Dragon's Dogma 2 – Dragon's Dogma 2 Preview

Mountain exploration with the Knight-Mage

The section begins at the entrance to a small border village, with the objective of passing through the large gate to reach the territory on the other side of the immense wall. But first, a little walking in the streets and talking with the locals, a few quests to do. And these are not banally displayed with a simple exclamation point above a npc. Here, these are small scenes or a character who comes to speak to you, a little extra to the level of immersion.

For this little mission, it was about a little boy who did not return from his walk in a territory infested with wolves. To find him you need some leads, and therefore question the inhabitants of the village. During the discussions, it turns out that the boy went to pick blue flowers, more easily visible at night by their shine. This is an opportunity to see that the game does not require too much control. A few more or less vague indications, a certain estimate of the area to go, and get by! For once, having gone through the dialogues a little quickly complicated things… Thanks to the gentleman from Capcom who came to help ^^. So a little mountainous journey began, with a few enemies to slay along the way. The latter was a bit tumultuous, between the various groups of enemies, the rock climbing, the good idea (no) of fighting on a bridge and then not being able to turn around because it is broken (remember that it is a question of interactions with the decor). And walking around after dark is convenient for following the bright flowers, less so for seeing the rest. In short, the little boy is found at the bottom of a cave after having drastically reduced the population of wolves in the area. Let us mention the fact that when the mission was taken, the game told us that some are affected by the flow of time, their resolution may then vary if they are not completed within a certain time. A feature which could not be tested but which seems interesting. Incidentally, in the absence of a reminder stone placed in the village (because I did not listen to the advice), we had to make the way back on foot, and therefore expose ourselves to other dangers, in addition to taking time . One of the studio's wishes is not to offer quick trips, classics of the genre, to provide a real adventure. This seems to work.

The level of gameplay Knight-Mage combines melee combat and magic. The latter allows you to compensate for the absence of parrying or dodging with a protective bubble on yourself and nearby allies. It is also possible to cast offensive spells. For weapon combat, it is a mixture of reels with the double blade and forward or overhead leaps. It was very pleasant to control this class, with dynamic combat, fluid movements and still requiring a little attention.

To return to the guard post, there are several ways to pass the large gate. Having observed a little of the comings and goings allows you to jump into one of the carts to reach the other side without being noticed. It was explained that it was also possible via one of the missions to obtain a mask to pretend to be the species corresponding to the pass in the inventory. The game still shows a certain freedom of approach.

A little exploration followed in the other, less green country. The opportunity to try the caravan escort mentioned in the game communication. Obviously, there was an attack (it's not obligatory, it's called losing), and in addition a Griffon. The confrontation was a little complicated, the animal provides a major challenge (literally and figuratively). And as with other large creatures, it is possible to hold on to it to hit it with less discomfort. He ended up leaving, perhaps tired of the poor adversity offered… The walk along the coast revealed a cave, blocked by a pile of rocks. A few big Lizards inside, maybe the skin that fell off is relatively valuable. The game still shows that it encourages exploration, curiosity and experimentation.

The beach and the Desert with the Archer-Mage

The section with the Archer-Mage begins in a large city in a desert region. With a small number of characters walking around, talking among themselves, running stalls, etc., there is a small feeling of life emanating from the surroundings, which is rather pleasant. It is possible to shop, recruit Pawns, and even buy a house.

Direction the coast, you have to find a character to help him in a mission. On site, a mini Griffon boss comes to cause trouble. This time, no luck for him, there are many defenders to cheer him on, and the abuse of fire arrows has hurt him a lot. The sequel requires collecting special stones and finding a type of hermit. Nothing complicated about this part, but leaving again allows you to take advantage of the fact that several paths are possible to reach a desired point, some more convoluted than others.

Return to the city to head towards the sand. There, a few fights with harpies, similis goblins, and others. Once again, a means of transport, here a type of cable car, was the occasion for a small, impromptu attack at height, rather original. On the ground, a large Golem gave a hard time, sensitive only on its weak points, not easy to access, the fight was a little complicated and finally abandoned. But it allowed us to illustrate the tactics necessary for the semi-bosses encountered throughout the wanderings.

The gameplay of the Archer-Mage is completely different from that of the previous class. Here, there is no magic shield to serve as a protection skill, you must stay at a distance. Being very mobile, the slightest enemy that comes into contact with you can become a problem… You have to count on the Pawns to serve as a line of defense, while you shoot from behind. And for this, a battery of varied arrows are available. Ricocheting, explosive arrows, etc., with automatic targeting or manual guidance. As a result, the class perhaps offers more tactics and combat control possibilities than many others. Personally, I didn't really enjoy playing it, but fans of ranged combat should like it.

Important pawns

Already glimpsed during the last preview, the Pawns have real consistency and usefulness. They're not just ordinary, slightly stupid NPCs. They talk a little while walking around, make observations, give advice on an enemy or the current mission, and even tell anecdotes about their original owner when imported from online. Very active during the fights, they are a real added value in the gameplay, well forming the group seems of capital importance. They also collect resources along the way, which is quite practical. Finally they manage to find the passages to reach you without any hassle, a good point on the technical side. In short, for what was observed, the Pawn system works very well both in gameplay and technical terms.

Rather heated

After this long session, the feeling about the game is still quite positive. There seems to be real work on coherence and immersion in this universe. The studio has repeatedly stated a desire to bring a personal adventure to life, and that seems to be the case. There are game design choices that were decided for this. This won't please everyone, but it's assumed. There are still some concerns about the repetitiveness of the gameplay over time, each class does not seem to have many skills. But surely compensated by Dantesque clashes with imposing, even gigantic, creatures. A somewhat austere side may also be in the interface, or even the game world in general. That said, all this seems to be a complete continuation of the previous episode. So fans of the license should be delighted by this new Dragon's Dogma.

Overview produced by Zekkangel during a press presentation