Support NeoGAF

[FF:Enhanced_Reality]

I liked the first Dragon's Dogma a whole lot. Enough that I bought it on PS3, the Dark Arisen DLC and then the PS4 remaster and I got the platinum trophy on both. So when I was wishing for a sequel in the early PS4 days, it was wishful thinking indeed.

When it got announced I was buzzing and I watched all of the pre-game release stuff. I was hyped by the bosses, the world and the promises. Promises, that frankly, were based on misconstrued information. This game is severely underwhelming, desperately in need of DLC (which is plainly obvious because the game is clearly unfinished.)

My thoughts summarised are as follows:

• The world feels dead. It doesn't feel alive or animated. It feels scripted and lifeless. Despite coming back to the first area before the last mission that ends the world, the NPC's are acting like none of the story happened and they just talk generic shit.
• The world isn't actually as big as you think it is. Each of the three areas have massive areas that you can't explore because they have huge mountain ranges you can't climb, making the world deceivingly large when looking at a map.
• There's only a handful of towns and they're tiny. Like seriously, you expect me to believe that life has flourished in this world when the main city can probably house a few hundred people at best? The castle is almost as big as the rest of the town.
• The elves and their homeland, may as well not exist. To the best of my knowledge, there are 3 missions involving elves, their homeland doesn't really play much of a part at all and it's tiny. What's the point in it being here?
• There isn't enough content. There aren't enough side missions, there isn't enough main story and whilst it unfolds, it feels like nothings happening in the world despite someone passing themselves off as the arisen in a "huge" deception.
• The game is clearly unfinished. I've found caves that are blocked, paths that clearly have been cut off. Area's that clearly can be explored with no way there. You discover caves with like a small path and one room at the end with an enemy and a chest. Why bother? It looks like a DLC was supposed to fix this but so far Monster Hunter it is.
• Nothing you do feels meaningful or impactful. Some of the major events in the game, if you can use the term major, feel completely pointless when the NPC's and world remains the same, like dropping a bomb and people pretending nothing happened.
• Difficulty is poorly balanced, it goes from too hard, to too easy, very quickly. At the beginning I struggled a lot due to low stamina, beginner equipment and low damage output. But I just ran to the final island, did the magick archer mission and within a few hours I was dropping monsters I struggled like hell with earlier, with just my main pawn.

At 35 (as of Friday) with a full time job, 2 kids and a spouse, I don't have a lot of gaming time and this is a game I've looked forward too for nearly 10 years. I like to platinum my games if possible to say I managed to get my value out of them because in todays world, as I can't really afford many games these days and I want to get the most out of the game. But Dragon's Dogma 2 isn't too hard or the trophies too unreasonable, I'm just sat here trying to make myself enjoy a game that isn't very enjoyable and having waited so long for it, it's a very bitter pill to swallow indeed.

How do you feel about Dragons Dogma 2? We're you curious about buying it? Did you play it without playing the first? Or like me, were you waiting for this for years?

 

[Gonzito]

Agreed. The storytelling is a joke and the enemy variety sucks.

 

[Hohenheim]

Hm, I never really got into the first one, but Dragons Dogma 2 was my GOTY last year.
Had a great time with it.

 

[TintoConCasera]

How do you feel about Dragons Dogma 2?

Got 250+ hours in DDDA. Waited for years. I don't feel anything anymore.

At least we got DDON as consolation price. The people that made that possible are the true MVPs.

 

[Spyxos]

One of the worst games I've played recently. I had heard so many great things about part 1, so I played a lot of part 2 in the hope that it would be good at some point, but no, far from it.

Have there actually been any updates for the game to fix the biggest issues?

 

[FF:Enhanced_Reality]

Agreed. The storytelling is a joke and the enemy variety sucks.

Oh mate, I remember the trailers showing the Medusa and Sphynx and yet, the Medusa, you basically have to go and look for and the Sphynx is a bloody side mission unless you decide to attack her.

However, you can commonly find trolls, minotaurs, gryphons, chimera, ogre and golems like they're sweets. And if you're a magick archer, you're fucked against golems. Wipe you out in minutes unless your pawns are physical damage dealers.

 

[Perrott]

At least we got DDON as consolation price. The people that made that possible are the true MVPs.

Dragon's Dogma Online?

 

[JayK47]

It is still mixed on Steam. Many say similar comments as you. Are they planning DLC? It is low on my gaming priority list.

 

[Topher]

Dragonsplague ruined the game for me. I was enjoying it before that. Most absurd design decision I've ever seen in a game. I'm sure they thought they were being so clever.

 

[FF:Enhanced_Reality]

It is still mixed on Steam. Many say similar comments as you. Are they planning DLC? It is low on my gaming priority list.

The evidence is there that it was supposed to happen. But the way the community and people much more in the know were speaking, the gist was that Capcom weren't overly thrilled with the sales and moved onto the runaway success that was the new Monster Hunter game.

 

[rofif]

I can't agree with some of your points:
-World is not dead. Something happens all the time, you meet pawns, there are towns, monsters can attack etc.
-It is not unfinished. It it is WELL finished. Took me a bit over 30 hours to finish without doing enggame and I felt complete. Thank god the game is not 200 hours.
-There isn't enough content - there was plenty of content imo. There is endgame for those who want more and ng+
-Difficulty was engaging and fun. I don't think it was too easy at all. But it was not a tryhard game like plenty of people like nowadays.

The game is clearly a wink wink from the director. He made the game he wanted to make the first time around... and even I know that without finishing the first game

and the graphics! and physics!

Copy link
...

 

[TintoConCasera]

Dragon's Dogma Online?

Yeah, it's been restored, translated and balanced for solo play:

Thread 'Dragon's Dogma Online'

Mar 11, 2025

Just wanted to bring this to your attention: Dragon's Dogma Online has been revived, it's fully playable and currently has multiple servers that offer different approaches to the game:

• DDON Server: basically the closest to the original.
• Dogma Rising: smaller server, with a few more custom tweaks. They've blunt some of the MMO grindiness to give a more pure Dragons Dogma experience. Leveling seems faster, and money/blood orbs seem more readily available.

I've tried Dogma Rising...

• TintoConCasera
• Replies: 32
• Forum: Gaming Discussion

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I haven't played season 2 yet but all the content from season 1 left me quite satisfied. Lots of different locales and monsters to fight.

 

[stickkidsam]

I can't agree with some of your points:
-World is not dead. Something happens all the time, you meet pawns, there are towns, monsters can attack etc.
-It is not unfinished. It it is WELL finished. Took me a bit over 30 hours to finish without doing enggame and I felt complete. Thank god the game is not 200 hours.
-There isn't enough content - there was plenty of content imo. There is endgame for those who want more and ng+
-Difficulty was engaging and fun. I don't think it was too easy at all. But it was not a tryhard game like plenty of people like nowadays.

The game is clearly a wink wink from the director. He made the game he wanted to make the first time around... and even I know that without finishing the first game

and the graphics! and physics!

Copy link
...

Worth waiting for any potential DLC or should I just pick it up? I've heard many mixed reviews, mostly disappointing, but the game still looks worth a whirl at $30.

 

[rofif]

Worth waiting for any potential DLC or should I just pick it up? I've heard many mixed reviews, mostly disappointing, but the game still looks worth a whirl at $30.

To be it was well worth full price and playing at 30fps on base ps5.
It's much better on pro and even base was patched. it's worth it if you like this heavy physical feeling combat

 

[The Devil's Grocers]

This game is very effective as a litmus test to see if someone has any taste and can differentiate a good game from a bad one

 

[Hideous Snake]

Got to agree. Coming from the first game which was great, I thought the sequel was going to be a banger after the long wait

 

[existensmaximum]

Unfortunately I agree with every word. It could have been great but it feels like a half-baked mess. Worse than mediocre.

 

[Shubh_C63]

How are we next gen when NPCs don't even react to our accolades inside the game. What kind of magical ultra processing power is required for such technology. Only parrot NPCs available.

This is one answer for that thread which asks what game feature you are surprised still isn't in gaming.

 

[Buggy Loop]

The most fucking nothingburger story I have ever witnessed in such an epic looking world.

There's just nothing to pull you in. Ooops by accident you started end game. Who knew? Looks like any other fucking meaningless quests

 

[Neff]

I played it for 20 minutes and went back to Rebirth. Lacking the motivation to pick it up again due to the significant backlash against it. Loved the first one though.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Worth waiting for any potential DLC

Maybe? We haven't heard news since Itsuno got the boot. Capcom's still paying for Denuvo so there's still hope I guess.

I'd recommend to play the game on PC if possible. Some of it's flaws can be fixed with mods.

 

[Embearded]

Loved Dark Arisen and waited for 10 years for this one.
I agree with everything you say OP, it really felt like a missed opportunity.

 

[bender]

The enemy encounters in the world being so static really took the wind out of my sails. The ending is fucking terrible.

 

[RoboFu]

Yup, never finished it. it just never opened up into a fun game like the first one did.

 

[dorkimoe]

I like it a lot, excerpt the fast travel

 

[adamsapple]

Man, I'm gonna disagree vehemently with OP.

I enjoyed the hell out of the game, much more than the first game even.

 

[ShirAhava]

Played it a bit but I didn't even bother to get deep into it...seemed like more of the same the first game was/is massively overrated IMO I wasn't impressed and still do not understand what the hype was about If fans of the first one are disappointed I KNOW I'm not going to like it at all....its a very average game/series

 

[SHAKEZ]

It is indeed, this game was supposed to be amazing and is barely a remake of the first game.

 

[Madflavor]

Yeah fuck this game, and I called it out during its honeymoon period. It was absolute garbage and 12 years between DD1 and DD2, there was ZERO excuse for the lack of evolution and improvement. People liked DD1 because flawed as it was, you could tell that it built a very solid foundation for a series that could get amazing down the line. Furthermore, its shortcomings were a lot more tolerable in 2012. But in 2024!? I'm a bit surprised it was released in the state it was in. By the second or third hour you've pretty much encountered 95% of all enemy types.

Also I couldn't believe there were some people claiming the exploration and discovery was on par or better than Elden Ring. Whatever they're smoking, it's some good shit.

 

[rofif]

Man, I'm gonna agree vehemently with OP.

I enjoyed the hell out of the game, much more than the first game even.

 

[Markio128]

I appreciate what the game was trying to achieve, but ultimately I found it lacking. There were a few too many design decisions that scuppered my enjoyment. I didn't like the way the game meandered from one quest to another with little fanfare or engaging thread. Having to use carts to travel to towns became tedious. The world was basically made of linear paths with a few open areas, forcing the player to follow the same routes constantly.

It's a shame because the bread and butter was good.

 

[Mister Wolf]

The more I played it the less I liked it. Can't go five feet without being attacked by a trash mob.

 

[UniformDeliverance]

The original game would add additional 'voices' by artificially changing the pitch of the existing voice recordings. This lead to super weird computerized and unnatural voice lines.

The sequel improved on this by doing exactly the same thing, with exactly the same terrible results.

Baffling.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Early Access game sent to die to bump up that yearly fiscal report. Resident Evil is next. Look forward to it.

DD2 is one of my best worst games ever. I've played 187 hours but I find it underwhelming for many reasons...reasons I've gone into too many times and would rather not repeat myself.

Dogma fans waited 12 years and expected something that built on Dark Arisen but instead we got whatever this was supposed to be.

Will revisit with mods to spice things up...at some point.

 

[adamsapple]

I meant to say disagree, lol.

 

[General Lee]

I enjoyed the game quite a bit for what it was, unlike the first one which I didn't get past the first couple hours. I've been meaning to go back to it at some point. I agree with most of the criticism people lay at DD2, but I'd say it was fun enough to mess around with the different classes despite the lackluster enemy variety and mediocre rehashed story.

I did play most of it after some performance patches too, so it wasn't too bad, but then again I had a 4090. The game runs ok-ish these days, but stuff like npcs spawning right in front of you in the city is still there. You can also mod improved path tracing to the game too if you have the GPU grunt.

Such a shame they wasted so much potential with the game. It could've been great if they had actually made a proper sequel. Some of the design decisions are really baffling it's hard to understand how it ended up like it did. I was still hoping it would get DLC and would be fleshed out, but at this point I doubt it'll happen.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Given it's flaws I would be less harsh if the second half of the game was as long as the first half and didn't abruptly end. As well as offer a option to jump back into Unmoored World.

 

[showernota]

My GOTY, glad I enjoyed it so much.

 

[semiconscious]

really enjoyed the first game as well, op, but after about a dozen hours i began wondering how the sequel could feel so consistently uninspired & inferior to the original. aside from the combat, i wasn't really liking anything about it. anyway, after getting through most of it, i managed to trigger dragonsplague, & wiped out bakbattahl, which i managed to 'fix' by doing the sphinx / eternal wakestone thing (thanks, internet!), but, at that point, i was too bored & disgusted to go any further. & I've never looked back. very mediocre, weirdly hollow game...

 

[HYDE]

First one sucks too

 

[vpance]

Early Access game sent to die to bump up that yearly fiscal report. Resident Evil is next. Look forward to it.

I doubt they'd try it. RE is modern Capcom's golden goose.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I doubt they'd try it. RE is modern Capcom's golden goose.

Would be funny if that happened. I hope not. But the date is suspect and lines up with the others.

 

[EntelechyFuff]

Maybe this question is a good place to ask:

I played DD1 very late..3-4 years ago. I enjoyed it, warts and all.

When I see complaints about DD2, which I have not yet played, it all sounds like familiar gripes from the first game. This is particularly confusing when I see people who loved the first but hate the second.

Is the main issue that it is too similar to the first? Or is it somehow worse than the first? Or bad in different ways? Is it something you just have to experience directly to understand?

I'm genuinely curious. I've never been able to make heads or tails of the reception of DD2 after the initial hype died down.

 

[TintoConCasera]

When I see complaints about DD2, which I have not yet played, it all sounds like familiar gripes from the first game. This is particularly confusing when I see people who loved the first but hate the second.

DD fans love the first game but also are able to see it's many flaws. It's poorly balanced and has lots of cut corners.

Fast forward a few years later. Itsuno has a panel talk at GDC and reveals all the stuff that was cut from DD: more than half of the game was left behind, including an infinite tower and a moon level.

Years later Dogma 2 appears in the nvidia leak, hype starts brewing. On the official DD2 reveal, they show all the stuff they cut from DD1. Hype is through the roof.

During pre-release, the moon was shown during some gameplay footage. Hype went mad, but thing is the moon is nowhere to be seen in the final game.

Expectations where that DD2 was going to be the fully realized version of DD1. What we got was a game with some improvements, some things made worse, and lots of the same mistakes from the first game, like they didn't learn a thing in 12 years.

DD fans don't hate DD2 because it's a bad game. I don't think it's bad at all, and even would say that it has the best combat in any open world game. DD fans hate DD2 because it's a massive disappointment.

 

[Clear]

Maybe this question is a good place to ask:

I played DD1 very late..3-4 years ago. I enjoyed it, warts and all.

When I see complaints about DD2, which I have not yet played, it all sounds like familiar gripes from the first game. This is particularly confusing when I see people who loved the first but hate the second.

Is the main issue that it is too similar to the first? Or is it somehow worse than the first? Or bad in different ways? Is it something you just have to experience directly to understand?

I'm genuinely curious. I've never been able to make heads or tails of the reception of DD2 after the initial hype died down.

Honestly, if you enjoyed the first game you should enjoy this, as for the most part its a visually enhanced version of the same game.

The problem with it is that it doesn't really ramp up the same way as the first game in the third act. It just kinda sits there resulting in it coming across as being rather underwhelming. There is an endgame but it feels like a downgrade compared to the Everfall, and the complete absence of a Bitterblack isle equivalent hurts the impression more.

Anyone who claims to like the first game should enjoy this for the most part; Because it is literally more of the same! Just bear in mind that the ending is somewhat anti-climactic compared to the first, and that applies to sub-plots and all.

Its not bad. Its just anti-climactic to a degree proportionate to your hype-levels going in.

 

[mèx]

DD2 has way better exploration than DD1. The sense of adventure is incredible, and you can really feel that a lot went into handcrafting the map. It blows DD1 out of the park when it comes to the map design.

The physical based combat in DD2 feels really good once you understand how to exploit it, it's completely different from DD1. Whether you like one or the other more is mostly a matter of taste.

The story and characters are a joke in both games. You don't play these games for the narrative.

The only true downgrade is the enemy variety.

Is the main issue that it is too similar to the first? Or is it somehow worse than the first? Or bad in different ways? Is it something you just have to experience directly to understand?

It's just a matter of expectations. People expected more out of the game, and that's pretty much it. I just expected more Dragon's Dogma and that's what I got.

 

[Randall365]

It was a waste of the 20 to 30 hours I put into it. Rare for me to go through 75% of the main story of a game and give up, but probably more so than any game of this generation, I felt that it did not value my time at all. I feel your pain OP - it promised much and was a disappointment.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Sigh. We just expected better.



And of course Nihil goes more indepth.

 

[TintoConCasera]

The story and characters are a joke in both games.

DD1 had way better characters than DD2.

The only true downgrade is the enemy variety.

DD2 has:
Less equipment slots.
Less skill slots.
Less spells.
Worse music.
Worse loot.
Worse dungeons (all caves, final dungeon is just an elevator ride)
Worse quests: each main quest in DD1 sent you on some sort of adventure, they were there as excuses to go explore a dungeon or fight some monsters. Main quest in DD2 is nonsensical shit like sneaking into a castle twice in a row.
Worse true ending? Felt less kino than DD1 specially since you don't really fight the boss. My pawn grappling on the seneschal in DD1 while yelling "now, Arisen!" was absolute kino. The final sequence in DD2 is also very good and quite emotional even but it doesn't hit the same as the credits are already rolling.

I agree on the open world being a joy to explore.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I agree on the open world being a joy to explore.

Open World Exploration(not the dungeons though, those suck), Graphics, Character Creation, Spearhand, Warrior, Melee Combat in general IMO. Rest sucks.