I bear in mind watching the February 20, 2013, PlayStation 4 announcement reside stream, wanting to study what the brand new console would deliver me. It was a prolonged affair and looking out again I barely bear in mind what was introduced—Apart from one title that etched itself onto my thoughts: a Capcom dungeon crawler known as Deep Down. I bought a PS4 later that 12 months, and eagerly awaited the sport’s launch. The years handed and it by no means got here, caught in improvement hell and relegated to vaporware standing. But I nonetheless can’t let go of what it will have been like. Now, after taking part in Dragon’s Dogma 2, I feel I do know.
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Dragon’s Dogma 2 is akin to Deep Down in some ways. Its predecessor was launched in 2012, turning into a cult traditional RPG championed by the few who did play it and forgotten by everybody else. Years handed and any hope of the collection persevering with felt misplaced. The existence of Dragon’s Dogma 2 appeared like an impossibility—till it wasn’t.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 exists and it’s all the pieces followers imagined it will be. I’ve fallen in love with its advanced internet of gameplay and narrative techniques that invite me right into a world that feels extra alive than virtually another sport I’ve performed. And my admiration for Dragon’s Dogma 2 thrives due to its typically abrasive techniques, not regardless of them. Restricted sources, an aversion to quick journey, even the sport’s mysterious plague are issues that deliver me pleasure reasonably than flip me off . However the sport’s caves are one thing actually particular. After pondering for over a decade about what it will be prefer to play Deep Down, Dragon’s Dogma 2’s caves are my imagined splendid for the long-dormant dungeon crawler.
From what footage we did see of Deep Down (which quantities to some trailers and a 2013 Tokyo Sport Present demo) we all know that the sport was a claustrophobic and atmospheric dungeon crawler. Gamers would tackle the function of medieval troopers exploring procedurally generated tunnels and caverns. They had been full of traditional fantasy monsters: ogres, mimics, and dragons had been all attainable risks . Progress by means of the dungeon seemed gradual and methodical, like it will check the participant at each flip.
As described by Sport Informer, Deep Down’s fight targeted on precision: “Holding the left set off brings up a reticle, permitting exact javelin pikes at arrow-shooting statues, pots holding expertise or gadgets, and enemies. Aiming a thrust at an ogre’s knee causes it to stumble and opens it up for a devastating assault.” This description feels prefer it may additionally describe Dragon’s Dogma 2. Fight, whereas missing the power to lock-on to enemies, permits for gamers to rigorously have interaction with opponents. This contains taking pictures projectiles, or climbing on massive enemies and weakening particular areas to open up the possibility for bigger assaults.
Fight in Dragon’s Dogma 2’s sprawling open world doesn’t fulfill that itch that Deep Down promised to meet— till you enterprise into one among its many caves. Out of the blue the almost infinite map feels so constrictive. Vivid skies are changed with low rocky ceilings that appear to soak up the sunshine out of your lantern. Out of the blue you don’t have the protection of escape, there may be solely the trail ahead or backward, and each are often drenched in darkness or low gentle. It unsettles you, places you on edge. And even the co-op guarantees of Deep Down really feel realized to an extent because of Dragon’s Dogma 2’s pawn system, which helps you to discover the world with three NPC occasion members at your aspect.
All of those techniques in Dragon’s Dogma 2 work collectively in a means that results in sequences that really feel straight out of Deep Down’s reveal trailer. Dim lantern gentle illuminates a winding tunnel, bouncing off of damp stone and armor. A small occasion of adventurers tentatively make their means by means of the unknown, preventing off enemies in shut quarters. The appropriate path opens as much as a big cavern wherein a hulking beast awaits, possibly even a dragon.
It’s an awe-inspiring second. The caves of Dragon’s Dogma 2 are only one side of what its world provides. However the darkish depths of these caves are cavernous sufficient to carry all of the expectations of Deep Down I had constructed up in my head for over a decade.
