Dragon's Dogma 2 Is Kinda Doo Doo - Review

Dragon's Dogma 2 is a sequel to the cult hit Dragon's Dogma from way back in 2012. Does it improve on the faults of the first game? Yes and no.
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Character creations I used in my playthrough. These two were great and deserve some love!
Triss Merigold character creation thanks to ‪@HevsCharacterCreations‬
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Music:
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Nature Nurture - Quincas Moreira
Medieval Astrology - Underbelly & Ty Mayer
Chariots of War - Aakash Gandhi
#dragonsdogma2 #gaming #review

[@RedStar441]

The fact there was not a "Start new game button" told me everything I need to know. This game was not finished and rushed out as soon as it was desirable. This hurts alot considering DD1 is in alot of ways a skeleton of an amazing concept. They did do mileage on DD2, but when you look around you see missing pieces. Like ghosts of what could have been. Seems Dragons Dogma's ambition is always going to be cursed by the fact that the games industry does not care.

[@warthogvanguard7292]

Honestly you’re spitting facts. While I love certain stupid quirks about Dogma as a series, I cannot deny that you’re right about how this game can get really annoying! Performance is an instant turn off. Combat retained a solid 60% of DD1’s variety, debuting with horrible changes to existing vocations (changes to archer needing an arrow skill in order to use specialty arrows is ATROCIOUS, changes to mage and sorcerer have only 4 spell slots down from 6, almost none of the cool spells from the previous game, and completely removing elemental bolts and focused bolt/removing sorcerer’s force push is ridiculous, just to name 2), and not even mentioning that removing Mystic Knight and Assassin, which are beloved vocations which only deserved to be built upon, is insulting. The story is somehow a fraction of DD1, basically the only memorable set piece is Talos, and he sucks! The fact that they didn’t even try to do a Fortress Besieged, Watergod’s Alter, Griffin’s Bane, Cockatrice assault on Gran Soren, Wyrmking’s Ring or ANYTHING Notable besides the absolute nothing quests of Vermund, and absolute nothing quests of Battahl until Talos is abhorrent. This game is divisive, and that’s okay, because it’s resurrecting Dragon’s Dogma which I love. But despite that, this game which is extremely polished, didn’t even try to replicate some of the most memorable moments from the first game, and because of that, it just falls flat in comparison. Even the Pathfinder crap at the end is just annoying. How DARE You make Grigori’s fight essentially worthless and entirely skippable and basically necessary to skip, in order to enter the endgame? And while we’re at it, how dare they make the endgame 12 days only? The endgame is (supposed to be) some of the funnest content of the game if you’re trying to remake Dogma 1 (which they 100% were) No Everfall or repeatable dungeon of any kind? Ends in 12 days forcing you to restart the game? You’ve basically stripped a grand majority of what made DD1 fun *and replayable* to begin with.

[@BubbasGameReviews]

I keep seeing comments from people telling me that I don't "get" Dragon's Dogma (even though I played the first and enjoyed it) but then there are players like yourself who are super passionate about it explaining why this game is nowhere near the greatness of the first one. This split I think really shows just how divisive the game truly is to the fan base when it should have been a game that could have been an easy 10/10 if they had just built on the first one and made it better.

[@haydenqueyrouze3175]

“What should we have the bulk of the story be in our game where combat is the best part??” “Uhhhh political intrigue?” “You do realize last game we had an ogre siege battle, a griffin fight in a ruined colosseum, and a zombie filled crypt?” “Nahhhh, political intrigue.”

[@ZephrusPrime]

After my 3rd NG+ I got the "shut the fu@k up scroll" for my main pawn and it's so nice having a silent pawn that just goes to work. I don't pick up the other 2 pawns but would search for the muted ones to make it a proper crew.

[@jatt7109]

The story music and QoL all worse in dd2. Visuals gameplay world design are better in dd2

[@Sweggabeg]

I picked up DDDA for 3 quid after putting 100 hours into DD2 and honestly, DD2 is a straight up downgrade from Dark Arisen. Even combat wise I feel that the dual weapon skill system of the first game was far more involved and even simple things like the basic combos having variations if you delayed inputs added to a fight. The archer requiring a skill for an arrow type is also ridiculous. Story is laughable, ui and general inventory management is worse *especially* changing equipment from storage etc. The world is the only exception, the amount of caves, discoveries and general layout of the world was great. I still massively enjoyed DD2 but playing Dark Arisen was a big reminder of how they've seemingly learned nothing and that's massively frustrating.

[@BubbasGameReviews]

I flipped major shiz when I saw that the arrows required a skill. I complained so much to my friends about it that I think they hate me now.

[@Sweggabeg]

@@BubbasGameReviews My hope is that they fix the game up and expand, apparently the base version of DD was a bit shit until Dark Arisen revamped it too, fingers crossed!

[@warthogvanguard7292]

@@BubbasGameReviewsWastes a skill slot, and attempts to “balance “ a fun mechanic that made Strider cool. When will people understand that some of the things that made classes broken, were just FUN to play with?

[@joesaiditstrue]

DA is so much better and more fun to play, the weapon and armor variety was better, it had many more skills, and also you could equip more skills at once, i loved being able to save scum w/ the godsbane too which is something you can't even do in this game, not that you'd want to

[@6Mourning6Star6]

I loved the first Dragon's Dogma. I was super excited when I heard of this game. I thought they were going to improve on the drawbacks the first game had, but somehow, they didn't, and even added other drawbacks. When I first booted it up, I was sucked in hook, line, and sinker. Until I got to Vernworth, and my performance dropped to like 15 or less fps due to the optimization issues. And then the game started to crash randomly when exiting menus, or the map. And I got frustrated with how wobbly the character's knees are when trying to climb, they stumble and slip on the slightest incline. Pawns casually yeet themselves into the Brine, or off of cliffs The UI is atrocious when it comes to inventory management, or receiving new items in bulk, (get goaled and get your stuff back) The affinity system is still trash, and the game only has 2 official romance options, that are not optional if you don't want any open quests just sitting in your journal, and they're both women. Like you can't complete the quest WITHOUT having the romance scene with them. Like, I know ANYONE could be your beloved, but bruh. I would at least like for there to be a wider option of official romances with scenes to match. That aren't tied to quests. And the affinity system is so finicky. Just like the first game. They removed the eternal ferrystone, and gave us a LARGER map. Like, that doesn't make sense??? And the two port crystals that are static on the map are both in Vermund, like, does Battahl just not need a static port crystal? End game puts more static ones around the map, but they are only accessible during the time limited unmoored world map and have no effect on NG+. I mean, yeah there's oxcarts. That goes to Melve, Checkpoint Rest Town, Battahl, and Vermund but what good does an oxcart do when you have to waste a few seconds to wait at a sign for it to be the proper time of day to access it, and then have it get attacked and likely destroyed part of the way to the destination? The story starts off strong, but once you get to the Coronation, which is built up to be a big deal only for you to have to dip out due to the godsway, and the fact that Disa and her plot just becomes irrelevant as you get to Battahl, it's a bore. You can do the bare minimum and get the same results in the main story as if you had done everything. Becoming Sovran isn't even part of the original cycle. The dragon is meant to be a test to find someone who has enough will to be able to relieve the current seneschal because their will was decaying after watching over the world for who knows how long in between successful Arisens. And speaking of Arisens, why are there so many just out and about in the second game? Surely our dragon wasn't their dragon, as if it was, shouldn't they have aged or died when we killed our dragon using the godsbane on ourselves? I thought failed Arisens that didn't take the dragon's offer of sacrificing one's beloved turned into drakes and lesser dragons? And the arisen that lost to the seneschal became the next great dragon. The Japanese translation to English mushed up a lot of key words, and so the story is interpreted differently, as Rothias is actually the seneschal, but that word is never used in the English version. The same is also applied for taking the godsbane blade to Phaseus, it's worded like you are delivering him the tool he needs to achieve his goals, which to our knowledge at the time, was opposite of our own. He was propped up to be some big scary villain, the true villain behind Disa, but no. Just a scientist sorcerer that wants to be free of the cycle, as the player wants to do. Like, honestly, I don't feel like there is an actual concrete story. It's just speculation and crap because the translation just seems too muddled. And what was that crap at the end with the gigantic giga dragon? Like, I spent all that time gathering everyone up to the seafloor shrine, battling bosses and facing the Brine, only to have an interactable cutscene of my character scooting up the dragon's tail and wing while the pathfinder tries to explain things, but somehow doesn't? And NG+ is just depressing. There is no difficulty setting, and enemies do not scale with you. So, in NG+, you just melt through enemies like a hot knife through butter. It's not fun. Also, port crystals don't stay, unlike the first game. Once again, the map is larger, substantially so, with no eternal ferrystone, AND the port crystals don't stay when you do NG+ The game was rushed, for sure. Content was definitely cut. It feels too loose to be the final vision that was intended. I want to enjoy the game. I've sunk nearly 200 hours into it, and instead I just feel dread when I think about playing it. Anyway, sorry for the long comment. I'm just so frustrated over the game because I truly want to love it. It just... doesn't make me feel that way.

[@Mike-vl8zb]

Ther were four games in total DD1, Dark arisen, Online, and DD2. Combat is garbage compared to the fighting mechanics and maintained vocations with intro of Bitterblack Isle (minus Itsuno but still with Ryota Suzuki and Kenoshita).

[@joesaiditstrue]

Capcom is lucky that the first game went under most people's radar. The fact that DD2 players don't have anything to compare it to, lets Capcom off the hook w/ this lazy sequel.

[@joesaiditstrue]

Dark Arisen was just a better game, and had more content. Yes, I know it's a DLC that had additional content. But if you can't bring a game out 12 years later that's got more of what the prequel had, then that's pretty pathetic. Add in the fact that this game is hardly a sequel, iykyk

[@thorulf4086]

The game whas nice but has meny of the newer rpgs they fall short on ng+ and to me the story is not the same level has dd1

[@ShxpxRok]

People may not like this for the title a defense for how hrped on the ganne is over MTX and performance but you gave the game a shot and you have the same gripes I got with it I liked the game 100%'d it but yeah the game needs a better story, and npcs and far far more monsters the current state of the game feels like they released a beta test for the game ngl.

[@BubbasGameReviews]

I knew people were gonna downvote the video to hell and back, and they have, but it's hilarious how many people in the comments assume that I haven't played the first game, but I have, and fairly recently too. Dark Arisen was so much better.

[@DanNguyen-bu5xl]

I love the game and i enjoy the combat except i can count all the enemies in the game on both hands. I also beat the game in like a day so it was extremely short. Not too sure what to do now end game as the map is pretty limited and so is armour and weapons.. at least as far as im concerned..

[@10XSeiga]

dawg, youre not supposed to just go through the story missions XD any dragons dogma vet would tell you that. this game is a place to "live in" not burn through. theres alot hiding under the hood that you will just assume isnt there if you just play the story missions.

[@DanNguyen-bu5xl]

@@10XSeiga 😂 i didnt expect it to end so suddenly. It took me by surprise. I reverted to the last inn though and started exploring more

[@10XSeiga]

RESPECTFULLY. The title should read "I Don't understand Dragon's Dogma 2".

[@BubbasGameReviews]

uh huh, sure.

[@warthogvanguard7292]

Be honest, you just watched the first minute of the video.

[@HHTwice]

@@warthogvanguard7292be honest, you never played the game

[@SoloEcho]

Lol

[@christopherway2546]

DD2 put 10,000 chests with 9997 of them having a harspud roeborant. F all that

[@TheRavenShadowsWolf]

Dude, if the title is incendiary; bag it and leave it on Capcom's door. Problem solved. ; ) For me it's: - RPG mechanics that actually matter and allow me to build the character that I want to build = Pacing balance mechanically (Including Monsters of an appropriate level ONLY showing up WHEN I can realistically handle them!!!) - Story = This game wrote an IOU - Romance = If you're going to do it; DON'T half ass it. - Combat that DOES NOT do "chip" damage/have monsters that can damned near ONE SHOT me at any given level... - Cool loot to find (There is NO good equipment as far as I have played) = NO stealth missions in a game that WAS NOT designed to be a stealth game! - Escort Missions where the target can either properly defend themselves, or NO ESCORT MISSIONS! * The fast travel bullshit and the dragonplague idea were the two WORST possible ideas that Capcom could come up with. They deserve EVERY Dunce cap on the whole damned Dev team for whoever a) came up with either, and b) allowing each of them to pass into the coding at all. If you're going to FORCE me to camp just to make your dumb assed "fast" travel system "viable" then make the camp gear INDESTRUCTIBLE!!! [I care less that you can be attacked at night than I care that it -unnecessarily - costs me a shit ton to buy decent camp gear if it breaks] The Meister thing specifically PISSES me off. A LOT. There was NO NEED to make the highest teir skill that hard to get. In the original you had to earn the rank to get it - and you DID. It was EARNED. That should've been good enough. Now, not only do we have to FIND the pain in the ass to TEACH the skill; we have to do a quest - on TOP of getting the damned rank to begin with. Really disheartened me to get my Pawn to Mage 9 and then realize they trapped that bullshit (not worthwhile skill) behind a quest where I have to play hide and seek all over the damned map just to pick up SPECIFIC grimoires when the kid LITERALLY says ANY grimoire would do... Fuck. That. And captain you need to be dressed a certain way before I'll even answer you can absolutely kiss my Irish ass. That's ON TOP of the fact they both want the same damned books... : / Beren gives you the Meister skill; but ONLY if you're rank 9 of warrior BEFORE you bother doing the second quest he has - or he'll bugger off to Bhatall and you're screwed getting it til MUCH later in the game. Who the fuck thought EITHER of those options was a good idea, and why the fuck wasn't he fired? Summarily, out of a cannon.

[@BubbasGameReviews]

For me, there's just so much stuff they only did half way that it felt like they should have either gone all in with the idea or never put it in to begin with. Fast travel is one of those, romance is another, heck, even the brothel. Why did I select a voice for my character in the character creator if they never speak?

[@TheRavenShadowsWolf]

@@BubbasGameReviews All true, and totally agree. I don't understand why Warfarer wasn't the Brawler class, given BBI had the Bloody Knuckles. We didn't need Trickster, it adds nothing to the game as the pawn AI is NOT reliable enough to make them the party main damage dealers. I also would have liked presets that didn't look like ass; and pictures of EVERY body part that I could choose, rather than all the numerical slider things. I've made ONE decent looking pawn in the 2 times I've started the game... and of the perhaps three times I've actually restarted - the other two looked either not quite right, or almost mutant. I'm not a graphic designer - and it should be assumed that MOST players are going to want their characters to be aesthetically pleasing.

[@lexiconprime7211]

I wholeheartedly agree with you about everything but ESPECIALLY the loot. There is no interesting, game-changing loot at all. Everything is a bland item with no special effect, or synergy with existing skills/passives, nothing. That alone makes exploration feel pointless and empty. Why am I going to go look for that elusive cave if I know the loot in it is just as dull and lifeless as many of the NPCs are? I think I KNEW the game was going to be half-assed when I learned there were only 10 vocations. Only two of the four starting vocations had advanced options that fit in a comfortably similar-ish play style: Fighter and Mage (Warrior/Sorcerer respectively). The progression in the game is just not there to me. What the hell happened to video game RPGs?

[@HHTwice]

It’s amazing how even blog posting weirdos can be wrong on almost all accounts 😂 as if the more they type the more right they are lmao

[@MrShellmarx1981]

I honestly tried finishing the video …. But really couldn’t …. Perhaps I have to be patient as I remember seeing wow and age of civilisation and going like ….bla bla bla…. Now I see the foolishness of being young and so sure about my opinion. This review will age poorly.

[@BubbasGameReviews]

Sorry you couldn't get through the video. If I were unsure about my opinion, it wouldn't be an opinion worth having; if they don't fix core issues with the game, that opinion likely won't be changing anytime soon.

[@Lancia444]

Agreed about this going to age poorly...this review is kinda doo doo

[@MrShellmarx1981]

@@BubbasGameReviews Don’t get me wrong , it is a good video and you put a lot of effort in the production value and writing that it did hold my attention and I always appreciate good work. You don’t like the art style or direction of the game that is fine, opinion noted. Just be aware that it is clicking for the people it was aimed at. The critiques on the fps etc legit especially when comparing to Elden ring which is an own world game. But when compared to breath of the wild they do draw a lot of parallels in terms of frame rate, story content or actually lack there of. And sadly it tells you didn’t work out how to make your pawns smarter using inclinations or the obtuse interactions with npc’s that tell a deeper story if you think about it. Take for example.g the jadeite orb quest , you as a player are actually scammed by all three parties imo. The lore is funnily deep when you start getting through the quirks.Well you don’t like it then you don’t that’s fair. But no take back on that later my friend!

[@BubbasGameReviews]

I'm glad you at least gave me a critique of the review that wasn't just "you don't get it" like some others. So let me say this: "clicking for the people it was aimed at" I AM the target audience. I played the first game and I've played many other RPGs. I love the genre and wanted this game to succeed just as much as everyone else who enjoyed the first one. I get that when it comes to opinions, my negative opinion could be someone else's positive opinion, but that's for them to decide, not me. I knew how to make my pawns smarter. I said that the combat AI for pawns was actually very good, but they were annoying outside of combat because the constant chatter and cliff jumping became maddening. Yes, they do have some interesting lore bits (Dragonsplague being one) but it was nice to hear that information...the first time. I didn't mention inclinations because changing them didn't really do much for me. It could have been a bug, but I'm not sure. I specifically mentioned that finding quests through exploration was one of the best parts of the game. That includes overhearing NPC conversations, statues that are pointing to a certain location in the wild and following them, etc. That was a strength of the game. I disliked the story(ies) the quests told, and that's where we can agree to disagree because people like different things. I don't regret making the review. This is my view of the game as it released and is a stamp on the channel of how they started the game. If they do some sort of "Dark Arisen" DLC for this that fixes a lot of things, then I'll make a new review to talk about the new content. As of now, I can only review what they put in front of me and not some future content that doesn't even exist at the moment. Once again, I appreciate you taking the time to explain more of what you didn't agree with. At the end of the day, I enjoy having conversation around games, good or bad, whether we agree or disagree.

[@MrShellmarx1981]

@@BubbasGameReviews with regards to cliff jumping add the thiefcore skill that helps easily scale cliffs and foes on any of your pawn vocation. With regard to shutting them up I forgot which but one of the inclinations does the trick plus there is an option but I love the chatter that I can’t do without it. I would advise try a solo play through when time permits and then build your team around it. And the pawns should vary not by vocations or skills but purely by body weight. I rarely take mage or sorcerer and it is actually viable and they make short work of the ambush and you only need the occasional camp site visit. By having varying body sizes you actually have a proper tank , vanguard, sniper etc..

[@TommyContent]

Yea bro this review is kinda doo doo. So pretty much you don't understand rpg mechanics or what you're playing. But you also sound young and on the cusp of the fortnite generation.

[@BubbasGameReviews]

on God, no cap, fr fr.

[@HevsCharacterCreations]

Thank you for the mention 😊💖

[@BubbasGameReviews]

I used your Triss and loved her. Thank you!

[@HHTwice]

Status: FILTERED

[@thevideogamerconsortium6180]

i gotchu buibba

[@epicwolf]

I play a long 50 hour plus rpg if the story is good or not. If I care about the characters and where it goes. If the side quests have good story and awards. The combat to me is the last thing I really care about. Witcher to me was the last great long rpg i played in awhile. Thats why to me Elden Ring wasnt as high of a praised on my book as alot of people put it as. Some said it is the best game that ever created mainly because of the combat. I personally lost interest in that game half way in. Its a shame. I was looking forward to this game. I played the first one but kind of lose interest in it half way mainly because I couldnt give a shit about the story. I was expecting a better story and side quest. I guess my hopes of seeing another Witcher was false hope

[@BubbasGameReviews]

Witcher 4 is in development, so that should give you some hope!

[@thevideogamerconsortium6180]

f8irst

[@ninives]

Nerfed mobility in rogues, poor loot, mediocre looking npcs that don’t justify poor performance and less Armor slots. DD2 is a downgrade on everything that made DDDA great and its a shame.

[@ryanmorawski]

Bad review.