The Antidote To Sterile Open World Video Games ⚔️🔥🐲 @DragonsDogma #Dragon'sDogma2

My story starts with a trip back in time to September 6th 2023 which was Starfield’s release date.

Anticipation and expectation was high. I was ready to explore a new galaxy and create new stories in a sandbox world from Bethesda.

Fast forward 4 weeks into playing Starfield and it was about then that I realised that no matter how much I wanted Starfield to be fun and engaging, it just wasn’t to be. The exploration was boring, the space travel was paint by numbers and most of the missions were rinse and repeat. Looking back now, I think it was probably focus tested to within an inch of its life and suffered from being too safe and trying to be too many things to too many people.

Now fast forward to the 22nd March 2024. Starfield had been put down and my Game Pass membership had been deactivated (I bought game pass specifically to play Starfield).

What’s that in the distance?

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Xbox Review 9/10 "The most fun I’ve had in a single player game in 2024" ⚔️🐲🔥👹 @DragonsDogma #DragonsDogma2

As someone who is – and will be forever – drawn towards single player RPGs, The last few months have been very, very fun. I’ve played three games that stand out in my mind for different reasons, and between them cover a lot of the main points that appeal to me about the genre at its core.

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden won me over with its understated characters, music, atmospherics and earthiness, whilst Outcast: A New Beginning featured incredible traversal mechanics and lore, and now Dragon’s Dogma 2 – and out of the three, this is the title that I, by far, have the strongest history with – comes blazing out of the gate with its main strengths being in how much it embraces and excels at being a video game, completely nailing combat mechanics and explosive, immediate gameplay.

It’s a game that is a pleasure to write about, and I feel like I could just list all of my in-game experiences to get my point across because there are so many personal stories to tell, all through a design sentiment that eschews seriousness to put fun and gameplay at the absolute fore.