Dragon's Dogma

The level design and unforgettable bosses surpass even that of Skyrim. In that light, its noticeable hiccups become merely growing pains in the face of a powerful, new idea, one that's sorely needed in an industry saturated with sequels and spin-offs. Inspired by both Dark Souls and Skyrim in almost all the best ways possible, it presents an open world that's wrought with danger, yet begging for adventure, and shows that Capcom is ready to take a leap of faith. And so should you.

It's a game that asks for a bit of effort at the beginning. But, that's the kind of game it's meant to be. It's a big world to explore, and with plenty of downloads planned, it's only going to get bigger.

If you're the kind of player that can get completely lost in these sorts of open world RPGs, you're going to eat Dragon's Dogma alive. However much its reach exceeds its grasp in certain respects, this ambitious game succeeds in taking the form in an altogether welcome direction--one that does not sacrifice minute-to-minute gameplay on the altar of expansiveness.

It's true, that the Japanese can understand terms "learning curve" or "friendly user interface" differently. But who cares? After Dragon's Dogma it will be difficult for me to return to simple QTE or "click on enemy" gameplay. It's one of the best adventures on the current generation of consoles and a truly unique game, that tries to redefine and open-world action RPG.

Massive, meandering and full of menace, Dragon's Dogma ambushes you from the darkness and attempts to remove your still-beating heart. Are you going to let it?

Massive action-RPG settled on an huge open world. Combat system is great but somewhat chaotic, and there's some technical problems. However, a good effort from Capcom.

It may not be saying much but Dragon's Dogma is the ballsiest, most ambitious thing Capcom has attempted in years.

A difficult genre in which most companies fail, but Capcom has made a very good open-world RPG, which can turn in a series, thanks to its good ideas and execution. It has a lot of flaws, but gamers will love the game, as it becomes addictive while offering something different and with personality.

Combat feels like a necessary part of the game's design, rather than something that was begrudgingly added to provide interaction between cutscenes. I left the game feeling that I made my mark on Gransys the way I chose to, instead of being escorted from plot point to plot point. When you're talking about an open-world game, I can't think of higher praise. [June 2012, p.90]

Capcom enters the open world fantasy RPG genre with a compelling release whose strengths outweigh its flaws.

Close to brilliant, DD's excellent online play and questing is only let down by clunky combat. [July 2012, p.68]

Dragon's Dogma is a solid open world action RPG with responsive combat, lots of customization, and plenty to do and see. It's a little rough around the edges, but worth the effort to see the story through.

Capcom's plan to deliver an RPG catered towards western roleplayers worked out. A mix of Skyrim and Dark Souls, Dragon's Dogma scores with its rough atmosphere, deep roleplay elements and high level of difficulty. Furthermore the game stands out due to the climbing- and companion-system. Biggest downside though are the technical issues: Some textures seem lackluster and many objects and characters pop up way too late.

A unique hybrid between japanese and western rpg's featuring extensive customisation options, fun fights and indirect but rewarding ways to help (and be helped by) other players.

This is what Hercules must've felt like. [July 2012, p.58]

This may seem like a lackluster method of implementing multiplayer, but its implementation is exceptionally good.

Dragon's Dogma takes chances, and it's that riskiness that makes this role-playing game so unique among its peers.

Jared is concerned that you're not guiding him through appropriately leveled encounters and bosses. Is he supposed to actually fight that dragon by the lake? What about the huge cyclops lumbering out of the forest? Shouldn't there be a word or a number in red? Shouldn't there be a sign?

Dragon's Dogma is one of those rare games which is brilliant, broken, amazing, infuriating, and one you absolutely, unquestionably have to play.

Though lacking polish from a mechanics standpoint, it nevertheless presents an awesomely addicting cornucopia of exploration, epic combat, and loot-chasing for hours upon hours of fun.

Dragon's Dogma introduces some very clever ideas to the RPG genre, but they aren't supported by strong enough story, artistic design and technical production. What we've got are some very good missions with highly satisfying combat, spaced out by hours and hours of boring walks in similar-looking and pop-up-ridden lands, but for what it introduces it deserves to be played by RPG fans looking for something new.

Dragon's Dogma then, a game that only slowly opens up to its guest, and one that certainly hasn't gotten all of the usual RPG-homework right. But if you are persistent and stay curious it will reward you with the most delightful cases of megalomania and delusions of grandeur in a long while.

Both the pawn system and the tactile nature of the boss fights are the exemplary features that ensures this game defies the categorization of being derivative. This is one of those promising rough-around-the-edges experiences where you can't help but want a sequel even before your first playthrough is complete.

Dragon's Dogma is a good game, a successful mix of action and role-playing with great creatures and a nice setting. Unfortunately it also has some technical issues.

Dragon's Dogma is a great fantasy game, where the lack of a multiplayer experience is compensated from an impressive single player. The Pawn's IA works great and if you're looking for an epic experience, this Capcom game is your best option right now. Pity for the long loading times and some frame rate drops that prevent the game from reaching higher scores.

Its world isn't as evocatively rich as Skyrim, it's action-oriented combat doesn't have the killer appeal of Dark Souls, and it's single-player focus is completely at odds with the co-op-centric Monster Hunter. However, as Capcom's first foray into the open-world RPG this is a worthy achievement, and further proof that the East-West divide should be breached more often. And not just by dragons. [Issue#122, p.94]

Missteps will infuriate those obsessed with consistency, but underneath the messy bits there's something deep, fascinating and exciting. Dull bug-bashers won't abide the rough edges, but they'll be missing out on one of this year's best RPGs. Put up with the shortcomings, and the rest is superb.

Down-the-line but polished to the detail action RPG offers an open world, a great combat system with companions and great visuals. Do not miss this piece! [May 2012]

The hardcore RPG players that will take their time with the game, and play it how the developers intended, will have a fantastic time with Dragon's Dogma. Impatient players and casual fans will, more than likely, need to steer clear of this hardcore game

The journey through Capcom's dragon infested world has left its mark on me. You'll encounter interesting situations, intense fights and motivating goals. On the other hand the scenery is fragile, a lot of quests are monotonous. Yes, it could have been better on a few levels. But even with its rough edges it is worth your time to dive into the world of Dragon's Dogma.

In the end, Dragon's Dogma is an average hack-n'-slash RPG with a great gimmick that falls short in execution.

Dragon's Dogma can be considered an innovative RPG game in its concepts, but not everything came together in the end. However, it's an interesting RPG.

Dragon's Dogma is an interesting Action RPG. Hours and hours of monsters, tough challenges and big map full of treasures. Some technical problems and limited online functions stop this ambicious project.

However, when not scratching my head over the wheezy story or gritting my teeth as I retraced my steps from the central castle to the local encampment for the thousandth time, Dragon's Dogma came alive with grand-scale role-playing that I won't soon forget. In between the missteps and oddness, there is an awful lot of awesome on display, and that's a hard sandwich to resist, condiments or not.

It deserves to be complemented by an absorbing fantasy world and an array of well-written quests and characters, but instead the quests get repetitive and the fiction is soporific.

Brand-new Capcom's IP, Dragon's Dogma is a kind of super Monster Hunter in a Medieval-Fantasy world. Grounded on titanic fights, this game works very well on this specific point. With its open world and its large landscapes, Dragon's Dogma seems to be a great adventure. It's true in a way, but some problems prevent it to be a brilliant game. Especially technicals flaws and the poor pawn's AI.

Dragon's Dogma is a fantastic combat system wrapped in a boring package. When it is on, it is one of the most intense, exciting and engrossing games I've ever played. When it is off, it can put you to sleep before you see a sign of a chimera or Cyclops.

Roaming around a vast countryside in Dragon's Dogma is the sort of adventuring experience I imagined playing Dungeons & Dragons growing up. It's about hunting down great monsters, about charting areas on your own and about remembering what it's like to be afraid of the dark - and then conquering that fear.

Just be aware that, for all the absorbing and exciting things to be found in Gransys, there are almost as many disappointing and infuriating things to let you down. Just grit your teeth, fight through the pain, and the rewards are there.

What we have here is a bold attempt from Capcom; an attempt to provide what's best in JRPGs and Western themed games. Sadly, too many things get in the way of entertainment. The story is confusing and offers little to explain the world you're adventuring in.

Although I did know what kind of game Dragon's Dogma was when I picked it up, I was hoping that it would be different, have something I found compelling, something I could get addicted to and want to spend my time with. But for me, this kind of 'old school' gaming found in Dragon's Dogma is simply tedious and rarely enjoyable.

It's a true open-world RPG with an engaging combat system and neat pawn mechanic, but Dragon's Dogma has some flaws you have to overlook to enjoy.

A decent effort at a difficult genre. More polish and more charm would have improved Dragon's Dogma enormously, but it's still worth a trip for genre fans.

Despite borrowing so much from so many different games Capcom's new Western style role-player is very much its own game - with plenty of interesting ideas of its own.

Like many of the Western RPGs that influenced it, Dragon's Dogma is an uneven experience, but it's one that rewards patience and perseverance, and it's a bold argument for why Japanese developers should continue making RPGs, with or without the inspiration from this side of the Pacific.

It's a game destined to find an audience among that rare action junkie with extensive patience, or Elder Scrolls fans who are tired of swinging swords in the first-person. If you're someone who falls in that category, jump in.

In many ways, Dragon's Dogma is comparable to that other recent Japanese take on the Western RPG, Dark Souls. Both are defiantly obstinate, both offer physical, tangible combat, and both try out clever ways of interacting online. And both, of course, are definitely a matter of taste. Where Dark Souls divides people through design choices, though, Dragon's Dogma's will likely divide through design flaws.

Ambitious, grand, at once derivative and pioneering, Dragon's Dogma may not be a classic but it's an important title nonetheless - the first example of a blockbuster Japanese RPG attempting to marry its own heritage with contemporary Western expressions. Expectedly, coming as it does from an action game developer, its jewels are to be found in the dynamic combat, stat-tweaking party-building and defining boss battles.

Capcom might not have crafted the kind of world in which players will invest, but it understands the powerful draw of party building and gear tweaking, the immediate thrills of slashing and spellcasting, and the spirit of adventure in sallying forth on a dragon hunt. [June 2012, p.106]

Dragon's Dogma may not be the best game of 2012, but it is certainly one of the most surprising. Intense and refined combat help an otherwise average RPG become something special. This game redefines the concept of boss battles with confrontations of epic proportions. The future is bright for this new IP.

If you're able to look past all the flaws and simply sink a lot of hours into it to get to the good parts, you're going to have a great time in the end.

Dragon's Dogma is a game of missteps. It tries to be open world, but doesn't fill it with much to do. It tries to be a co-op style adventure game, but doesn't actually have co-op. It tries to tell an epic tale, but fills it with boring tasks. It has a lot going for it thanks to its intense combat and amazing ending.

Has plenty of good ideas: it just fails to make any of them work properly. [Issue#85, p.86]

We like Dragon's Dogma, but it's missing something to really complete the package. With a better story or more refined combat, this could have been a solid RPG.

Capcom built this huge place to run around in but didn't fill it with anything interesting. The saving grace: Capcom's expertise in building robust, customizable, and super fun combat systems pays off.

Dragon's Dogma has a nice and big world to explore and some amazing boss encounters. Unfortunately it also has some big flaws like a horrible save system, a bland story and it also lacks in the control department.

Much like the main character's chest cavity, this RPG ultimately feels hollow, with no real heart. [July 2012, p.76]