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 into the extensively acclaimed hit it deserves to be”—and I completely agree! The factor that offered me on this was a brand new class that successfully turns your character right into a medieval Power consumer. Transfer over, Darth Maul; there’s one other double-bladed saber participant on the town.
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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 predominant and facet quests as you uncover the whereabouts of the heart-breaking flying lizard. If this sounds quite a bit like the unique Dragon’s Dogma, nicely, it’s, however that’s not a foul factor. In reality, because of a bigger open world and new gameplay mechanics—together with new abilities for the assorted courses or “vocations”—Dragon’s Dogma 2 actually builds upon what Capcom achieved over a decade in the past. And the 2 new vocations, notably the twin-blade-wielding Mystic Spearhand, underscore that artistic 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 specialise in magic- and melee-based fight. However that’s the place the similarities finish. The Mystic Spearhand is quicker than the Mystic Knight, in a position to rapidly sprint across the battlefield because of its teleportation abilities. It’s additionally obtained a wider vary of spells at its disposal that let you buff your allies whereas shelling 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 while you’re zipping from enemy to enemy, utilizing your twin-bladed weapon as a blender and lobbing spells to manage the sector.
However what actually offered me was the power to elevate enemies and objects off the bottom utilizing magic. By holding down one of many shoulder buttons, you possibly can carry up a separate menu of abilities in the course of fight. One generates a teal-colored ball that suspends objects within the air. So, if you happen to wished to toss that rock towards a chimera you’re preventing, you are able to do that. Equally, if you happen to 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 in a position to take a look at it on heavier foes, like cyclopes and ogres, and it undoubtedly doesn’t work on bigger enemies, similar to dragons and griffins. Nonetheless, the power to elevate and throw nearly any small-to-medium-sized factor in your neighborhood opens up a litany of choices in terms of combos and injury dealing. Couple this with the Mystic Spearhand’s skills to paralyze goons, shoot magic from its palms, 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 predominant 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 trying 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. All the pieces 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.
