Capcom has released the latest Dragon’s Dogma 2 update for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
07.04.2024 - 13:35 / polygon.com / Hideaki Itsuno
The blemishes of beloved video games are sometimes referred to as their “jank.” The term encapsulates things in a game that may be slightly broken or inherently peculiar — aspects that should be detrimental to the experience, but aren’t. Ideally, these broken bits are overshadowed by a game’s superior elements, be they intricate combat systems, rich stories, or unique worlds.
To call what makes Dragon’s Dogma 2 special “jank” is unfair to Capcom’s new role-playing game. But Dragon’s Dogma game director Hideaki Itsuno certainly flirts with jank in the latest incarnation of his medieval fantasy series, all in pursuit of vision. Central to that vision, Itsuno says, is “to be in a place where your destination is within sight and not too far away, yet you feel excited about the path there.”
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The path in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is its biggest draw. Travel is done almost exclusively on foot, with fast-travel options being extremely limited and slow-travel options (in an ox-driven cart) slightly less limited. What may seem like an annoyance in a modern open-world game, where convenience of travel has become the norm, eventually becomes pleasing, the way real-world hikes can be. The game world is packed with sights to see, hidden caves to explore, and hundreds of monster encounters. Curiosity has driven me to explore the game’s forests and deserts, finding new treasure and new threats, all at a light jogging pace.
The game’s sense of adventure goes beyond the geographical. It’s also a journey of reckoning with the game’s esoteric and opaque mechanics, some of which seem designed to test players’ resolve. Dragon’s Dogma 2 is not particularly difficult in the way action-RPGs like Dark Souls and Nioh are, but it is challenging in that it requires me to meet it on its terms. Figuring out its quirks makes it special; reevaluating how an open-world game can play leads to discovering its joy.
Moving through this fantasy world and uncovering its huge map, discovering hidden secrets along the way, is a big part of what makes Dragon’s Dogma 2 so intoxicating over dozens of hours. The unremarkable fantasy world of Vermund is full of threats large and small, from packs of wolves and malicious goblins to giant griffins and ogres that can be climbed in hard-fought battles. As promised by its title, there are dragons
Capcom has released the latest Dragon’s Dogma 2 update for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Capcom has detailed a Dragon’s Dogma 2 update planned for release on all platforms this month.
Dragon's Dogma 2 has received a mod that removes all restrictions from its fast travel system. The vast open world of Dragon's Dogma 2 requires the Arisen and their Pawns to traverse much of it on foot, as the game's inherent fast travel is severely limited. However, this new mod makes fast travel a universal feature.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 sales have surpassed 2.5 million units, ten days after its March 22 release date, Capcom has said.
Capcom has released an update for Dragon’s Dogma 2 on PS5 and PC, adding a frame rate cap option on consoles, improving DLSS quality, and more.
When you boot up Dragon’s Dogma 2, you get all the standard boilerplate warnings, a Capcom logo, and then the game’s title screen. Except it’s technically not the game’s name, because it’s missing a 2.
Capcom is seeking feedback on Dragon’s Dogma 2 following the game’s release last week.
Dragon's Dogma 2director Hideaki Itsuno has shared that the game's most devastating feature was being considered as early as the series' 2012 original.
If you just started Dragon’s Dogma 2, it might have come as a shock that this sprawling open-world, role-playing epic is missing one common feature: fast travel. Well, it’s not quite missing, but it’s extremely limited in ways that run counter to the normal rhythms of this hugely popular genre.
Dragon's Dogma 2 players aren't impressed by the enemy variety in the RPG and feel let down by the promises its developer made before release.
Dragon's Dogma 2's most divisive feature, the dreaded Dragonsplague, was first thought about 10 years ago but couldn't be realized because of the technological shortcomings of the time.
The Dragon's Dogma 2 community has been left shaken by the existence of Dragonsplague – a deadly illness introduced in the sequel that can result in entire towns being killed. Left unchecked, the contagious disease – which can be spread game-to-game by hiring infected Pawns – has the potential to result in numerous NPCs, including important quest-givers, being wiped out overnight.