For a few days now, MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz has been allowed to play Dragon’s Dogma 2. In his preview report, he reveals why the pawns are the biggest plus point of Capcom’s new role-playing game.
While I am the new guy at MeinMMO, focusing specifically on MMORPGs, I feel just as comfortable in the genre of single-player role-playing games since the good old SNES days. Recently, for example, Baldur’s Gate 3, Persona 3 Reload, and The Thaumaturge were rotating on my hard drives.
However, the first Dragon’s Dogma passed me by at the time. It wasn’t until years later that I had a chance to check it out for a few hours. I found it partly quirky and tedious, but also exciting and immersive. My thought back then: A strongly modernized remake would be great!
However, the people in charge at Capcom had even bigger plans for the role-playing franchise. On March 22, 2024, a full-fledged sequel will be released for PC, Xbox Series, and PlayStation 5, and I was allowed to play Dragon’s Dogma 2 for several days already.
My conclusion, briefly: Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a good role-playing game (with minor weaknesses) that offers a unique gaming experience, especially due to a feature that could appeal greatly to many MMORPG fans.
For detailed conclusions, we recommend the reviews from our sister sites:
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 in review at GamePro: We love the fantasy RPG, despite its flaws
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 in review at GameStar: A fantastic role-playing game that catapults you out of your comfort zone
Gameplay of Dragon’s Dogma 2? Here you go:
Solid role-playing experience that is fun
At its core, Dragon’s Dogma 2 offers a highly story-focused role-playing experience in an expansive world where the inhabitants have their own daily routines and motivations. However, this realistic facade is sometimes just that—facade. The everyday simulation of the NPCs is not as sophisticated as in a Gothic (merchants from towns still stand in their shops at night).
Nevertheless, some residents do move through their world, for example, being in the castle during the day and at the bar in the evening. Selected quests can only be completed at certain times of day. Overall, the quest design is quite diverse.
Sometimes I need to recover stolen supplies or protect a village from attacking monsters. Other times, I sneak into the chambers of a dignitary or infiltrate a ball in disguise. Or I master a trap course to learn a master skill for my thief career.
Thanks to the stylish presentation, well-written dialogues, several comfort improvements (compared to its predecessor), and the fast-paced combat system, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is already worth recommending at this point. Minor weaknesses such as AI glitches, inaccurate quest descriptions, or the aforementioned realism facade are bearable for me.
NPC fighters with heart and soul
However, from my perspective, there is one feature that sets Dragon’s Dogma 2 apart from the RPG competition. The NPC pawns that accompany me on my adventure were already in the predecessor, but Capcom has significantly improved the system with the second part.
Right at the start of the game, I create not only my alter ego but also a main pawn who belongs to my group, collects experience points, levels up, and can pursue various career paths.
Additionally, I can take up to two assistance pawns with me. They have a fixed level besides their predefined role, so I should regularly replace them with stronger companions. However, I surprisingly found it difficult to say goodbye at times. The pawns have something like personality due to their appearance, their nature, their role, their own quests, and their specialization.
They converse with me and each other, and they help with quests (if they possess the necessary knowledge). My companions independently gather useful items, point out discovered ladders or treasure chests, and even take the lead to guide me to the current quest target.
When I replace an assistance pawn with another one, I can rate them and give them a gift. This is only partially interesting with the developers’ NPCs. It’s a different story when I’ve wandered around with a main pawn of another player.
Or, when other players use my sidekick’s services, they give a highly satisfied heart rating afterwards and send a precious resource as a thank you. That’s just nice and guarantees a smile on my face.
Looking for a quest group without social obligations
The three NPCs of course also fight by my side and make a noticeable contribution in battles. The tank grabs the attention of enemies, the healer protects or heals the team, and the offensive forces knock their victims down in succession.
Especially cool: After successful actions and victorious fights, the team cheers and even occasionally high-fives each other. The pawns naturally integrate these little gestures into their interactions so well that I found myself grinning repeatedly.
It almost feels as if I’m questing through the world in an MMORPG with a friend and two other players. Only with the small difference that I have no social obligations to fulfill.
I can therefore maintain my own pace of play while enjoying the group experience without having to take forced breaks or arrange meet-ups with the team in the following days (or worry about losing my teammates due to lack of time).
Note: At launch, Capcom presented the paid DLCs of Dragon’s Dogma 2 to the public for the first time. Prior to that, there was only a review guide for all testers, which laid out the planned DLCs. The information was under embargo until March 20, 2024.
All in all, the pawns of Dragon’s Dogma 2 turn a good role-playing game into a special one that I’m currently enjoying a lot and for which I can give a clear recommendation. Keep in mind that I am playing Dragon’s Dogma 2 on a powerful PC, and the performance is smooth with maximum graphics details.
Everything else you should already know about the game can be found here: Dragon’s Dogma 2 – Everything about release, character creation, and classes
