Land I’m telling you about my pawn, Bowie. He is, as his name suggests, a handsome, pale, thin mage with lots of makeup and thick red hair. He is an interdimensional being, and his job is to support me in my adventures as Arisen, the destined ruler of this realm, a role I unwittingly acquired when a dragon cornered me, ripped out my heart and ate it.
Bowie is not very good at his job. He often forgets to heal me when harpies, goblins, and ogres drop pieces of me in the wild, forcing me to shout “help!” » button while being cornered by a minotaur. When he travels to other worlds, he always returns with morose tales of how often he fell in battle and how much he suffered at the hands of the other Arisen. I like Bowie anyway, because he’s My pawn. Despite his failures, we had some incredible escapades together.
You might look at screenshots or videos of this game and think I must be high, but Dragon’s Dogma 2 is the best adventure I’ve had in years. Yes, it’s a bit shonky. Yes, the information on the screen is confusing and it takes some time to get used to the controls. Yes, you die all the time because you were caught outside after dark and ran into a group of ghosts who instantly vaporize you. Yes, whoever designed the card needs a stern discussion on the concept of color contrast. But stick with Dragon’s Dogma 2 for a few hours, at least until you get to the capital, Vermund, and it opens immediately; You’ll pace yourself and soon you’ll be bringing those ghosts back to the next life with your team of fellow pawns on your way to distant lands.
If I could sum up this game in a few words, it would be more fun than function. What you need to understand is that Dragon’s Dogma 2 is very silly, unlike most other very serious fantasy fiction. It’s a glorious mess of colliding and connecting ideas that result in some wildly funny moments, like giving a Cyclops a good nudge to make it fall off a cliff, or levitating around haunted castles for whether skeletons try to chase you, or accidentally kill your lover. with an errant sword swing and having to sneak into the morgue later to revive them with a magic stone (she didn’t mind). Unless you played the first Dragon’s Dogma 12 years ago, you won’t have played anything like it before.
I can honestly say that I never really knew what was going to happen next, and also that I don’t know if some of my more daring exploits were things that were supposed to happen or interesting bugs. One day I was refreshing my armory in the town square of Vermund and turned around to see a troll standing there, watched with obvious dismay by the townspeople. I took him down in a tense battle that destroyed half the market stalls, and then everyone continued to go about their business as if nothing had happened. Was this ogre supposed to be there? I have no idea, but it was a great story.
Speaking of story: plot isn’t what I’m here for in this game. It’s a medieval-flavored fantasy with hundreds – hundreds! – of characters, and the overarching goal is for me to depose the Queen Regent and her puppet pretender and reclaim my rightful place on the throne of the kingdom as Chosen Arisen. Everyone speaks in pleading, overwrought, not specifically fluffy medieval English syntax (“What must be done, Arisen?”). The word “nothing” is used to mean anything, something and nothing interchangeably. So far I have spent very little time following the plot and a plot time running out of town with a sword and following the road wherever it leads me, picking up random quests along the way.
Things are brutal there. You cannot go near the water or you will be consumed by sinister scarlet tentacles called the Brine. When it’s dark, you can only see about a meter from your face, and horrors come out of the night. Griffons, dragons, and other huge, invincible beasts roam freely, and you won’t put a scratch on most of them if you face them, so it’s best to know when to run away. You better remember lantern oil, healing supplies, and a camping pack, or you’ll be completely screwed by nightfall.
Combat is truly the lifeblood of the game: whether you’re a warrior, spear mage, thief, archer, or wizard, you work with your team of hired pawns in truly exciting and dangerous battles, just like those in Monster. Hunter or Bloodborne. You can freely switch between all of these professions, so when you get tired of close quarters combat, you can try your hand at archery or spellcasting. Mastering each profession unlocks a huge ability tree that always makes for fun.
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Due to the unpredictability of Dragon’s Dogma’s world and enemies, as well as the wide variety of combat styles, it can be inconsistent and unfair at times. Your team of pawns compensates for this by making combat much easier, compensating for your character’s weaknesses. In fact, I love pawns, even when they harass me. They are dopes, heroes, jesters, and saviors all at once, and the game is constantly told through their laments, jokes, and scoldings. It’s a wonder they’re not more annoying, but if I hear one of them say “that ladder looks sturdy enough to climb!” » once again, I could eliminate them.
If this review seems chaotic, then it’s an accurate reflection of the game. It’s crazy, fun, fantastic chaos and honestly, I love it. Before I started writing this, I left my Arisen and his endearingly incompetent pawn in an ancient dragon-patrolled battlefield. We blasted him with a few ballista bolts, then he flew over and crushed the ballista with a claw. At that point I realized we were somewhat in over our heads here and ran towards the ruins of a castle to hide from the creature. This seemed like a good idea until some skeletal warriors appeared from the ground and I realized the castle is extremely haunted. I don’t know how we are going to get out of this situation. But I know it will be an adventure.