What you need to know
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 is launching on March 22, 2024, and it’s shaping up incredibly nicely.
- Ahead of the game’s full launch, Capcom has released a playable Character Creator on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC via Steam, and PlayStation 5.
- In the demo, you can create your main character, as well as your main Pawn. Your Pawn is your primary companion throughout the game, and a copy can also be summoned by other players in their own games.
- Characters you create will carry over to the full game on March 22.
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Dragon’s Dogma 2 is launching on March 22, 2024, and we couldn’t be more excited. The action RPG has been over a decade in gestation, and ahead of its full launch, Capcom has released a little teaser demo for fans.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a self-contained sequel to the original, which launched back in 2012 on the Xbox 360 and PC. The RPG was ahead of its time in various ways, with clever, highly-interactive AI companions, and social systems that allowed players to summon your created companions into their own games. The game was praised for its unique combat, Monster Hunter DNA, and spectacular character progression mechanics. The game’s dark fantasy world is also incredibly immersive, although by Capcom’s own admission, its full story treatment was a little underbaked at the time.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 aims to be what Dragon’s Dogma 1 was supposed to be, with a much bigger budget, wrapped in a much larger world. Set in a parallel mirror world to the original, Dragon’s Dogma 2 follows a new chosen Arisen on his quest to slay a Great Dragon, although this cursed position comes with all manner of political intrigue. Nations will go to war over the return of the Great Dragon, and not only are you faced with your own impending doom, but a “false Arisen” has been taking command of Pawns from beyond the Rift using some mysterious power.
In Dragon’s Dogma 2, you will create your main character, the Arisen, as well as your main Pawn. Without spoiling, Pawns are mysterious human-like individuals who are drawn to the Arisen, and seek only to serve them. They have no true emotions or motivations of their own, and are an in-universe explanation for the A.I. characters that will make up the Arisen’s 4-player party. You can command Pawns in combat using the d-pad, and they will perform all sorts of tasks for you, such as grabbing loot or activating objects. Depending on their personality, they might even drop you a high five for a good kill.
Ahead of the game’s launch, Capcom has released Dragon’s Dogma 2’s character creator early. You can get the character creator demo on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC via Steam, and your character and main Pawn will transfer over to the full game as well.
Note for Xbox users: If your home network blocks remote installations from the web to your Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S like mine does, click the link above to “Purchase” the Dragon’s Dogma 2 Character Creator. Then, you should be able to find it available to install via your Games & Apps, and then within your Owned Games tab. For some reason, the demo is hard to search for on the Xbox Store as of writing.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is shaping up really nicely
During my preview of Dragon’s Dogma 2, I described the title as a game of the year contender, and it’s hard to see how it could be anything but. Every aspect of Dragon’s Dogma has been polished and elevated to the next level, without sacrificing what made the original game so unique. Dragon’s Dogma 1 is one of the most criminally overlooked games of its era, but Dragon’s Dogma 2 has every chance to join the likes of Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and Monster Hunter as a new pillar franchise for Capcom. And we can’t wait.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 launches on March 22, 2024 for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5.
