Game review: Dragon’s Dogma PS3/Xbox 360, £39.99

By Dave Cook
Published on 18/06/2012 00:00

CAPCOM tries its hand with the fantasy genre in Dragon’s Dogma, an open world game that sees your hero scouring the perilous world of Gransys in search of the dragon that stole your heart.

Fans of last year’s smash hits Skyrim and Dark Souls will appreciate the world and hordes of mythical beasts waiting to be slain, but this is a brutally difficult game requiring patience and time to master.

You won’t be alone however, as you must also create a Pawn – your own personal travel companion – who will fight alongside you, gather hidden loot and more. You can also enter the Rift, a mystical realm where more Pawns created by other players dwell. You can hire these Pawns to complete your squad.

The trick is that Pawns created by other players will give you mission details of quests they completed with their creator, and vice versa. Your Pawn can also be hired by other players, and any experience points, loot and quest knowledge earned will be returned to you next time you log on. It’s a smart system that sees all players helping each other to conquer the game.

Combat is more action orientated than most role-playing games, as your hero dishes out sword combos, spell blasts and ranged attacks. It’s a fun experience, but it’s poorly signposted, leaving many core mechanics up to trial and error. Get through this slog however and you’ll likely stick with it to the end.