“Dragon's Dogma II was probably where Nintendo got the idea for Breath Of The Wild in 2011"
**DISCLAIMER**
I know Dragon's Dogma II saw a lot of controversy for its micro-transactions. I do not personally support or agree with non-FTP games having microtransactions. But I am aware that I am supporting this behavior by buying this game at launch full price.
HOW I PLAYED: I played on PC, Max settings + Ray Tracing, avg fps 100+ in field and 50–60fps in cities and towns. Purchased on Steam. (PC Specs: 7800X3D, RTX 3080, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 4TB M.2 SSD, LG UltraGear 32" 165hz 1440p Display, Windows 11)
STORY — 14/20
The Intro to Dragon's Dogma II is very cinematic and to the point. You are introduced to the story of the Arisen through a simple cutscene that puts you into the games world. The introduction to the story isn't anything amazing, but it is serviceable to the story.
Cutscenes look great at times in Dragon's Dogma II but some are almost PS2-era style with the black bars. There is a lack of facial animations which make some of the characters seem emotionless. But there are some moments where the cinematics shine in this game, just wish the cutscenes were a bit more consistent.
World Building in Dragon's Dogma II is great, the game truly feels like an adventure! You and your party of pawns (in-game Co-op NPCs) roam the lands to your next destination not knowing what obstacles you will see on the way. The lore of the game world unfolds as you take on more quests reach new destinations and talk to different NPCs. Capcom did a good job of not "hand-holding" the player but also leaving enough "breadcrumbs" for you to follow.
Overall Story in Dragon's Dogma II reminded me of old 1980s Fantasy movies (Think Clash Of The Titans, Conan The Barbarian, etc). The story never took itself too seriously but did suffer from a lack of real impact or consequences. The most exciting part of the game is locked behind a "secret ending", which is a shame because that is when the story gets its stride!
GRAPHICS — 17/20
Character Models in DD2 look great, the character creator is top notch and you can customize your player character and pawn to your heart's desire. I have seen some creators spend 4+ hours in the character creator. When you go into the game's pawn system you can see some amazing creations made by players.
Environments in DD2 are breathtaking and vast.At times I felt like I was roaming the lands of Middle Earth during my gameplay. I found myself putting on the Lord Of The Rings OST while my party trekked through the open road. There is some great diversity in the different areas but it is all very consistent. It reminded me of basically any fantasy movie or setting.
Special FX is a high point in Dragon's Dogma II. There are tons of slick-looking magic effects and spells, as well as weapon buffs and fire/explosions. It was a great balance between "flashy" and "subdued" that fit the overall tone of the game.
Animations were very good, there is a lot of polish in DD2, but there are some minor glitches here and there with Pawn AI and doing odd actions. This game has "weight" to it, so you feel the impact of your attacks and there are very large/delayed build-ups for super heavy attacks. This made the combat feel very satisfying when in practice.
AUDIO — 15/20
The ambiance in DD2 is very subtle, when outside of battle the game relies on ambient environment noises such as birds and the wind. I prefer this in games as there are plenty of times when you are just roaming the open field and a repeating track can get very distracting once you notice it is the same thing on "repeat".
Boss Music There is a distinct battle track when you enter into combat with field enemies and field bosses. It is very effective and is driving you towards victory. There is even a little victory theme that plays at the end of each battle (Think like Final Fantasy Victory music).
Sound Design is great in Dragon's Dogma II, everything felt well balanced. The voice acting is superb in this game. I do wish more enemies had some kind of dialogue or even some of the field bosses. The Pawn's all have little quips and dialogue they speak to you which is fun. But some of the one-liners get a bit repetitive.
The variety in DD2 was a little lacking. I wish there was more distinct boss music, and the original game from 2011 had much better music written for it. This kind of did the latest sequel a disservice as the bar was set high and didn't quite deliver.
GAMEPLAY — 31/40
Controls in Dragon's Dogma II do take some getting used to but become very fluent once you learn the game's core gameplay loop. If you have played the 2011 game you will be familiar with the button layout in the sequel. The button response was great and I never felt any input lag during combat.
Mechanics in DD2 are very addicting and fun to use. I enjoyed the concept of "teamwork" through your party of pawns. It was amazing to form the perfect party of vocations so each person could complement each other. The Vocation system was very diverse allowing a play type for all kinds of players. If you feel like you are fighting with the combat or not having a good time, I would suggest you switch to a different vocation as they play drastically differently from one another.
Pacing in DD2 is very fair and the one thing that might "pad" time for players is the traversal. Most of this game is done running on foot, so going between locations can be very time-consuming. My advice is to learn Ox Cart routes and utilize those as much as possible. Some necessary side quests don't take too long, but for the majority of this game, I found you can strictly focus on the main story content.
UI/UE in Dragon's Dogma is very minimalist with its simple boss health bars and on-screen items. You can choose to have your control layout for special attacks always visible, but this can be disabled as well. I love the customization when it comes to certain UI elements. Especially ones I do not use that often. The map was serviceable, but no one has done it quite right since Elden Ring (IMO). I wish you could place markers that would act like beacons in the real world, but sadly the marker system is very basic and only shows up on the main map screen. I also don't like how when you press the map button you default to the in-town map, not the world map. I wish this was reversed but that is a personal preference.
Boss Quality in DD2 is great! The regular field bosses are a real joy to encounter, at the start you may be hesitant due to your character's low level. But later on in the game, you see the progression of your party as you easily take down these massive entities. I LOVED the "knockback" mechanic when your player or pawns focus attacks on vulnerable spots (headshots, weak shots, etc). This made the boss takedowns and vulnerable damage very satisfying. Having a diverse team of pawns with different vocations emphasizes this and can massively affect your total damage.
Gameplay Variety is great in Dragon's Dogma II, with simple variety. If you find yourself fatigued from taking on enemy mobs and field bosses, you can retreat to a nearby town and "kick back" by going to the local pub and buying a round for the townspeople. You can also take on some side missions which can vary from light detective work to minor stealth missions. Or if you have the gold you can even take yourself to a "gentlemen's club" for some "afternoon delight" ;)
Replayability is what you would expect for an RPG. There are multiple endings you can get and even a "Secret Ending" that opens up an entirely new section of gameplay. You can also try a different vocation on another playthrough in NG+ and keep all your items and levels. This gives players more incentive to try a new play style and see if other vocations are more to their liking.
BONUS — 0/3
I think it is important to mention the performance of Dragon's Dogma II. It is very disappointing that in 2024 we still have games releasing with no 60fps option on current-gen consoles. I played this game on a high-end PC and struggled to hit 60fps in towns due to poor game optimization. We hear the narrative that the devs want a "consistent cinematic look", but if that is the case then why do these titles always have higher frame rates on PC? And why do these titles always seem to launch a 60fps update 6 months down the road? If the original intention was to have the "Cinematic experience"?
This game has lots of frame dips and inconsistent performance. During my playthrough, I suffered many game crashes. It was lucky the gameplay was so fun for me that I wanted to boot it back up after a crash. Many players would not have this patience, especially for a $70 USD game that has microtransactions. Capcom has released 2 updates since release but performance issues have not been resolved as of this posting (May 5th, 2024).
(Images taken from Digital Foundries review video)
OVERALL — 77/100
GOOD
Dragon's Dogma II was probably where Nintendo got the idea for Breath Of The Wild in 2011. The sense of adventure and teamwork is addictive and engaging. The game is a visual spectacle that produces some amazing screen grabs. It is a shame that Capcom continues to push these very redundant micro-transactions as a way to get a bit more revenue out of its players. Dragon's Dogma II would be a game that I would recommend to everyone who is a fan of games like Elden Ring or Baldur's Gate 3 if it weren't for the terrible performance issues on console and PC.
So close to being a great game!
Pick up Dragon's Dogma II HERE -
PS5 — https://amzn.to/4blZ3u6
Xbox — https://amzn.to/44oW6Xn
PC — https://www.cdkeys.com/dragon-s-dogma-2-pc-na-steam
Check out my video review HERE
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