maddestmao
2024
This review contains spoilers
updated review after getting all achievements and completing the game on NG+, about 116 hours of play. the honeymoon phase from my first review at about 80 hours is well past, and looking back my praise was premature.
i have a lot of feelings about this game. it's good, extremely gorgeous and full of visual polish, and yet so underwhelming in many ways. if you have never played the first game, you won't know what you're missing and i think you'll have a great time overall. if you're a veteran of dark arisen, there is so much lacking.
here's a couple of big lists because i don't like writing big paragraphs:
what's new and improved in dd2:
-new player onboarding
-emergent gameplay is more engaging this time around
-expanded map, lots of cool caverns and spots to discover
-camping
-oxcarts
-sphinx
-weapon enhancement variety allows for cool optimization
-pawn interactions with player, world, and other pawns improved
-three new all-new vocations in mystic spearhand, trickster, and warfarer (thief doesn't count as new imo)
-expanded services from dragonforged (usefulness debatable, only available in NG+ where you're already strong)
-healing item and other shortcuts enabled by default is really nice
what's missing from ddda:
-layering armor has been removed, fashion's dogma suffers
-impactful augments missing
-impactful equipment missing (nothing like gloves of might, etc.)
-changing equipment from the storage menu
-missing vocation mystic knight
-strider and assassin vocations merged to create thief
-assassin vocation removal invalidates a method of play (travelling without pawns)
-no bloody knuckle ring
-neatly designed dungeons (watergod's altar, catacombs, everfall, bluemoon tower)
-noticeboard quests
-hydras, gazers, cockatrices
-throwing inventory items removed (bottles, throwblast, skulls, rocks, from inventory) likely to force engagement with ranger skills using status effecting arrows
-no hard mode
-dragonforging items by defeating dragons was more fun and rewarding, wouldn't be an issue in dd2 as the spawns are very consistent and drakes are easy to kill
missed opportunities and issues still present from dda:
-dye now exists but it's for your hair not your armor lol?
-romance system still shallow and borderline annoying
-NG+ does not adjust difficulty
-can't hide helmets
-camping could have used more depth, why can't fish be cooked for different buffs for example? for as much as i dislike breath of the wild and its sequel, dd2 could stand to take some ideas from the cooking mechanics in those games
gameplay issues unique to dd2:
-difficulty leaves a lot to be desired, one of the very major issues impacting my enjoyment of the game personally
-questionable decision to take vocation skills from ddda and turn them into max affinity quest rewards
-unsatisfying dragon fight, no buildup because the game is extremely hand-holdy in trying to get you to the true ending, making the fight and choice of sacrificing your beloved feel like it's there out of obligation as there's no allusion to a previous sovran having to make such a choice
-boring achievements, nothing for completing the game a second time as you are always railroaded into breaking the cycle
dd2 story issues:
-bafflingly seems to operate on the misguided assumption that the player has lore knowledge from dd1, leading to inadequate lore exposition on the nature of the dragon, pawns, arisen, etc
-the fact that your heart is stolen is almost never touched upon again after reliving the moment you become arisen in melve, you're not even shown the fact that your heart is returned to you after killing the dragon, again seemingly a byproduct of the writers assuming the player already knows what's happening
-important lore exposure is given to the player almost exclusively through massive dumps during the dragon boss fight and the unmoored world ending
-pawns reviled in battahl but it's functionally inconsequential, nothing bad happens if you run around town with your pawns
-things could have been more interesting if the player was actually working together with phaesus instead of pitted against him by being uninformed about the true nature of the cycle while almost everyone else (even the dragon and lesser dragons) seem to understand it
-because the dragon is self aware of it's place in the cycle and very mouthy about it, it undermines the weight of the "final" fight
-much left unexplained about the nature of the pathfinder
-if the pathfinder wants to keep the cycle unbroken why is his stupid ass at the coronation at all? did he secretly want to die?
-what causes pawns to become formless dragons at the end of the world? why can pawns control the talos?
man this game sucks and also doesn't, whatever congrats if you made it to the end of this rambling list, gonna play dark arisen again while i wait for dlc to maybe fix some of these issues
i have a lot of feelings about this game. it's good, extremely gorgeous and full of visual polish, and yet so underwhelming in many ways. if you have never played the first game, you won't know what you're missing and i think you'll have a great time overall. if you're a veteran of dark arisen, there is so much lacking.
here's a couple of big lists because i don't like writing big paragraphs:
what's new and improved in dd2:
-new player onboarding
-emergent gameplay is more engaging this time around
-expanded map, lots of cool caverns and spots to discover
-camping
-oxcarts
-sphinx
-weapon enhancement variety allows for cool optimization
-pawn interactions with player, world, and other pawns improved
-three new all-new vocations in mystic spearhand, trickster, and warfarer (thief doesn't count as new imo)
-expanded services from dragonforged (usefulness debatable, only available in NG+ where you're already strong)
-healing item and other shortcuts enabled by default is really nice
what's missing from ddda:
-layering armor has been removed, fashion's dogma suffers
-impactful augments missing
-impactful equipment missing (nothing like gloves of might, etc.)
-changing equipment from the storage menu
-missing vocation mystic knight
-strider and assassin vocations merged to create thief
-assassin vocation removal invalidates a method of play (travelling without pawns)
-no bloody knuckle ring
-neatly designed dungeons (watergod's altar, catacombs, everfall, bluemoon tower)
-noticeboard quests
-hydras, gazers, cockatrices
-throwing inventory items removed (bottles, throwblast, skulls, rocks, from inventory) likely to force engagement with ranger skills using status effecting arrows
-no hard mode
-dragonforging items by defeating dragons was more fun and rewarding, wouldn't be an issue in dd2 as the spawns are very consistent and drakes are easy to kill
missed opportunities and issues still present from dda:
-dye now exists but it's for your hair not your armor lol?
-romance system still shallow and borderline annoying
-NG+ does not adjust difficulty
-can't hide helmets
-camping could have used more depth, why can't fish be cooked for different buffs for example? for as much as i dislike breath of the wild and its sequel, dd2 could stand to take some ideas from the cooking mechanics in those games
gameplay issues unique to dd2:
-difficulty leaves a lot to be desired, one of the very major issues impacting my enjoyment of the game personally
-questionable decision to take vocation skills from ddda and turn them into max affinity quest rewards
-unsatisfying dragon fight, no buildup because the game is extremely hand-holdy in trying to get you to the true ending, making the fight and choice of sacrificing your beloved feel like it's there out of obligation as there's no allusion to a previous sovran having to make such a choice
-boring achievements, nothing for completing the game a second time as you are always railroaded into breaking the cycle
dd2 story issues:
-bafflingly seems to operate on the misguided assumption that the player has lore knowledge from dd1, leading to inadequate lore exposition on the nature of the dragon, pawns, arisen, etc
-the fact that your heart is stolen is almost never touched upon again after reliving the moment you become arisen in melve, you're not even shown the fact that your heart is returned to you after killing the dragon, again seemingly a byproduct of the writers assuming the player already knows what's happening
-important lore exposure is given to the player almost exclusively through massive dumps during the dragon boss fight and the unmoored world ending
-pawns reviled in battahl but it's functionally inconsequential, nothing bad happens if you run around town with your pawns
-things could have been more interesting if the player was actually working together with phaesus instead of pitted against him by being uninformed about the true nature of the cycle while almost everyone else (even the dragon and lesser dragons) seem to understand it
-because the dragon is self aware of it's place in the cycle and very mouthy about it, it undermines the weight of the "final" fight
-much left unexplained about the nature of the pathfinder
-if the pathfinder wants to keep the cycle unbroken why is his stupid ass at the coronation at all? did he secretly want to die?
-what causes pawns to become formless dragons at the end of the world? why can pawns control the talos?
man this game sucks and also doesn't, whatever congrats if you made it to the end of this rambling list, gonna play dark arisen again while i wait for dlc to maybe fix some of these issues
2024
better than the first game in almost every way, and yet so very much the same as it. it's like they ripped dd1 out from it's original trappings and put a coat of RE engine on it, with some extra bells and whistles. if you liked the first game this is very worth your time. if you didn't play the first one, it's still worth your time as long as you can stomach the fact that travelling and planning ahead is a core part of the game. combat is great, the new vocations are extremely fun, and the map is massive compared to the original.
after 77 hours on my first run i can't get enough, i'm starting ng+ with things still left to explore, questlines yet to be found, etc. etc...
the only thing to me that feels amiss is (no spoilers) i feel that the ending is left wanting, and the lore left a little unexplained when compared to the original. maybe it's because i spent so much time with the first, but i'm unsure if the sequel dethrones it as my favorite game. we'll see after another 100 or so hours and some dlc idk
tl;dr: it's dd1 but in RE engine with some qol features, cool new vocations, and a map that dwarfs the first's
after 77 hours on my first run i can't get enough, i'm starting ng+ with things still left to explore, questlines yet to be found, etc. etc...
the only thing to me that feels amiss is (no spoilers) i feel that the ending is left wanting, and the lore left a little unexplained when compared to the original. maybe it's because i spent so much time with the first, but i'm unsure if the sequel dethrones it as my favorite game. we'll see after another 100 or so hours and some dlc idk
tl;dr: it's dd1 but in RE engine with some qol features, cool new vocations, and a map that dwarfs the first's
2024
best protag best story best ost, main party avoids self flanderization unlike p5's
half a star taken off for no bromance social links and tartarus kinda sucks
half a star taken off for no bromance social links and tartarus kinda sucks
2023
game fun
too easy to get into everyone's pants, no thrill of the chase
karlach op and also my wife
why aren't owlbears real
update after beating the game:
actually astarion is my wife
act 3 should be split into two parts, pacing feels a bit weirdand tbh i think the entire ending sequence is a bit of a fumble, it all could have used more polish they fixed the ending by adding an epilogue, based larian
update doing a durge run and ascending astarion:
he's so mean now he's breaking my heart i can't believe a fucking video game is making me feel this way, incredible
too easy to get into everyone's pants, no thrill of the chase
karlach op and also my wife
why aren't owlbears real
update after beating the game:
actually astarion is my wife
act 3 should be split into two parts, pacing feels a bit weird
update doing a durge run and ascending astarion:
he's so mean now he's breaking my heart i can't believe a fucking video game is making me feel this way, incredible
2023
i am free from street fighter, guilty gear is better but if u like street fighter u will probably like this game
manon ugly af
manon ugly af
i love katamari
10/10 childhood game, 5/10 competitive gaming experience as a "new" player who doesn't have 5 hours a day to spend practicing tech skill
1999
kirby s tier, dope game
2023
game's beautiful on ultrawide
final boss a little too easy on standard mode
long live resident evil 5 but this one is good too
final boss a little too easy on standard mode
long live resident evil 5 but this one is good too
2022
at the end of the day, aren't we all just dwarves in a really big fort?
2022
a really mixed bag of good and bad
good:
- huge amount of qol changes like boxes being accessible from anywhere, name changing and move remembering/teaching from the summary screen makes managing pokemon and optimizing their stats feel fun rather than a cumbersome chore like in older games
- music is overall really good
- characters other than nemona all feel likeable and well designed with good animations
- huge dex, many mons
bad:
-performance issues everyone already knows about
- battles move extremely slowly for no reason, pokemon take ages to load in when switching, terastallizing animation isn't skippable after the first time and it takes forever
- has the curse of the open world where it's all too easy to skip past early game areas without realizing it and then having to go back and sweep the easy gym leaders with your level 50 pokemon, makes for an unsatisfying gym circuit experience
- cities and towns feel lifeless without much to do in them
- no hall of fame?? the fuck????
would like to see in the next game:
-improved battle pace
-more linear world or some kind of level scaling system so that all gyms feel like a challenge
- better post-game content
-more interesting pokemon behavior in the overworld (species interacting or fighting, pokemon hiding in trees or bushes, etc.)
-quests, let me use my pokemon to help out some npcs or have them ask me to catch a pokemon, stuff like arceus had that made the world feel more lived in and real
good:
- huge amount of qol changes like boxes being accessible from anywhere, name changing and move remembering/teaching from the summary screen makes managing pokemon and optimizing their stats feel fun rather than a cumbersome chore like in older games
- music is overall really good
- characters other than nemona all feel likeable and well designed with good animations
- huge dex, many mons
bad:
-performance issues everyone already knows about
- battles move extremely slowly for no reason, pokemon take ages to load in when switching, terastallizing animation isn't skippable after the first time and it takes forever
- has the curse of the open world where it's all too easy to skip past early game areas without realizing it and then having to go back and sweep the easy gym leaders with your level 50 pokemon, makes for an unsatisfying gym circuit experience
- cities and towns feel lifeless without much to do in them
- no hall of fame?? the fuck????
would like to see in the next game:
-improved battle pace
-more linear world or some kind of level scaling system so that all gyms feel like a challenge
- better post-game content
-more interesting pokemon behavior in the overworld (species interacting or fighting, pokemon hiding in trees or bushes, etc.)
-quests, let me use my pokemon to help out some npcs or have them ask me to catch a pokemon, stuff like arceus had that made the world feel more lived in and real
2022
cute little kitty game but they should have let u customize the cat
2022
cute as fuck, makes me very hungery
very good value for a nintendo game priced at $15
very good value for a nintendo game priced at $15
2018
oh look a cat
2022
the world's most OK fighting game