Capcom’s hugely underrated open-world action RPGDragon’s Dogmahas been gone for a long time. The PS4 and Xbox One generation, however, saw a successful turnaround for some of Capcom’s most popular franchises, and whileDragon’s Dogmawasn’t one of them, there are plenty of reasons as to whyDragon’s Dogma 2should be that game for the PS5 and Xbox Series X generation.
Dragon’s Dogmacreator Hideaki Itsuno recently teased his next project after making a comeback withDevil May Cry 5in 2019. Since then,Itsuno has also shown an interest in making aDragon’s Dogma 2, leading to many speculate that this next game is indeed the next entry in theDragon’s Dogmafranchise.
RELATED:Capcom Chose to Make Devil May Cry 5 Instead of Dragon’s Dogma 2
Lack of Next-Gen Open World Games from Capcom
Open-world games have grown to become one of the popular genres in video games in recent years. Due to their widespread appeal, some of the best-selling games of last-gens are these open-world games. But instead of going this route, fans witness Capcom revitalizing some of itsmost successful franchisesto date last-gen. This includesResident Evil,Devil May Cry, andMonster Hunter. The latest iterations of these franchises have found immense success in the west, yet none of them are open-world games.
Many would recall Capcom’s incredibly ambitious and visually impressive demo of a working title namedDeep Down, which looked oddly similar toDark SoulsandDragon’s Dogma. Unfortunately,Deep Downnever saw the day of light, leaving a massive void in Capcom’s arsenal of open-world games. With the demand for open-world games, an unprecedented high, and Capcom having the resources to develop one on its highly powerful RE Engine, aDragon’s Dogmasequel seems like a no-brainer.
Plenty of Room for a Sequel
When it was first released,Dragon’s Dogmaloomed in the shadow ofThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, though the game introduced plenty of new features to make a name for itself. The marriage between the game’s fast and fluid real-time combat and its unique boss encounters madeDragon’s Dogmaa fun game to play. Moreover, its unique asynchronous online component in the form of the pawn system added a new twist to the party-based combat system. All of this didn’t allowDragon’s Dogmato achieve greatness, thanks to a muddled narrative, forgettable characters, and a plethora of performance issues.
On the other hand, Itsuno’sDevil May Cry 5was utterly satisfying and polished gameplay and visual experience on the last-gen consoles. Its next-gen variants only showed a glimpse of what Itsuno’s team is capable of. ADragon’s Dogma 2could feature an even more expansive open-world with more opportunities to take down its unique hybrid creatures. It could double down on the social system introduced inDragon’s Dogma, taking cues from other asynchronous multiplayer games such asDeath StrandingandBloodborne.
The recentNetflix anime adaptation ofDragon’s Dogmaalso proved that there’s enough lore here to tell a mature plot full of morally grey characters. As such,Dragon’s Dogma 2has a lot of potential for telling a more intriguing story this time around that complements its solid gameplay foundation.
A recent Capcom leak suggested thatDragon’s Dogma 2is realand is targeting a 2021 release. With The Elder Scrolls 6years away, it’sDragon’s Dogma’schance to pave the way for the next-gen of open-world fantasy action RPG with its hardcore gameplay, overhauled pawn system, and a solid 60 FPS performance on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Fortunately, Capcom is attending E3 2021 and if the leak is real, then aDragon’s Dogma 2announcement might as well be on the horizon.
