This review contains spoilers
"Will is power. "Tis the means to shape the world as one desires."
The original Dragon's Dogma was a great game buried under just how blatantly unfinished it was. A dull open world, bad enemy variety and a lackluster story made for an experience that was carried by superb gameplay helmed by DMC veteran Hideaki Itsuno. Now nearly twelve years later and a sequel has finally come out, with many of those issues being fixed while simultaneously feeling like a game that feels like a relic of the past that needed more time in the oven.
If I had to say what II's biggest improvement would be I'd have to go with its open world. In comparison to the first games very flat and boring sandbox, II feels much more alive and rewarding to explore. This mainly has to do with just how much stuff is packed into the world, with various caves/dungeons that make exploration feel super rewarding. The excellent Vocation system from before has also seen some reworks and I'd absolutely say for the better. I went with Thief/Spearhand for this play through and both felt like an absolute joy to play with, offering tools that make them feel truly unique and balanced in fair ways (Thief having much better mobility while Spearhand is a solid all rounder). It also feels like Vocations level up far quicker than they ever did in the original, with most reaching max rank in the middle game in comparison to the first, which demanded you stick to a vocation and to never deviate. Pawns have also seen lots of subtle changes that make them feel much more useful this time around. While they'll occasionally still stumble around and the banter they repeat is annoying, they're also generally more useful and turn the tide of battle (and learn from the player much more frequently). Rounding out these improvements would be Oxcarts, which are a cheaper alternative to getting around the world. While it is possible to be interrupted mid ride, I never had much issue with this as reloading a save was pretty simple and the encounters rarely destroyed the ride.
All that being said DDII's biggest issue is just how similar it is to the original (from 2012). Besides the much improved open world, every issue from the original is here and some far WORSE. Enemy variety is shockingly abysmal with the same few groups being repeated ad nauseam (this alongside the encounter rates being jacked up does not help). New enemy types do exist like the Medusa and Dullahan do exist but feel needlessly rare (I only encountered both of them ONCE). Quest design is also a pretty major issue, with so many quests either bugging out or just being needlessly vague. As for new issues two of them stick out like a sore thumb: Dragonsplague and the Loss Gauge. Exclusive to pawns, Dragonsplague is both a blessing and a curse that allows a pawn to reach new heights in terms of power at the cost of commanding them and eventually turning into a dragon and murdering an entire town. While this sounds bad on paper in practice its a mechanic you will barely notice. This is mainly because getting rid of it is as simple as chucking your pawn off a cliff and waiting for them to die while also dismissing other pawns just to be safe. Even if it does happen most important NPCs will just respawn which makes the feature more a cool gimmick instead of anything really dangerous (the game also throws wakestones at you so its never an issue when a npc dies). Loss Gauge on the other hand is an absolutely woeful mechanic that attempts to fix the issue of the original which is just how spammable healing items are. This mechanic essentially forces the player to rest as doing so will restore any lost portions of health (and to the games credit campfires are plentiful and camping kits nigh invulnerable). I don't think this mechanic is bad on paper but in execution its awful. Basic fights aren't too affected by this mechanic (besides the occasional moment where enemies gang up on you and take out half your bar) but in boss fights it means that you will be wittled down throughout the course of the fight with your only real solution being wakestones which give a full bar back. The obvious issue is this DOESN'T FUCKING FIX SPAMMING, as health items can be used while knocked down and can even be used to completely cheese some attacks (mainly moves that have aoe or are continuous). Last thing I'll say before delving into spoiler territory is that the difficulty is overall a lot easier than in the original, with the economy being more lopsided towards the player and rare resources like ferrystones much easier to gain (which makes the microtransactions all the more idiotic). Mystic Spearhand in particular has a busted defense ability that makes the mid to endgame an absolute breeze, being able to make the entire party borderline invincible (though you sadly aren't immune to gravity).
STORY SPOILERS FOR DRAGONS DOGMA DA/II
I won't defend the original Dragon's Dogma for having an amazing story but it also isn't paced as badly as IIs. This is mainly towards the second half in the new region, where lots of things are just rushed through, such as everything involving the second nation. While Vernworth has lots to do both in the main story and out, Batal feels sorely lacking in both, with only one or two major questlines alongside the crumbs of story (mainly involving the godsbane). The third area is even worse in this regard, with the only noteworthy moments being the statue fight (a weak setpiece) and the final encounter with the dragon (which is pretty cool but also much tamer compared to the original). Where things DO pickup is what happens post dragon. The original was pretty infamous for absolutely dropping the ball with this moment, as all you got was some changes in the shit open world and a pretty mediocre final dungeon. Meanwhile in DD2 the ENTIRE FUCKING OCEAN IS GONE. This makes for a world that feels so much more dangerous and teeming with lots of new encounters that feel so much more interesting (alongside a pretty cool reveal that plays with the themes of the original in a much more satisfying way). I genuinely loved the endgame of DDII with my only complaint being I wished more was done because it's surprisingly very simple (mainly because the game just showers you with ferrystones which makes traversal an utter joke).
STORY SPOILERS DONE
Dragon's Dogma II should satisfy those who felt the original was a great game but missed that certain oomf to it. Its current state is something that I wouldn't bother with (some tinkering does make it run smoother but never smooth enough) but once those kinks get ironed out I wholly recommend picking it up. A solid sequel that makes me excited for Itsuno's next game.
8.5/10
The original Dragon's Dogma was a great game buried under just how blatantly unfinished it was. A dull open world, bad enemy variety and a lackluster story made for an experience that was carried by superb gameplay helmed by DMC veteran Hideaki Itsuno. Now nearly twelve years later and a sequel has finally come out, with many of those issues being fixed while simultaneously feeling like a game that feels like a relic of the past that needed more time in the oven.
If I had to say what II's biggest improvement would be I'd have to go with its open world. In comparison to the first games very flat and boring sandbox, II feels much more alive and rewarding to explore. This mainly has to do with just how much stuff is packed into the world, with various caves/dungeons that make exploration feel super rewarding. The excellent Vocation system from before has also seen some reworks and I'd absolutely say for the better. I went with Thief/Spearhand for this play through and both felt like an absolute joy to play with, offering tools that make them feel truly unique and balanced in fair ways (Thief having much better mobility while Spearhand is a solid all rounder). It also feels like Vocations level up far quicker than they ever did in the original, with most reaching max rank in the middle game in comparison to the first, which demanded you stick to a vocation and to never deviate. Pawns have also seen lots of subtle changes that make them feel much more useful this time around. While they'll occasionally still stumble around and the banter they repeat is annoying, they're also generally more useful and turn the tide of battle (and learn from the player much more frequently). Rounding out these improvements would be Oxcarts, which are a cheaper alternative to getting around the world. While it is possible to be interrupted mid ride, I never had much issue with this as reloading a save was pretty simple and the encounters rarely destroyed the ride.
All that being said DDII's biggest issue is just how similar it is to the original (from 2012). Besides the much improved open world, every issue from the original is here and some far WORSE. Enemy variety is shockingly abysmal with the same few groups being repeated ad nauseam (this alongside the encounter rates being jacked up does not help). New enemy types do exist like the Medusa and Dullahan do exist but feel needlessly rare (I only encountered both of them ONCE). Quest design is also a pretty major issue, with so many quests either bugging out or just being needlessly vague. As for new issues two of them stick out like a sore thumb: Dragonsplague and the Loss Gauge. Exclusive to pawns, Dragonsplague is both a blessing and a curse that allows a pawn to reach new heights in terms of power at the cost of commanding them and eventually turning into a dragon and murdering an entire town. While this sounds bad on paper in practice its a mechanic you will barely notice. This is mainly because getting rid of it is as simple as chucking your pawn off a cliff and waiting for them to die while also dismissing other pawns just to be safe. Even if it does happen most important NPCs will just respawn which makes the feature more a cool gimmick instead of anything really dangerous (the game also throws wakestones at you so its never an issue when a npc dies). Loss Gauge on the other hand is an absolutely woeful mechanic that attempts to fix the issue of the original which is just how spammable healing items are. This mechanic essentially forces the player to rest as doing so will restore any lost portions of health (and to the games credit campfires are plentiful and camping kits nigh invulnerable). I don't think this mechanic is bad on paper but in execution its awful. Basic fights aren't too affected by this mechanic (besides the occasional moment where enemies gang up on you and take out half your bar) but in boss fights it means that you will be wittled down throughout the course of the fight with your only real solution being wakestones which give a full bar back. The obvious issue is this DOESN'T FUCKING FIX SPAMMING, as health items can be used while knocked down and can even be used to completely cheese some attacks (mainly moves that have aoe or are continuous). Last thing I'll say before delving into spoiler territory is that the difficulty is overall a lot easier than in the original, with the economy being more lopsided towards the player and rare resources like ferrystones much easier to gain (which makes the microtransactions all the more idiotic). Mystic Spearhand in particular has a busted defense ability that makes the mid to endgame an absolute breeze, being able to make the entire party borderline invincible (though you sadly aren't immune to gravity).
STORY SPOILERS FOR DRAGONS DOGMA DA/II
I won't defend the original Dragon's Dogma for having an amazing story but it also isn't paced as badly as IIs. This is mainly towards the second half in the new region, where lots of things are just rushed through, such as everything involving the second nation. While Vernworth has lots to do both in the main story and out, Batal feels sorely lacking in both, with only one or two major questlines alongside the crumbs of story (mainly involving the godsbane). The third area is even worse in this regard, with the only noteworthy moments being the statue fight (a weak setpiece) and the final encounter with the dragon (which is pretty cool but also much tamer compared to the original). Where things DO pickup is what happens post dragon. The original was pretty infamous for absolutely dropping the ball with this moment, as all you got was some changes in the shit open world and a pretty mediocre final dungeon. Meanwhile in DD2 the ENTIRE FUCKING OCEAN IS GONE. This makes for a world that feels so much more dangerous and teeming with lots of new encounters that feel so much more interesting (alongside a pretty cool reveal that plays with the themes of the original in a much more satisfying way). I genuinely loved the endgame of DDII with my only complaint being I wished more was done because it's surprisingly very simple (mainly because the game just showers you with ferrystones which makes traversal an utter joke).
STORY SPOILERS DONE
Dragon's Dogma II should satisfy those who felt the original was a great game but missed that certain oomf to it. Its current state is something that I wouldn't bother with (some tinkering does make it run smoother but never smooth enough) but once those kinks get ironed out I wholly recommend picking it up. A solid sequel that makes me excited for Itsuno's next game.
8.5/10