I love the first Dragon’s Dogma. Its ongoing cult popularity-turned-decade-late success is a testament to its plucky spirit, energetic combat, and captivating oddness. The game blends classic Capcom combat with a sprawling fantasy world, and a bunch of goofy decisions that other games just don’t make.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 picks up those decisions and runs with them right off the cliff of madness. The game boldly starts out with the title “Dragon’s Dogma,” implying that it’s the real Dragon’s Dogma experience, and that the earlier game was just a prototype. The first friendly pawn you meet is the same guy with a bowl cut and beard as in the 2012 original, Rook — but then a few moments later he’s unceremoniously dumped into the death water that’s filled with evil red tentacles.
This is a sign of things to come. Everything in this new Dogma is pulled off to greater effect than in the original, but with a tiny hint of evil attached. The combat is now fully physics-entwined, allowing for remarkable-looking sword combos and wonderfully realistic dynamically animated reactions…but cliffs and bumps in the ground can now spell disaster for your balance.
