Looks like it should be good but its absolutely exhausting when you eventually move the story forward and see where you need to go next knowing that you will need to fight the exact same enemies over and over again every step of the way. You eventually get there then rinse and repeat. This could have been great but it just doesn't feel like its worth the effort at all. they have managed to make the "open world" element of it a total grind to the point you dont want to even explore.

Dragons Dogma 2 is, as they crudely say, a mixed bag.

I remember hearing about this game a while ago, players were complaining about performance, some said something about lack of depth, that the game is boring and such, microtransactions, you name it. But then there were also defenders of the game, who stuck by it and while they agreed it's a diamond in the rough, they liked it and held the community together.

For a long time I was averted by this game because of the companion system, but learning that they are optional and also learning that they are actually good, made me change my mind and give the game a shot. I was in no rush to play it though, but now that I have, here's what I have to say:

Story.
I enjoyed the story. It's not too complicated, you have your classical plot where you're a monarch, then you get replaced with a puppet and the rest is your journey back to reclaim your throne. There is a bit of twist where, you're a monarch because you are chosen by the dragon and it is your fate to meet this dragon in battle and defeat it to save the land. But then there's another twist, that you are kind of being manipulated by this ancient being and it needs you to slay the dragon in battle, but, obviously, there's more to it. In a few words, I believe I've spoiled enough.
Story is good enough to keep you engaged and while the characters are not the deepest or most interesting sort one can find, they do their part.

Gameplay.
It was quite solid. You get your exploration, combat, looting, leveling and upgrades as well as crafting. This is an RPG, so you also get some C&C, but those didn't feel as impactful as I'd like.
I tried all classes, but it felt like the Thief was in a league of its own. There was nothing I couldn't take down, especially once I figured out that you can generally one-shot enemies when they're staggered. My least favorite, to my surprise, were the magic user classes. They felt very clunky, like I wasn't doing anything and nothing much was happening.
Getting loot and opening chests felt a bit lackluster, as enemies drop mostly crafting materials and exploration generally will reward the player with Seeker tokens and the aforementioned chests and their rather non-exciting rewards.
The world felt really lush, everything was alive, animals, birds and insects can be seen populating the local fauna, enemy placement felt strategically correct and in the right place, but having enemies respawn quite regularly made those encounters more bothersome than fun. Large enemies were quite different and sometimes they did manage to surprise me by running out of some place I had not noticed or ambushing me while I was mid-battle with lesser enemies. Those situations did usually get quite hairy.
Leveling felt adequate and I could feel my character getting stronger every time I level my Vocation and also when I got a regular level up.
Upgrading equipment felt a little weird as there were 3 schools of smithing, as it turned out, and each of them specializing in a different aspect made me feel like I may have messed something up. However, once I figured out the difference, the fact that it wasn't even that impactful, made me feel at ease. One needs crafting materials dropped by enemies to make those upgrades.
Crafting was an irreplaceable part of the game as I had to craft potions and and curatives from fruits, herbs and vegetables all the time to keep myself topped off, especially since I had to travel by foot quite frequently, which was necessary if I wanted to explore the world. There are also two types of fast travel - Oxcarts that can take you from one city to the other, which usually advances a day or by Riftstones which are hard to find and quite expensive, but let you teleport instantly to a place that has a Portcrystal.
Non-story quests were quite simple - go there, do this, bring that item back, slay the leader of.. escort and others, nothing to write home about. They did their job of keeping me occupied and helping transition from one place to the other, rewarding me handsomely for a simple enough task.
Now then, the companions - the pawns, as I mentioned, I was very sceptical about them in general, but as I continued playing my main pawn became something like a best friend in-game as it always had my back. Having two more random pawns with me, ones that can be found in rifts or randomly recruited while travelling, ones that can be switched out to compliment the party setup better, added quite a bit to the overall experience. I wouldn't say that they never let me down, no, there were times I got wiped out because they all decided to stand near a Wyrm when it was casting meteor or another devastating spell, or when they decided to plunge to their deaths down a cliff or got caught by a harpy and dropped from a height. But whilst those are inconveniences, they served their purpose very well. They might have been the 2nd or 3rd best companions in games I've had the chance to play with. I'm saying that about characters with an AI of their own, that the player does not control directly. There are four commands that can be issued, like Wait, Go, Help and Come to me, but that's it.
Saving seemed alright, having played lot's of Souls-likes having an auto save felt like just right at home. The addition of Inn/Home saves also helped, especially if I messed up.

I won't talk much about performance or graphics.
Performance was quite alright outside of towns, but once I got to a place with lots of NPC's walking about, is when your CPU might start to struggle. Visually it is a very good looking game, the style is very down to Earth, believable and I appreciate it. My only gripe about the visuals was the lack of enemy variety.

Conclusion.
I fall into the category who thinks this game is quite solid for what it is, but it does have some issues.
I like that it doesn't hold your hand too much and that you can't really reload to previous state if you messed up, unless you're willing to roll back an hour or more.
It was a fun experience in general, I had a few moments I wanted to throw in the towel because of the constant fighting and long walking around, but I was compelled to see it through. The biggest let-down were the characters and while they performed well enough they didn't feel believable, more like they lived in a made up world of their own.

For me this game is a solid 7/10.
Can't recommend it to everyone, you have to do your research on it, hear another opinion, but if it's on sale, why not pick it up.

I refunded the game after an hour of playing because it didn't feel like what I expected it'd be and then re-bought it a few days later and stuck with it. True story!

Its dragons dogma but 2