Dragon’s Dogma 2 Preview – A Fantasy Experience to Rival All Others

In 2012, Dragon’s Dogma was released and took on a life of its own. Through updates and enhanced ports, this game gave players a chance to craft their own adventure in a world filled with magic and discovery. It’s strange to think that over ten years later, we are finally getting a follow-up with Dragon’s Dogma 2. I had the opportunity to play for about an hour, but I’ll tell you right now, that wasn’t enough to fully explore everything this game has to offer. To be honest, 40 minutes of my playtime was spent simply marveling at the environments, exploring, and, of course, battling creatures and bandits.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 revolves around choices, from character class to your party, to the missions you accept, and even the direction you choose to walk—okay, you get the idea. It’s all about choices, and I chose to explore. I can tell you right away: the landscape is vast, much larger than anyone could imagine until they’ve played it. I left a large kingdom for a mountain path, which took two in-game days to scale, mostly due to the mobs of enemies. But at the summit, I discovered a village. Standing triumphantly at the peak, I could see where I had started far off in the distance. This only underscored the fact that I was going to need more than an hour with this game.

There were several Vocations available to choose from. These are similar to character classes. To get acquainted with the systems, I chose a Fighter, but the Archer Vocation also offered some interesting gameplay moments. The party was preselected for me for demo purposes, so I didn’t feel too connected with them. However, there was some camaraderie among the party members, especially when we sat around the campfire planning our next move.

While venturing into the open world, it seemed like every button on the controller had an action associated with it, with Skills tied to various combinations of button presses. This took some getting used to, but the game didn’t wait for me, as I was attacked by a giant bird within minutes. I should clarify that I initiated the fight with it, unlike the water troll I encountered sitting by a stream, which attacked me unprovoked.

That said, my entire experience felt unique to me. I genuinely believe that no one else who plays this game will have the same adventure I did. Instead of accepting missions, which I wouldn’t have had time to complete anyway, I went out in search of adventure, and boy, did I find it. In battle, the sheer number of options for taking down enemies exceeded my expectations. There’s a grab action that allows you to hold onto larger enemies and climb them, similar to Shadow of the Colossus. However, at one point, I became so frustrated with a small group of goblins that I used the grab action to pick them up and throw them off a cliff. I relished these small discoveries through experimentation because they opened up a whole world of possibilities.

As I mentioned before, an hour with Dragon’s Dogma 2 is insufficient to experience everything this game has to offer. I look forward to the many adventures that await me and all the discoveries I’m bound to make as I explore this world. Dragon’s Dogma 2 epitomizes fantasy action, and I eagerly anticipate this release following in the footsteps of its predecessor, capturing players’ imaginations for years to come.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam in 2024.