This generational RPG might be at its best on Switch 2 – but I'll be playing its DLC on PS5 Pro
I'm getting sucked back into Dragon's Dogma 2
I can't quite believe it's been two and a half years since Dragon's Dogma 2 released – and playing the game's early hours again on my Switch 2 while travelling over the past weekend has been a reminder of just how impressive the game really is. Capcom's crunchy action-RPG is the sort of title that can grab hold of you and suck away dozens of hours before you realise what's happening, and that's high praise.
Now, it's got the major DLC it deserved, in the form of Dark Arisen, which also makes big tweaks to the base game and sees the whole package hit the Switch 2 with total parity of content. That's another little trophy in Capcom's cabinet, continuing a frankly ridiculous streak that runs through Pragmata, Resident Evil: Requiem and plenty more.
First, let's talk Nintendo. I'm not saying that Dragon's Dogma 2 on the Switch 2 is the same sort of miracle port as The Witcher 3 was on the original Switch, but it's still really quite remarkable to play on a portable machine this slim and quiet. This is a huge RPG with a massive world and some really emergent combat systems.
That it runs at all is a testament to Capcom's RE Engine and how it scales, but Dark Arisen also brings frame generation to the fore, which is important. We knew that Nintendo's console had the capacity to potentially use AMD's FSR Frame Generation, and now it's here (and more will follow in Stellar Blade soon).
This means that the game, running uncapped by default unless you tweak this in the menus, is able to inject frames to smooth out its gameplay – and the VRR-capable Switch 2 display makes this basically impossible to perceive. It means that the game's frame rate, which in fact hovers in the high 30s most of the time, feels far smoother than all that, and I'm deeply impressed with how playable that makes the whole adventure.
I've played about three hours on my Switch 2 and found myself basically bumping against no real friction in terms of gameplay compared to when I finished the base game (back at release) on my PlayStation 5. Now, though, I have a PS5 Pro to leverage for non-portable play, and that's where I've been playing the late-game expansion content.
This expansion sees you journey into a new region far to the north of the world you'll explore in the main game – which largely trends towards hotter climates, in fact. This means that, despite some parts of its visual design being fairly traditional (we've seen snow zones before), it's a really nice change of pace when you come to it, and its bleak, wintery areas really are lovely to explore.
The pace of the adventure here is really well-judged, too, and while I haven't finished it yet, I have a strong feeling that it'll follow the same trend as the base game – i.e. you could call it "finished" after 15 or so hours, but there will be dozens more in content for you to discover if you fall in love with the game.
One gameplay tweak that I didn't expect to find so addictive has been the addition of spoils, which are basically loot tokens that you find around the world, and which a given NPC can then convert into actual equipment for you to use or sell off. This loop of discovery, looting, then unveiling is surprisingly compelling, not least because the powers that these items can bequeath are occasionally build-changing.
Meanwhile, I've also used Dark Arisen as an excuse to change my main character's build, having played the base game as a mage. I'm now a fighter, and having a really good time getting more up close and personal, including a heap more climbing on and around monsters, the game's speciality.
On PS5 Pro, it's a really good-looking title – there's a cragginess and detail to its designs that draw you in nicely, and while some NPCs can look a little lumpy and randomised at times, hero characters are super compelling and animated. Plus, of course, while the Switch 2's VRR-enabled frame generation makes for decent smoothness, it's nothing compared to what the PS5 Pro can muster when you put it to the test.
This really does feel like one of those win-win releases. If you've never played Dragon's Dogma 2, there's literally no better time than now to dive in with a smoother, less obstructive experience. If you enjoyed the base game, this expansion is quite literally more, with some amazing boss fights and new systems to uncover. Get going!
