[TGS2023] Dragon’s Dogma 2 Hands-On Preview – From This Moment Forth, Thou Art Arisen

A decade since the original release, Capcom’s open-world action RPG is making its return in the form of Dragon’s Dogma 2, where players set out on an adventure as Arisens, individuals who have been chosen and lost their hearts to great dragons.

During our time at Tokyo Game Show 2023, we got a rare opportunity to try out Dragon’s Dogma 2 and experience what the open-world action RPG has to offer.

Vocation in Combat

As with any adventure in Dragon’s Dogma, you start off with choosing your Vocations, or in a more general term, your classes. Similar to the original game, each Vocation plays a unique role and determines the weapons accessible to the Arisen.

In the demo, we chose to be the Fighter, a melee specialist who focuses on a balance between offense and defense. Immediately, the combat feels very much like the first game where each hit feels deliberate and weighty. Of course, as a Fighter, you are also much less mobile than a Strider, Archer, or Mage, so precise movement and conscious decision is needed to perform well in battle.

While in combat, you are able to perform a variety of moves, namely basic attacks and access to 4 additional skills, each with unique properties. As each Vocation plays wildly different from one another, they each also have their own strengths and weaknesses.

For example, playing as a Fighter, flying enemies such as harpies are a nuisance and prove to be quite a challenge while these same foes can be easily dealt with by a Strider or a Ranger.

As a Capcom title, it is undoubtedly that some players may draw some comparison with another of the developers’ action RPG series, Monster Hunter. It is a fair comparison though as both featured slow, deliberate, and weighty combat, especially against larger enemies such as a giant bull monster that we got to fight.

Exploring with Pawns

On our journey, we are also joined by Pawns, mysterious otherworldly beings in the form of humans who exist to support Arisens in their quest. These NPCs serve very much like any typical RPG party member, taking on roles that can support you in battle such as a healer, a tank, or a ranged fighter that assists from a distance.

The world of Dragon’s Dogma is much richer this time around, decorated with plenty of interesting elements that will draw you in to check out and interact with, unlike the first game, which was often criticized for being barren.

There are also groups of adventurers traveling around the land and they can either show players some friendliness or display hostility, making the world a lot livelier.

Thou Art Arisen Now

From the limited game time we experienced, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is shaping up to be what fans have hoped for, a sequel that expands and polishes the original concept of what made the first game fun while adding more to the established world.

Much like the first game, the combat is the star of Dragon’s Dogma, and Capcom is certainly trying to keep the element the same while also adding more to it.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is set to launch for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC, its release date has yet to be announced.

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