Some games really keep you coming for more, and that’s definitely the case with Dragon’s Dogma 2. Over at gamescom asia 2023 we got to try out the game again, this time going with the fleet of foot and hard of hitting Thief Vocation, and it’s pretty clear that the Capcom Magic is alive and well with this action-RPG title.

For those not in the know, Capcom is really good at injecting action game elements in their titles. Last year I even noted that Exoprimal had that same Capcom Sauce to it, letting you do things like parry an oncoming Triceratops. Resident Evil 4, a horror game, has it in spades too- I can’t tell you how much time people have put into labbing optimal Leon combos.

I Studied The Blade(s)

Now, it’s really hard to not compare Dragon’s Dogma 2 to Monster Hunter- both series are built around one core belief- that fighting giant beasts is rad as heck. Both also have insanely technical combat, one that’s less about walking around with your shield up but instead about managing your own flashy attacks and capitalizing on enemy weaknesses.

You really feel that playing the Thief vocation- with your dual blades you’re within breath-smelling distance of most enemies, and you’ve got a dodge that will keep you safe from most of what seeks to cause you grievous bodily harm.

There’s also the stance switching- like in Dragon’s Dogma 1 you have an alternate moveset you can switch to, with the Thief’s having a much bigger combo focus for taking down bigger enemies. There’s nothing like stunning an enemy mid-attack with a smoke bomb, then using that stun time to do a sick double-sword combo straight out of my anime fantasies.

Combine that with the grappling mechanic- where I can latch on to any big creature, and you have every fight just feeling incessantly scrappy. It’s an absolute thrill- combining the highs of Shadow of the Colossus with the highs of any action game to create this “always on the up-and-up” feeling.

Even A Dragon May Dogma

One thing you really do notice Dragon’s Dogma 2 has over other recent action games is that your moveset feels way more attuned to take care of smaller enemies, too. With the Thief you have a fair bit of mobility, and it’s easy to zip around the area to dodge incoming enemies and steal the credit for one of your Pawns would-be-kills.

It never quite feels superhuman like it might in Devil May Cry- instead it just feels efficient. It’s one of my biggest fears with action RPGs- they tend to be tuned only for boss encounters or only for mobs. And yet, what I got out of it instead was a fairly balanced experience, which goes a long way to making sure every encounter has the potential to be fun.

I’m glad Capcom has been so open about showing the combat in Dragon’s Dogma 2. It’s clearly polished to a mirror shine, and going to be a big draw for the title when it drops next year. I don’t really have much to criticize about the build we played- only that there came a time where we had to put down the controller.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 has no confirmed release date, but we’ll be waiting with bated breath.