12. Dragon’s Dogma 2
Developer: Capcom | Release date March 22, 2024 | Steam page: Dragon’s Dogma 2
What is Dragon’s Dogma 2? Dragon’s Dogma 2 is the sequel to an action RPG from 2012. It offers an open fantasy world waiting to be explored. We play as the Awakened, embarking on a journey with AI-controlled companions.
We must follow our fate and slay a dragon. After that, we can claim the throne for ourselves. Along the way, we discover various villages and towns, encounter tricky puzzles, and battle all kinds of monsters.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a purely single-player title. It is not possible to play in multiplayer or co-op mode. Instead, the pawn system offers an online component through which we can hire pawns from other players.
MeinMMO author Christoph Waldboth reveals to you why the open world excited him.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a good RPG (with minor weaknesses) that offers a special player experience through one feature and might even please many MMORPG fans.
The NPC pawns that accompany the hero on his adventure converse with each other, help with quests, and autonomously collect useful items. Whether in battles, as guides to the next quest, or in search of treasure chests: They are simply useful.
Especially cool: After successful actions and battles, the team cheers, and they even clap hands together at times. And if they’re in the right position, they catch allies who are thrown around by enemies. This camaraderie is simply superb.
At its core, Dragon’s Dogma 2 otherwise offers a strongly story-focused RPG experience in a vast world where the inhabitants have their own daily routines and motivations. However, this realistic touch is sometimes just a facade. NPCs’ daily routines are not as sophisticated as in Gothic (merchants from towns still stand in their shops at night, for example).
Some residents do indeed move around their world, being in the castle during the day, for example, and at the pub during closing time. Selected quests can only be solved at certain times of the day. Overall, the quest design is quite varied.
Thanks to the stylish presentation, well-written dialogues, some comfort improvements (compared to its predecessor), the wonderfully designed game world, and the fast-paced combat system, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is worth a recommendation. Smaller weaknesses such as AI outages, unclear quest descriptions, or the realism facade mentioned earlier are forgivable.
For whom is Dragon’s Dogma 2 worth it? For RPG players who prefer action-packed fights and do not wish to roam the world alone, yet do not want to continually be guided in terms of quest solutions or world exploration.
