Dragon's Dogma 2 wants to level up its NPC game

As someone who mostly missed out on the original Dragon's Dogma, I wasn't entirely sure what I was in for when I stepped in to try out the upcoming Dragon's Dogma 2. Capcom has been working diligently to put together a strong sequel to the 2012 original that introduced some unique ideas into a tried-and-true medieval theme. The result is looking like a fun and different approach to ye olde action RPG and one that ensures you'll never go alone.

Shacknews was recently invited to try out two sections of Dragon's Dogma 2. Before diving in, let's note that Capcom's sequel doesn't have too much of a detailed central story outside of the player character, The Arisen, hearing the call of the dragon. For this preview, that's ultimately irrelevant since it barely came into play, but eventually, players will take their Arisen character and face a powerful dragon.

Being an Arisen demands a certain amount of respect. That's evident through the game's Pawn system. Pawns are NPCs that make up a user's party. They're companions who show total and unwavering reverence and fealty to the Arisen. Those who don't know that going in will learn quickly based on the Pawns' dialogue and tone. Pawns serve different roles both in and out of combat, so party composition is ultimately up to the player. They could pick up Pawns who can do the heavy lifting in battle, ones who act as support and keep the party healed, or they can recruit ones with a certain degree of knowledge. Some Pawns could have experience with a certain region or quest line and lend their expertise to specific situations.

One interesting aspect of Dragon's Dogma 2 is that there always seems to be plenty to do. The first part of our hands-on had us going into a nearby town with the main objective to advance through the nearby gates. However, immediately upon setting foot in the village, a nearby cat-faced man inquired about assistance seeking a Jadeite Orb, which would help get out from under his tyrannical master's thumb. After wandering a few feet into the village, another NPC comes in and offers information about an influx of night beasts, noting that the nearby cenotaph could be the cause. Minutes later, a diminutive shopkeeper leaves his post and approaches to ask for help with his missing grandson who was abducted by wolves. After trying to soak all this in, another human walks by and also brings up the Jadeite Orb, noting that he would pay handsomely for it. It turns out that this is the cat-faced man's master and with two NPCs seeking out the same thing, the player now has to make a choice over who to help and deal with the consequences of leaving one side disappointed.

What was most intriguing about all of these interactions was that none of these NPCs were approached. There was no manual initiation of dialogue. There was no indicator that they had a side quest available. They simply saw the Arisen and walked over to shoot their shot. This is a fascinating way to add to the game's power fantasy by having a village's denizens acknowledge the player character as a big deal and one who can potentially be the answer to their problems.

There are a few downsides to this system, however. It's easy to bite off more than one can chew in terms of taking on too many side quests, and it's not like a player can complete them at their leisure. Some of the side quests are time-sensitive. That shopkeeper who asked for help with his grandson? If the player dawdles too much, that grandson will be killed by those wolves. There aren't just consequences to actions, there are also consequences for inaction. Even with a relatively slow day/night cycle, it's easy to take on too many tasks to the point that not all of them can get done.

That's unfortunate because it's easy to get distracted by Dragon's Dogma 2's massive open world, which is filled with potential secrets, copious amounts of treasures, and random passersby who could serve as potential new Pawns. More than once, I traveled the open world and found NPCs getting ambushed by monsters, one who was even threatened by a giant cyclops. After saving them, they would offer their services as a Pawn, at which point players would have to compare and contrast this character to any of their current Pawns to see if it's worth swapping them out.

If there's anything I learned in those first few hours with Dragon's Dogma 2, it's that NPCs mostly love or fear the Arisen. I say "mostly" because the second part of our hands-on took place in a different region, one filled with merchants and tavern keepers. This is where I learned that as easily as an NPC can come to the Arisen for help, others can come looking for a fight. A tavern patron dared the Arisen to fight them without the use of Pawns, leading to a confrontation where the Pawns cheered from the sideline.

What Capcom is doing with NPCs goes a long way toward making Dragon's Dogma 2's world feel more organic. I'd be interested in seeing how deep the game's consequence system goes. It's tough to gauge how hours' worth of actions will influence an entire village's outlook in just a few hours of play. For now, Capcom's latest entry into medieval action RPGs looks very promising. Dragon's Dogma 2 will release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on Friday, March 22. For more details about the game's combat and open world, be sure to check out our preview from back in September.

This preview is based on an early build. It may not be representative of the final product.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?