Dragon’s Dogma 2 is sort of a fantasy-inspired installment of 1000 Methods to Die, if a hands-on preview attended by Polygon is any indication.
Final week, Polygon was invited to a three-hour hands-on preview of Capcom’s forthcoming motion recreation, which follows a recreation with an unconventional pedigree. The unique Dragon’s Dogma is one thing of an enigma, a third-person, closely combat-oriented motion RPG launched within the post-Skyrim fantasy increase. Whereas it didn’t instantly discover a large viewers, it attained bona fide cult basic standing through the years, buoyed partially by a 2013 rerelease (Dragon’s Dogma: Darkish Arisen). Dragon’s Dogma 2 straddles the road between sequel and reboot; you don’t want to have performed the unique to make sense of this one, although maybe familiarity with the sequence would’ve saved me extra alive.
Throughout one early struggle, an enormous eagle flew out of nowhere, picked me up, and tossed me 100 ft off a cliff into the ocean. Then, the water actually ate me. That was removed from the one time I died. I additionally obtained stepped on by a dragon, electrocuted by a griffin, frozen strong by a harpy, kicked by a golem, sucker-punched by an ogre, and mercilessly whaled on by a bunch of club-wielding orcs. Wolves ate my face. I fell off (so many) cliffs. However I pressed on, solely really dropped at heel by one factor: a gate.
Our preview of the sequel was damaged into two distinct 90-minute periods, each showcasing a special vocation (class, mainly) at a special level within the recreation. For the primary session, I performed because the Mystic Spearhand vocation and was tasked with getting into Battahl, a nation of cat-people referred to as beastren. Appeared straightforward sufficient. Evidently, it wasn’t.
Early on, I noticed a writ of passage for the border in my stock. I figured I might use it, however as a result of I wasn’t a beastren, the guard on the gate refused to let me by way of. So I went into the close by village to see if I might discover an alternate path by way of the gate, however as an alternative discovered myself inundated with distractions. Each few steps, some NPC stopped me in my tracks. A shopkeeper requested me to seek out his lacking grandson however didn’t present any clue as to the place he was — a waypoint on a map, say. Two civilians requested me to trace down one thing known as a “Jadeite egg.” Each of them promised a reward. Neither supplied a waypoint.
Some aspect quests are time-limited in Dragon’s Dogma 2. When you don’t end sure quests in actual time, you fail them completely — that means, in the event you tackle too many quests directly, you’re all however guaranteeing you received’t be capable to 100% this recreation. I opted to trace down and save the shopkeeper’s grandson, partially as a result of I’m an excessive amount of of a hero to let an harmless little one die, however largely as a result of I overheard a PR consultant giving a touch to a different journalist within the session as to find out how to discover stated little one.
On my strategy to rescue the child, I realized you can’t swim in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Almost each physique of water is house to one thing referred to as “The Brine,” a pink throng of senseless Lovecraftian tendrils that consumes you everytime you attempt to swim. This posed a difficulty. You’ll be able to solely quick journey between cities (and for a charge). So far as I might inform, there have been no mounts out there within the preview construct. And the path to the place the child appeared to be would take me previous a number of our bodies of water that, once more, would eat me.
After a number of embarrassing deaths, I tracked down the shopkeeper’s grandson and escorted him again to security. Regardless of strolling round city for the rest of the primary session, I by no means ended up discovering a approach by way of the gate. (A PR consultant advised me later about quite a few viable strategies I’d missed, together with scaling a ladder or buying a beastren masks and carrying it as a disguise.)
Nevertheless it was no hassle, as I obtained to see Battahl within the second session, which solid me as a Magick Archer class. The principle story quest on this session was one thing about repairing a sword for some dude, but when my expertise with the gate taught me something, it’s that Dragon’s Dogma 2 is at its most attention-grabbing if you’re simply messing round.
In fight, I instantly observed a palpable distinction between the 2 vocations. The Magick Archer was general nimbler, quicker, and simpler to regulate than the Mystic Spearhand. As a Mystic Spearhand, I had entry to a spear and a few spells, which saved me near enemies. The Magick Archer, in the meantime, got here with a bow however no string — a conduit for a slew of magical talents, together with one which’s basically the guided missile from 007 Nightfire. With not less than 9 confirmed vocations in Dragon’s Dogma 2, I’m impressed at how divergent simply the 2 I performed have been, and am desperate to see if there’s an analogous variance between the entire out there vocations.
All through the second session, I targeted totally on the sequence’ vaunted pawn system — totally personalized get together members who present assist in battle — which returns for Dragon’s Dogma 2. You’ll be able to run into and recruit randomly generated pawns around the globe. By on-line play, different gamers can recruit your pawns to their events, and vice versa. When the complete recreation comes out, pawns may also have the ability make it easier to out if you’re caught, a PR rep advised me.
Let’s say, as an example, you’ll be able to’t get previous a gate resulting in the Battahl area due to some jerk guard who refuses to just accept your phony papers. When you recruit a pawn from a participant who completed that quest of their recreation, the pawn will include hints about the place it’s best to go or what it’s best to do. Since all of the pawns in final week’s preview have been generated by Capcom, slightly than by different precise real-world gamers, I didn’t get to see this in motion, however man, I positive might’ve used it.
Though I spent most of my three hours with Dragon’s Dogma 2 both misplaced or dying (or each), I totally see the attraction. Dragon’s Dogma 2 boasts the form of emergent, tell-your-friends-about-it-later gameplay that you just can’t script. You study your errors the arduous approach: getting misplaced and dying time and again. The true clincher, for me not less than, is that each loss of life in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is persistently actually humorous, thanks largely to a throwback-style ragdoll physics system (just like that of eminently memeable recreation du jour Helldivers 2). I’ve realized to look at the skies; the eagles received’t get me subsequent time. However one thing else little question will, and I’m excited to seek out out what.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is out March 22 on PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, and Xbox Collection X.