Dragon's Dogma 2 director says the game's restricted fast travel won't take away from the world's fun

12.03.2024 - 13:49 / techradar.com / Hideaki Itsuno / Yoshiaki Hirabayashi

Dragon's Dogma 2's lead developers have said that players don't need to worry about the game's restricted fast travel due to the game's interesting world.

Dragon's Dogma 2 is one of this year's most highly anticipated games and is set to launch later this month. A narrative-driven role-playing game (RPG )deeply rooted in fantasy, it has a huge focus on player choice and freedom. Like with most modern nowadays, this sequel will offer a massive open world to explore that is said to be even bigger than its predecessor, however, unlike other titles, the game will feature a restricted fast-travel system. 

With a game so large, it's understandable why some players may have been apprehensive about the idea of not being able to access fast-travel points as they please or ride a horse across large vistas whenever they want, but according to game director Hideaki Itsuno, the feature won't limit the player's enjoyment of the world.

«Our goal was to prepare a path so enjoyable that players would not feel the need for a horse,» Itsuno said in an interview with Automaton. «We have built in a lot of 'fun' into the map so that players will not get bored along the way, and our development policy was to make it so that it would actually be a shame to ride a horse.»

In the case of Dragon's Dogma 2, players can access fast travel by using Ferrystones — a rare item in the game. Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi adds that with other games that use a fast travel system, there is «the emphasis is on the content in between traveling» but with Capcom's sequel, «the emphasis is also on the experience of travel itself.»

Hirabayashi said that the game requires the player to think about their actions in advance, especially with traveling, pointing out that nighttime escapades can be dangerous in the dark, and that «the fear of the night gives distances a meaning.»

«If you are going to spend the night traveling to a distant destination, you need to make sure to bring enough oil for your lanterns before you leave your base,» he explains. «You need to think about whether you should bring camping gear and make necessary preparations. Our goal was to create a rhythm of tension and relaxation.»

Itsuno added that players can «experience new developments or discover alternate routes» by traveling on foot, and the very act of traveling can «create drama».

«You can feel a sense of adventure, and I think that each user will be able to experience something different even on the same road,» Istuno said.

Dragon's Dogma 2 is set to launch on March 22 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Ahead of its release, Capcom has released a free character creator across all available platforms, that allows you to create up to five appearances.

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