ShogunRok

@Zeroo Most of the time performance is fine. It hovers around that 30-40fps mark in most circumstances and the game controls so smoothly that it usually isn't an issue.

But yeah, there are times, in busy areas or in chaotic fights, where you'll feel the frames drop quite dramatically. Not to unplayable levels — it's not like the game becomes a slideshow — but it's noticeable.

@NEStalgia It's still quite vague in terms of direction. You do get map markers for some quests — and I think the map itself is much improved over the first game — but they're more about giving you an idea of where to go and what to do, rather than a direct guide.

DD2's design is very much 'corridors' again, but I do think it's easier to navigate in that there are clear landmarks that guide your way. You tend to go in the general direction of something and you will eventually get there.

Bottom line is I think it's more accessible than the first game. Tutorials are better, map's better, quest journal is better. But by design, it still doesn't want to hold your hand too much.

@Ravix You're spot on about the chaos being a main draw — it's what the game does best. The quests by themselves are usually nothing special, but actually getting to them, travelling to them, is where DD2 absolutely shines. The open world is the game's headline act, and I think if that's your main expectation, you'll love it.

@rjejr It does have fast travel, but it's fairly limited. You can ride carts but only between settlements, and ferrystones — which are used to warp between set locations — are rare and single-use. The game definitely wants you to travel as often as possible (and that's really what the game's all about anyway) — but I understand the concerns.

As for being better than TW3... What a question! At this point I'm not sure anything will ever top TW3 for me — it's just got so much of what I personally love — but I think DD2 is outstanding. If the ending and NG+ hold up, it'll probably be in my top 10 of all time (replacing the original DD, probably!).

@viktorcode Nope, no graphics options on PS5 at all.

@DogPark It's quite a muted game in terms of colour, but it's brought to life by some amazing lighting effects. It's definitely more of a... realistic-looking fantasy art direction, though, a lot like the first game.

@TheLotteryMan1 Yeah there are a number of new enemies that haven't been shown yet. The variety isn't crazy, but different monsters feel so unique to fight that I don't think repetition is really a problem.

@KundaliniRising333 Some of them, yeah — mostly to do with in-game dialogue and quest scenes. Some transitions are still really janky, although the proper story cutscenes are great.

Just about everything else is improved, I think, particularly in terms of gameplay.

@carlos82 Yeah, it is. The water example is quite a deliberate one — it happens near the start of the game and it's more of a 'cinematic' moment — but there are opportunities for crazy stuff to happen almost all the time.

Insane enemy spawns are probably the most common example of 'emergent' gameplay. You'll be fighting a pack of goblins and then some huge monster will come stumbling through the trees. The goblins will lose their sh*t, everyone's fighting everyone, and it's just brilliant to behold. And this sort of thing happens frequently.

@KundaliniRising333 Conceptually and thematically it's basically Capcom having another go at Dragon's Dogma. It even follows the same gameplay structure, just significantly fleshed out.

The actual plot varies from the original game quite a bit, though.

@Splat I think she's level 60 something — very experienced.

@morrisseymuse Hmmm, tough to say because I never found it to be that bad! But I will say, stamina does regenerate much faster in this game (it varies slightly based on your overall weight). There isn't as much waiting around for it to max out again, and that means you can go a bit crazier with your skills.

If anyone's got any questions about the game or the review, let me know and I'll try to answer them.

As a massive fan of the original Dragon's Dogma, I've been waiting a long, long time for this game. Playing it almost feels surreal, and I'm so glad it's turned out the way that it has. It really is an incredible open world RPG.

Regular readers might know that I'm a big advocate of 60fps (especially in action games), and so it stings that DD2's frame rate is so unoptimised. To be crystal clear, I don't think it'll be a problem for most players. I'm a total frame rate snob and I was able to look past performance while playing DD2 because the game is just that good. But if a rock solid frame rate is something that's super important to you, then it might be best to wait and see whether Capcom improves it post-launch.

And just to follow up on this being a review in progress, I simply haven't had time to play through the whole game, and given how important the endgame (and NG+) is in the original DD, I didn't think it was right to settle on a score without getting there.

Should be sorted by launch at the end of the week, so thanks for your patience and thanks for reading!

EDIT: This review is now updated with some text edits, an additional paragraph on the game's disappointing microtransactions, and a final score. Again, happy to answer any questions people have, although you'll be scrolling quite far to post them!

Long story short, this is one of the best open world RPGs I've ever played, period. And that makes the frame rate (and microtransactions!) much harder to stomach. I don't think either of these things drags the experience down to any significant degree, but they're absolutely stopping it from being a 10/10 GOAT.

I'm honestly shocked by how clean the graphics are. Game really is amazing, visually.

@Stevemalkpus There's always been this annoying thing with Premium where PS5/PS4 remasters are counted as 'old' games alongside PS1 classics and the like.

To me, it just comes off as Sony trying to pad the Premium offerings out.

Would recommend the first game to anyone curious, it's a fun RPG with some really addictive elements.

Heard the second improves on almost everything, but I only played a couple of hours on Switch.

@Flaming_Kaiser @inverseIV I think that's just part of being a PlayStation website (or an Xbox website!). We're naturally fans of that brand — otherwise we wouldn't be here.

But I can honestly say here and now, a game being on Game Pass, or being a port from another console, has never factored into any review I've written. Obviously can't speak for the other writers here, but I'd assume it's the case for all of us!

I do get your concerns, though.

@inverseIV We've just given Pentiment an 8/10, and Persona 3 Reload a 9/10 before that. We're also really excited to play Hi-Fi Rush. This perspective makes no sense.

I agree with pretty much everything Liam's written here. Been playing the game myself and although it's yet to really wow me — the open world stuff feels very by-the-numbers — I am enjoying it.

@Aigis Surely you get the game for free? You're a main character!

@HonestHick Hey, it happens! It's very easy to have your perspective swayed by reviews and comments online — especially if you haven't tried something yourself.

Reviews and comments can definitely be useful — but only to a point. They're never going to be a perfect substitute for actually playing a game and forming your own opinion — which is exactly what you're saying.

Glad you're enjoying it!

I'm looking for an excuse to replay FF16 (especially with the second expansion coming soon). That's not to say I'd play it on PC, but I would love to see Square Enix make adjustments to the PS5 version in tandem with the PC release.

@McBurn No one could blame you for forgetting anyway — it was an age ago!

@McBurn It was first mentioned several years before then.

@Northern_munkey It sounds like it's story moments that are inspired by MW rather than gameplay. But yeah... Not exactly realistic either!

@breakneck The story itself has pacing issues, sadly, but they won't seem anywhere near as bad if you're mainlining the game.

As someone who came fairly close to 100% completing this game when I reviewed it, I would highly recommend ignoring anything that tests your patience and just continue with the main story.

Bloat / padding is easily the game's biggest issue, but thankfully, most of it is optional.

At least from my perspective, I've seen a lot of people absolutely love the game's opening 10-20 hours or so. And I can understand that — there are some amazing moments.

But the game's pacing gets absolutely destroyed about halfway through, and I think that's when some players will start to lose patience. If you can push through it, there are even more amazing moments to come, but it'll be interesting to see how fans feel about the game once they've completed the whole thing.

@Americansamurai1 Apparently progress does carry over — demo seems to be the game's opening.

@Melee_Ace I'll take it!

@TimeDelayedGamer Haha, the mainstream rebrand.

Vanilla's nice every now and then though, like vanilla vodka!

I was thinking about it the other night, and I realised that Vanillaware really is one of my favourite developers at this point. Literally never disappointed me, and I've been a fan since the PS2.

If anything, its games have only gotten better. Incredibly talented studio.

The sheer amount of influence this man had over modern fiction is difficult to comprehend.

For me, he was and still is the GOAT.

@Tyaku It's not strictly adult, but it's definitely not aimed at kids. It's your fairly typical fantasy world at war kind of thing.

@tselliot I much, much prefer this to Engage. I could barely get through that game because the characters made me want to get a refund (although I thought the gameplay was solid).

@spcspc Of course! I'm sure it'll do well enough — the question is whether Square Enix thinks the same. It'll be very interesting to see whether it comments on sales sooner rather than later.

@spcspc And c) a report on exactly what the charts show, which is Rebirth selling significantly less than Remake at launch.

@Jimmer-jammer Not that I can tell. I believe the story plays out in the way that it does regardless of your choices. There are times when you can refuse to allow a characters to join your army — but I'm not sure why you would unless you're on some sort of challenge run.

@Kraven I ended up unlocking around 60% of the game's Trophies. I believe a lot of the harder ones are based around grinding, but I don't think you'll need multiple playthroughs to get everything.

@bindiana You can order meals at taverns and yes, the food looks incredible.

@QiaraIris Yeah this is the full game, and you do get to explore the entire map, including the regions that aren't in the demo.

@Master_Rid I don't think so. You can change the difficulty at any time.

If anyone's got any questions about the game or the review, let me know and I'll try to answer them.

As someone who still thinks the older Fire Emblem games are best, I absolutely loved Unicorn Overlord. It's a proper return to stoic strategy RPGs.

Thanks for reading!

@Gr8VngnzN4esAngr Unfortunately, install base isn't really the argument that people think it is. Don't get me wrong, more consoles = more potential sales, but fundamentally speaking, if a game's going to sell, it's going to sell. If people want the game, people will buy the hardware for it.

This is especially true in Japan, where the PS4 had only sold around 9 million units by the time Remake came out.

@WiiWareWave No, it's just that Xbox has all the marketing.

Updated the article. The original author on The Washington Post says the wording was a mistake on their behalf.

@GrimWillows If I could give @Smash41 a VIP badge I absolutely would. Maybe we should look into this for outstanding service to the Push Square community.

Atlus...

@djlard Kraken compression! You were on the right track.

@Ricky63 This is the way.

No but seriously, I started with the Cold Steel games then went backwards as the Crossbell games got localised. Didn't harm my enjoyment one bit, and to be totally honest, I probably wouldn't have got so invested in the series if I had started with the older games and forced myself through them, like you say.

@UltimateOtaku91 Kiiiind of. It is a sequel in that it takes place after the events of Reverie, but it's also the start of a new arc in a different country. It'll be a relatively good place to jump in if that's what you wanted to do.

Would probably still recommend playing Cold Steel 3, 4, Reverie (if only because they're really good), but I understand not everyone has the time!