It’s been a week now since Dragon’s Dogma 2 released, and while the Steam reviews are slowly recovering—they’re currently at 55% positive, up from a nadir of under 35%—the critical reviews have largely been glowing. It’s certainly not a game for everyone, but it’s definitely a good game for those who will enjoy it, and overblown controversies aside, it’s nice to see it getting the recognition the first game deserved back in 2012.
The original Dragon’s Dogma got an expansion called “Dark Arisen” that added new areas, equipment, and skills to the game nearly a year after its release. It seems like Capcom is probably considering a similar expansion for its new open-world RPG, as the company has released an enquête for players that asks a few questions about their impressions and how they discovered the game as well as a very explicit query about how players would feel if Capcom were to release DLC.
Some people might find it crass to be asking about add-on content for a $70 US game just a week after its release. Indeed, one of the major criticisms of the game is that the back half of the title feels a bit unfinished, with some quest lines feeling like they weren’t properly filled out and the midpoint of the title coming rather abruptly, with little warning.
However, it’s important for these plans to be solidified early on. There were rumors before the game even came out that it would have an expansion, and frankly it’s a reasonable expectation for any large AAA game like this—even if it seems like Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t getting one. It’s interesting that Capcom is asking players how much they expect to pay for Dragon’s Dogma 2 DLC, and also what type of content they’d like to see in it. To us, that implies that the developer’s DLC plans aren’t solid at all.
Many of the most common complaints about Dragon’s Dogma 2 stem from poor expectation management on Capcom’s part, as things like “no fast travel” or the near-requirement to hire NPC AI partners to play the game are both essential elements of the series that the company probably should have done more to foreshadow for players new to the franchise. If these are complaints for you, you might as well try to get a refund on the game as you are comically missing the point.
