Recent reviews by Random_User

EDIT: As of today, my account has been re-instated. Though I am still leaving my review as NOT RECOMMENDED. For something like this to have happened is still completely unacceptable

===========

Temporary suspension and account reset after 100 hours of gameplay for absolutely no reason, shoddy implementation of BattlEye means Linux players can no longer use the game.

I'm not the only one who's been temporarily suspended, either - there was a 400-comment post on Steam Community a few days ago talking about this situation, and there are plenty of other "Not recommended" reviews like this, even from players with over 1000 hours, mentioning this same problem. Rockstar Support is useless on the situation, too.

Don't bother with this game if you'd like to be able to play it and keep your progress. Only time I'd recommend getting it is for FiveM.

While the look of the game and other aspects of the game are great, I personally do not recommend it due to my preferences in movement.

Specifically, moving around the map feels rigid and clunky, and I found myself fighting against the controls far too often.

Listened to the community and went back on a decision they made that would have made this game unplayable in many counties.

However, the game is STILL unplayable in those countries, because you blocked them anyway.

Thanks.

So, as of now (22/03/2024), this title is being reviewbombed. Why? The major reasons appear to be the Microtransactions.
Now, before I begin giving my full review, I would like to state why these microtransactions do NOT matter.

1st: The Character Appearance change item "Art of Metamorphosis" costs $1.99, or £1.70. This is not a big deal, because the item is available for 500 Rift Crystals in the first major City. 500 Rift Crystals are obtainable with ease, and by the time you arrive at the city you'll likely be most of the way there.

2nd: The complaints of a lack of a "New Game" option. While I don't entirely excuse this not being included day 1, Capcom have recently released an announcement stating that they intend to add the feature into the game. People complaining about this specific detail do have a point, but it's not going to last.

3rd: The Portcrystal Item "Warp Location Marker". Fast Travel in this game is not intended to be a massive part of the experience. You're intended to walk to your destinations, sometimes even when you've been there already. By purchasing and using the Portcrystal, you are cutting out sections of the experience. Additionally, this item is available at multiple points in the game.

4th: Rift Crystals themselves are also available for purchase, however the major use of these items are to hire Pawns of a higher level than yourself, which can cause damage to the balance of the game. You do not NEED the Rift Crystals available in the store, and the methods to obtain RC in-game without paying are plentiful. and only become moreso as time goes on.

5th: The Makeshift Gaol Key is another easily-obtained item, so easily, in fact, that you don't have to do anything special for it. Collect a bit of gold, and it's available from the apothecary in the first city easily, with various other NPCs selling them too.

6th: Wakestones are a *very* common item in this game. There should be no need to buy them for real money. At all.

7th: Heartfelt Pendant. In a game where a large number of items you find can be gifted, a single item to raise the affinity of a single NPC is negligible. You could earn more affinity just finishing a quest for that NPC.

8th: Harpysnare Smoke Beacons are, again, a common item.

9th: The weapon pack, which grants a set of weapons for all 4 of the base vocations look great, however, their stats are only slightly better than the equipment you get at the same time they are added to your inventory, and are quickly replaced.

and finally, for the 10th item in this list, the Rift Incense are useless, as you can purchase these for Rift Crystals too, as well as purchasing more specific incenses that do a similar job. This is another item you should not need to purchase.

Now, I'm not saying that having these items available as microtransactions is a good thing, but the mere suggestion that you need to purchase these items from the Steam Store (Or console equivalents) to have ANY access to them is ridiculous, and not worth the review-bombing.

With that said, let me get into my review.

Dragon's Dogma 2 is... It's great. Honestly, really. I love this game, and I've played it for 13 out of the 17 hours it's been available in my country. Probably longer now. The performance outside of the major cities is great, and I don't struggle with framerate at all. Even when in the city, my framerate doesn't suffer too much, and the few frames I do lose are negligible, especially given the lesser amount of combat that occurs. It is also to be noted that these performance issues are one of the things that are being ironed out.

The combat feels great and responsive. All of my skills feel like they do something, though admittedly I certainly found some skills that I enjoy using more than others, simply because of the coolness factor they possess, and coming up with strategies to defeat opponents is a great experience.

As someone coming off of Dragon's Dogma 1, having first started with the PS3 version and since moving onto PC, the game's feel is very similar, and does feel like a more in-depth sequel, just as I hoped it would be. Am I sad about the lack of certain vocations? Absolutely, but the vocations the game does possess are excellent, and the spirit of the missing ones has been carried over into the existing vocations. Mystic Knight's Riposte skills have been placed onto a skill available for the Fighter, for example.

The quests are interesting, and the fact that my choices can cause changes in the game is another great detail. The characters, additionally, feel far more connected and deep (Especially when you take into account similar characters from DD1, such as Aelinor, but I digress.)

Pawn Dialogue sounds great, too. Reactive and alive, painstaking effort has clearly been put into the Pawns themselves to make sure they feel like they are actually aware of every action the Arisen takes. Every plot point has their relevant dialogue for pawns, and they just simply provide a whole host of worldbuilding unlike any other.

And the encounters are amazing, too! Fighting an ogre only to be interrupted by a Griffin, for example, is an amazing feeling, and the majesty of the mythical creatures is something I can't quite put into words. Even the small fry react well to your actions, and are animated excellently. Not to mention how fun it is to kick off of a small creature and turn it into a pincushion with your bow.

Now, should you get this game? My opinion is, absolutely yes. You should. However, it is to be noted that not all PCs will be able to run it, and you might want to wait until a patch is provided to fix performance, however, if you can handle minuscule Frame Drops and have a decent PC, by all means get the game.

Denuvo DRM is present in this game, which many are suggesting is the cause of the performance hits, however I do believe that DRM is a thing that will stay in the AAA industry, try as we, the customer, might to be rid of it. Hopefully, Capcom continue their streak of removing DRM after a while of the game being released, which should help performance immensely, but we can only hope

In regards to the DLC, you shouldn't ever need to even touch them, unless you wish to purchase them to either show your support for this game and convince Capcom that it needs to have continued support, or if you wish to purchase certain items for cosmetic purposes, such as the tent item.

Sorry I ended up writing so much, and I hope anyone who's on the fence about buying this game sees this review and makes an informed decision. Please do not listen solely to the negative reviews, and do some of your own research to confirm the facts.

I don't think I can recommend this game enough. Seriously. The Story-writing is beyond excellent, the gameplay is fun as all hell, and the availability and ease of access to modding only make the game better.

Give it a go, you'll not be disappointed.

Truly one of the games of all time.