After 100 Hours, Here’s Why I Think Dragon’s Dogma 2 Is GOTY Material

On launch, Dragon’s Dogma 2 was tarnished due to microtransactions and many performance issues. I agree with many of the complaints, but some of the players failed to realize that Capcom is no stranger to adding MTX on release—the developer has been following this pattern and is likely to continue doing so. 

Despite the criticism, I decided to dedicate myself and spent over 100 hours unknowingly. This made me realize that Dragon’s Dogma 2 is so far the only game that is Game of The Year material. 

Unfortunately, frustrated players’ reviews overshadowed its main features and massive world. However, some of the concerns regarding the performance are genuine, but fret not, as there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Capcom is well aware of the concerns and is looking into the fixes as we speak. 

Let it be known that when Dragon’s Dogma 2 makes my GOTY list, it’s because of this moment. pic.twitter.com/tKz1jj8Ama

— Steve Vegvari (@SVegvari) March 20, 2024

Did Capcom Really Mess Up This Time?

Capcom, one of the lead Japanese developers, has screwed up big this time. The game’s assets must have concealed the issues for me, but they aren’t the same for every RPG enjoyer. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, there are problems that are not up to scratch, but are they that bad? First, let’s discuss the MTX, which was the main cause of Dragon’s Dogam 2 getting thumped.

To no one’s surprise, on release, most negative reviews were regarding microtransactions, and I can understand why. With only two hours in, I was furious with how there were MTX to alter the character’s appearance and fast travel.

I was genuinely flabbergasted, but in a bad way. However, it was confirmed that these items are available in-game and can be obtained with certain in-game progress.

This news was a breath of fresh air for me, and with a calm mind, it hit me that games like Resident Evil 4 and Devil May Cry 5 also had microtransactions, but they weren’t criticized for that. After this confusion was cleared, the reviews changed from negative to mixed. This is still not a good sign, but surely better than before. Now, the reception is variegated with the main concern being performance issues.

Performance boost for anyone struggling
byu/Nophii inDragonsDogma

With having experienced Dragon’s Dogma 2’s goodness for over 100 hours, the performance issues were the least of my problems. There are some stutters in combat as well as in some areas, but overall, they weren’t really that annoying. With just a few tweaks, the performance got considerably better, which improved my overall experience.

However, despite this improvement, I did face some stammers in combat, but they were not major. It can surely plague the experience, but after you have made some decent progress, you won’t notice it much. Believe me, and give this game another try if you have it on hold. Also, do not kill every single NPC in-game, as it will not improve the performance as much as you are hoping for.

Why I Think Dragon’s Dogma 2 Is GOTY Material 

Dragon’s Dogma 2 might not be GOTY material in everyone’s eyes, but it definitely is, in my opinion. That is mainly because I was hooked up to it and spent 100 hours. The only major problem with the game is its lack of innovation. The other aforementioned problems didn’t mess up my gameplay, allowing me to have a good time. 

One of the major reasons why I believe it is Game of The Year material is because of its glossy Vocations. I instantly fell in love with the Mystic Spearhand Vocation, and believe me, it is as good as people are claiming it to be. While it is not the best Vocation in Dragon’s Dogma 2, it allowed me to have my fill of merrymaking.

I genuinely think Dragon’s dogma 2 has high potential to be a goty contender but my God the performance is genuinely awful!
byu/Ok_Attempt_1290 inDragonsDogma

In my 100 hours playthrough, I have spent most of the time with this Vocation. There are also quite a few more fun Vocations, such as Warrior, Sorcerer, Warfarer, and Magick Archer. The combat is convivial, and it has made me obsessed with the game as much as I would lose track of time while playing.

Not only that, but the open world curated by the developer is astonishing, which, of course, features many gimmicks, challenging yet fun bosses, friendly and not-so-friendly NPC interactions, and a few unforgettable moments. 

The open world especially has so much content that getting bored is a challenge—well, as long as you don’t mind walking a little bit. If you do get bored and don’t have much to do now, just go and take off Medusa’s head. With it, you can literally turn every single enemy into stone. Don’t want to fight the repetitive enemies? Just turn them into stone and move on. 

Other than the Vocation and Open World, the pawn system is designed merely for the entertainment and support of Arisen, but it hasn’t been improved that much. Even if the pawns aren’t much improved, they prolong the gameplay, make the experience more fun, include variety in combat, and, of course, use cheesy lines, which I am all in for.

Hydras! Why does it have to be Hydras!

Cleave its heads off and its a common snake!

There’s no need to be so wreckless master.

-Pawns

My 100-Hour Experience In A Nutshell

Many might have stopped playing Dragon’s Dogma 2 due to the performance issues. However, I urge them to give it another go. I would be lying if I said that every second of the game was enjoyable to me. It wasn’t; rather, the first few hours were pretty frustrating.   

In the first few hours, my death counter was increasing rapidly, which made me quit the game. Fast travel via the Ox Cart isn’t balanced at all, as a high-level enemy can attack you while you are traveling. This often demolished my entire party, leaving me with no means to return.  However, the later game made up for it, and I started enjoying Dragon’s Dogma 2 to its full extent.  

I agree that there are very few enemy varieties, but its open world gives you so much freedom that I think it is on par with what Elden Ring has done. Nonlinearity in open-world games is what I am a sucker for, which might make me look a little biased here.

There you have it, folks. This is why I think Dragon’s Dogma 2 is GOTY material, but of course, it is not up to me, as critics are the ones who have the final say.