The first major Dragon's Dogma 2 patch has added some essential RPG features, such as the option to actually begin a new game and toggles for motion blur.
Publisher Capcom's (almost unreadable) patch notes detail all the changes added to the game on PS5 and Steam, with the update planned to come to Xbox Series X|S consoles in "the next few days." At the top of the list is the ability to "start a new game when save data already exists" - which should be welcome news to players struggling with unexpectedly complicated Dragon's Dogma 2 game saves.
Capcom has also boosted the number of Art of Metamorphosis items available at Pawn Guilds to 99, and players can now access their own dwelling "earlier in the game" to rest up and save. That's in addition to various, unspecified bug fixes across all platforms.
Console adventurers have access to a trio of new technical options. There are now settings to toggle motion blur and ray tracing in the options menu, though turning them off won't necessarily improve the game's framerate. Speaking of which, there's also an option to cap the frame rate at a maximum of 30fps, which might actually help players afflicted with frequent stuttering. Capcom says "improvements to frame rate are planned for future updates."
Dragon's Dogma 2 is a game that's intentionally full of friction and design decisions that never coddle the player. As such, the above patch notes are more scarce than one might expect from an RPG that's courted so many complaints. Capcom recently responded to some criticisms and promised to fix frame rate issues. However, don't expect any tweaks to the polarizing Dragonsplague that's killing off countless NPCs or the Pawns that expose your brothel misdeeds, because both features absolutely rule.
Keep up to date with our new games of 2024 guide to never miss a beat.
