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It only took me about 3 hours to come to the conclusion that Dragon's Dogma 2 is just the kind of RPG I need right now. In all honesty, I wasn't entirely convinced that I'd click with Capcom's fantasy adventure when I booted it up for the first time. As a big fan of games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Witcher 3, and most recently, Baldur's Gate 3, I'm always on the lookout for RPGs in a similar vein. While Dragon's Dogma 2 doesn't tick the same boxes that usually speak to me - see: choices with consequences and romance - it does scratch a particular kind of itch that I've always enjoyed in the likes of Skyrim and Fallout. Sure, there's a core story to explore, and it's not everyday that your heart's plucked out by a dragon, but exploration is absolutely where it's at when it comes to playing as the Arisen.
I've clocked just over 20 hours in the open-world setting of Vermund so far - I've yet to reach Battahl - and the majority of that time has been spent entirely away from anything to do with the main questline. The vast landscapes provide a place I can easily lose myself in, and I've lost count of the amount of times I've settled in to play the game with the intention of progressing through the story, only to get completely sidetracked from my intended path by something I've either spied on the horizon, or my pawns have pointed out. It's actually proving to be the perfect distraction when I need to switch off, and it's unexpectedly helping me deal with my unfortunately frequent spikes of anxiety.
Adventurous Arisen
I'm a story-driven RPG player through and through, but I also adore getting swept up in virtual worlds that are ripe for discovery. Just as Skyrim, Oblivion, Fallout: New Vegas, or Red Dead Redemption 2 would so often pull me away from my intended path thanks to random encounters or a well placed cave that would serve as an unexpected diversion, running across Vermund in Dragon's Dogma 2 has taken me on many adventures of my own making; laden with Cyclops battles, chest discoveries, and the occasional new town that draws me into more side quests. It's not on quite the same scale as Skyrim in the discovery respect, but I've been enjoying my time simply ambling about with my pawns, and completing objectives I stumble upon as I go - which feels more organic than sticking to a fixed path.
As someone with generalized anxiety, my mind can often start to spiral when I have what I describe as a particularly bad spike. I'm usually always worrying about something outside of my control, and there isn't always a rhyme or reason as to what I start fixating on, but I've learned lots of ways to help myself scale it back and calm myself down in recent years. It's an ongoing process, but lately, when I start to feel that all too familiar restlessness and rising sense of panic, Dragon's Dogma 2's particular blend of action pushes my brain to focus on landing hits instead of whatever it is that's worrying me at that moment. I couldn't tell you the exact science behind it, or why it's this game that's doing it for me, but I've been finding the fantasy world and the companionship of the pawns oddly comforting.
Outside of my anxious bouts, I've also fallen for the exploration thanks to how reactive and, in turn, immersive the world at large feels. You never really know what's around the corner, or what you'll find as you work to uncover new spots on the map, but it's just downright fun to set off and see what happens next. From a giant foe unexpectedly bursting out from a hidden path to a band of foes duking it out in the wilderness, or a small stone settlement that houses a secret basement full of undead people, everything that catches me by surprise adds to the sense of adventure; something Dragon's Dogma 2 has in spades. The pawns also top everything off perfectly. While they can be a little repetitive in their callouts at times, it really does feel like they're right there with me, along for the ride, and we're facing whatever the world throws at us together.
I can't say I'm all that invested in the story just yet, but the bigger surprise is actually just how okay I am with that. The exploration is just that good. I never expected to enjoy Dragon's Dogma 2 half as much as I am, nor did I think it would actually help me. But isn't that the beauty of video games sometimes? Something comes along at just the right moment in time and gives you something you didn't know you needed? Just as Baldur's Gate 3 made me feel more hopeful and Dragon Age: Origins gave the space to navigate grief, Dragon's Dogma 2 turns out to be just the kind of RPG I need right now. It's scratching an exploration itch and helping put my worries to one side in the process. I guess I did click with it, after all… just not in any kind of way I was anticipating.
On the lookout for more adventures to get swept up in? Check out our pick of the best RPGs you can play right now.
