Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a video game made by Capcom in 2024. It was directed by Hideaki Itsuno and designed by Kento Kinoshita for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC. In it you play the Arisen, a doomed champion chosen by a godlike dragon as its executioner. You travel a large world that is mostly comprised of wilderness with very few settlements dotting the landscape, encountering all sorts of fantasy creatures like goblins, harpies and ogres along the way. As you travel the world you encounter pawns, strange humanoid figures from another dimension that you can enlist to help you fight the creatures you encounter. There is also a story full of palace intrigue, mystic conspiracy, and deception that you can play through, though most of your time in the game will be spent wandering around the wilderness.
As the Arisen you can choose from several vocations, or weapon classes. To start with, you have access to the Warrior class, the Mage class, the Archer class and the Thief class. A sidequest unlocks the Sorcerer class and the Warrior class. Continued play in any of these classes unlocks several new hybrid classes, including Trickster, Mystic Spearhand, Magick Archer and Warfarer. With each vocation you have the chance to earn a set of powerful attacks through leveling up, as well as core skills that improve things like movement and spell time, and augments that are like general-purpose buffs to your character that you can mix and match with the augments from other vocations.
Players in Dragon’s Dogma 2 have several things to keep in mind as they play: first, time elapses in the game, which means that there is a chance of failing certain sidequests if they’re not addressed soon enough. There is also a semi-permanent damage system where maximum player health is reduced in addition to temporary, healable damage. Maximum player health can only be restored at campfires, Inns, or player-owned residences. The game’s save states work in a similar fashion, with checkpoint saves happening semi-randomly as you play the game and permanent saves exist by sleeping at Inns or player-owned residences. Manual saves can be made at almost any time, but there is a chance they can be overwritten by checkpoint saves. You cannot save your game in the middle of a battle.
Pawns can be lent out to other players through the so-called “Rift.” In this system, players’ pawns can play with other players, learn more about the world, and bring back gifts. There is also a chance to bring back a strange virus called Dragonsplague, so watch out! Hired pawns also work this way.
There are microtransactions in Dragon’s Dogma 2. They are:
In conclusion, if you are an enjoyer of fantasy worlds, RPGs like Dark Souls, Elden Ring and Bloodborne, or challenging combat, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a game.