Dragon’s Dogma 2 is set for release on March 22, 2024, and the anticipation surrounding it suggests it could be a strong contender for Game of the Year, following Baldur’s Gate 3’s win last year. With extensive experience in Dragon’s Dogma, I can attest to its exceptional action combat mechanics, among the best in the RPG genre. Considering Capcom’s track record in game development, expectations are high for Dragon’s Dogma 2 to deliver similar or enhanced combat experiences.
However, it’s important to acknowledge that the original Dragon’s Dogma had its share of significant issues. If these persist in the sequel, there’s a risk of losing a considerable portion of the player base, as was the case with the first installment. Recent years have seen the emergence of exceptional open-world RPGs boasting stellar combat mechanics. Games like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Ghost of Tsushima, and Elden Ring have set new benchmarks in the gaming industry, offering more than just combat prowess.
For Dragon’s Dogma 2 to vie for Game of the Year honors in 2024, substantial improvements are imperative. Here, I outline several areas where Dragon’s Dogma 2 must excel to stake its claim as a top contender.
Engaging Stories and Exciting Missions Make or Break a Game
Games that earn the title of Game of the Year often boast compelling narratives. Titles like Baldur’s Gate 3, The Last of Us Part 2, It Takes Two, and Elden Ring are celebrated for their exceptional storytelling and depth.
In contrast, the original Dragon’s Dogma presented a decent story but suffered from poor execution. Much of the narrative felt disjointed, with events unfolding without meaningful in-game consequences. To elevate the sequel’s standing, there must be a concerted effort to enhance the coherence between game events, ensuring a seamless flow without overly burdening players with tedious tasks.
In-Game Consequences Should Follow Big Story Events
For instance, in one mission within Dragon’s Dogma, the Arisen finds themselves imprisoned for engaging in illicit activities with the Duke’s wife. However, upon escaping, they can freely roam the palace grounds without any reaction from the Duke or his guards.
Similarly, when the Arisen liberates the Princess from captivity, there is no discernible response from any characters in the game world. Instances like these are prevalent in Dragon’s Dogma and disrupt player immersion. In contrast, games like Elden Ring emphasize player decisions and their impact on the world and relationships with NPCs.
However, some might argue that as long as the missions themselves are engaging, these narrative inconsistencies can be overlooked.
No One Ever Said, “We Love Doing Escort Missions for the 15th Time”
The majority of missions in the first part of Dragon’s Dogma consisted of task lists, fetch quests, or escort missions.
“Bring 50 Rabbit skins, 20 flowers, and a snakeskin purse (with no details about its location),” “Escort this person to this area,” or “Slay 50 Bats and 20 Rats.” The escort missions should at least provide lore drops on the characters being escorted, which they do not.
These missions lack fun and should not dominate any game. The only enjoyable missions in Dragon’s Dogma were those related to combat, such as The Griffin’s Bane, Wyrmking’s Ring, Watergod’s Altar, and Deny Salvation. These missions had exciting high points, but they were hindered by a significant issue: traveling.
Exploration Should Never Feel Like a Chore
Exploration stands as the pinnacle experience in any noteworthy open-world game.
If traversing the game world feels cumbersome, then the game may have missed the mark on its “Open World” design. This sentiment underscores why Bitterblack Isle shines as the standout feature of Dragon’s Dogma.
Titles like Breath of the Wild, Ghost of Tsushima, Elden Ring, and Marvel’s Spider-Man excel in crafting travel mechanics that elevate the player’s experience. In contrast, navigating the world in Dragon’s Dogma can feel laborious and tedious by comparison.
Exploration Should Offer Rewards in an Open World Setting
In a well-crafted open-world RPG, players anticipate discovering a plethora of points of interest and quest-givers scattered throughout the map. Unearthing hidden bosses or stumbling upon elusive questlines tucked away in remote corners, akin to the Thief Guild missions in Skyrim, are hallmark features of a quality open-world experience.
Regrettably, the original Dragon’s Dogma fell short in meeting these expectations on several fronts, leaving much room for improvement in the upcoming sequel.
While encounters with formidable foes like Chimeras, Cyclops, Griffins, and Wyrms injected moments of excitement, the majority of the world felt eerily empty. Despite the initial thrill of confronting these creatures, the repetitive nature of encountering the same Cyclops or Chimeras throughout the map quickly grew monotonous.
One of the major shortcomings of the game was the distribution of quests and rewards across the map. Most quests in Dragon’s Dogma were given from two primary locations, whereas quests should have been spread out more evenly throughout the map.
There were only a few quests scattered around the map, such as the Miner’s quest outside the Quarry and the quest from the Bandit leader, but these were exceptions rather than the norm.
This forced players to repeatedly travel between the central city, Gran Soren, and quest locations, which felt tedious due to the game’s subpar fast travel mechanic.
Keep Fast Travel Simple, Don’t Complicate It!
Fast traveling is one of the simplest mechanics in gaming, allowing players to save time by quickly jumping to any previously discovered Point of Interest on the map.
However, Dragon’s Dogma added a layer of complexity to fast travel. Instead of the conventional method, the game introduced Port Crystals. These were limited items obtained through story missions and could be placed around the world to establish fast travel points.
Sounds good, right?
No, it’s not. During the first playthrough, there were only five port crystals available in total, and players could easily miss them due to their remote placement. Additionally, one port crystal is locked behind a limited-time quest, which can be difficult to trigger for first-time players.
Even if players managed to collect all five port crystals in their first playthrough, they still didn’t cover half of the game’s map. Strategically placing them was the best players could do, which was particularly challenging for new players who were unfamiliar with mission locations.
But that’s not all! Port Crystals were quite heavy to carry around, and being burdened by their weight decreased movement speed, making traveling feel even more cumbersome.
Poor and Unenjoyable Game Mechanics Ruin Player Experience
When it comes to inventory weight mechanics, Dragon’s Dogma featured some of the most frustrating gameplay elements imaginable, ones that should ideally be avoided in any game.
Equipment and Inventory Weight Mechanics Should Not Coexist
Weight, as a gaming mechanic, can often be cumbersome. While I understand why many developers choose to implement it in their games, combining equipment weight and inventory weight is generally not seen in successful games.
Games like Elden Ring use equipment weight, while others like Valheim use inventory weight. Some games opt to have neither, which is often considered the best approach.
Dragon’s Dogma implemented both equipment weight and inventory weight simultaneously, which resulted in characters becoming unbearably slow when wearing heavy armor and carrying a few essential items.
Simply carrying 15-20 potions (which weigh a lot) while wearing heavy armor would slow the player down significantly. The weight of items in Dragon’s Dogma 2 requires significant tuning; otherwise, it will continue to frustrate both old and new players of the franchise.
Single Character Slot Restriction is Unreasonable
Putting everything else aside, Dragon’s Dogma is a fantastic game that offers multiple ways to play. Games with such a high level of class customization allow players to create diverse characters, enabling them to enjoy the game from various perspectives.
However, despite its strengths, Dragon’s Dogma limited players to just one character slot at a time, preventing them from creating and experiencing the game with multiple characters.
The rationale behind such a feature in an open-world RPG renowned for its customization capabilities is perplexing. It hindered players’ ability to explore different playstyles and narratives, ultimately limiting the game’s potential for replayability.
Is Combat Alone Enough to Make Dragon’s Dogma 2 the Next GOTY?
Despite everything I’ve mentioned above, neither I nor dedicated players of the franchise will be deterred from playing and enjoying Dragon’s Dogma 2 in the same way we did with the original. Combat is the most crucial element of a game for us.
Defeating giant monsters one after another will always be enjoyable, even if there are 50 other flawed mechanics. However, I want Dragon’s Dogma 2 to receive the recognition it deserves, which the first game did not. Addressing the mentioned issues is the sole path to making it a Game of the Year contender in 2024.
No, it’s not. Dragon’s Dogma 2 needs significant improvements in many areas to even be considered a contender for Game of the Year in 2024. The game cannot afford to carry over some of the same terrible mechanics present in the first installment, as it will once again alienate a large portion of the gaming player base.
Dragon’s Dogma only achieved 1 million sales in its first year of release, and Dragon’s Dogma 2 could be limited to the same result if it doesn’t address its storytelling, offer better missions, and eliminate the terrible game mechanics that ruined the fun.
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