Less than an hour later Dragon's Dogma 2, I lost my life because of a beast that has haunted imaginations for millennia. As I traversed a mountain pass offering spectacular views, my interest was piqued by a towering waterfall bathed in misty spray. Behind it was a cave, and with the misplaced bravado of a newbie adventurer, I ventured inside, only to discover a fierce chimera's lair. Sword drawn, I barely made a dent in his screen-wide health bar before I was thrown into a dark, damp rock, falling to the cave floor with a deafening thud.
This feeling is one you will get used to throughout Dragon's Dogma 2: humiliating and often quick defeat, yes, tempered by the tempting promise of adventure. The sequel to the 2012 original and an original idea from the director Hideaki Itsunorewards exploring a rolling, open landscape more than any other from the landmark Ancient Ring. Its quintessential fantasy setting is comprised of furrowed trails, shady groves, long sandy beaches and, of course, dank caves, within which reside countless surprises – some deadly, others friendlier. Even though I got my ass kicked in the first hour, I steadfastly continued with a philosophy of letting curiosity rather than a waypoint dictate my direction of travel. Thirty hours later, the game continued to offer great rewards for venturing off the beaten paths of wanderers past, and not just with XP or a handful of coins. If anything, the irreplicable moments of wonder and discovery kept coming, all the more profound because the game gave me the space to find them for myself.
If you're used to the stylish, almost fluid open-world adventures of Ubisoft franchises like Assassin's Creed And Far from thereSO Dragon's Dogma 2 can seem a bit heavy, even clunky. It has a distinct tempo that pivots with the passage of playing time. When night comes, the world goes dark – very dark – and you can only light it up a little with the lantern hanging from your waist. Since enemies are more numerous and more dangerous during this time, you will want to do most of your quests during the day. So you sleep well at the local inn; make some preparations, such as putting as many health potions (here called Salubrious Delight) in your bag as possible; and I set out after breakfast with the best intention of returning before supper.
The open world you face is not as free as recent ones Zelda Games or the above Ancient Ring. The trails you travel are often surrounded by rocks; water is deadly (not because we can't swim but because Cthulian monsters hide there). These physical impositions allow designers to deftly direct your gaze to sites that have long lived rent-free in the imaginations of fans of fantasy fiction. During a journey through a steep gorge, my gaze turned away from the dusty road to a series of beautifully carved stone bridges, glistening in the yellow sun, inspiring something like nostalgia, albeit for one place which I had never visited. Crossing the ramparts of a ruined castle, I beheld an altogether bloodier but no less evocative scene: a dragon and a troll tearing chunks of red flesh from each other.
This is another crucial aspect of Dragon's Dogma 2. Enemies and NPCs don't follow predetermined scripts but react to what's happening around them, often regardless of your input. Although you play the role of the Arisen, a chosen one whose heart was ripped out by a dragon (the game's ultimate enemy), the world does not begin or end with you. You're not the only one bringing it to life – it can do it on its own.
The strangest part of the game, and the mechanic from which it gets much of its quirky personality, is the “pawn” system. Simply put, immediately after creating your character (until customizable teeth), you get another humanoid to agree to help you in your efforts to slay the dragons. The catch is that you can recruit two additional pawns – those created by developer Capcom or by other players – to form a group of four. These characters talk, they guide you on your quests, and you'll probably get attached to them before dismissing them without caring if a better one comes along. You may also come across these pawns on the road later, which can be a strangely joyful experience. It reminds us that, while this is a game of exploration and brilliant, deadly action, it's also a game about relationships – and these are anchors in its world by elsewhere hostile.
When all of these building blocks lock into place, there's nothing else like the dogma of the Dragon 2. For all the verisimilitude of its wild, open world, this is a game that plays like a richly crafted toy, a set of rules and mechanical systems, all interacting with each other, all reinforcing the promise fundamental to adventure.
During another memorable session, I was tasked with killing a group of monsters. I slipped into their lair in the morning, but by the time I reemerged, the day had faded into dusk. The journey home was difficult and anxious, characterized mainly by the hysterical thumping of my sword in the gathering darkness. But as I approached my destination, the black silhouette of the city walls visible against the last embers of the sun, my heart rate slowed. I took a moment to listen to the quiet buzz of the cicadas, at which point one of my pawns remarked with a disconcerting sense of occasion, “The sky is bright tonight.” I feel at peace contemplating it. For tonight at least, all was well in the world of Dragon's Dogma 2.
This quest amounts to about 45 minutes of gameplay, but the game often inspires a rich palette of emotions – confidence, enthusiasm, tension, relief – in a way whose intensity can seem downright strange. (You better believe those endorphins flow every time I see the warm glow of a hostel.) Through the most unconventional designs, Dragon's Dogma 2 offers something close to the Platonic ideal of a fantasy adventure. Surrender to its rhythms – the ebb and flow of its circadian cycles; the cadence of his fierce battles; the contours of a land filled with the most wonderful and terrifying secrets.
