Dragon's Dogma 2 was shown off for the first time at last week's PlayStation Showcase, here's why you should be excited for this unexpected sequel.
The PlayStation Showcase last week was packed to the gills, the gameplay reveal of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, an announcement of new hardware in the form of Project Q, and the reveal a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3 (my personal favourite game ever made). Despite all of this, there was one reveal that I'm still thinking about above all else almost a week later – the gameplay reveal of Dragon's Dogma 2.
Capcom over the late 2000's and early 2010s was trying to make the Monster Hunter series as popular outside of Japan as it was in Japan, with games like Lost Planet 2 and Dragon's Dogma being attempts to transfer that formula to genres popular in the west (like shooters and open world RPGs respectively). While Dragon's Dogma didn't help Monster Hunters popularity (turns out simply releasing a console version instead of locking it to handhelds was the trick there) it was a major success in it's own right selling 7.2 million copies to date and even got it's own anime adaption on Netflix, however it didn't quite have the interest that other RPG's released around that time had.
While Dragon's Dogma 2 was announced last year, the PlayStation Showcase marks the first time we've seen the game in action. Dragon's Dogma 2 looks bigger and better than the original, while remedying the original game's biggest downfall – the graphics – by sporting a fresh makeover courtesy of the RE Engine.
They're masterworks all, you can't go wrong
To me, while The Elder Scrolls games are expertly crafted (outside of the litany of glitches, but that's part of the charm), the biggest downfall in those games is the gameplay, which is precisely where Dragon's Dogma excels.
Dragon's Dogma was created by Hideaki Itsuno who has directed some of Capcom's most iconic titles like Rival Schools, Capcom Vs SNK 2, and Power Stone, but his most prominent role is as director of the Devil May Cry series – taking over director duties on every title after series creator Hideki Kamiya moved on. Devil May Cry is known for revolutionising combat in 3D games, and two of the Itsuno-directed titles – Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening and Devil May Cry 5 – are considered to be among the best action games ever made. My point is, the man knows good combat.
Melee combat in Skyrim – to put it politely – feels absolutely terrible. There's no weight to your attacks, enemies barely react and there's no flow or excitement to it (and eventually you give up and become a stealth and bow specialist like everyone else did) Dragon's Dogma is the complete antithesis of this.
Combat is a lively affair, rather than standing in place clicking the left mouse button until your enemy ragdolls into a wall, Dragon's Dogma has you flying about, jumping on the backs of giant monsters to slash away at its weak bits or taking a tail off. There's an excitement to the combat in Dragon's Dogma you simply don't get in most open world RPG's. Plus even if you don't fancy melee combat, the magic wielders in Dragon's Dogma get some elaborate and exciting spells, ever wanted to summon a tornado to dispatch your enemies? Now you can.
Even outside of the combat, Dragon's Dogma has the innovative Pawn system, which had you create a party member who could go off and train with other players around the world, gaining knowledge and combat prowess along the way. While the game never had multiplayer (nor will Dragon's Dogma 2) this system made it feel like you were going on a grand adventure with a group of comrades to go and have a scrap with the dragon who stole your heart (the plot is pretty bonkers too.)
Obviously, those of you who are excited for The Elder Scrolls 6 are going to remain excited for it, in no way am I trying to dissuade people from being excited for it. However, that game probably won't be out until 2028 at the earliest, so you should give Dragon's Dogma 2 a shot in the meantime, you might even find your new favourite game.
