards that, and at first, you have to make your way across the sprawling map and face the pitfalls that may await on your journey. Given you never truly know what is around the corner, you need to be on your toes.
While those encounters will keep things fresh, it is the environment that has provided the wow factor in the early previews, even when compared to other open-world games that have impressed with their graphics.
Embrace the carnage
Many games have multiple story paths to go down and decisions to make along the way, with 2023 Game of the Year Baldur’s Gate 3 standing out in that regard, but it seems Dragon’s Dogma 2 goes above and beyond with what sounds like absolute carnage.
Eurogamer provided an insight into this, sharing the story of how they ignored the attack of a Griffin and were attacked by a group of Harpies, which promptly threw two members of their party into the sea before turning on the player themselves and narrowly sparing them from death, instead dropping them at the entrance to a cave.
Heading inside to escape the blood-thirsty Harpies, the player then found themselves surrounded by Goblins and beaten to an inch of their life before the final party member, whom they decided to abandon, turned up to save the day. It sounds like a wild ride, and I can’t wait to enjoy similar experiences.
Distraction can result in disaster
Many open-world games provide an abundance of side quests to complete, the majority of which can be done at will with no sense of urgency, allowing you to build a quest log the size of Amazon’s catalog.
Other games have a cut-off point, rendering you unable to complete certain side quests once you reach a particular point in the story or choose another path. Dragon’s Dogma, however, looks like it will have neither of those things.
Instead, accepting a side quest starts a timer, and if you don’t do the required task in time, there can be disastrous consequences. Kotaku learnt this the hard way, having accepted a side quest to find a lost boy but then getting distracted. By the time they did find the boy, it was too late, and he had died.
Game of the Year contender
It may only be March, and there may be months of fiercely-anticipated games released before 2024 comes to a close, but it seems Dragon’s Dogma 2 is an early Game of the Year contender with both VG247 and Windows Central throwing its hat in the ring.
Those assessments came despite just four hours of playtime, showing that Capcom really has hit the mark—which is emphasized by Windows Central saying the developer managed to “over-deliver” on “already substantial expectations.”
VG247 provides a much more precise assessment, with assistant editor Alex Donaldson putting his neck on the line by stating, “this game is special,” and Dragon’s Dogma 2 provided him with the same vibes as Elden Ring, which won Game of the Year in 2022.
