2025-04-29 09:35:35

Great game. Lots of fun. Which isn't hand delivered to you. Gotta be willing to find your own adventure and experiment in the sandbox. Certainly not for everyone. But neither is Skyrim. Which has under half as many creatures types/models as this. No climbing. No NPC party system. Lots of loading screens. Simple/boring combat. and a bad main story, which is something they share. Not really similar games, however my point is people nitpick issues.
People loved BBI because it's kinda a "souls-like" experience, at least that's part of why it appealed to me. And most of the DD fanbase consists of people who never played DD1 before DDDA. BBI was not made by Itsuno. His vision for DD1, is far more realized now than it was back then. But not enough people recognize that. Or care to even think about it.

2025-04-25 07:35:11

My final score: 7.8/10 | Definitely a game I'd play again, but it could've been better in some aspects. (NOTE: I've completed this elsewhere.)

The Combat – The combat is pretty easy to understand, and fun to master. (+2)

The Music – The music in the game is amazing, but I do wish there was more music used from the first game. (+1)

Exploration / World Encounters – The map is vast, the encounters are plentiful, but a lot of locations and encounters have no incentive for me to pursue. (+1)

Difficulty – The game early on is pretty tedious, but it becomes a little too easy after you've beaten it once. I found myself able to breeze through the game when I first entered New Game Plus, which was fun at first, but became boring because I missed the challenge. (+1)

Value as a Sequel – It definitely lives up to the name "Dragon's Dogma," but for me it feels more like a reboot/revision rather than a direct continuation. I would definitely say though, I do consider this a worthy successor to the original, but unlike most sequels, this is a game you can experience without having to play the original. (+2)

Content and Purchasable – There aren't that many new enemy types that weren't seen in the first game. There is no DLC expansion at the time of review. The infamous "micro-transactions" don't really matter to me all that much, seeing as they aren't game-destroying. Needs more vocations. (+0.8)

2025-04-22 07:48:17

I'll preface this review by saying I'd currently much rather play this than oblivion remastered.

This game is criminally underrated. I haven't finished it as of yet but it absolutely blows my mind that this game is sitting at a 61% all time rating when in my opinion it should be considered one of the all time greats.

Combat is weighty and fleshed out, as you unlock more vocational skills you become more versatile. You can chain attacks together in a way that makes combat feel purposeful and varied.

The world is full of secrets to uncovering through exploration and systems such as seeker tokens encourage the player to explore the world to make themselves more powerful.

It's like a cross between Elden Ring and one of my all time favourites Dragon Quest 9, the story is more lighthearted and somehow more nonsensical than elden rings but where it falls short in story it more than makes up for in deep combat and an immense world.

I plan to write a more detailed review upon 100%ing this game.

2025-04-18 18:32:13

Second main entry in the DD franchise improved graphics drastically and the gameplay itself to a degree, while it took a step back in some aspects such as only one set of ability hotbars compared to two from the first game, loot feels very weak which does not help to promote player exploration at all. Enemy variety is very small and the story...there are way too many things happening that do not get any conclusion at all, we just kinda forget about them happening. The pawn system remains, which carries the magic of those games.

2025-04-17 03:10:06

I played for almost 50hrs, at the moment I'm at the last quest but i just can't bring myself to go on, not because i don't want the game to end, quite the opposite in fact.
I'll start by saying that I've played the first DD, and it's one of my favorite games: great combat, great mechanics, great exploration, fantastic vibes. For how I see it, a sequel should be able to improve on every aspect of its prequel but DD2 just... doesn't. I'll put just what comes to mind at the moment in order:

[h1] STORY [/h1]
Don't look for one, it's not here. DD1 had a very, very, very linear story. It wasn't bad per se, but it wasn't good either, just ok-ish.
DD2 manages to have an even worse story while having every means necessary to improve on its predecessor (being a semi-reboot of the franchise). What i mean by this is that the story is the same as DD1, but the writers (or CAPCOM) added so much useless stuff that after a while I became more and more annoyed at every new development. New characters that are used for 1 cutscene and then never shown again, storylines that end abruptly for no reason, and important characters, MAIN characters, that just... show up. No build up, no tension, no suspense, just... "here's the bad guy for this part of the story".
Also, the side quests. Mhe is the first word that comes to mind, nothing memorable. Some are entertaining, some are just useless, but in general the quests are so few and concentrated in the same areas they become boring in no time. In contrast to DD1 they also give no freedom to the player whatsoever, the are linear Rockstar type quest: Talk to this guy --> talk to the next guy--> talk to the last guy--> fight some goblins--> fin.

[h1] COMBAT [/h1]
It's hands-down the best part of the game, thank God I'd add, considering that combat is almost 80% of the game.
The vocations tho. I can't quite say yet if i like the changes from DD1 or not. They are almost the same for the most part, same skills/ same perks, same uses ecc, but:

- They added 3 new ones (2 that you will almost never use because the are "objectively" useless)
- They split the strider vocation in thief and archer vocations, wich is ok i guess?
- They removed 3 other vocation from the previous game, 2 of wich were the most loved
- They reduced from 6 to 3 the skills you can use in combat... why? It doesn't feel strategic to have less options while fighting, just limiting.

The combat feels far better than the first game, but my gripe is that they added almost
nothing: almost no new gear, almost no new enemies, almost no new bosses, almost no new skills, almost no new vocation. Expanding on the enemies, they may be more spongy at times but no enemy will EVER be a challenge throughout the game.

[h1] EXPLORATION AND THE WORLD [/h1]

One of the best games I've played exploration-wise. In every corner there's something to find, materials are scarce in the wild but not so much that it becomes grindy to go look for them. The visuals are also pretty good, the people are varied, monsters too (just appearance-wise, combat is practically the same as I've said before).
i Just had the impression that it was, too much? Don't get me wrong, i'll never say no to a big open world if it has a lot of stuff to do, but the DD2 map is just, empty of content.
If you are looking for combat you will fight plenty but for everything else... dungeons are all the same (no interesting features, puzzles, some useless loot here and there), landscapes hardly change that much, campfires are so frequent that after a while you'll stop using them (also because apart from skipping to a different hour of the day they are practically useless), the bosses are so much that it's not a surprise to find one anymore, just annoying.

[h2] IN CONCLUSION[/h2]

It pains me to say but I have no hope left for the game, or the franchise in general. So much potential that is being thrown away for no reason.

I hope some update will come in the future, but seeing that the first thing they did on release was to push microtransactions for a signleplayer game, i wouldn't bet on it.

To close this wall of text, just get it when you see it's on sale.

2025-04-14 05:29:12

Played loads of DD1 on console and loved it (12 years ago). This game ain't it though. It's a poor imitation with better graphics and combat.

Those are the only two places DD2 beats out DD1. DD2 would have been salvagable if:
1. The story made ANY fuckall sense whatsoever. Not that DD1 had a great story per se, but at least it made sense within itself and the cyclical nature of everything felt fully realized and explained.

2. Unmoored World / NG+ actually did something besides tick a timer over. Flipping over to NG+ or even opening the Everfall felt like it actually did something besides put a ketchup filter on your screen and remove all the water. Yeah there are a few new spawns, but the lack of actual lethality in DD2 enemies is pathetic compared to DD1.

3. Some kind of Everfall / BBI loot to chase. Besides a few hidden items in the Unmoored World, there's just nothing to go after. No Ur Dragon, no Everfall, nothing random or repeatable besides load up NG+ and plow through things with a comical tier of power even greater than your first playthrough.

Runners Up:
1. Dragonsplague is just an annoyance. It would have made more sense to have a different kind of gameplay effect, but with it so catastrophic, it's either going to be something people walk into the game with foreknowledge of, or they're going to get blindsided and be very mad.

2. The lack of enemy variety is absolutely sad. I remember struggling against Evil Eyes / Liches / Zombie Drakes, and all kinds of horrible stuff in BBI and Everfall. None of that is here. Status effects besides burning are a joke and can be so easily ignored. I found one Medusa in the game. ONE. The ONLY enemy that uses petrify. DD1 was not afraid to throw the entire suite of status effects and hard bosses your way. DD2 is an insult in that regard.

3. Absolute lack of any memorable or likable characters / NPCs. Everyone is just generico. DD1 had a lot more personality in the characters. This is sorely lacking in DD2.

2025-04-08 20:45:01

A game with excellent gameplay, a good and interesting world. The cities are also well made. But the game has a simply disgusting plot, and the quests are poorly written. It's as if you have no influence on anything at all. The gameplay is good, that's the only reason I give it a good rating. But the plot is seriously just awful.

2025-04-07 14:45:14

Dragon's Dogma 2 is a very cool game and deserves more, it's a shame it was unlucky at launch. I played for over 100 hours and had a lot of fun. I really, really liked the combat, the open world, and the game's emphasis on realism. Every fantasy fan should play it.
Here are my observations:
Pros:
Combat is the very taste of the game, here you can climb on a monster and attack it in vulnerable places, you can grab and throw various things at the enemy (even the enemy at the enemy), use the location in your favor against the enemy.
Pawns: it feels like you're playing with real players. The pawns make great use of the environment, each one has a different character, learn various tactics from the player, and help players in various ways (they can find a chest, a rift stone, spot an interesting place on the map, collect resources, help in exploring the world).
Bosses: the game has a dozen interesting bosses, each of which requires its own tactics (Ogre, Chimera, Griffin, Cyclops, Minotaur, Drake, Gorgon, Lich, Dullahan, Sphinx, and several others), elements, and weapons.
Open world: it took me about 80 hours to discover the entire map and locations. The world is interesting, has many dungeons and various interesting places.
Design: armor, weapons, monsters, buildings, nature, etc. Everything looks really cool.
The living world: monsters fight each other, sometimes attacking cities or wagons. On the roads, you can meet not only enemies, but also merchants, a wagon with guards, pawns, and residents attacked by monsters.

Cons and bugs:
The plot: very, very weak, predictable and short, this also applies to most quests.
Sometimes npcs and monsters appear and disappear in front of the player.
Sometimes pawns can fall under textures.
Imbalance of vocations.
The parameter of impact resistance is too weak and you can often see a scene where a character is beaten like a punching bag and nothing can be done.
Not enough game content: after opening the entire map, all the callings, getting cool equipment, getting tokens for the pawn and completing the story, it becomes a bit boring.
A small set of hairstyles, beards, etc. for the character editor.
There is no way to have a romantic relationship with the main pawn.
Not enough armor, weapons, and skills.

Ideas:
New vocations for the player and pawns such as: necromancer who will summon the undead and use darkness magic; berserker who will tear through enemies left and right but lose health or stamina; spearman; samurai, mystic knight, monk, blade dancer, archmage, familiars mage, paladin, witch or alchemist who can create various potions to strengthen himself or an ally or weaken an enemy.
New armor, weapons, and skills.
An underworld with a huge number of locations, enemies, resources, and a story about some lost civilization or the like.
DLC The Island of Unbreakable Bitterness, since DDDA I have been fond of this DLC with an eerie atmosphere, dangerous enemies, and fascinating locations.
Events: you can add rare events such as: zombie apocalypse; a nightmare night in which monsters become very fierce; the appearance of a powerful lich or necromancer who wants to destroy the settlement; goblin invasion or the appearance of a goblin king; the onset of winter; hunting for very rare monsters.
Mini-games such as fishing; card games; parkour in the guild of thieves; sparring on the training ground.
A guild system in which players, together with the main pawns, will complete quests and receive medals and other rewards.
More interaction with the pawns, especially with the main pawn, and it would be very cool if you could inhabit and control a pawn (through a skill or like in Dragona age).
Possibility to improve your own house or get a land plot with further improvements, such as build your own house or mansion, create your own garden, trophy room, tower with a ballista, stables, your own bard, forge, mine, sauna, basement, kitchen, etc.
Factions of bandits, adventurers, assassins' guilds, etc.
New enemies: Basilisks, evil eye, manticore, phoenix, orcs or uruks, yetis, trolls, scarlet griffin, hydra, serpent, wyvern, bear, gargoyles, death knight, Oni, kitsune, naga, cursed pawns, high vampires, werewolves, cerberi, demons, high dragons, ents, dryads, centaurs, kobolds, witches, nymphs, nosferatu, mummy, anubis, various insects, baphomet, imps, echidna.
Disease or infection system for players and pawns; lycanthropy; vampirism.
Cooperative mode: the ability to explore the world together with another player and his pawn.
A challenging level of difficulty for the game.
Underground arena or colosseum: a place where the player and his pawns will fight against various opponents and unique bosses to entertain the audience.
More quests and storylines with a variety of characters.

2025-04-06 23:12:53

Fantastic - bigger and better than the original in most ways. I have many hundreds of hours in the first game and its a pleasure to see this remake, Theres a lot of fun combat and replayability and an interesting story. The atmosphere and music is excellent. The pawn AI is vastly improved over the first game, as is the issue with stamina and running. I think the only real dissapointment for me personally is that they removed the layered armour/clothing system which was easily the best customisable system i have ever seen in a game of this type . Am hoping for an expansion similar to Dark Arisen which would increase the difficulty and replayability even more. It was a dream come true to be able to play Dragons Dogma again ty to capcom and the devs.

2025-04-05 02:30:44

I'm posting this as someone who really loved the first game and played through that several times. This game was a step backward in fun and IMO was lost all the charm of the first game. I did stick with it because there was some good parts and I kept hoping it would get better.... and then the ending happened out of nowhere. One of those multiple choice endings that are all bad. I gave up on the path to the "good" ending because the whole world changed into some piss-filter version of the main game that was on a timer. Yuck! Play the first game if you haven't and if you really liked that one like I did then give this a try when it goes on sales but keep your expectations low!