Dragon’s Dogma is a melting pot of ideas. Some of it really works. The combat is fast, chaotic, and endlessly fun. The vocation system lets you swap your class at any time making it very flexible and fun to experiment with. The open world, while a bit lacking in storylines, makes up for it with individual stories you create as you explore and encounter emergent experiences with your companion Pawns. The Pawn system is an innovative and creative way to give the player a group of changing companions that also connects them with other players at the same time. Quests are unique and memorable even if the actual stories themselves are forgettable. Some quests are structured in a way that they are completely missable after certain points in the game, require you to jump through hoops to complete them, or involve some other design element that seems designed to frustrate and inconvenience the player. This may be seen as a negative for most, and it likely will be, but I actually appreciate much of this intentional challenge and resistance the game placed on the player. The music that accompanies your adventure sets a perfect tone.
However, some of the ideas really do not work. As mentioned before, the vocal performances can range from serviceable to laughable. Some of the voice acting is so absurd that it feels intentional. The story itself has some intriguing elements by the end but by-in-large is very forgettable. A lack of major side quest storylines can make the open world feel separate from the rest of the local towns and cities. Loot, while addictive to collect, can be a bit lacking in terms of material reward. The affinity system they have is also underdeveloped. Outside of a few characters who may give you a new piece of merchandise or perhaps another excruciating escort quest, there’s not a lot of reason for it to exist. I appreciate the attempt but my affinity with each character was never relevant to my interactions with them.
This game lives on its individual moments you encounter throughout the journey. I’ll never forget moments like when I exited the giant city of Gran Soren only to find a caravan of merchants being attacked by a giant Griffin. Most of the NPCs made it out just fine but their pack-animal was grabbed by the best and taken away. Later, I hunt it down to the top of a tower and just as it is about to transition into a more powerful phase, a random dude I had helped find a book hours earlier runs up and joins the fight out of nowhere, helping me slay the beast with some new magic he had learned. These unforgettable moments are interspersed with moments of blank void where it can feel like you sunk 4 hours into the game but can’t remember a single thing you did. Dragon’s Dogma has a lot of highs and lows. There is really not another game like it and I respect it for that. I only wish the game would have expanded on and deepened some of its elements to create something that was truly remarkable. Instead, what we have is a unique game trying to soar to great heights but with just a few too many flaws weighing it down.
However, some of the ideas really do not work. As mentioned before, the vocal performances can range from serviceable to laughable. Some of the voice acting is so absurd that it feels intentional. The story itself has some intriguing elements by the end but by-in-large is very forgettable. A lack of major side quest storylines can make the open world feel separate from the rest of the local towns and cities. Loot, while addictive to collect, can be a bit lacking in terms of material reward. The affinity system they have is also underdeveloped. Outside of a few characters who may give you a new piece of merchandise or perhaps another excruciating escort quest, there’s not a lot of reason for it to exist. I appreciate the attempt but my affinity with each character was never relevant to my interactions with them.
This game lives on its individual moments you encounter throughout the journey. I’ll never forget moments like when I exited the giant city of Gran Soren only to find a caravan of merchants being attacked by a giant Griffin. Most of the NPCs made it out just fine but their pack-animal was grabbed by the best and taken away. Later, I hunt it down to the top of a tower and just as it is about to transition into a more powerful phase, a random dude I had helped find a book hours earlier runs up and joins the fight out of nowhere, helping me slay the beast with some new magic he had learned. These unforgettable moments are interspersed with moments of blank void where it can feel like you sunk 4 hours into the game but can’t remember a single thing you did. Dragon’s Dogma has a lot of highs and lows. There is really not another game like it and I respect it for that. I only wish the game would have expanded on and deepened some of its elements to create something that was truly remarkable. Instead, what we have is a unique game trying to soar to great heights but with just a few too many flaws weighing it down.