June had a handful of surprising and welcome video game announcements, one of which came in the Dragon's Dogma 10th anniversary stream. It's another one of the more poorly-kept secrets in the video game industry, but Capcom finally officially announced that Dragon's Dogma 2 is in development.
The original game has become a modern cult classic, and fans on Reddit were thrilled with the announcement. Many are excitedly discussing what improvements they hope to see in this sequel, including fleshed-out open-world design and co-op gameplay.
Embrace The Weird Campiness Of The Original
Dragon's Dogma received an overall positive critical reception, mostly thanks to the expanded re-release subtitled Dark Arisen. But what made it so resonating among general audiences was how refreshingly bizarre of a game it was compared to its contemporaries of the time.
Redditor Galaxy40k acknowledged its strengths and weaknesses, saying "The 'weirdness' of DD1 is what makes it special to me despite its problems. Letting [Hideaki Itsuno] go nuts again but giving him a proper budget and time is all I want." A western-themed dark-fantasy RPG with strange characters, a party-based Pawn system, and full-blown action game combat made it an exciting alternative to the likes of Dark Souls and Skyrim.
Open-World Game With The RE Engine
Capcom's recent string of games has been getting excitingly ambitious thanks to their in-house RE Engine, with the upcoming Resident Evil 4 remake set to use it next. It seems to be the go-to game engine their big projects will be built on, and the potential rewards Dragon's Dogma 2 could reap with it are high.
Redditor gigamesh090 posed the exciting question "Would this be Capcom's first open-world game on the RE engine?" As old as the technology the original game was developed on is now, a PS5/XSX|S sequel would likely suggest fans are about to see thrilling generational leaps in the scope of DD2's open world.
More Useful, Less Annoying Pawns
The likes of Dark Souls, The Witcher 3, and Skyrim are all top-tier modern fantasy RPGs, but Dragon's Dogma's aforementioned Pawn system was one of the gameplay mechanics that made the latter so unique. That being said, this feature wasn't without its drawbacks.
Redditor theguyfromtheweb7 comically noted that they "love Dragon's Dogma, but if one of my pawns points out that the 'ocean is over' in some f*** off direction, I'm throwing them off the top of something tall. Again." Pawns were a creative way for players to recruit NPC party members with unique assets in combat, but it's in instances like these where the usefulness turns into a point of frustration.
Elden Ring Encouraging The Development Of Dragon's Dogma 2
It's no secret how massive of an impact FromSoftware's latest dark-fantasy RPG Elden Ring had on the gaming community. It elevated open-world games, combat, and more to the next level, and some fans are hoping that Dragon's Dogma 2's development will take some inspiration from it.
Redditor SmokingApple said "My prayer is that with the recent mega-success of Elden Ring, Capcom will look at that, Dragons Dogma 2, and a lightbulb will go off in their head. Not that DD2 will ever reach Elden levels of success, but you know." It's an incredibly high standard to meet, let alone exceed, but it doesn't need to emulate Elden Ring to succeed on its terms. However, since DD2 will also be an open-world dark-fantasy RPG, it's a good rough outline to follow.
Substantive Open World Design
There are plenty of great open-world video games, but some of the things the format can fall victim to are bloat or feeling barren. This indirectly goes hand-in-hand with the effect Elden Ring has had on the gaming industry, but fans are reasonably hoping that Dragon's Dogma 2 justifies its larger scope.
Redditor Galaxy40k also remarked that "I think that the 'lesson' OP is talking about is for Capcom to recognize that an open world, combat-focused, (primarily) single-player fantasy RPG can sell like gangbusters, and so for them to give DD2 the time and budget it needs to be a top tier production." Elden Ring was able to fit a colossal open world filled with meaningful things and places to discover in any direction, and DD2 would do well to go bigger with substance rather than just for the sake of it.
Multiplatform Release
In this day and age of the industry, exclusive games and acquisitions are becoming increasingly more intense among the likes of PlayStation and Xbox. That's why many fans are hopeful that, for the sake of the game as well as its prospective fans, it reaches as many audiences as possible.
Redditor Alilatias seems to confidently speculate that "The way Capcom announced this makes me think this is most likely a day 1 multiplatform game," and "It would be the best-case scenario. DD isn't nearly as established as something like Monster Hunter, and needs to reach as wide of an audience as possible immediately." It's taken 10 years just for an official announcement of DD2 to come so it'd likely be in both the publisher/developer and consumers' best interest that this launches across PS5, XSX|S, and PC simultaneously.
Paving The Way For A Remake Of The Original
Dragon's Dogma, by nature of being a professed cult-classic game, is admittedly niche. At the time, it didn't seem likely that the game would ever get a sequel, so some fans are expectedly hoping that DD2 is both an excellent game in its own right and the breakout success the series needs.
Redditor armarrash said they "Hope this game blows up and sells tens of millions and we end up getting a remake of 1 with all the crazy s*** that was cut." This is referencing that the original game was reportedly twice its final size, meaning that director Itsuno was forced to cut much of its content. Remakes are more popular than ever in the industry, so perhaps a fully-realized rendition of the first game wouldn't be too farfetched for the distant future.
A More Compelling Story
The main strengths of the original Dragon's Dogma lie in its quirky gameplay mechanics like the Pawns, the cathartic Devil May Cry-like combat, and the thrilling boss fights that come from it. However, even longtime fans of the game admit that storytelling was one of its weakest points.
Redditor LittleRudiger admitted "I’d say, it would be nice to have a story/world that’s more interesting. DD was the epitome of blandness in that area." Fantasy worlds are typically synonymous with rich storytelling, so Dragon's Dogma 2 would do well to flesh out something more compelling to fill out the dozens of hours players would spend in the game.
A Proper Co-op Mode
Great couch co-op games (or co-op games in general) are unfortunately harder to come by in the modern age of gaming. And while Dragon's Dogma laid a great foundation for this despite not having one, fans are excited at the prospect of 2 introducing it.
Redditor Sugioh is confident that the original game was just shy of excellence, saying "I've said it before, all DD2 needs is more," citing "coop, and less tedious pawn micro-management. The original is extremely close to having a fantastic formula, it just needs some minor tweaks to reach that potential." While unlikely to reach the same heights overall, a proper co-op mode using a combination of players and NPC Pawns could be a brilliant step forward from Elden Ring's multiplayer system.
More Customizable Pawns
The Pawn system was something players found fun and endearing to the overall Dragon's Dogma experience. However, aside from being occasional nuisances, one of the downsides was the lack of customization.
Redditor LittleRudiger also suggested Pawn system improvements, commenting that they'd "love to see them more expanded and customizable (as opposed to... was it one you customized and then the other two you just had to pick from other peoples'?). It’s so rare to get multiple AI teammates so that should be a hook in itself." It seems like an instant hit of a feature, and it would be poetic for Dragon's Dogma 2 to use its contemporaries as inspiration while simultaneously setting itself apart for a new age.