If ever a game could be summed up by the phrase "it's not the destination, it's the journey", that game is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dragon's Dogma 2. The most enjoyable thing about it is venturing out on foot, possibly in the vague direction of a quest marker or perhaps just to fill in more of the map. It's why 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:those who want a horse in the game to make th൲ese treks shorter and less eventful misunders🗹tand what the game is trying to do.
The best moments are the unscripted ones when you happen across an armoured cyclops in the wilderness, but this praise says two things about the game - firstly, that the world is rich and full of surprises. Secondly, that the quests themselves fail to match this greatness. Dragon's Dogma 2 is an excellent game if you play it as the game intends you to, but not if you play it like any other game.
Dragon's Dogma 2's Storytelling Excels Out In The Woods
To walk on a woodland path in Dragon's Dogma 2 is to beckon the unexpected. Whether you're making your way to the next part of the main story or just taking a break from it, this is where a lot of the 'fun' happens. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Your pawns will chatter more, you'll get to try out new elements of your vocations, you'll find treasure chests and rifts, and of course, the aforementioned armoured cyclopes lurk. You need to enjoy the act of playing the game as much, or possibly more than, the satisfaction of crossing off a bunch of quests on a list.
I first noticed this during the quests at Vernworth Castle. It took me just over ten hours to get to these, mostly occupying myself with a handful of less important tasks that sent me to further flung regions. By this point, I've bought into what the game wants of me, and despite bouncing off both modern Zelda games and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Elden Ring, to which DD2's 'play it your way' mentality has been compared. But as I entered the castle, I found myself thinking instead of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Baldur's Gate 3. Just as many 🌠other games do i🔜n that comparison, it comes up short.
'Anything can happen' - this is Dragon's Dogma 2's motto. In the open world, it’s as good as its word. But in the narrative missions, the motto is 'this specific thing will happen'. When asked to sneak into the castle, I instead walked through a side door in full view of several guards who paid me no mind. I wandered aimlessly until a character I knew from a previous side mission asked me to hide in their quarters, at which point the guards suddenly began to look for me, even though they'd all seen me stroll in.
Dragon's Dogma 2's Quests Are Less Alive Than Its Worlds
The very next mission, I was back through the same door, and had to find who I was supposed to speak to during a masquerade ball. In games that make their quests their defining aspect, this would be a party of intrigue, mystery, and wit. In Dragon's Dogma, you're in a single room and all of the other guests reply with single sentence barks to let you know they're not important. One guest sneaks off (though seems to wait for you to spot them), and then you're given free reign to wander the castle until another character lets you hide in their quarters, and I think you know the rest.
It continues for a third time - you sneak in the same side door, again in full view of guards who have chased you twice. But this time, the task is to sneak into someone's quarters, although 'sneak' is not entirely accurate. In my playthrough, I got a little too close and the person whose room it was opened the door and bumped into me as they left, and still I was able to enter unobstructed. Of course, as soon as I found what I was looking for, they just so happened to return for a chase that ends as soon as you reach the castle perimeters.
I quit the game at this point before it saved to test a theory. It𝓡 did not matter how fast or slow I found the item in their room, they always return precisely as you find it.
While the open world offers a range of possibilities, Dragon's Dogma 2 ensures you are always the main character. Maybe this makes sense with you being the Arisen, rather than another hero plucked from the crowd. It's why you can wander into taverns and open up a chest in full view of the owner with no consequences. While you can be sent to gaol in the game, mostly the game expects (maybe wants) you to finish quests unchallenged so that you may get back on with the real fun - walking aimlessly in the dark so that goblins attack you.
It feels as though these quests let the world down a little - it blunts the game's unpredictability and takes away the chance to play your own way, instead forcing you to act out predetermined beats. We see that linearity in games all the time, but rarely paired with an open world, especially not one so dependent on varied outcomes and random chance. Maybe this guardrail is why it’s easier to stick with than 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:t🐟he more directionless Zelda offerings. But as I walk past castle guards who have chased me twice to sneak into a room in full view of its occupier, I can't help but feel this is not in the spirit of the game I have been slowly falling for.
Dragon's Dogma is the long-anticipated sequel to Capcom's action RPG. Once again taking on the role of the Arisen, the game promises full customisation in how you create your character and play through your story.
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xbox Series X, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xbox Series S
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