Buy Dragon's Dogma II

It's easy to feel like the fantasy genre is played out. Between swords and sorcery, goblins and skeletons, it feels overdone — especially if the games have been inspired by Dark Souls or Skyrim or the ilk. Dragon's Dogma II has an uphill battle in that it might be regarded as another sprawling epic fantasy RPG. Dragon's Dogma II over comes that issue with ease and is proof there's still plenty of life in even well-trod genres, as long as the games are willing to take their own path.

Dragon's Dogma II may be a sequel to the original game in some fashion, but you don't need to have played the original to follow along. The title is set in a mystical fantasy world, where the average person is under constant threat from terrible beasts. The most terrible beast is the dragon, a cruel monster who swoops down and ruins villages. The only thing that can stand up to the dragon is the Arisen, a singular warrior who's been marked by the dragon and gains the power to stand up to the beast. You take on the role of the latest Arisen. Your memories were stolen, and you were thrown into a prison as a slave, and once you escape, your quest to slay the dragon begins anew.

It's easy to look at Dragon's Dogma II and think "I'm a chosen one, so I'm off to kill a dragon," and think it's the most generic plot hook known to mankind. To some degree, it is. However, the world setting of Dragon's Dogma is unusual enough that it works. The dragon isn't just a big, fire-breathing lizard but something malicious and otherworldly. There's a strangeness to the world that eventually comes into play and makes the story about more than just stabbing a monster. It takes a while to get going, but once it does it is engrossing.

The combat system has a slower pace, but it's a deliberate, action-RPG that's built around a variety of classes (vocations), with their own play styles. The difference between each class tends to be significant. For example, the basic fighter wields a sword and shield and can use both to block attacks, smash enemies to the ground, and draw attention. On the other hand, thieves are fast attackers who can dodge attacks. Mages need time to cast, and more powerful spells require more chanting, so they need more defensive options.

One thing that Dragon's Dogma II does phenomenally well is make each class feel useful and powerful in their own ways. For mages, magic is brutal and powerful, and it feels otherworldly. You can drop meteors, rain down lightning, and feel like a god. Magick Archers can rain down what seems like an endless torrent of laser arrows, Tricksters can make enemies walk off cliffs to their doom, and Thieves can become near-unkillable shadows that wade through attacks. Most abilities require stamina, which replenishes quickly, so it never quite feels like you're stuck using boring moves.

It's important because you're going to face some tremendously deadly foes. There are weaker foes, like wolves or goblins, and there are big and terrifying monsters that include Medusas, Cyclopes, dragons, and more. These foes feel like huge threats. A bandit won't just run at you and attack. They might hide in the shadows and then rush you from behind, throwing you to the ground and slitting your throat. A giant ogre will smash a nearby boulder and then hurl the shattered remains at you with bone-crushing force.

Dragon's Dogma II's combat has a sense of physicality and weight that most games don't have — not even the acclaimed Elden Ring. You don't just slash enemies; you send them flying across the field, or you pick them up and throw them off a cliff, or you clamber up their side to stab them. Magic spells don't just create a neat effect. Tornados may tear apart the environment and send a nearby bridge tumbling into the gorge. Ice spells send an enemy flying into the air and leave behind chunks of ice that can be picked up and tossed at foes. A sword rush may impale an enemy against the wall.

It opens up a lot of unexpected and incredibly cool interactions. For example, early on, I encountered a drake, a mini-dragon of sorts, who demanded that I prove my worth. I was able to badly damage it enough to make it flee. As it was escaping, a gryphon passed overhead. The drake slammed into it during its escape, sending the gryphon tumbling down toward my team. In anger, it attacked my hero and allowed the drake to escape. The gryphon also escaped into the air after being wounded. A few hours later, while searching for another quest, I ran into the same wounded gryphon terrorizing a farm, and I was able to take it down. None of this was scripted or part of a plot; it was just something that happened.

Weight is the key to Dragon's Dogma II in a metaphorical sense as well as literal. Actions have consequences, and events take time. Even the act of moving around the environment requires some sort of investment. Moving from town to town isn't just a case of hitting the "fast travel" button. You need to trek on foot to a town, and that can take multiple days. You can use an oxen cart to speed up things, but that runs the risk of being ambushed by bandits or monsters. There are "Ferrystones" that allow instant teleportation, but they're rare and costly and best saved for an emergency. There's a sense of danger to the world that is absent from most other games of the type, and a huge portion of that comes from the weight of your actions. Even NPCs are at risk, as they can be permanently killed by monsters and enemies if you're not careful. (You can revive them using rare items called Wakestones, but they're relatively rare.)

Dragon's Dogma II can be slow in very intentional ways, and that may be what makes or breaks it for some players. You need to rest and camp regularly, you need to travel roads you've traveled before, and you'll feel the pressure of the quest to rescue a child who's been kidnapped by wolves before he becomes lunch. It wastes time in a very deliberate and intentional way. If you like the act of exploring and adventuring, it works wonderfully, but if you prefer to fast-travel from spot to spot, you might find it tedious.

Perhaps the most defining feature of Dragon's Dogma is the Pawn system. Dragon's Dogma II isn't a multiplayer game. Instead, your party is fleshed out by AI-controlled allies called pawns. One pawn, which you create at the start of the game, can be customized. This pawn will level up, grow and change alongside the protagonist. Others must be hired, either from Riftstones found in towns or by talking to them as they wander the world. The other pawns won't level up or change, but you can give them new equipment and items.

What makes the "wandering" pawns interesting is that they're extradimensional beings, and each is tied to another player. The pawns you hire come with the skills, equipment and knowledge that the other player had at the time the pawn was registered in your world. A pawn whose master found a treasure chest may be able to guide you to the same chest. One whose master finished a mission can offer hints or guidance. If they've fought a number of an enemy type, they can point out weaknesses or hint at new methods of defeating a foe. Likewise, your own pawn will go off to other worlds while your character is sleeping at an inn, and it may return with knowledge or items of its own. You can assign missions to your pawn, such as finding certain items or defeating certain monsters, and in turn, offer rewards to other Arisen to complete the tasks.

Pawns are surprisingly useful and competent, especially once they get skills. They're almost always useful, but a pawn who has seen a number of encounters will pull off surprising twists and skills. For example, there was a treasure chest on the other edge of a blocked and locked door. A fighter pawn I had in my party encouraged me to go to the side of the building, and they used their shield to ally-oop me up into the air so I could reach a gap, slip inside, and unlock the door. Small but helpful things like that make pawns feel better than standard AI allies.

My only real complaint — and this might be a plus to Dragon's Dogma fans — is that pawns chatter all the time about inane stuff. They'll constantly point out things in the environment, which can be helpful, but it can be annoying. Sometimes they'll even gossip about their masters. There is an attribute you can assign to a pawn to make it not chatter, but that requires giving up a slot that's useful for other things. It's a minor flaw, but since pawns are such a big part of the game, it could drive some players batty.

The quests are also nicely distinct. Some are the basic "go to a place and kill a thing" variety, but some genuinely require you to think about what you're doing. One early quest requires you to sneak into the royal castle. Do you wait until night and then stealth in, so you can avoid being caught? Do you procure a royal guard's uniform and march in the front door? Do you wait until the night of a masquerade and dress in your finest clothes (and mask) and hope to mingle that way? Many quests have more than one potential path forward, and the game encourages you to look at the available tools.

Like the rest of the game, this is also where you're encouraged to explore. For example, I came across a random escaped slave on the road looking for a jewel that he had purloined from his master. Upon finding the jewel, I also found a forger who could make a replica and the Master looking for the jewel. I could turn in the slave and keep the jewel, forge a replica of the jewel to give to one (or both) of them, or keep the jewel for myself and leave them be. Sometimes the reward is better, and sometimes it's worse, but there's a sense of freedom that can't be beaten.

Dragon's Dogma II also looks fantastic. The environments are beautiful, dense and full of detail, and the various monsters and creatures lumber through the world in a way that makes everything feel very real. The frame rate is the only area I found to be a little iffy. For the most part, it's smooth but it would sometimes start dropping for no reason, which could be distracting in the middle of a huge fight. Thankfully, the audio side of the game is excellent, with great music that helps to set the tone. The voice acting is overwrought at times, but even that has its own charm.

Dragon's Dogma II doesn't feel like anything else on the market. Despite fantasy action-RPG being one of the most common genres, Dragon's Dogma II manages to stand out from the crowd. The unusual atmosphere, excellent combat, and general sense of place and weight make it feel distinct in a world full of Soulslikes or Skyrim clones. It's a boatload of fun to play, and it manages to make what could be a tiring genre feel fresh and full of life. If you're looking to hunt some monsters and cast some spells, Dragon's Dogma II is easily one of the best titles on the market.

Score: 9.0/10