Base Game - 11/02/2024:
Takes a step back for every step it takes forward, meaning it's still more positive than it is negative, but only half as good as it could've been. For every innovative mechanic, there's an equally frustrating one. For how fun the exploration can be, it can also be mindnumbingly tedious. For the cool pieces of subtle storytelling and thematic tidbits in the lore, there's the painfully mediocre story that fails to deliver on both an emotional and deeper structural level. Still, at its peak, it's easily some of the most fun I've had with a game all year. Hoping Dragon's Dogma II can not only rectify the issues with this game, but fully realize the vision that Itsuno had wanted since the beginning.
Bitterblack Isle - 17/02/2024:
Easily the best part of the game. Doesn't quite capture the sense of scale or innovation that much of the base game does, but refines what worked with the base content (such as combat and dungeon design) and improves upon it tenfold. Delivers where the base game couldn't via characters, story, and game balance. Gacha mechanics suck ass, but the game was surprisingly a lot kinder to me than Xenoblade 2 was insofar as gacha mechanics in single-player RPGs are concerned. It's been a decade since and if Dragon's Dogma 2 manages to be even better than this DLC was, then we're in for some peak gaming. Itsuno, do not fail us.
Takes a step back for every step it takes forward, meaning it's still more positive than it is negative, but only half as good as it could've been. For every innovative mechanic, there's an equally frustrating one. For how fun the exploration can be, it can also be mindnumbingly tedious. For the cool pieces of subtle storytelling and thematic tidbits in the lore, there's the painfully mediocre story that fails to deliver on both an emotional and deeper structural level. Still, at its peak, it's easily some of the most fun I've had with a game all year. Hoping Dragon's Dogma II can not only rectify the issues with this game, but fully realize the vision that Itsuno had wanted since the beginning.
Bitterblack Isle - 17/02/2024:
Easily the best part of the game. Doesn't quite capture the sense of scale or innovation that much of the base game does, but refines what worked with the base content (such as combat and dungeon design) and improves upon it tenfold. Delivers where the base game couldn't via characters, story, and game balance. Gacha mechanics suck ass, but the game was surprisingly a lot kinder to me than Xenoblade 2 was insofar as gacha mechanics in single-player RPGs are concerned. It's been a decade since and if Dragon's Dogma 2 manages to be even better than this DLC was, then we're in for some peak gaming. Itsuno, do not fail us.