Dragon’s Dogma 2 is one of the most anticipated games of this year. Since its release, the game has been caught up in a scandal related to microtransactions. I’ve played over 30 hours and am on the verge of the finale, but I decided to postpone the climax while the game allows it and explore it for another dozen hours. So now I will tell you whether paid items really affect the basic mechanics of the game and whether the game can claim to be one of the best games of this year.
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The protagonist is sitting in the throne room, and everyone around him is giving him a standing ovation and toasts. The joy does not last long. It turns out that it’s just a dream, and we are actually a prisoner working in a mine with no memory (sound familiar?). In a moment, the mine is attacked by the Gorgon Medusa, which we successfully repel. Taking advantage of the commotion and the spirit’s hint, we try to escape. At the last moment, a disembodied person tells us that the dream is actually a memory from the past, and we are the rightful king whose place has been taken by an impostor.
Firstly, this world is ruled by the Arisen, a person whose heart was eaten by a dragon and who is the main character of the game. The world is inhabited by people and animals. Each race has its capital, and both are not without the phenomenon of racism. At some point in the game, if you play as a human, you won’t be allowed to enter the territory of the animals. Even a pass won’t help.
There are also elves who live by the principle of «my house is on the edge». If you play exclusively according to the main plot, you are unlikely to meet at least one pointy-eared one, and their existence is suggested by the description of a gem that is valued by this people.
The player finds himself in the center of a kind of «Game of Thrones» on the minimum settings, and the fervor of this story is not enough to just move on.
But the most interesting thing is not the plot as such, but its presentation, The game does not have a division of quests into main and secondary quests. Only from the description can you tell which quest is the main one and which, at first glance, has nothing to do with the Rebel’s journey. At the same time, the main quest only brings us closer to the end of the game, but does not tell the story in full. To get a complete picture of what is happening, you need to complete «secondary» quests.
For example, we are asked to go to a certain village, as if an impostor comes from there. If you do not complete this quest by a certain point, it will simply disappear. The game certainly warns us that there will be a turning point, but it doesn’t tell us what exactly will change, which quests will be eliminated and which will remain.
The game features a teenager named Sven, who has a separate storyline related to our story. Even the beginning of his arc can be different, depending on whether you completed a seemingly unremarkable quest at the very beginning of the game. At one point, we will be given the task «Meet Sven in his room». And if you haven’t come across his room before, you won’t get any signs or markers on the map. However, at this point, you already know who Sven is, so all you have to do is find his room.
Pawns help to believe in this world and make traveling a little easier. One of the features of Arisen is the ability to create a Pawn in your likeness (in the same character editor as the main character) and control it. A pawn is essentially a living being like the rest of the world’s population, but without its own will. Pawns are endowed with character, which is essentially their state of aggressiveness, and they understand only four commands (forward, next to, stop, help). The rest of the time, including in battles, they act autonomously.
As we travel the world, we meet other players’ pawns. Moreover, you can and should hire them to join your team.
In addition to combat power, other players’ pawns can help with quests. For example, if you hire a pawn that has already completed an active quest with its master, it will tell you how to get to the right place. Similarly, while we are relaxing in the game, our creation also travels the world and helps other players. And if that player has moved further in the game, our pawn remembers everything and can then help in our journey. For example, it can point out a hidden chest or a wall with a secret passage behind it.
There is also a legend about a mysterious pawn disease. If this disease progresses, something terrible will happen at its peak. Something that even the Rebel will not be able to stop. And it’s not just a fairy tale to decorate a long journey, this disease is really in the game and its consequences are catastrophic.
Pawns have a lot of mechanics and are a separate large component of the game, which is interesting to explore and use in your travels.
There are four basic classes, called vocations here: fighter, archer, rogue, and mage. Gradually, two additional classes are revealed that are, in a sense, improved versions of the previous ones: a sorcerer with powerful spells and a warrior in heavy armor and a two-handed sword. All these classes are available to both the hero and the pawns. Toward the end of the game, you can unlock four more mixed vocations, such as a battle mage, but they are available only to the hero.
In Dragon’s Dogma 2, you can’t rely solely on your own strength. Pawns are a full-fledged combat unit that needs to be upgraded and outfitted.
When opening a class, we are immediately given basic weapons and armor that are unique and strictly limited to each class. For example, the Fighter and Warrior are both melee classes, but only the Warrior can hold a two-handed weapon, and only the Fighter can fence with one-handed swords and hold a shield.
All class abilities are identical for both the hero and his pawn.
Combat is basically elementary. There is a weak and strong attack for melee classes, and a magic shot with an additional ability for magic classes. However, the main source of powerful attacks is special abilities, of which only four can be active.
The whole battle is an alternation of regular attacks with special attacks and the management of stamina, which is a universal resource for fighting classes and magical ones. Despite the fact that it doesn’t sound very fun, the most important thing in battles is the small details that accompany each fight.
The wolf can grab the hero and drag him a few dozen meters, invite partners, and tear the Rebel apart until the pawns save him. If you play a female character, the ogre will grab you and run as far as possible and start… licking you. Yes, it does this to female characters. If one pawn falls unconscious, the other can bring it to you because only the Rebel can revive fallen companions.
Almost every battle in Dragon’s Dogma 2 with a more or less large monster deserves a separate movie adaptation.
Playing as a mage for a very long time is boring. Especially when you switch to the Warlock. His spells are powerful, but they take a long time to cast. And they don’t always have the effect you expect. Later on, powerful spells appear that, under certain conditions, can take a whole scale (and even more) of health from a griffin or cyclops. At first, I was surprised at the amount of damage, but it doesn’t change the overall picture, as the wizarding classes are very static. Although magic looks enchanting.
The life reduction system complicates the game. After death or after receiving severe damage, the maximum amount of health decreases. And it can decrease to a level of about 10%. And mages get concussion easily, and while you run from one city to another, it is highly likely that your maximum health level will be close to the minimum. And this is certain death from one missed shot. To recover, you need to rest in a hotel or in a camp. Camps can only be set up in specific places and with the right equipment, which also weighs a lot.
I assembled a standard group of two melee pawns, a healer, and a warlock hero with combat spells. With this lineup, I had problems with only one monster, but he met me too early, so I just ran away from him. In other cases, all battles go smoothly, although they are not easy either.
It’s annoying that there are battles almost every five meters, and often you just want to run around the picturesque scenery. The game lacks the system from the TES series, and other open-world games in general, when you are less likely to run into enemies while traveling on the roads. В Dragon’s Dogma 2 is the opposite, with all the monsters and bandits settling along the paths. Even when traveling by caravan (local taxi), we will encounter ambushes more often than a calm journey.
If a pawn changes class, for example, from a robber to a wizard, then after a while it will remember what a skilled robber it once was.
There were some controversial decisions. For example, to start a new game, you need to delete the save files physically on the system itself. The upcoming patch should solve this problem and several others, but the precedent is not very pleasant.
Also, the game has actually two parallel save files: «Quick Save» and a save at a resting place. This can be an inn or your own home. «Quick Saves» occur at every step, just like in an average modern game. The only problem is that if you find yourself in an unpredictable situation, for example, stuck in textures or jumping on a ledge from which the only way out is to jump into the abyss. The game can be saved at that very moment.
And if there are no teleport or revival stones after death, you will have to die and then be reborn in your last resting place. And given the constant traveling, this save can be an hour, or even several, away from your current progress. You’ll agree that this is not a pleasant situation.
In general, almost everything in the game is good that is not «human», which seems to have been carried over from the original game, which was released on PS3 and Xbox 360. The models look nice and are generally well detailed, but the lack of skin shaders makes people look like plastic mannequins. This is especially noticeable in dialogues. And the facial animation is a complete disaster, nothing saves it.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 already has a very crude machine translation into Ukrainian. You can download it on NexusMod.
Microtransactions — are always unpleasant, but these are the realities of the current industry. I consider the problem of paid items in Dragon’s Dogma 2 to be somewhat overrated, as they do not have a significant impact on the gameplay and basic game mechanics.
Later, another quest led me to the nest of a griffin that needed to be killed. After completing the task, I began to explore the nest in search of rare resources. Less than a minute later, a second griffin arrived. It was the same one I had fought a few hours ago. He even had the same amount of health as I had left him after the first encounter. And everyone who has played Dragon’s Dogma 2 will tell you a dozen similar stories. But I won’t ruin your gaming experience anymore.