Dragon’s Dogma 2 launches on most platforms on March 22, and I checked it out at a preview occasion in New York Metropolis. In his 2023 hands-on preview of the high-fantasy RPG, Kotaku senior reporter Ethan Gach mentioned that it’s “shaping as much as have all of the instruments essential to turn out to be the extensively acclaimed hit it deserves to be”—and I completely agree! The factor that bought me on this was a brand new class that successfully turns your character right into a medieval Drive consumer. Transfer over, Darth Maul; there’s one other double-bladed saber participant on the town.
Learn Extra: Dragon’s Dogma 2 Coming March 2024, Trying Extra Superior Each Day
Pre-order Dragon’s Dogma 2: Amazon | Greatest Purchase | Humble Bundle
A sequel to Capcom’s cult-fave 2012 action-adventure sport, Dragon’s Dogma 2 picks up the place its predecessor left off. After getting your coronary heart damaged by a really imply dragon, you enterprise out to—as soon as once more—show that you just’re deserving of affection by killing the beast. You’ll recruit NPC servants often called Pawns to journey with you, fend off all manners of vicious creatures (like goblins and golems), and full myriad principal and aspect quests as you uncover the whereabouts of the heart-breaking flying lizard. If this sounds so much like the unique Dragon’s Dogma, properly, it’s, however that’s not a foul factor. In actual fact, due to a bigger open world and new gameplay mechanics—together with new expertise for the assorted lessons or “vocations”—Dragon’s Dogma 2 actually builds upon what Capcom completed over a decade in the past. And the 2 new vocations, notably the twin-blade-wielding Mystic Spearhand, underscore that inventive evolution.
Lifting rocks, throwing schlock in DD2 with magic
The sequel’s Mystic Spearhand is much like the unique sport’s Mystic Knight in that each vocations concentrate on magic- and melee-based fight. However that’s the place the similarities finish. The Mystic Spearhand is quicker than the Mystic Knight, capable of shortly sprint across the battlefield due to its teleportation expertise. It’s additionally acquired a wider vary of spells at its disposal that mean you can buff your allies whereas meting out huge quantities of harm by yourself, letting the category fill within the roles of “attacker,” “help,” and “tank” concurrently. Additional, the vocation can shoot out blade beams from its duospear and magic bolts from its fingertips, in addition to twirl its weapon in a sorta figure-8 movement to swiftly rack up the ache it offers. This class feels improbable, particularly whenever you’re zipping from enemy to enemy, utilizing your twin-bladed weapon as a blender and lobbing spells to regulate the sphere.
However what actually bought me was the power to carry enemies and objects off the bottom utilizing magic. By holding down one of many shoulder buttons, you may convey up a separate menu of expertise in the course of fight. One generates a teal-colored ball that suspends objects within the air. So, when you wished to toss that rock towards a chimera you’re combating, you are able to do that. Equally, when you simply killed a wolf and wished to make use of its physique as throwable fodder, you are able to do that, too.
I wasn’t capable of check it on heavier foes, like cyclopes and ogres, and it undoubtedly doesn’t work on bigger enemies, equivalent to dragons and griffins. Nevertheless, the power to carry and throw nearly any small-to-medium-sized factor in your neighborhood opens up a litany of choices with regards to combos and injury dealing. Couple this with the Mystic Spearhand’s talents to paralyze goons, shoot magic from its arms, immediately teleport to the opposition, and swing its duospear in acrobatic vogue, and I couldn’t assist however assume I used to be the embodiment of some kinda historical Darth Maul or like an ancestor to the enduring Sith warrior. It guidelines. And now that Dragon’s Dogma 2 has blown up my fave vocation from the primary sport, the Strider, I’m sure I’ve discovered the brand new class I’m going to principal when the sport drops.
Learn Extra: Dragon’s Dogma 2 Joins A Divisive Gaming Pattern
Whereas I’ll admit that my three-hour play session was plagued with some frame-rate points, notably when roaming the densely packed cities, Dragon’s Dogma 2 continues to be wanting actual good. The environments are richly detailed, the characters are expertly written and voiced, the fight is satisfyingly crunchy, and the enemies are violently good. Every part that made the unique Dragon’s Dogma so good appears to be dialed as much as 11 right here, and I can’t wait to see how the story unfolds when Dragon’s Dogma 2 hits PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Sequence X/S on March 22.
