Capcom announced the sequel to sleeper hit Dragon’s Dogma via Sony’s PlayStation Showcase bonanza. However short, the trailer revealed various creatures, epic dialogue and a vast terrain complete with ancient castle ruins, large mountainous regions, and a regal-looking town centre.
Admittedly, I never gave Dragon’s Dogma a fair shake back in 2012. A poorly-timed release window meant the game was quickly overshadowed, landing smack bang in the middle of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim which debuted six months before, as well as launching in the same timeframe as Mass Effect 3. By the time I got around to it on PS4 years later with Dragon’s Dogma: Darkness Arisen, it was much too late for me to get into the game. While the gameplay held strong, the graphics were outdated, featuring a ‘gritty realism,’ brown colour palette, a staple from seventh-generation consoles.
Despite my own personal experience, the title garnered a cult following by selling over two million copies worldwide thanks to its challenging yet satisfying combat system, in-depth, AI-controlled Pawn companions, and epic loot – can’t forget the loot. All I remember is climbing monsters and holding on for dear life.
The sequel seems to be much of the same, except cranked up to 10 on all levels. The game makes use of Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine – the very same that brought us most recent Resident Evil 4 Remake and upcoming Street Fighter 6. As such, albeit only giving us a small glimpse of what’s to come, we did get to see the new lighting system, destructible physics and high-fidelity visuals in the over-minute-long trailer, and it’s simply gorgeous.
What’s more, according to the accompanying PlayStation blog post, the game’s Pawn system will be further enhanced by smarter AI which, according to the developer, “makes gameplay feel like you’re accompanied by others.” There’s also a massive fire-breathing dragon to defeat, now rendered in UHD, massive wingspan, scaly hide, and all. If I recall correctly, the last one quite literally stole our heart, cheeky bugger.
No release date just yet, but Dragon’s Dogma 2 has been confirmed to be in development for PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC. This time, I’ll be playing on day one.
