Dragon’s Dogma 2 Review: High-Flying Adventure Marred by Microtransactions

Dragon's Dogma 2 brought me back to its expansive, dark fantasy world, offering an intricate blend of action, exploration, and narrative that largely builds on the foundations of its predecessor. While the sequel enhances many aspects of the original's gameplay and world-building, it introduces a contentious element (ahem, microtransactions) that has sparked controversy among players, marring the overall experience.

Gameplay and Exploration

Exploring the vast world of Dragon's Dogma 2 is an adventure in itself. The game presents a meticulously detailed landscape, from towering mountains to shadowy dungeons, each filled with its own dangers and secrets. The thrill of exploration held on as I navigated through treacherous terrain, encountered diverse wildlife, and uncovered hidden treasures.

Unlike many modern RPGs, Dragon's Dogma 2 emphasizes manual exploration over convenient, fast travel. This design choice was supposed to encourage me to engage more deeply with the world, planning routes and strategies for long journeys. While this adds a layer of realism and immersion, it can also lead to moments of frustration—particularly when I was forced to traverse the same areas repeatedly due to the game's sparse fast-travel options. Fortunately, the Ox Wagon did a great job offering me a ride to some of the most popular destinations, ultimately making it a fun experience.

Combat in Dragon's Dogma 2 is beautiful in its simplicity. It offers a deep, engaging system that rewards skill and strategy. I could choose from a variety of vocations (classes), each with its unique abilities and playstyles, allowing for a highly customizable combat experience. I started off as a simple Fighter, but during my adventures, I made a switch across multiple other vocations, including Archer, Thief, and Mystic Spearhead, all of which had their pros and cons for me. Ultimately, I landed back on Warrior, favoring the pure thrill of swiping multiple opponents with my massive blade. Battles were intense and required me to understand my enemies' weaknesses and adapt my tactics accordingly. I particularly liked tossing stones and pushing other large boulders onto enemies if I happened to catch them at a disadvantage.

However, the game's AI companions, or pawns, can be a double-edged sword. While they provided me with valuable support in battle, their behavior could sometimes be erratic, leading to moments of frustration when they failed to follow commands or act in a detrimental manner. I have seen them fall off a cliff edge too many times to be funny anymore, especially when I had to get down to revive them.

Score: 5/5 Stars

Narrative and World-Building

Dragon's Dogma 2 brings us a piece of lore and story set in a world brimming with mystery and intrigue we would usually expect of a good-quality RPG title. The main narrative, centered around the Arisen's quest to confront the Dragon, is complemented by numerous side quests and character-driven stories that flesh out the game's universe.

The game's characters are one of its strong points, offering a range of personalities and backstories that add depth to the world. Interactions with these characters are often engaging, providing insight into the game's lore and the motivations of its inhabitants. I particularly liked the old-school engagement with NPCs, with their shallow but at the same time charming expressions. This experience really brought me back to The Elder Scrolls era.

While the main story is compelling, some players may find it a bit too familiar if they've experienced the original game. Sometimes, it really seemed like a case of copy and paste, failing to set itself apart enough to go with a fresh release. However, the world's sheer depth and the multitude of side stories ensure there's always something new to discover.

Score: 4/5 Stars

Visuals

Graphically, Dragon's Dogma 2 is a feast for the eyes, with stunning landscapes and detailed character models. The game's art direction successfully captures the essence of a dark fantasy world, with each area boasting its distinct atmosphere. Sunrises and sunsets offered me quite a pleasure to watch, and while they can't really match the jaw-dropping vistas of Final Fantasy XVI, Dragon's Dogma 2 definitely has its moments.

Dragon's Dogma 2 excels as an open-world RPG with stunning checkerboarded 4K visuals and ray-traced lighting on PS5, offering a picturesque experience. However, its technical performance falls short, with frame rates varying between 30 to 45 fps and dropping significantly in busy areas due to heavy CPU usage.

The lack of graphical options, including a performance mode, limits optimization, leading to inconsistent performance. I had NPCs abruptly appearing at close distances, which not only looked sloppy and unfinished but also indicated the game has a problem with memory handling.

Score: 4/5 Stars

Saving feature

Dragon's Dogma 2 continues the original game's approach of allowing only one save file per profile. This system means players can't keep multiple backups to explore different strategies or outcomes. If a player regrets a decision or wants to tackle a different challenge first, they might be stuck if the autosave has already overwritten their progress, which is exactly what happened to me at a certain point.

I believe Capcom made this move on purpose to boost the sales of Portcrystals and Ferrystones, which are bought for premium currency. Because I needed to save often, I found myself at a disadvantage, having to return to a town with an Inn.

Worse yet, about halfway through the game, I ran into a game-breaking bug that I wasn't able to avoid thanks to the game overwriting my auto-save file slot, an event that effectively cost me the entire progress of a nine-hour run.

I will be candid; microtransactions in a full-price game are a no-go for me, especially if they carry such a high in-game impact. Thankfully, there is a solution to this issue. To start a new game without losing its current state, console users must create additional accounts, while PC gamers have the option to back up their save files manually. But it still leaves a bitter taste and feels like I need to work around a problem that really shouldn't even exist.

Score: 1/5 Stars

Verdict - A Rich, Yet Flawed Masterpiece

Dragon's Dogma 2 stands as a testament to the action RPG genre, offering a deep and rewarding experience marred mainly by its controversial inclusion of microtransactions. The game excels in its combat, world-building, and narrative, although it is somewhat let down by AI inconsistencies and a feeling of overfamiliarity in its storytelling.

For fans of the series and newcomers alike, Dragon's Dogma 2 offers a vast world full of mystery, danger, and adventure. While the microtransactions are an unwelcome addition, they don't detract significantly from the overall experience, making Dragon's Dogma 2 a journey well worth undertaking.

Disclosure: A free copy of the game was provided to PGG by the publisher for review purposes.