(Image via dragonsdogma.com)
Media Production Manager: Lilly Lafleur
Email: llafleur@umassd.edu
Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma II faces major backlash after being released on March 22nd, 2024, despite being in the making for over a decade.
The game is a fantasy single-player adventure RPG where players assume the position of the “Arisen,” someone marked by a dragon. With the help of NPC’s called “Pawns” that join the player’s party, the player embarks on a journey to slay the dragon.
The original Dragon’s Dogma was released in 2012, and reviews were pretty good overall. Nearly all the reviews note excellent gameplay; however, many warn readers of the bland narrative.
Still successful, Capcom released Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen the following year, which was also well-received. The game was nominated for “Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year” in 2013 at the 17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards alongside Pokemon X and Y and Diablo III.
After the increasing success of Dragon’s Dogma II’s predecessors, one may be reasonably led to assume that the next game would surpass the others regarding reception. Douche_flute on Reddit commented, “Masterworks all! You can’t go wrong.”
Oh, but wrong it went.
Dragon’s Dogma II has added additional vocations, new biomes, and races, and its open world is nearly four times the size of the map in the original game. Despite this, the fast travel system via ferrystones and portcrystals is still pretty frustrating. This means players must make their trek from place to place manually most of the time.
The traveling system wasn’t too much of an issue in the first game; however, people are noticeably upset with Dragon’s Dogma II’s increased world size.
Now, what is everyone upset about? It comes down to two things: microtransactions and performance quality.
For those unaware, microtransactions are a financial transaction that occurs in-game in which a user will use real-life currency to purchase virtual goods or services. Typically, these types of transactions exist most commonly in free-to-play games — not one that already requires the user to forfeit $69.99 to download the game.
It had been announced that in-game purchases would be available, and fans were optimistic that this would not include silly microtransactions.
A conversation on Reddit under a release-date announcement goes as follows:
TheConnASSeur: “I really hope it’s to facilitate DLC purchases and not microtransactions.”
XVUltima: “Your lantern has run out of oil. Refill for 99 dragon coins?”
Their worries were, unfortunately, spot on.
The microtransactions included in the game are character cosmetics and custom fast travel points. This becomes frustrating when players consider that Capcom has made travel so arduous that it becomes a problem, and then they sell players the solution.
Fortunately for everyone, players can simply not make these purchases. Many of the positive reviews under the game present the point that these items can be found throughout the game by just playing it. The more negative reviews argue that it’s simply the principle of the matter that upsets them.
Many people playing the game have also reported poor optimization. Their games are crashing, the frame rate is terrible, and they don’t like the game’s functionality.
With the recommended PC specs, Dragon’s Dogma II runs at an estimated 30fps — really, really, bad. The recommended specs, by the way, amount to a monster of a fully upgraded rig.
The low frame rates in the game impact playability and player enjoyment, and it shouldn’t be an issue that games released in 2024 should be faced with. Capcom’s customers have a standard set for the games they consume, and Dragon’s Dogma II simply does not meet them.
The little issues with the game are annoying, yes, and the unplayability for some is immensely disappointing, especially after the wait, but none of these things are game-breaking. Everyone able to play the game has thoroughly enjoyed it, being able to look past the flaws and delve into the expansive world and gameplay.