Dragon's Dogma 2

Action RPG with a free camera, dynamic combat, and mechanics typical of hack-and-slash games, Dragon's Dogma 2 continues and expands on the ideas introduced in the original 2012 game, with reimagined gameplay and a new story set in its fantasy multiverse. Despite borrowing from popular RPGs released between the two games, it retains its own identity thanks to its companion system and unusual lore. And fans exploring new locations and trying out new features will also find familiar elements from past games.

The concept and lore of Dragon's Dogma are built around an ancient cycle that repeats in every age. A powerful dragon rises again, spreading terror, destruction, and death. It also chooses a warrior worthy of challenging it, taking their heart and turning them into an Arisen—a hero who has lost their humanity but gained a Destiny. The dragon leaves the Arisen with a hint of their future meeting, when they have grown strong enough to reclaim their heart.

Alongside Pawns—mysterious allies from another world—the hero must face many trials, explore the world, and grow strong enough to fight the dragon at the end. This cycle is known as the Dragon's Dogma, so the story is clear from the very beginning. The ending is clear, too: lose and vanish into nothingness, win and repeat the cycle, or break it at the cost of destroying everything. The story takes on an epic scale after the first act, when the player learns about an impostor who has taken the throne in the hero's place.

The protagonist, chosen by fate to become the Chosen One, a dragon slayer, and king of the local lands, does a bit of everything: helping commoners, fighting monsters, dealing with political intrigue, and taking part in dramatic battles with the dragon. In addition to giving out quests, the characters have distinct personalities and some depth. They tell decent stories in dialogue, while in in-game cutscenes you can see the relationships between townsfolk and the aristocracy.

Every story in the Dragon's Dogma universe is canon within its own world, and parallel realities have their own unique features, such as their settings, heroes, characters, and available races—details you can learn from Pawns. But the action always takes place in a classic fantasy-mythological setting filled with unusual creatures: griffins, hydras, cyclopes, goblins, ogres, skeletons, lizards, and other undead. Magic runs through reality, and mages, along with powerful artifacts, play a major role in events. Technology, however, is quite primitive, as is typical of the early Middle Ages.

The open world of Dragon's Dogma (2024) is four times larger than that of the first game. It is seamless and made up of many locations connected through various design techniques. Narrow passages and “snake-like” trails, changes in elevation, overlapping layers, natural barriers like rivers, and many other environmental features make the world feel much larger than it really is. Over time, things change: a blockage may be cleared, a bridge rebuilt, or a hidden mountain pass opened as part of a quest, adding new routes and passages. At launch, the world impressed with its scenery and RE Engine’s excellent lighting, but its locations lacked visual variety and detail, as they were spread across three main biomes: forests, mountains, and deserts.

The story takes place in two kingdoms with distinct cultural and geographical differences: Vermund and Battahl. Vermund is a fertile region surrounded by majestic mountains and green hills, where cities and farms thrive. Its people live with the knowledge that the dragon will inevitably return, and fear its destructive power. That is why they honor the Arisen as their king and protector from disasters.

Battahl, by contrast, is a harsh and hostile land of endless deserts and deep canyons. Survival takes tremendous effort, but the deserts contain oases that serve as important centers of trade and culture. Here, the Arisen is not a hero, but an outcast who brought disaster. The priestesses who rule Battahl worship a sacred flame that, according to their beliefs, protects them from the dragon’s fury. And deep in the forests, ancient elven tribes hide away, having avoided contact with the outside world for centuries.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 (2024) breaks the usual conventions of open-world action RPGs. Players must truly immerse themselves in the experience: travel slowly through the open world, explore it, and take part in random events and quests instead of rushing between key locations and quests, missing the developers’ work along the way. To make the experience more immersive, fast travel is limited. There are teleporters that let you jump straight to any part of the world, saving time, but they are expensive and limited in number for the entire game. Traveling by caravan is more affordable and skips the gameplay, but it advances time.

The world around you carries on with its own life, so the idea of “I’ll help whenever I feel like it” doesn’t work here. Quests can only be accepted, completed, and turned in within a certain time. It’s impossible to see everything the game has to offer in a single playthrough—there are too many events that are easy to miss. Sometimes, an NPC who could start a questline or help you progress through it gets drunk at the tavern, dies on the road, or suddenly runs off somewhere. Though usually, they follow a daily routine and basic behavior patterns.

One of Dragon’s Dogma 2’s standout features is the lack of quest markers on the map and readily available hints. This encourages players to listen closely to the conversations around them, pay attention to their surroundings, think about their actions, and decide what to do next. There is no single right path, which adds replay value: each new playthrough reveals something new, changes familiar quests, or unlocks new ones.

Quests are structured as separate episodes that unfold as the player’s adventure progresses, rather than as a linear chain of events. The most intricate quests begin as ordinary errands (fetch this, kill that, and so on), but gradually grow into more complex and intriguing stories. Their outcome—success or failure—affects other aspects of the world, the fates of characters, or the overall story. There is a large number and variety of quests, from random events and simple tasks to large-scale, branching stories.

The role-playing elements of Dragon's Dogma (2024) are expressed through its combat system. Each battle involves parties rather than individual characters, and victory depends on teamwork, character progression, and choosing a balanced party for the enemies at hand. The ideal party for handling different challenges effectively is always changing, depending on your play style and the task at hand.

The player’s party consists of the main character and three pawns. The main pawn is a personal companion created and customized by the player, who chooses its class, equipment, and development as the game progresses. The party also includes two other pawns borrowed from other players, representing asynchronous multiplayer. These borrowed pawns do not develop, but they bring valuable knowledge with them—they can offer hints about locations, chests, or enemy weaknesses based on their owners’ experience. Regularly replacing them helps you adapt to new situations and keep your team highly effective.

When creating the protagonist, you can choose from four vocations: Fighter, Mage, Archer, and Thief. Each represents a classic archetype, with a unique combat style, health and stamina stats, and different abilities to climb large monsters. Characters cannot use weapons or armor from other classes, but you can change classes at any time, making it easier to experiment with different play styles and try various combinations. There are 10 vocations (classes) in total. After leveling up one class, you can switch to another, keeping the first class’s passive skills while becoming stronger.

Although enemy monsters are not very diverse, they are well-prepared and behave in a realistic and dangerous way. They actively react to the player and their party, requiring good coordination and knowledge of their weak points. During battles, it is important to interact with the environment—you can knock an enemy off a cliff or throw a rock at them, climb onto a boss, carry an NPC to the right place, or set up a magical barrier.

With a free-moving camera that adapts to any situation, no fixed enemy-targeting system, and dynamic combat, Dragon's Dogma 2 goes beyond traditional action RPGs. Its gameplay combines elements commonly found in hack-and-slash games: stamina management, proper attack timing, area attacks, shield bashes, sweeping attacks, archery, and much more.

Physics plays a special role, making interactions with the environment and enemies more realistic. A single swing of a sword can send enemies flying, fire can set them ablaze, and ice can freeze them in place. Characters’ size and weight affect their combat abilities: larger heroes can grab enemies more easily and reach their weak points faster, and can lift and throw objects, smaller enemies, and even other characters.

The Mage is a vital class that deals damage, heals allies, and applies buffs. However, magical spells take time to prepare, leaving the Mage vulnerable without support from a Fighter or Thief to hold off and distract enemies. The game also lets you apply magical effects to weapons: you can enchant a sword with fire to set enemies ablaze, add ice to an archer’s arrows to freeze enemies, or imbue a Thief’s daggers with lightning for fast, powerful attacks.

The inventory has no capacity limit, but the weight of your carried items keeps it balanced. Carrying too much slows your character and drains stamina faster, so it’s best to offload excess items onto your pawns. There’s a basic crafting system—you can brew a healing potion or make arrows, but you can’t craft weapons or armor. Time affects not only quests and NPCs, but also items in your inventory: food can spoil, quest items can rot, and weapons can rust.