Dragons Dogma 2 Could've Been Great...

In this video essay we talk about Dragons Dogma 2, and how it fell short of being a great game.
We'll be analysing dragons dogma 2's gameplay, story, development as well as its future.
This is my first video essay so if you like it and want to see videos like this for other games as well, let me know.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:51 History of Dragons Dogma
04:01 Dragons Dogma 2 Gameplay
13:40 Dragons Dogma 2 Story
16:45 Reception (Conclusion)
#dragonsdogma2 #dragonsdogma #videoessay

[@asfandope]

Can't believe I need to clarify this but here goes... Dragon's dogma 2 is not a bad game. However I wanted it to be a great game (GOTY level), and it wasn't for me. If it was for you then great, we're allowed to have different opinions.

[@barbwilson4820]

I'm on my 9th playthrough on PS5. So yeah.. people have different opinions. From the release date I already knew it was my GOTY. I always favorite pawns and some have left me in the dust until I just can't afford them anymore even though I have 80000 rift crystals. I had gotten in the habit of placing port crystals strategically and I do have more port crystals and ferrystones than I will ever need at this point. Of course I disregard a lot of quests like the beggar. I know I will play Where the Winds Meet and will probably play Black Myth Wukong because I love Wuxia/Xianxia stuff. I even named my DD2 characters and designed them from an English translated novel about cultivators that I was reading when the game came out called "ascending please do not disturb." heh. :) Even if I love these future games I don't think they will beat my time consumed in DD2 and I have to factor that in my rating. I liked DD1 but like DD2 more. I liked Elden Ring but never downloaded it from PS4 to PS5 so I don't really care about the DLC. I might give Dragon Age a try. I won't play first person shooters, sports, or racing games so I have no clue about the game quality of something I won't play.

[@tnndll4294]

I played DD1. but looking at your video, the mobs in DD2 are just the same old stuff again.

[@asfandope]

@@tnndll4294 yeahh...after hearing a lot of different people, I've come to the realisation is that DD2 is essentially just DD1 with a graphical overhaul. There's little to no innovation as far as gameplay goes.

[@coreymckee4844]

​@@asfandope dude the creator even said this was the plan. It's not new. DD2 is what he originally wanted the first game to be. People acting like this is some big surprise.🙄

[@thegamster98]

@@coreymckee4844 I have a feeling this is not what he wanted, cut monsters and the such.

[@fancy5500]

I had actual whiplash when I realised that Im going into the last quest but it still felt like we should be at the very start of the story pacing wise

[@asfandope]

@@fancy5500 glad I'm not the only one

[@momsspaghetti4064]

So don't rush the story man. Like any other game. Do all the side stuff. Collect everything. Talk to everyone. Try to find secrets. Climb all the rooftops. Go back to a previous area to collect loot you had to run past. Look at achievements or trophies. There is so much to do in this game and other games. Like Bethesda games. Never rush the story. Like who does that? 😂

[@MikaMausArt]

@@momsspaghetti4064 There's a difference between rushing the story, and the story of an open world RPG that makes you walk for HOURS on end being less than 10 quests total. Like they have no excuse and that's coming from someone who LOVED the first one

[@momsspaghetti4064]

@MikaMausArt I am legit confused about what you said man. 🤷‍♂️ The choice would be yours

[@k1ngan1m3tr011]

​@momsspaghetti4064 dude you are wrong The game was too quick even if you do all the side quest it didn't feel right story wise That is the point we are trying to make

[@randyjax09]

There is so much that I loved about DD2, but overall the game felt so surface-level. The story, side quests, & enemy variety left a lot to be desired.

[@asfandope]

@@randyjax09 very true, it deserved so much more.

[@lafunk1978]

Its really annoying as these are things that are easily fixed.... The main story.... It was so zzzzz..... And goblins.... Goblins and more goblins....errughh

[@faxanadufire9669]

same.. I got the magic archer class unlocked and just stopped playing

[@randyjax09]

@@faxanadufire9669 I recommend playing through to the “secret” ending in the Unmoored World. There’s definitely more stuff to experience.

[@momsspaghetti4064]

Which is what good things do. Like imagine not wanting more of something you love. 😂🤦‍♂️

[@Tookieslam]

Kinda want this and Elden Ring to have a baby. Climbing and staggering mechanics are so satisfying in DD2.

[@asfandope]

@@Tookieslam that sounds amazing and terrifying at the same time. Count me in

[@JahIthBer]

I made this comment and got down voted to hell on Reddit lol

[@asfandope]

@@JahIthBer think I remember seeing that

[@Tigerhearty]

I don't understand why no other studios are figuring out this fun climb and walking on big monsters and attacking weak point formula and also the really good gameplay. Why do we have to wait decades for capcom to be the only one coming out with that combat system...

[@JahIthBer]

@@Tigerhearty monster hunter scratches that itch

[@NeedsContent]

I bet a Bitterblack Isle level expansion would add a lot of depth to the game.

[@Flopdoodle]

Bitterblack isle was a repetitive slog of samey rooms with a few enemies types rotated every run. After two runs, you've seen everything worth seeing. It wasn't that good.

[@ozm0zesjoe466]

I'm hoping for a bitter lack dlc

[@AnotherGamingDude]

It wasn't in development for 12 years, the games star pre production in 2018 after the completion of devil may cry 5. The game was in development for 6 years.

[@asfandope]

Didn't know that, thanks for the correction

[@hotnessgaming1396]

It hasn’t even been 6 years currently since DMC5 came out, let alone half a year ago

[@SeasoningTheObese]

If this game took 6 years, Capcom needs to axe the entire team.

[@The_Babe]

​@SeasoningTheObese Nope. The game took about four years to complete, and the reason it was underwhelming at all was due to Capcom prioritizing Monster Hunter: Wilds over Dragon's Dogma 2, stealing many of Itsuno's team members to work on Monster Hunter over it. Just like they did for the first game! Capcom is ALWAYS sidelining the guy, unfortunately.

[@Tigerhearty]

i doubt it was in development for 6 years, when they announced the sequel the director was back on the project for what is like 2 and maybe a half year, and every japanese studio don't work on a game if they don't have the proper vision / guy with the vision on the team, that's how it goes, this game has been worked on "seriously" for maybe 3 years if lucky.

[@ugenewis]

They really nerfed the Sorcerer class

[@asfandope]

Yeah it wasn't really good

[@anonisnoone6125]

Well that's a massive shame. If ER could do sorcery justice, then how could DD2 not? Or is sorcery completely different on dd2 than in ER?

[@ARN4591]

It's not nerfed, it's just more repetitive since there's less spells Sorcerers still deal the most damage with a single skill besides Magick Archer with the maister skill

[@wgnd1614]

@@anonisnoone6125 ok why tf so much people are talking about elden ring in these comments? this game (dragon's dogma) has literally NOTHING to do with elden ring man

[@user-dx6zc2nf7h]

​@@wgnd1614 people just finished playing Elden Ring DLC, it's the nearest comparison they can remember.

[@soumyajitghosh7]

For me, one of the things I missed is the layerd armor system from the original, though the new one has a lot more clothes and armors but equiping every single armor and clothes really makes the original very cool and gives a lot of space for customisation.

[@faxanadufire9669]

man u need to play the 1st one with the dark arisen dlc.. i was playing DD2 amd just clndt help but want to play the 1st one instead.. its head and shoulders above DD2 imho.. although i will say there is more of a flow to combat so to speak, DD2 just doesnt feel as weighty as the first one with blows to enemies.. cant really describe it.. and if u loved souls its way more challenging than DD2 as well, especially end game.. holy balls lol

[@asfandope]

I have dark arisen on gamepass but don't wanna jump into it without experiencing the base game.

[@PrimalDirective]

Rose tinted glasses are literally welded yo your face 90% of what you probably like about DD1 is BBI

[@DjLuCKyCHaRM]

That is why I became an archer, the melee feels off compared to the first game..

[@TA-by9wv]

​@@asfandopeIf youre going to play the original you should look up a class in advance that you plan on settling in. You can seriously cripple your build like if for example you go 60 levels in mage and then switch to warrior you'll be much weaker than if you went fighter/warrior from early on. There are some advanced classes like assassin and magic archer where there's an optimal path that requires periodic vocation swapping every few levels.

[@asfandope]

@@TA-by9wv I'll do that thanks

[@DeadTechno22]

I mean of course **SPOILERS** You been warned. The story just abruptly ends, and there is little character development for supposed “main” characters, and they lied to us about the whole “faction” things”. First off it just ends, we don’t confront the “fake” arisen. We don’t confront the civil war and unrest happening in the desert city. Essentially the game is “exploring”, because the story had you go over here, then over here, uh oh problem, go on vacation here, then talk to that guy there, touch this dragon. Then depending on where you “touch” the dragon will then send you either to the real end game or the game just ends there. It’s all very confusing as hell. Then the characters, that cat priestess lady supposedly in charge of the dessert city, we only really talk to her twice… once when we meet her, the second when we tell her to abandon her house cuz a cyberpunk purple system admin god is coming to destroy it…. We don’t get to explore a lot of characters the way we were promised. Also we don’t pick a side.. it was hinted that between the factions we may have to choose a side and I was very interested in seeing that replay ability wise to see what got locked out, what I could’ve gained… I thought it was gonna be like Skyrim, civil war is more important that dragon apocalypse cuz yeah civil war but man I just feel a little jipped. Didn’t even leave the beginner town in new game +. Like…. What’s the point? 😂

[@asfandope]

@@DeadTechno22 that is the biggest flaw in the game, that the narrative is crazy abrupt and paced terribly compared to otherwise decent gameplay mechanics.

[@PrimalDirective]

Nadinia had like 3 side quests, can't blame anyone for missing them though

[@argumentativelysound2001]

My main problem with the game were the IQ melting monologues and the soulless, brain-dead quests, where "their Majesty" is running banal errand for the bums and morons, basically for everybody. The RPG part is a complete failure here. And all those NPCs talking to themselves. in the same manner, as the all went to the same school.. Anyway, my thoughts are exactly, could have been great, should have been great but ain't.

[@The_Big_Jay]

My main complaint is that the combat still has all the flaws the first game did, which is weird because Capcom also publishes Monster Hunter. All we need is a movement system similar to that, and it would fix a lot of the problems with the combat. The original Dragon's Dogma took a lot of inspiration from Dark Souls because that was popular when it came out, yet either doesn't have a dodge, or locks it behind a specific class. Most combat is swinging at an enemy until you see that they're about to attack, then turning awkwardly and running away, which doesn't work a lot of the time.

[@lordanonimmo7699]

The original dragons dogma was launched in may 2012 while Dark Souls launched in september 2011,i doubt it was very inspired by Dark Souls,maybe it was by Demon's Souls from 2009 but Demons Souls wasnt that popular.

[@The_Big_Jay]

@@lordanonimmo7699 6 months of dev time is a lot more than you think. You also don't think the tone in Dragon's Dogma is similar to Dark Souls? Especially compared to it's original trailers, that have been lost to time, where it was a very different game?

[@lordanonimmo7699]

@@The_Big_Jay I think dragons dogma and Dark Souls similarities are more because they were heavily inspired by the same things but became very different products. And while 6 months of dev time may indeed be considerable at the time,today its nothing i wouldnt say it was inspired by dark souls because of its popularity,it could be inspired by demons souls wich while not popular was a suprising hit or dark souls trailers and demo itself.

[@The_Big_Jay]

@@lordanonimmo7699 Either way, the combat is garbage.

[@kingkiller_1001]

I just bought it and had about 15 hrs in the game and I'm loving every second of the game

[@danpeas7516]

Thats the honeymoon period after 25 youl think otberwise maybe. But if you played the first one its different

[@martakarolinazmyslowska6903]

Yeah.. Wait until you have to walk the 10thd in a row the same long way through the whole map just to make a small delivery quest, when there are no chests more to open and no enemies to level up on the way because all enemies are minimum 30 levels under your level

[@MrProdigy810]

I’d say you’ve still got a good 10 hours to enjoy then. Treat it like most single player games where you enjoy it for a while then put it down and you’ll be alright

[@momsspaghetti4064]

​@@danpeas7516oh here we go again. The bs Starfield yap. I played 150 hours and it got boring after 150 hours so the game is bad blah blah. Riiiiight. DD2 has way more than 25 hours of content. Any game is short if you run past everything to rush the story for a not grindy grind game. Like who the hell plays single player rpg by rushing the campaigns? Only bots do that. 😅

[@FireBomberBassist]

I just got it a few weeks back and am on newgame+ for the first time. I still love it with all its jankiness. Really woulda appreciated more enemies.

[@mattbell888]

I'm level 50 and like 40 hours in and having a good time just running from point A to point B and hitting stuff. If I feel too strong I just try a new vocation with the whatever gear and have a good time just doing side quests or exploring random dungeons I skipped, until I get an augment I want or get bored. If I feel too weak and get hosed by drakes I go grab my main gear and vocation and go to town to clear them out. I have not even done the first story quest, I just had fun running around the map, all the way to volcanic island. I'm going back to do the story now and fully expect to horrifically smoke anything in my way. Yeah I kinda don't mess with the side quests too much, they just kinda give me goals if I don't have any. Sometimes my goals are just 'do this quest' but they can also just be 'see what's in this area' or 'fuck I forgot to put a portcrystal over there lemme go back'. I'm still having a good time, but making my own goals is the most fun. I definitely think the enemy variety is a real problem. Like ok there's like 6 different goblin types, 3 types of wolves, 3 types of harpies, bla bla bla. There are like 6 skeletons with different skins for normal goobers. It's bad.

[@Lawdog512]

The stamina drain to run not in combat and the constant backtracking for quests is what burned me out after about 10 hours. I've fired it up a few times and look at where the quests are that I have, and decided I just don't care to walk to any of them.

[@sogetsu60]

I'm glad i picked it up on pc . I added mods to stop stamina drain out of combat, and made inventory space much bigger . This saved hours of my time and did no affect combat difficulty since i was always very light .

[@Agawa91]

Dragons dogma… hitting X a thousand times around every damn corner….

[@Asbu666]

Interesting to see a different experience, I felt that combat was good from start to finish. I never died in the early game to anything but fall damage and even in the late game large groups of enemies were challenging but fun. Travel was also never an issue for me, using Oxcarts and Ferrystones smartly worked perfectly for me. The only thing that I would agree on is the story and dialogues being lackluster at some points, but I really also never struggled with finding my way around the missions.

[@samuraijacksonooooh8230]

Agreed! To be fair, I think it gets more criticism than praise. Even if the game has more than a few flaws, it's still incredibly fun and unique. Whoever enjoyed the first DD will most probably enjoy this one too. It's not a game you play for an epic story script. You just play it for the exploration, demolishing huge beasts, freedom in swapping builds and doing whatever the F you want. It's like Capcom's own GTA in a medieval fantasy setting.

[@darkbornelines4587]

Im playing it now. The lack of enemy variety is crazy. Im just fighting goblin, harpy, wolf and lizard. Even in the second area. And no matter how much i explore, i cant fond weaoons or armor. I have to buy them

[@asfandope]

@@darkbornelines4587 there's usually far off chests so exploration is key. It's a big map so you'll probably have to search a lot. Plus the in-game economy gets you a lot of gold so weapons can always be bought for ease.

[@samuel.jpg.1080p]

I played Dragons Dogma 1 Dark Arisen years ago and was mixed on that. It had A LOT of potential but the game was clearly unfinished. It was janky, the open world is empty, lack of enemy varieties plus terrible and boring story. The dev even said that they had to make do with the first game because it was the first time they tried to do that kind of game which I completely understand. But instead of fixing what was bad in the original game, Itsuno and team is too stubborn to admit the game's flaws and double down on the original's quirks, for better and worse. The sequel is one step forward and one step backward. It is more like a remake with the similar flaws, rather than a sequel which fixes all the issues. Not only this, but the game was also released in terrible performance but the most absolute flaw is that you cannot make a new game once you started your playthrough (thankfully it was patched afaik). Itsuno and team had all the time in the world for the sequel but they still couldn't make a proper sequel. Still empty open world, lack of enemy varieties, boring story and lots of janks. Itsuno should keep himself with Devil May Cry instead, it's what he's good at.

[@asfandope]

that has been the most common critique, with them not expanding on the what worked in the original and actually sweeping under the rug complaints people had had with the original. It's a shame too, game has a lot of potential.

[@samuel.jpg.1080p]

@@asfandope yeah both games have lots of potential, i really hope Itsuno and team really take the criticism to heart

[@XaeeD]

I could quite literally write a small book on why DD2 fails to replicate the original game's 'magic'. I typed multiple lengthy paragraphs in some other reviewer's video, only to realize I'd barely scratched the surface. In order to properly compare this game to DD:DA, you'd have to talk about what made DD1 so special. And I could do that, and be quite specific about it, and then explain how DD2 is lacking those elements. But I find that talking about this stuff makes me kinda sad in a weird way. Perhaps that's because DD2 has a lot of aspects to it that could potentially be used to actually produce a phenomenal gaming experience. That's what bothers me most. It's like a bunch of pieces to a beautiful puzzle that aren't placed together properly. There are also pieces missing that need to be added, and some things that ought to be changed or tweaked. And that pertains to all levels of the game; from the main character to NPCs, AI, enemy variety, enemy purpose, character development, worldbuilding, the main story, side quest mission designs, the soundtrack, in-game lore, tone, vibe, atmosphere, etc. Vague, I know, but to go into detail is really something that you'd expect the devs to have done. It's like the developers didn't put in the necessary effort to really figure out what would've made this game a brilliant gem. Is it a bad game? Absolutely not. It has bad parts to it, for sure, but it has a sufficient fun-factor. But it could've, or should've been more than that, and the fact that they didn't go the extra mile to produce the magnum opus game that it might have been just rubs me the wrong way. I don't think future DLC can fix that. The problems are too foundational. To mention something about DD1 that DD2 doesn't have. You start DD1 in Cassardis; the Arisen's hometown. A quaint fishermen's village with a distinct architecture, resembling ancient Greece perhaps. The NPCs that live there all feel familiar. You can tell them apart. They speak to you as if they've known you for years. Grigori attacks the town, and you start your quest to reclaim your stolen heart. Grigori matters here. Imposing as he is, there's a weird kind of frenemy dynamic going on. Sometimes he almost sounds paternal. DD2's version of Grigori isn't like that. He doesn't really matter all that much. He isn't a constant driving force, looming in the back; something you know you're going to have to deal with. And DD2 doesn't have a Cassardis. You don't have a home in this world. You're a stranger to pretty much everyone else, and every NPC's a stranger to you. You're a visitor everywhere you go. Ulrika is kinda like this game's equivalent of Quina, and while Ulrika's one of DD2's better characters, she isn't as familial as Quina was, or Valmiro. But she could've been. She should've been more important. She should've been involved more in your storyline; joining you on more complex quests or parts during the main story. The rescue mission in Harve's subterranean caverns is lack-luster. Not that DD1's missions were a whole lot better, but that was over a decade ago, and you have higher exectations for a 2024 game. So Cassardis functions as your hometown, and then when you play Bitterblack Isle, you have this sunken city deep within the island; "the Fallen City", which used to be Daimon's hometown. But it's eerily reminiscent of Cassardis. This invokes an emotional response to this cursed place. Its inhabitants are all long gone, but their decayed remains are still there. There's a horror element to it, but the music that plays there conveys a deep sorrow, and the lyrics actually tell the story of what happened here. It's empty, but it's not. Environmental storytelling reveals details if you pay attention. And because you start the game in an idyllic, vibrant town of your own, this Fallen City is a grim reminder of the reality of this world. A potentially disastrous final outcome that your actions could cause. There's something worth fighting for. Kith and kin, worth fighting for. Daimon is a possible reflection of your character. So there's a lot going on here. A lot to draw you in, get you invested; underlying stories that are being told without having to be formulated. It enriches your gaming experience, and I don't see that in DD2. The closest thing to that, is when you find this world's version of Gran Soren. Suddenly, there's an actual feeling of nostalgia and a type of sadness, but it's using your experience of playing the first game, as opposed to the first game, where that same nostalgic sentiment is achieved inherently, and it's actually done more effectively. So that's some of the 'magic' that isn't there in this game. It's like they forgot to include Healing Springs: isolated pockets of tranquility and wonder. Anyway, I'll shut up now.

[@asfandope]

@@XaeeD woah that is detailed, but really good and detailed. Might have to reach out to you if I ever do a retrospective on the game.

[@mariogentry4238]

We are kindred spirits. You voiced my thoughts exactly and hit the nail on the head. As someone who has played Dragons dogma 1 before dark arisen on ps3 years back, it was so disappointing being so excited for a long awaited sequel just to get this as the result. Thats why I also agree that the dlc can’t really fix the shortcomings of the base game. I felt this way as well with the dragons age franchise but that’s another story. Anyways, well said and I wish I could give your comment x10 likes.

[@Gotgoodgaming]

10 likes..

[@PawnInTheHypeMachine]

@@asfandopethis interaction was insanely wholesome.

[@asfandope]

@@PawnInTheHypeMachine that's our favourite vibe here, grab a seat 😁

[@QuestQuenchers]

For me it does seem unfinished or rushed when it comes to the story and enemy variety, some quests were okay but there weren't that many, hopefully they fix it in updates and expansions. They didn't go all out and over deliver, they just did an okay amount, where as to set this new franchise up they should have had loads of enemies, quests and places to explore.

[@asfandope]

yeah I had a similar feel

[@DarthPingu07]

DD2 feels like DD1 and vice versa. Gransys was a blast to explore! The enemies were intuitive and fighting at night really felt daunting. DD2 lost alot of that. But for me, Grigori was the jewel in DD1's crown. The main dragon of the game started the story as the big bad but as you progressed he became a tutor. Gently reminding the Arisen that he's there and he will wait as long as you need to prepare. He was imposing, he had a badass voice and every other line he came out with was poetry. DD2 doesn't have a dragon worshipping cult that said dragon doesn't want nor does it have Grigori and his Shakespearean dialogue. DD2 feels like it's soul has been muted. It's there but it could be so much more that sadly it's predecessor delivered on.

[@brohogany9920]

Okay crazy conspiracy theory but I seriously wonder if originally dragons dogma 2 was supposed to be a dragons dogma 1 remake/remaster. I know there's a different map and story but the two are so similar it just makes me wonder if a 2-3 years into development of a remake Capcom told the studio to make it an official sequel. At that point they were rushed resulting in a poorly designed map, reused enemies, and a not so good story.

[@robertrainford6754]

The reason why it went wrong is insuno doesn’t know how to make RPGs and is to damn prideful. His comment on fast travel just shows how stubborn it is even though the first base game of dragons dogma couldn’t make good sales. Dark arisen pretty much helped sell the game

[@asfandope]

@@robertrainford6754 hey maybe we'll get a similar style of DLC for dogma 2 as well.

[@robertrainford6754]

@@asfandope with isunos pride that’s probably not going to happen. He made it pretty clear he doesn’t want fast travel which is why he did the ox carts and one time use ferrystones. In my opinion I think capcom saw how badly the first game sold when making dlc for the first game, the first game couldn’t sell 7 million units till years after dark arisen launch. What does that tell you? To me it says the first base game sucked and this game is even worse than the first base game at launch.

[@PhilipId]

@@robertrainford6754 DD franchise number 1 enemy is Isuno. DD have so much potential but his ego holds it back

[@robertrainford6754]

@@PhilipId that’s what I said which is why I wish capcom would ban insuno for how much money he costed them with the game. Like i said the first game was a flop because it lacked the standard expectation for a rpg.

[@PhilipId]

@@robertrainford6754 I don't think they should ban, but 100% limit his powers over the franchise

[@t2farlop3zzz77]

If I didn't get around to really playing the first game, but loved the whole premise, is this game worth it?

[@AaIsForAaliyas]

Absolutely

[@asfandope]

oh yes, definitely worth a play-through

[@paris5831]

No

[@fabiodiascerruti3464]

I played the first game in the franchise and really liked it. It was a different and very intriguing experience. I can tell you that the second game follows many of the guidelines of the first, the big problem, in my opinion, is that many of these guidelines don't make sense in our context. Many things could have been modified and adapted for a better experience - the problem is that the game itself seeks to be different, not to follow traditional formulas, which leaves this experience bittersweet in the end.

[@WesYes]

Thanks for making this video more people need to talk about this hopefully things can change for the better later

[@asfandope]

@@WesYes just doing my part 🫡

[@malbhet]

Both sides of the argument about the microtransactions are correct. The microtransactions should never have existed and don't hurt the game either. My rgument is this, the devs never should have even bothered implementing microtransactions to begin with, but instead focused more on content and bug fixes. Another problem I have that actually make DD2 worse than DD1 is the level pacing, your character becomes too powerful too fast. By the time I even got to the main city I was already op, especially if your class is the thief class. New game plus is practically pointless because the enemies litally no challenge. The devs should have reset the character's main and class levels to 1 for new game plus while leaving every class and skill unlocked, giving players a challenge when starting a new game while still having access to all of the equipment and skills you unlocked during your first play through, and if you require help then your pawn would still be max lvl. Tbh the game is fun, but it feels extremely cheap and too easy compared to the first game. I enjoyed the game, but if someone asked me which DD game is best to choose from I would tell them to just play DD Dark Arisen, and if they could get it at a discount then go play DD2 because DD2 is lacking in enemy content, especially I especially given the fact that the enemies actually worth a challenge is locked behind a secret ending or too hard to find in the base game due to extremely restrictive in-game timeliness, like finding that headless knight, which should have been easier than it really is. I still haven't been able to find a headless knight out in the open outside of that quest line where you had to save the knight in the misty swamp area. Also they really should have included the Hydra boss from the first game, because that Medusa boss is just the absolute worse boss Capcom has ever created, that boss served no challenge whatsoever and was only put on the game to show off a new enemy for the series.

[@asfandope]

It really felt like the development team made the game more easy to pander to a larger customer base.

[@DJWeapon8]

Becoming OP too fast stems from how the game handles combat encounters. *THERE'S WAY TOO MANY OF THEM* - Enemies spawn on the roads every 5 minutes, and they rarely break aggro so you have to fight them. Which nets you a lot of XP even while playing normally so you become overleveled early. And the lack of enemy variety among common enemies all throughout the map. All of these results in combat becoming boring very fast unless you're easily impressed with flashy VFX.

[@DanPlayMore]

For me personally is still staying on the shelf ...not having 60fps on ps5, coupled with the various bugs and frame issues made me wait until a real 60 fps patch will be released or a ps5 pro will appear.

[@clarkyh2014]

I don't know what happened to Itsuno's game design. Combat is cranked up to eleven which is nice but level design literally disappeared. Let us hit a giant Dice in a dungeon like in DMC 4 or keep enemies off an elevator

[@lady_tarra7269]

I did enjoy the Game a Lot. Gameplay is Hella fun, and im a Person that writes their own Stories while playing and roleplaying it a Bit. But with the Lack of Story and desicions to make even that is hard. The biggest Highlight for me was the beastren. But I felt deeply dissapointed when in the Preview they Said "oh there two Kingdoms, you have to Take a Special desicion which could make a huge difference" and then you realize that nothing in bak'bakthall fucking Matters Overall im Happy, but a DLC, difficulty Slider and several saving files is necessary

[@xuchilbara21392]

Things that would put it into master piece category: - more enemy variety - deeper, bigger dungeons (see skyrim balckreach and dwarven ruins), the world looks beautifull but too "horizontal" and misses vertical traveling - more npc quests, that lead you into undiscovered territory - new game + extras like : " warfarer can use all 4 slots for each weapon type chosen " or "enter the unmoored world anytime you want with the godsbane and leave it anytime you want to go back to the regular world". I hate the fact, you can basically only visit the unmoored world once every playthrough for about 7 days, i think

[@leadpipejustice9253]

5 main enemies. 1. Saurian 2. goblin 3. Wolf 4. harpy 5. Bandit No true armor customization Head, legs, chest

[@jthele]

Felt like there could’ve been more side storylines with NPCs and cinematography. That’s what was missing and the mystic knight class.

[@jamesnesran2348]

the longer a game takes to release, the worse it will be

[@0AmonRa0]

And the most important question... where is dodge rolling ????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@asfandope]

@@0AmonRa0 souls games have spoiled us

[@0AmonRa0]

@@asfandope No, it was a basic gameplay mechanic in the first DD.

[@asfandope]

@@0AmonRa0 no no, I meant spoiled us with great game mechanics in a general sense

[@limeypam]

This game is great. I have almost 800 hours into it. No game is perfect on release but improves in time.. I am lvl 134 in my 4th playthrough.

[@rickhoover3677]

Right with you. 700+ hours on my 4th playthrough. I have never had this many hours on a SP game only, and I have never played a game with back-to-back-to-back play throughs. Last 2 plays throughs have just been me and my Main Pawn. I love this game.

[@barbwilson4820]

This game is my favorite game ever and I've never played a game so many hours in my life. I'm at 500 some hours, 7th playthrough level 129, and I've played since launch. I also got my 1st PS platinum trophy ever on ps5. I have to say I was really happy I decided to get a ps5 back in November because my ps4 I've had for years and years still works fine. I also loved Okami which is another CAPCOM game so I think I am a real CAPCOM fan now.

[@jonSLAYR]

Have y’all played Baldur’s Gate 3?

[@juanchiapa2882]

I'm having a blast too ❤❤❤

[@DjLuCKyCHaRM]

​@@rickhoover3677Just an honest question: but what do you do to make it over a 350 hours?

[@r.r.bigman774]

I liked the game well enough, but you can totally see how much Capcom was trying to overhype an Okay game with the ethically dubious KZbinr stuff.

[@darthwalrus1327]

I enjoy traveling and stuff and I agree about once you leveled up it didn’t feel as much of a challenge and more of a inconvenience. But what I think is the first time traveling through areas is fine and fun but when a quest or city makes you travel through the same areas over and over made it repetitive. I also wish i could have multiple save files without using my second or third account.

[@MiaaDavis]

I loved this game on release.. I played for like a week and stopped for a few days. For some weird reason I can’t bring myself to start back playing. I’ll turn it on, start a mission, and before I get half way to my destination I’ll think about all the walking i have to do without using a port crystal and just turn it off… It’s a GREAT game if you have extended periods of free time, but if you plan on playing for like 30 mins to an hour you may as well find something else to play that’s less time consuming.🤷🏾‍♂️

[@deustauries]

The game can still be polished. The story, eh. Not so much for the main story itself. Dlc would have to pull. Now, that said, the game still has the chance to out in more enemies, add hard mode, another game mode with level scaling enemies, better pawn dialogue when you are running only with your main pawn, Random world events like mini bosses or elite mobs, or an elite unit with a mob. And even add a corrupted pawn randomly attack you and your team, have that as a boss fight. There's still room for growth and room to save the game. I'm glad they added more mob spawns and rotate them. It's, sadly, not enough.

[@noneya9421]

This game is incredible and still is, I replay all the time.

[@hhenry8989]

If a single player game needs a dlc to be fixed it’s not a good game

[@sillkthashocker]

I played DD2 first and now im playing Dark Arisen and boy Dark Arisen feels alot more fleshed out. I liked DD2 but Dark Arisen just feels a lot more juicier. Hopefully they do a big dlc for 2

[@GigaChadDuPlessis]

Dd1 was underwhelming as well until dark arisen released. So i expected the same. Tho i put 100s of hours into it and cant wait for the inevitable dlc

[@asfandope]

let's hope the DLC brings some life into this game then. I don't like that we have to wait months for a game to be good but oh well...

[@RaidSouls]

I love dragons dogma 2 🤷‍♂️, best combat system and attention to detail. My game of the year for 2024 thus far 🥶[edit] because I forgot to mention the best character creation in video game history, passing cyberpunk 2077 character creation.

[@Kiteshade]

I don’t think people consider the team when it comes to this game. You touched on it in the beginning when you said things falling into place. Capcom AAA games have 1,000 to 1,200 workers assigned to them. However, this one only had about 400. That’s a SIGNIFICANT reduction. We’ll probably never get an answer but I’d like to know why that was.

[@asfandope]

Definitely speculation on my part, but I think Capcom tends to focus more of it's workforce on their more valuable IP's. Take monster hunter, DMC or Street Fighter for instance. As far as the executives are concerned (since everything boils down to numbers for them), it's better to have the team work on those games which have already been successful rather than double down on what is a largely untested product.

[@oninomiru]

DD2 had 1500 people work on it. Itsuno already clarified that misunderstanding.

[@Kiteshade]

@@oninomiru Then that’s a down right oof of a fuck up and even more depressing

[@JoelMiller77]

Eldern Ring overshadowed this, RPJ’s is a crowded field

[@countsekou490]

The Dungeons were much harder and more fun in the first one. The Reaper in those dungeons were a problem lol

[@DjLuCKyCHaRM]

The world is beautiful, but it feels so empty. Compare this to games like Skyrim, the Witcher 3 or Kingdom Come deliverance... Dragons Dogma 2 feels like a indie game...

[@inkmage4084]

I wish they took a lot of what made the first game great, like the way the gear was handled, and took a lot of what made the MMO fun. DD2 was nice but rather disappointing.

[@comotastu]

this game felt like another company's take on the dragon's dogma formula, like what Lords of the Fallen was for the first Dark Souls, it had a couple good ideas on its own, but failed to copy the basic formula correctly, after finsihing 2 i played DD Dark Arisen again and felt like a diferent (more fun if simpler) game, lets hope they at least return layered armor in an update or DLC

[@frankdahtank354]

Dragon's Dogma 2 is the best 7/10 game on the market 💀

[@asfandope]

haha I see what you did there...bravo

[@Ugo415]

The issue is, people don’t view video games as just video games any more. Every game release, people treat it like a piece of art, everything needed to be perfect and any imperfections means that the product is in bad condition. Everyone’s standards or so high because everyone has been gifted amazing games like Red Dead Redemption 2 or Baldurs gate 3, but what people need to realize is that video games can’t always be as good as others. People have to take the game for what it is, and not compare it to other games, after all they arent from the same company, the same engine, not from the same developers. Learn to love the game like how you’re forced to love a child that you don’t really want, but it’s yours. So you can’t just abandon it.

[@asfandope]

I mean, as an art student, something designed for the purpose of entertaining something is art. And also I don't think it's unfair to hold huge studios and publishers with millions at their fingertips to actually put effort into a product rather than offering something, which while good, is far from how they marketed it.

[@DJWeapon8]

Bruh. Don't defend multi million dollar corporations. They're asking me to fork over 60, sometimes 70 US Dollars to use their product and at least 100 hours of my time. I expect at least 60 US Dollar's worth of quality content that's actually worthy of my 100 hours of time.

[@Tigerhearty]

I often fondly replay DD1 ... because it's not only a fun game but the story was clunky but fun too, not taking itself too seriously and matched a feel, a universe, and was way better put together then DD2... while i like to play DD2 from time to time, i do not have a lot of reasons like DD1 to replay it, it doesn't strike the same, sure the combat is evolved and better, even the climbing combat system has been improved, but the world is meaningless in it. and the post world, wich is the best part of DD1 , is very rushed and half baked in DD2. without a proper endgame loop.

[@martakarolinazmyslowska6903]

My biggest problem was no enemy scaling. Not even in new game plus. And no mounts. When there is no fast travel at least mounts. Even Diablo4 have mounts. And I'm missing the quest board from dd1.

[@asfandope]

the quest board would have been an awesome addition to the game tbh

[@olivierpayette4284]

I agree exept for fast travel and mount. Mounts could have been nice but not a must

[@Fanoris]

They made it seem like it was gonna be more alive then it was

[@asfandope]

that is so true

[@cyclone327]

adding to all this, my big beef with everything from 2 is this. with what you said about lack of fast travel I feel what dd1 did vs 2 was the respawning of chest. in 2 once you open a chest that's it. but in 1 after a few in game days the chest respawn giving you something to look forward to when traveling from point A to B even more so because the loot pool in chest were different so instead of a potion you might find a 2 handed great sword. This made even exploring old places again worth while. for example in 2 after I explore a cave I don't care to go back to it. but if they had respawning chest I feel that would easily change my mind in going back into a cave. stagger is also crazy in this game compared to 2. I'm like level 60 with pretty good armor and if I get tapped once by a saurian spear, that's it I'm getting hit by that combo and cant do anything about it. in 1 even fighters had better stagger to where you could start resisting these attack and perform shield blocks or just get away from the attack. but in 2 if you get staggered you pretty much dead with no way of surviving so you better keep spamming potion in hopes you can get up last thing I wanna add is how half baked combat. I know they wanted to go with more realistic combat but I feel it takes away from the arcade style combat that enjoy from the 1st game. movement feels sluggish, and I miss being able to leap a large height from the monster back to his head. Going on vocations all the vocations feel shallow, when I get to a higher level the abilities you unlock don't make you feel powerful with the higher skill. I'm not sure how to describe it but max vocation in dd1 makes you feel like you are a master of that skill with powerful moves at your toolset. it also feels like there's a lot less abilities in 2 then compared to 1 but yeah pretty disappointed with lot of the things that could have avoided or fixed with 2. I was really excited for this game but it honestly just makes me wanna go back and play 1 even more again.

[@PalisadeGaming]

Bro when you said “get that off my fucking screen” 😂 But in all honestly I like this type of succinctly made video!

[@asfandope]

@@PalisadeGaming haha it was hard to look at

[@ashlessbs]

The excuse in DD1 was that they didn't have enough funding and time iirc. Well they had a decade to make the 2nd a masterpiece, despite the multiple improvements in here and there, the game suffered greatly, be it surface lvl narrative, lackluster ending (dd1 was way better in that regard imo) But several bits worked against dd2: 1- lack of vocations (don't tell me the perfume seller trickster is more popular than a martial art/magical monk archetype in a Fantasy realm) 2- no Co-op (ppl could've easily played as their pawns lore wise to avoid multiple arisens in the same world problem) 3- the gameplay loop remained the same, your character barely has any character or meaningful impact on multiple occasions. These are just from the top of my head, not mentioning the batcrap poor optimization.

[@draw2death421]

Main 2 issues for me were: Enemy variety and i dont just mean small enemies. Even big monsters were lacking and classics from the first such as cockatrice and Hydra were missing. In total new things we got... 7 new Big monsters, 2 Ghost bosses and 2 Small Monsters. That is ridiculously little. Even Monster Hunter Freedom a sorta dlc to Monster Hunter 1 added more! And that games over a decade old! This is honestly the biggest thing thats killed the game. Theres only so many times you feel like killing a Cyclops, Ogre or a Rock Golem over and over again. And Traversing. Its fun and all to sometimes not be able to just fast travel contantly as you might find someting interesting on the road but problem is what we find on the road is the same exact enemies with an encounter ever 30 Seconds. Thats not fun, thats tedious. The landscapes arent interesting enough to travelse in my opinion either. Dungeons or caves are few and far between and honestly once youve seen one youve seen them all. Not to mention what enemies are underground that arent on the surface? Giant Bats, Passive Rats and Slimes. Other than that? Have fun fighting Goblins and Saurians over and over again. But hey mayby youll find a saurian boss at the end of the dungeon? Oh wait they arent in the game either. Seriosly this game needed like another year in the oven. Another issue was the story and the choices. You really dont have agency. Your choices rarely matter and when they do it barely chances anything, the dragon curse thing is the biggest thing but even so its not like other towns ban you or scold you for letting it hapen. You just kinda move on or revive everyone taking away that too. Puzzles at times were just insanely ridiculous. Sometimes theyre easy and sometimes you need an IQ rivaling Hawkins to figure what to do without the internet. The story also felt very disjointed and like they made a strong base but gave up 1/3 into it. Some things make no sense like us trying to stay hidden so the queen doesent realise who we are yet apearently the whole town still somehow knows exacly who we are. Some side quest like the Story Tellers quest is just not fun. You have to sit around for like 20 Minutes waiting for him to move on. That is not fun. While some were allright and even good. So yeah the quality is all over the place. Edit: oh yeah and there should have been more than 1 character slots. I dont care what youre gonna say about the Pawn System if fromsoft figured how to Do Fias Champions boss right where it saves the builds of Other Players and then uses their loadout as a boss in other peoples worlds while still having the ability to make multiple characters then Dragons dogma 2 has no excuse. Overall... id say... it doesent even beat Skyrim ngl. Thats not bad but atleast Skyrim felt complete mostly while Dragons Dogma 2 was... well... half baked. I also kinda wished there was a way to not start a new game if we want to keep exploring the world after the story is done but im aware this was a thing in Dragons Dogma 1 so mayby this is just a me thing. Overall a 6.5/10 i had a lot of fun the first 5 Hours but then it just became more and more repetive.

[@asfandope]

@@draw2death421 pretty spot on with most of your points and I definitely agree with the lack of enemy variety and the game feeling half baked

[@LeBaileyIII]

For me, DD2 had potential but ended up falling flat. Don't get me wrong, I love the game but when it comes to replayability, I was just not interested. In the original, you had access to 6 skills but in this one, its only 4 at a time. When DDON was shutdown in 2019 and I was hoping development would converge and give us more skills/abilities in the sequel...but doesn't completely(map is a huge upgrade from the first). The point of a sequel is to expand on what already was- not to condense it. I've been playing the discontinued Dragons Dogma Online with my brothers and its be an absolute blast. Infact, theres a lot of enemies and skills that came from DDON in DD2. Its literally the DD:DA with more enemy and skill variety with the huge bonus being multiplayer. That game feels like an actual sequel than DD2.

[@Taohe_Netrus]

For me, Dragon's Dogma was the best fantasy RPG I played since the Dark Arisen. Yes, it has a lot of flaws, but for me, it doesn't matter so much. Gameplay was fun. Both exploring and fighting. Story was actually pretty interesting too. Just a way of telling it was too minimalistic. I've spent in DD2 more time than in Cyberpunk 2077 which I have maxed out. And I'm still comming back, preparing for the DLC

[@DjLuCKyCHaRM]

But what do you do then, really wondering?

[@doesfireburn8532]

Was hoping this would be the closest thing to a new elder scrolls... but sadly i have to wait a little longer.

[@alipaydar370]

I personally didn't buy the game because of the bad performance I have a 2070 super and saw a lot of people were complaining about the performance so I did not bother getting the game

[@benjiago6800]

its a complete joke that THIS took 12 years, most of this feels like a copy and paste of the first game. without all the cool boss swarms.

[@Mrkingwoozy]

I will never forget fighting Cowboy lying to his audience to cover up the micros.

[@Vomiting_Wolf]

Sounds like you need to get out more, the MTX situation is a joke. You should find something more substantial to be triggered by.

[@Mrkingwoozy]

@@Vomiting_Wolf LOL I guess you are a fighting cowboy fanboy his guides suck and his builds on every game sucks . If you want to defend a guy who said he knew about the micros and hid that information you are a part of the problem with the gaming industry. if you want to support a tuber who likes to hid information from his subs because he was flown out and sponsored by Capcom.

[@micchecers]

Fightingcowboy? The youtuber? What did he do?

[@Mrkingwoozy]

@@micchecers he knew that Dragons Dogma 2 had micros and hid that information in his review of this game and said he didn't have to mention it. he knew it would cause an uproar and impact his status with Capcom, so he lied about it. to be honest it's really not that deep I'm just calling out the bs that was around this game.

[@Mrkingwoozy]

@briandprice1981 say what you want about me but if a reviewer admits to hiding information about a game that would be a make-it-or-break-it for consumers he shouldn't be trusted. it has nothing about being triggered or going outside I'm just stating the facts you can fanboy out for him all you want but he is a crappy KZbinr and all of his builds suck

[@richemont7559]

I understand your vision of the game. I can't really agree about all the bad issues you describe, but in the end you're right, the game could have been great. The gamepaly is so fun and the pawns are so good, but the story... The story should have been better.

[@h4rdboiled695]

The RE engine is mainly to blame, made specifically for linearity and no AI. Quick cash grab took them about 2 months to make and it shows. And 30fps in 2024 is wild. I can run Cyberpunk on high with raytracing at 60fps. This game has no excuse.

[@flouserschird]

I always thought the original game was kind of mid. The sequel doesn’t seem to improve or evolve the game in any way other than graphics and I was uninterested. I think I was hoping for more questing in story based character gameplay but unfortunately it’s not what I’m really looking for an RPG.

[@djenime7296]

I just got this video recommended it to me, and I Love your video, Love the way you presented it. Hopefully, you'll make more of this kind of Video :)

[@asfandope]

That means a lot! Stick around I'll be doing more videos like this soon.

[@hhenry8989]

Pure facts about fat travel and traveling in general

[@BonzerMrT]

Any game that makes me put 200 hours into the first few months of release is a great game 🤷‍♂️

[@asfandope]

@@BonzerMrT fair enough

[@Fokkusu]

I love DD2, even more than the original, but capcom itself didnt believe on this project, once again, they didnt let itsuno cook, despite he saying he did everything he wanted, he didnt, the story is incomplete, gameplay is incomplete too, you notice it and see it all over the game, he somehow managed to bring closure to the story he wanted to tell sure, but its a messy job stitching parts of the story that are missing a whole lot of intermediate parts and beats, I hope at least the DLC rounds this out and fills the gaps, maybe not all of them, I wish they did that but it wont happen, but at least give us enough to stop making this game feel so incomplete, reminds me of Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain, which is also very incomplete, I also love that game but its also incomplete, I hope the DLC makes this situation less painful.

[@Fokkusu]

btw I am still putting hundreds of hours into this game using mods to spice it up, but thats my autistic fixation 😂

[@flappydotcom9934]

To me I disappointed when they divide the Strider into Thief and Archer. So now I can only be melee or range not both. And also I can only use 4 skills instead of 6 in DD1.

[@asfandope]

@@flappydotcom9934 that is a serious letdown

[@lady_tarra7269]

While unmoored world is waaay more difficult even with good Gear, its Not enough for endgame. A difficulty Slider would fix a huge Portion at least as that mod on PC shows

[@asfandope]

So am I as a console player (can't afford a new graphics card yet) just supposed to suffer?

[@lady_tarra7269]

@@asfandope yes this. But it gets deeper than that, especially Sony does Not allow anything besides intern Mods (Skyrim, Fallout, Minecraft) because of fear of Jailbreak. But then Players suffer :')

[@asfandope]

@@lady_tarra7269 I can understand why that would be a genuine fear, but I can't help but feel we as gamers are missing out 😢

[@lady_tarra7269]

@@asfandope oh we definetly are, but sadly it is not about consumer-friendlieness 😞 we can only Hope

[@ravelt101]

ahh all of this criticisms is the same for DD1. and here we are DD2. problem is that DD2 has too much spotlight while DD1 is over shadow by many game at released at that time.

[@asfandope]

having only watched videos of others playing DD1, I have to say Capcom dropped the ball since the game really didn't improve much upon what already worked in DD1. If they had maybe marketed this game as a remake of DD1, I think the reception would've been much different.

[@jrlair]

What's went wrong is that it's unfinished. And it got the phantom pain treatment.

[@Cyrsblue]

The Story and the enemy variant was definitely a down side. Also need the side quest to matter more

[@GatoMichito]

Game is alright, and thats it, the thing that sticked to me is that i literally created myself in the character creator. Character creator is the best CC out there.

[@kadajshin]

My personal review of DD2: a demake of dragon's dogma 1

[@asfandope]

thats...fairly accurate

[@richm4100]

It was a decent enough game but game traversal was slow and annoying. And it wasn't really 'open world' which is what I wanted

[@juancarlossalcedo8474]

how can this channel have so few subscribers, the quality of the video and the way this guy talks makes me feel like watching something as big as Gameranx, keep it up

[@asfandope]

@@juancarlossalcedo8474 damn that's a big compliment, thanks so much. And we'll get there soon 🤞

[@Siouxnami]

I wish we could play as our pawns too. Switching between the two

[@asfandope]

@@Siouxnami that would be more interesting gameplay wise. Lorewise, wouldn't make sense, since the pawn doesn't have a will of it's own

[@lunarcryptid]

I don't know, I pretty much expected for my character to be weak at the beginning because it's a low level character, And like in a Souls game which I know you mentioned; I know that sometimes it's okay to just run away from an enemy at the beginning if they're too much for you to handle. In those instances where I was surrounded, and then some sort of creature swooped down also ready to merc me, I just ran.

[@Pxinkill]

Was very good for the first 30h but then became very bland and predictable. The world also feels artificial to me way worse than DD1.

[@asfandope]

I can honestly see that

[@originalstander2345]

I thought it was great, can't please some people.

[@rocketdurham4926]

One of the funnest games I’ve ever played, maybe my favorite ever. But I have to agree that the enemy variety drags it down really hard. I wish enemy spawns were more varied, even with the three enemy types that would make it so much better. Just like the first, I think it was rushed

[@blakewest7619]

Idk how many hours I just put on my first playthrough, at least 100 but I’m currently doing all the endings right now. I’m trying this before watching the video but I was absolutely enamored with this game and love every minute of my 100+ hour playthrough.

[@asfandope]

100+ hours is impressive. Just about cracked 80 hours myself with 3 different playthroughs. And, on a sidenote, if that's you in your channel pic, your hair is magnificent.

[@blakewest7619]

@@asfandope hahahaha yep that’s meee lol thanks I’m keeping this mane til it falls out but yeah I certainly enjoyed myself with dd2. I found it hard to gripe when I was having so much fun, I didn’t mind the walking or having to use a guide for certain parts. It was just so refreshing to play a fun game that wasn’t pushing an agenda one way or another. I will say the story was mid but the combat was so engaging and I was adamant on maxing the vocations and getting good gear for everything and trying to find every little nook and cranny. The variety of enemies seemed okay to me especially once you get the different areas and they would change based on the environment. I also haven’t really played like a souls game where the mobs are so different from each other so maybe once I try Elden ring I’ll sing a different tune but I felt engaged the whole time. I did the two bad endings this morning and I’ll finish the final true ending once I’m out of the hospital or someone brings my PlayStation lil

[@asfandope]

@@blakewest7619 well good health to you sir, and yes Elden ring will definitely get you singing a new tune (whether that's good or bad is upto your experience).

[@Embozine]

Game needs a good expansion

[@gaara_death88]

Why would you need a separate account for classes can't you just switch your class anytime you want

[@asfandope]

So I have this, let's call it, bad habit that I like to keep my main character's class consistent throughout the game. And if I choose to play as a different class, I'd want to design a new character without losing my original. Hope that makes sense.

[@-U__U-]

The stamina issue and no fast travel is keeping me away. The game goes on sale constantly and i always come to videos like these to see if it's worth getting

[@Gootbye]

YOU FORGOT HOW LACKING IT IS IN ROMANCE!! Where’s the male romances???!!!

[@asfandope]

@@Gootbye lol I didn't even bother with the romances, they were so limited

[@RobertPronto]

The repetitive dialog from the pawns drove me crazy. I ended up throwing my main pawn in the brine and just doing it solo. Found a friend and duped the port crystals and ferry stones through calling their pawn in, gifting it to them and reloading my save to keep from having to walk everywhere. I had a port crystal in every location possible. Fun combat though but story was pretty meh. It's good for sure but i agree that it had so much potential but just wasn't all the way there. Definitely worth playing though.

[@critlet]

Poor replaybility like Ghosts of Tsushima. I even to this day cannot get enough of Bitter Black Isle as different vocations. Also in the original you could level up magic and have it be inherited by the magic archer which is not possible in DD2.

[@asfandope]

@@critlet can't relate for the ghost of Tsushima comparison, that game is excellent

[@LeonDOrfano]

I bought the game recently, I'm 22 h in, so I can't really comment on the story and more advanced things for now, but I can speak about my little experience with this game as someone that played the first game (not extensively as many fans since i discovered DD:DA not long ago) So, the game is very fun, the combat has great mechanics and you can adapt your tactics to various context My problem with it? I felt a bit of a downgrade, especially with the fighter vication (my favourite), I felt like i could do less than the first game. I thought the developers would have expanded the actions you can make, like different combos (in the first game with the fighter delaying the basic attack made you enter a new combo, they completely removed it), a basic action like a dodge for every vocation, for the fighter the ability to attack behind the shield without unlocking the "centurion skill" like in the first game simce they put only 4 ability slot in the new game (yeah, i will use the fighter as my main reference since i maxed out this vication so i can have a more objective view, i dont know the other vocations enough), they could have added so much variety to the combat with the use of generic action, making fighting the same enemies even more interesting,and i find the fighter is the most damaged by this for the melee vocations, I used thief and warrior a bit and found their skills and combat more dynamic and enjoyable Then I found the synergy with the pawns in combat relatively more flawed compared to the firts game (I said relatively because obviously this game has more complex mechanics, and so higer risks of flaws), with pawns that get in the way, use the "wrong ability at the wrong time" and a minor sense of preservation than in DD1. Then we have the exploration, that is great, the sceneries are beautiful, the flaws? Is nearly all rocky mountains or impervious terrains, so you are pratically bound to the routes that the game wants, it's not like the witcher 3 (as an example) where you can take a shortcut in a swamp if you don't want to follow the main roads. Okay, there are caves and climbing points in DD2 that connect different roads, but they don't really reduce the time to go to point A to point B, and after the 15th time you have to go in the same road, with the same enemies, with the same big encounter that should make the travelling "not boring" it get...well boring And finally, a big loss for me, the layering sistem removal. I'm a sucker for armour customization in games, and having less option with a sequel doesn't seem an upgrade for me, especially when i can see original armours and layers from the firt game combined togheter, the nostalgia hurts me when it happens Having a customizable options for the single pieces could have been a good solution to "save" the only 3 slots (4 if we conisder the capes as armour), like having the same armour (or robe or wathever) with the same stat and name with a slightly different appearance decided by the player.For example, the guards have all different variations of the marchers armour set, with helmet without visor, the chest piece with or without the long skirt, a chainmail or gambeson undergarmet, more or less plates on the arms, the players could have something like this, you find a piece of equipment and there's a button that open the window with the armour variation option, or if they want to made it more "realistic" or less simple, the armourer can change the appereance for gold (and maybe something similar for the weapons with the weaponsmith, with differebte texture and materials) Ah, and maybe more wapons too, like, where are the axes? Polearms? Okay, now I stop my little rant, sorry for the long comment

[@fatman1498]

First problem not being online to be able to play w friends

[@FUNFUN_101]

Combat is amazing big monster fights are so cinematic there’s just no reason to play after you beat it one time there’s no variety and the enemies don’t scale which makes it so boring I love the combat more than souls combat they just failed to execute in many aspects game looks beautiful but encounters feel less dynamic later once the is realize where the spawns are

[@pepperidgefarmsremembers92]

The first one with that chimera fight really really made me not want to play further.

[@brendanmuller7301]

This was to be expected with itsuno in charge. What made dark arisen so great is that it gave us something NOT by itsuno and it let the actual mechanics of the first game really shine.