Once again, it’s time to embark on another thrilling journey as I prepare to dive into the immersive world of Dragons Dogma 2, an action-adventure game brought to life by Capcom. With my controller in hand, I gaze up at the boundless sky and the majestic mountains stretching into the distance, filled with anticipation for the adventures that lie ahead. With every step forward, I eagerly anticipate the countless mysteries and challenges that await me.
Before I could embark on my new adventure, I eagerly awaited the arrival of patch 1.050 from Capcom. This update, released on Good Friday, March 29, 2024, brought with it the much-needed option to remove motion blur—a feature that had proven too overwhelming for me to truly experience the game. With the patch installed, I eagerly loaded up the game and prepared to dive into a fresh adventure.
Dragons Dogma 2 The Story of Adventure
Dragons Dogma 2 builds upon the rich legacy of its predecessor, the acclaimed Dragons Dogma, which captivated players in 2012. This sequel unfolds an entirely new narrative, weaving elements of fate, choice, and an over whelming desire for adventure. Set within a parallel dimension of the same universe, you will embark on an epic journey as the ‘Arisen’—a hero marked by destiny when a dragon, in a shamful display of power, seizes your heart. As the Arisen, your odyssey to recover your stolen heart will lead you through a labyrinth of choices, pitting you against deceitful pretenders and the ominous Dragonsplague, a scourge threatening to annihilate all in its wake unless contained.
An Adventure awaits us
The gameplay of Dragons Dogma 2 is a thrilling blend of action, adventure, and role-playing dynamics, culminating in an immersive experience that will in the end captivate you into its world. Set out on your journey, and you’ll soon find yourself immersed in a world where every decision carries weight, and the direction you choose to pursue is entirely your own.
Whether it’s veering left or right, scaling a towering mountain, venturing off the beaten path in search of secrets, completing quests, or lending a helping hand to those in need—every choice is yours to make, shaping the course of your adventure in a profoundly personal manner.
Dragons Dogma 2 presents a myriad of vocations, each presenting a distinct array of skills and abilities that can be levelled up and customized as you progress.With combat finely tuned to deliver both challenge and gratification, you will need to master your vocation to become the ultimate Arisen.
Engaging in combat feels seamless, impactful, and immensely satisfying, particularly during exhilarating moments such as scaling colossal foes to bring them down or daringly leaping onto the back of a majestic griffin. Every encounter leaves an indelible impression, showcasing the game’s remarkable attention to detail and ensuring an experience that is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
The world of Dragons Dogma 2 is vast and filled with opportunities for exploration and discovery. You’ll encounter a wide array of quests that will take you across different landscapes, each teeming with its own dangers and treasures. Collecting items and resources is a crucial part of the game, as they can be used to craft powerful equipment or traded for other necessities. Levelling up your character not only enhances your abilities but also allows you to tackle more formidable foes and delve into the game’s deeper mysteries.
HINT — Goto the well in the first town, some sweet gear there.
Dragons Dogma 2 strikes a delicate balance in difficulty, offering a gratifying challenge without veering into punishing territory. This equilibrium is particularly welcome for players like me who prefers to avoid the intense difficulty reminiscent of titles like Dark Souls, where every encounter feels like a relentless test of reflexes. Instead, Dragons Dogma 2 allows for a more immersive and enjoyable experience, ensuring that progress feels rewarding without inducing undue frustration.
Dragons Dogma 2 encourages strategic thinking and careful planning, especially when it comes to battles against the game’s more formidable enemies. With a focus on player choice and a world that reacts to your actions, the game offers a dynamic and engaging experience that can be tailored to your playstyle.
Stunning adventure filled with peril
Dragons Dogma 2 on PS5 showcases the power of Capcom’s RE Engine, delivering a visually stunning experience with some limitations. Dragons Dogma 2 features a detailed character creator, allowing us to customize and create our Arisen in as much detail as we feel is needed.
Below is just a small amount of information in relation as to what is available.
Character Creation Menu
- Races: Players can choose between Human and Beastern races.
- Gender: Options for male and female characters.
- Body Types: Nine different body types are available, which can be further customized.
- Base Head: Forty-five head styles to choose from, with further customization options.
- Detailed Customization
- Body: Adjust height, weight, limb size, muscles, and more.
- Head: Customize skin, eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, and jaw/chin.
- Hairstyle: A variety of hairstyles to select from.
- Facial Features: Includes eyebrows, facial hair, and makeup options.
- Tattoos/Markings: Add unique tattoos or markings to your character.
- Vocation & Voice
- Vocation: Choose your character’s class, which determines their skills and abilities.
- Voice: Select from different voice options to give your character a distinct sound.
I found the character models to be well-crafted with high polygon counts and physically rendered materials that reflect light realistically.
The game supports a dynamic 4K resolution, aiming for a target of 3840x2160p, although it employs a dynamic resolution scaling system to maintain performance. With the release of patch 1.050 Capcom introduced some new graphic options such as motion blur, ray tracing toggles, and a way to uncap and cap the game at 30fps, this patch provides us with some control over Dragons Dogma 2 visual settings.
While the character models and global lighting showcase impressive advancements, certain elements such as asset quality and world streaming fail to reach the standards set by other next-generation open-world titles like The Witcher 3 or Cyberpunk 2077. While hair rendering and physics meet the current-gen standard, they may lack the wow factor during gameplay.
Additionally, noticeable lip-sync issues during cinematics prove particularly vexing, initially leading some players, including myself, to suspect issues with their sound systems. After spending a considerable amount of time tinkering with settings both on the PS5 dashboard and within Samsung systems, it became apparent through a quick Google search that the problem lay with the game itself rather than any setup shortcomings on my part.
Dragons Dogma 2 on PS5 offers a mix of high-quality graphics with some areas that could benefit from improvement. The game runs at an average of between 35 and 45 FPS, with the PS5 version slightly edging out in draw distance and some visual details compared to other platforms.
Listening to the world around us as we venture forth.
When we jump into any game, a game with an open world setting does not feel that real without a great sound stage and Dragons Dogma 2 does not let us down. Dragons Dogma 2 features a dynamic orchestral score that adapts to the gameplay, and what is happening at any given time on our adventure.
Environmental sounds are carefully crafted to provide an immersive experience, with detailed audio cues for different settings and actions. Combat sounds are particularly noteworthy, with distinct and impactful effects for various weapons and spells, adding a layer of depth to the battles.
Voice acting is another highlight, with performances that bring the game’s characters to life, though some the quality of the voice acting can vary, this could be down to the lines they were given or they simply did not feel right at the time.
Furthermore, amidst the controversial microtransactions, the game introduces a distinctive feature enabling players to personalize in-game music and sound effects sourced from the original Dragon’s Dogma. This meticulous attention to sound design guarantees that Dragons Dogma 2 offers a profoundly immersive auditory journey, perfectly complementing its visual splendor and gameplay mechanics.
P.S. It’s worth noting that the majority of these controversial microtransactions are obtainable within the game itself, rendering the uproar somewhat exaggerated. Capcom’s decision to include them initially may have been questioned, but it appears players are fanning the flames of dissent over what could be considered a relatively trivial matter.
Lets start the adventure again, or shall we move on?
Dragons Dogma 2 boasts a significant replay value, primarily due to its New Game Plus (NG+) feature, which allows us to restart the game with all our acquired equipment, levels, skills, and gold intact.
This encourages us to experiment with different vocations and strategies, providing a fresh perspective on the game’s challenges and narrative. Additionally, the vast open world is rife with secrets and branching paths that may not be fully explored in a single playthrough. The choices you make can lead to different outcomes, adding layers of depth and variety to each new game.
Whether it’s pursuing missed side quests, unlocking alternative endings, or simply experiencing the adventure through a new vocation, Dragons Dogma 2 offers ample reasons to return to its rich and dynamic world.
The end is not Nigh…
In conclusion, Dragons Dogma 2 represents Capcom’s unwavering dedication to advancing the action RPG genre. It immerses us in a sprawling world brimming with challenging combat, extensive customization options, and a narrative that responds dynamically to our decisions. Despite encountering technical hiccups, the game’s depth of gameplay and potential for replayability overshadow these minor flaws. The PS5 version, notably, dazzles with its impressive graphics and immersive sound design, though there’s room for further improvement.
For both fans of the genre and newcomers, Dragons Dogma 2 offers an adventure of unparalleled adventure and engagement. Whether confronting formidable foes or shaping one’s destiny as the Arisen, the game promises an experience that beckons us back time and time again.
Dragons Dogma 2 is an adventure that simply cannot be overlooked.
Read more reviews here https://invisioncommunity.co.uk/category/review/
Edited by Natalie Thomas for and on behalf of the writer.
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