Dragon's Dogma 2 Review (GS 9/10)

Nah! Some people like the Dragon's Dogma formula and some don't. Nothing out of the ordinary.

@Pedro: Because they literally made the gold standard of video games. Anything even remotely close to their genre will be compared to them. It can be so little as having a dodge button, using a melee weapon, a complex boss, a bonfire/rest mechanic, or having a stamina bar. That's how big From Soft are.

But to answer your question: Heil68 seems worried about the game being difficult, possibly due to its FromSoft-esque style of having only one set difficulty. I merely informed him that it isn't the case. the game is easy

@sealionact: Yeah, I was shocked to find out that your health can ltierally drop to 0 but you can just pause the game and eat a dozen apples or drink 4 potions and your health is full again. Crazy.

Tbf Dark Souls and Elden Ring are easy if you summoned 3 people to help you everywhere you went. Still dunno why they didn't include a difficulty slider in DD2 though. Atleast there's no yellow paint everywhere, and I love the lack of handholding in general.

@Mozelleple112: They literally didn't. Nothing you stated were created by From Software. The game is not a souls game. It does not try to be a souls game. The only popular game that it is similar to is Dragon's Dogma. This is not complicated and From Software is the gold standard for From Software games.

TBO, this makes it appealing to me..lol

@Pedro: From Software is the gold standard for anything that revolves around the use of a stamina bar, melee weapons, a dodge mechanic, tough boss, single difficulty. If your game has just ONE of those elements you will subliminally be compared to the king of ARPGs - From Software.

I don't care who did it first, I only care who did it best. And FromSoft does. Don't want to be compared to FromSoft? fine. Don't use block, dodge, stamina, bonfire, difficulty or have good bosses and you won't. Otherwise you will.

And its not just me, people have compared DD2 to Elden Ring (A From Software game) since before I even knew what Dragon's Dogma was.

It is not. You can repeat it as many times as you want but it doesn't make it true. What you are sharing is your opinion. Nothing more and nothing less. 🤷‍♂️

@Pedro: It factually and objectively is. But you have garbage taste in games love to hate on the most critically acclaimed games (Sony, FromSoft, Kojima) so no surprise there. Even whoever created DD2 will tell you FromSoft are literally the gold standard.

No! It is not. You are confusing your opinion with facts and objectivity. Because you incorrectly believe that your opinion is a fact and objective, you are coming to an incorrect conclusion. I understand that me stating this has forced you to ad hominem. Please refrain from words like factually, objectively and literally because you either don't understand the meaning or how these words should be used.😔

EDIT: I enjoyed FromSoft games and have been playing their games for decades. I also enjoy many Sony games. A person liking or disliking games is normal in gaming. You struggle when people don't praise the games you like.🤷🏽‍♂️

@Pedro: You can literally look up the metacritic scores, the TGA awards or the total amount of GOTYs given to i.e. Elden Ring. There is plenty of data suggesting when it comes to this kind of game From Software is the absolute king. They even practically invented their own genre, so much so that even literal shooting games get compared and lumped under their nominative genre.

There is no such thing as a "Mario like" or "Zelda like" or a "GTA like". Sure you can have platformers like Mario, or games that you might call a Zelda clone (Immortals Fenix Rising and Genshin Impact somewhat come to mind)

but soulslike is actually a genre.

But you can keep crying about From's success if you like.

Doesn't change that fact that DD2 will always get compared to games like Elden Ring, and will always fall short to it. Even when its not a Soulslike.

@Pedro: And yet you struggle to grasp, and some how are upset for me comparing DD2 to FromSoft ?

You do realise if you google the phrase: "Is Dragon's Dogma l..." this is what comes up:

Literally the first suggestion is if it is like Dark Souls and the third is if its like Elden Ring. Skyrim is the second suggestion and guess what Pedro? People are literally comparing DD2 to Skyrim. I've probably read hundreds of people saying DD2 is Elden Ring x Skyrim x Monster Hunter (which btw just so happens to be the 4th suggestion)

You are sitting here obsessing over me making an extremely common comparison. If you've ever posted on a board outside of System Wars you'll realise pretty much everyone will tell you the same thing.

You are confusing ideas. Metacritic is factually the opinions of no more than 200 gamers. Keyword , opinion. Your claim

"Anything even remotely close to their genre will be compared to them. It can be so little as having a dodge button, using a melee weapon, a complex boss, a bonfire/rest mechanic, or having a stamina bar."

However, your metric doesn't demonstrate as such.

In your insane fan worship, you are now claiming that their no such thing as "Mario like", "Zelda like" or "GTA like". Are you being serious?😂 Zelda clone and zelda like are synonyms. I am not sure why you are going the extra mile to make a distinction.

At no point in time, did I complain, cry or mentioned anything negative about Fromsoft. I simply stated the fact that Dragon's Dogma 2 is not trying to be like a souls/FromSoft game and is not a souls/FromSoft game. However, correcting you on this hit a nerve.🤷🏽‍♂️

You can compare any game to any game. But, there is a objective difference between comparison to claiming a game is trying to be like another game. The fact of the matter, is Dragon's Dogma 2 is directly without exception a sequel to Dragon's Dogma in all of it gameplay, storytelling, world construction and core game mechanics. 🙃

I am not sure what you are trying to prove.

Like I said in my previous response

"You can compare any game to any game. But, there is a objective difference between comparison to claiming a game is trying to be like another game."

However, you believe that asking if game is like another game is equal to the game being like the other game. It is not. It is simply an inquiry. Refer to bold above before repeating the same thing.

I don't care for your anecdotes.🤷🏽‍♂️

@Pedro:

Cool. And my exact comment I believe was literally telling Heil68 that DD2 is "nothing like a FromSoft game", in a response to if the game was difficult or not. And that for some reason brought your attention to me, even though you are literally agreeing with me. (they aren't alike)

Maybe he was concerned of the difficulty due to the millions of people online saying DD2 is MH-styled Souls like.

So I'm comparing them like the millions of people that say they are very similar... Only that I'm saying they aren't the same. (just like you are saying)

You can say or think whatever you want. But when your game has a stamina bar or a dodge button, millions of people will compare it to From Software.

Edit: So we are clear, we have the same conclusion except you irradicably deny any possible comparison between the two titles, while I state, and firmly believe - due to FS/ER's position in the market and unparalleled seal of quality, these comparisons will continuously occur and the debate/conversation for the comparative arguments will always be present. (no matter how irrelevant or minuscule they may be)

My comment directed to you was

@Mozelleple112:I am not sure why you keep referencing From Software when this game is not only a Capcom game but game that is not trying to be a From Software game. If you want a From Software game you play a From Software game.🤷‍♂️

There isn't an except.🤷🏽‍♂️

@Pedro:

Because it is my opinion Capcom should have made their combat more like Elden Ring's. Do you have a problem with that?

Also:

When did I claim that Capcom is trying be like a From Soft game? I don't believe I ever stated this.

Which one is it Pedro? Am I claiming they are trying to copy From Soft or am I arguing that Capcom should have made it more like a FromSoft game?

My wording in the reference comment is not accurate. However my initial comment to you is

I am not sure why you keep referencing From Software when this game is not only a Capcom game but game that is not trying to be a From Software game. If you want a From Software game you play a From Software game.

@Pedro: Thank you for admitting your inaccuracy. I can paraphrase my initial reply to your initial comment:

I think FromSoft makes the best ARPGs and anything remotely close to them will get compared to them, by me.

And like you say, any game can be compared to any game, like:

Any isometric online-RPG with loot I will compare to Diablo (I subjectively consider them the king of this genre)

Any narrative-driven game whether it will be an RPG, shooter, sci-fi, zombie game or high fantasy, I will make a vague comparison to The Last of Us. (king of narratives)

When Stellar Blade comes out in a few weeks I am going to continually compare it to Sekiro (king of combat in my opinion) and God of War (Stellar Blade feels more like GOW to me)

Just as a heads up if you make a Stellar Blade thread lol. Many comparisons will be made in there by me.

Hope this helps.

I am also glad you admitted that it is your opinion that FromSoft makes the best ARPGs and is not factual or objective as you initially claimed.🙃

You are still stuck on the issue of comparison which you even admitted that I am not arguing.🤷🏽‍♂️

This game looks sooooooooo much better with a reshader on pc. Specially if you're using fsr3 because it makes everything much sharper and the blur is completely gone.

The best way to judge a game is not to compare it to your favorite game. But rather how it sets out to achieve the goals it tries to achieve.

I like FF14 and EVE Online: 2 radically different games in the same genre, and I like them both for polar opposite reasons. Its not about the game fitting my game design dogma, but about how well the game sets out to do what it aspires to.

When people try to pin everythign to the standards of their favorite game in a genre, it not only showcases a lack of critical thinking. But also leads to some very embarassing statements, like saying that BG3 should raise the level cap to 99, inflate stats for no appearant reason.

I DELETED Bo Ring. As in, I contacted Steam Customer support and begged them to delete the game from my steam library. No Refund, just wanted that trash out of my sight.

@Maroxad: And here, Maxorad still can't comprehend a very simple concept.

You talk about critical thinking, and yet you have absolutely none at all. You still haven't give me a single good reason as to why BG3 can't have given us stat points and skill points, allowed for multiple skill points per skill and increased the level cap to 99 and completely rehauled and scaled every enemy to fairly match that level.

Not.one.reason.

Instead you say rubbish "but then you'd be too powerful!" - Not if you scale correctly? That's literally how mathematical scaling works. How hard is that to understand?

you say if you could put 10 points into a single skill, the game would be ruined. Do you really struggle with the concept of dividing that skills output into fragments of 10, so that by the end it is exactly as powerful as it is in the actual game?

Allow us to use simple maths here so lets pretend its 10 vs 100 and not 12 vs 99: (it honestly doesn't matter 10-12 is far too few and 70-100 would have been perfect)

Let's say you gain +100health per level over 10 levels = (=1000hp at max level if level 10 is max) give me one good reason why instead you can't have a +10 health per level over 100 levels ( = 1000hp at max level if level 100 is max) ? Give me one good reason how that would "break" the game, without referring to your BS 5E rulebook that only virgins care about ?

Instead of giving us +10 damage per level x 10 levels why not give us +1 damage per level x 100 levels?

Use your none-existent critical thinking skills to conjure up an answer

You called it SHIT, then went to play your 2d indie shovelware, games your 1070 can handle. Sickening.

@Maroxad: Gaming and gamers still struggle to evaluate games. It is the reason why reviews are so unreliable because the standards fluctuate based on the player's preferences which they incorrectly view as objective.

@Maroxad:

Let me write it down for you:

What BG3 has vs an example of what BG3 should have:

Level 1 = 1-8

Level 2 = 9-16

Level 3 = 17-25

Level 4 = 26-34

Level 5 = 35-43

Level 6 = 44-52

Level 7 = 53-61

Level 8 = 62-70

Level 9 = 71-79

Level 10 = 80-88

Level 11 = 89-97

Level 12 = 97-99

Now Maxorad, you do realise that even though the numbers to the right of the equal symbol are larger than the ones to left, they are roughly the same in power, okay?

A revised level 99 is just as powerful as an original level 12. Not too hard for you to grasp is it? Did this help you understand that if there 99 levels in BG3, they would be EXACTLY as powerful as if there was only 12?

Remember, if this somehow goes against your sweaty little basement dweller rulebook I do not care.

@Mozelleple112: Your strategy for having a debate really relies on insults instead of merit of your argument 😂

@Pedro: I've spent weeks trying to simplify it for Maxorad and no matter how much I dumb it down he still doesn't get it. Maybe he will finally understand it now though. Hope the simplification and illustration helps.

@Mozelleple112: Maybe it is not a lack of understanding and simply someone not agreeing with you.

@Pedro: If Maxiboy just simply disagreed I would have just ignored him. But he keeps it bringing up, a point I made weeks/months ago about BG3 in a Dragon's Dogma 2 thread and he's not saying he disagrees with me. he says I lack critical thinking skills and that what I suggest isn't physically possible. Which is a ridiculous statement. Numbers and scaling are arbitrary. bullet could do 100 damage in one game and finger snap could do 200 damage in another game. Doesn't mean a finger snap deals more damage than a bullet.

Back to topic:

DD2 has at least 50 levels (I think I am 51 or 52) which is nice. If it only had 12 levels I would be disappointed, just like I was with BG3.

I just wish I could do more with each level (pick a skill, pick a stat, etc.) just like you do in Diablo 2, and other RPGs.

Oh well, I guess. I still enjoyed the game nonetheless. (Incoming Maxorad rant on how choosing to pick damage over strength for each level would some how ruin the entire DD2 experience for everyone and it would break the games entire engine!!!)

Hahaha, Jesus Christ I just googled. I figured DD2's level cap was 50, before I hit 51-52 myself so I thought it was either 60 or 99/100.

Turns out the game's max level is 999.

See now that's just pointless, imo.

12 is far too few. 999 is far too many.

Don't think that even makes sense unless they have insane NG+ difficulty spikes.

I bring those BG3 remarks up because as far as an example of a bad ideas go (ideas implemented because other games had them), that idea is at or near the top.

Tbf I used to have this mentality myself, but as I got more educated. I now see things a bit different.

A dodge roll just wouldnt work for a party based game like this. Having multiple forms of defense which varies based on class is a far more interesting system than everyone dodge rolling. Party based games don't work when everythign is homogenized. Party based gameplay in FromSoft games doesnt work all that well.

You people manage to make gaming sound boring af.

The reason the level cap is at 999 is to ensure you will eventually max every stat.

But 999 is excessive for reasons that will be obvious as you level up more.

See now if it was up to me I'd squeeze and compress the levels and stats so that level 99 was the cap and not 999. And make it achievable after 2 playthroughs. if we truly went for 999 as cap it should having scaling up to NG+10 at the very minimum.

Unfortunately I don't always get what I want and I don't trust mods that do these kind of things will be able to scale to a satisfactory level.

Now that I think of it, the level cap of 999 is actually really close to Elden Ring's (713), but I have posted many times before how I think Elden Ring would have been better without soft caps and hard caps, and more NG+'s (say 10 or 15) but those suggestions have always met little support among peers. What the Souls community have done since the DS1 days is to artificially cap their levels (100, 125, 150, etc.) which I think is dumb. I have never once capped any levels on any character build.

What I would have done was to keep the level cap at 200 like it was in the original, and make level 200 boost stats to the point all of them reach the cap as a way to ensure everyone reaches maximum stats at the end.

You are correct that damage in games are arbitrary and this also applies to levels. I am a firm believer; even for the games that I don't like, that I evaluate the game on what it is trying to achieve even when I don't agree with the approach. Some games lean more towards numerical progression and place more weight on higher numbers, others rely more on utility and the mixing of utilities. Neither is more correct than the other, it is just different. I can argue game X can do more while another person feels that it is perfect. I can also yell that my way is better, it still wouldn't change the outcome of the person who believes it is perfect just the way it is. However, this doesn't neatly apply when the game is being evaluated on its own objectives/goals. That evaluation can be more objective than subjective.

Despite finishing the game several days ago, the ending is a bit deviant from original lore of the first game. Did anyone finish the game with the "true" ending?

just restarted after playing an hour when it dropped then parking to finish dark souls 3 and, i know its been mentioned, but the absence of lock on is a tough adjustment to get used to. it's not a crutch i use in fromsoft games, and the camera can be just as big an enemy particularly against larger opposition or mobs, but it would've been nice to have the option

The option would be good. I know there are some encounters where it would be a curse.😂 And because of that it should be easily togglable; without the menu, if added .

@Pedro As much as I love the health system in Dwarf Fortress (or Liberal Crime Squad), I don't think it would be a good match for this game.

In the end a game needs to focus on achieving its own goals, not be an inferior knock off of another game.

Never played Dwarf Fortress. The visuals were a hard sell.

To summarize, let's assume a character gets stabbed.

Instead of losing HP, they instead get several injuries from it. The skin is cut. The ribcage has been cracked, and their left lung has been punctured and an artery has been opened.

Instead of healing injuries by pausing the game and consuming an item. a diagnotician first needs to diagnose injuries, then a suturer needs to stop the bleeding, then a surgeon can tend to the lungs, a bone doctor can then work on the ribcage, and finally a wound dresser closes the wound. Before they lay in a hospital while their wounds heal.

Great for a game like Dwarf Fortress, but would not be that fun for Dragons Dogma.

I can only imagine how awful the flow of the game would be with such a system.😂

Have anyone actively played Trickster?

@Pedro: No.

It's the most rubbish vocation by far. There is absolutely no way anyone can enjoy that shit.

I actually forced myself to play as one on a long trip / quest, so I ended up levelling to to 4 or 5 or something. pure torture.

@Mozelleple112: The 100% reliance on pawns for damage is the issue. If the pawns weren't as brain dead as they are in many scenarios, the class would have a some meaningful use.