Like most, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen was my first, which has placed me in a position of bias. However, I am capable of acknowledging faults if need be.
Dragon's Dogma 2 is so amazing so far. The graphics are beautiful; with that said, I do feel like there could be some minor polishing with the graphics; as great as they are, they do feel somewhat dated even with maxed-out graphical settings, especially the jump from gameplay to cutscene, which is common amongst most games that tend to involve heavily animated cutscenes. The animations are flawless in combat, walking, and running, but I have noticed that in a close one-on-one conversation with some NPCs, their facial animations are somewhat lacking and look rather… stiff.
Putting the graphics and animations aside, the combat is just as it was in DD: Dark Arisen. Flawless. The combat has felt rewarding so far, In my playthrough, I have maxed out the Mage and Sorcerer, and my main Pawn has maxed out Fighter and Warrior. ( I will provide another update later regarding the feel of the other vocations when I have also maxed those out. ) But so far in my playthrough, witnessing the four vocations stated previously, they feel like they have weight behind their attacks. Each spell I cast as a Mage and or Sorcerer made me feel like I was an unkillable god in some fights, and the animations for the spells were unique and fluid. My only complaint so far is being ‘juggled’ by some NPCs with their relentless basic attacks that would continuously stagger me grew rather frustrating, especially when I switched my main pawn off of fighter, and they no longer could pull aggro. Fighting bigger enemies was a blast, especially when my main pawn would offer to throw either myself or another pawn onto the ‘boss’ to get a close and personal attack on them. Attacking while holding onto an enemy was both thrilling and frightening at times. Watching my main pawn play, both Fighter and Warrior, was exciting. Every swing and attack he would throw looked as if it had immense weight behind them, and the reactions of mobs being struck felt realistic and authentic. I have yet to notice a genuine issue with the combat in my playthrough.
Questing in the game was a blast, although it was sometimes tedious. There was one specific quest where it felt like it took forever for anything to trigger; a guide I read stated it could take up to twenty minutes to trigger, which was rather frustrating, especially since I had to sit around and kinda wait for the next phase. Aside from that quest, the others were great! The game feels like a walking sim when traveling from place to place, but there are enough enemies spread out worldwide to make up for it. Especially the ‘boss’ interactions, as well as my pawns pointing out they found a specific chest or object within range when they were traveling with another player, which somewhat killed off the walking sim feel.
The Main story so far is rather interesting, despite me not being that far into it with all the exploration and side questing I have been doing. I can’t share too much of an opinion on that other than it’s exciting and enjoyable so far. (I will update you when I have finished the story.)
Exploration is something I find myself doing too often, and I love it. Stumbling onto a cave or ruins feels rewarding; others feel like a bummer when I only walk away with a mediocre item (Which is to be expected occasionally). Coming up to a fork in the road when heading to a quest area I do catch myself wandering the other direction due to pure curiosity, which to me is a massive sign that the environment has captivated me. I tend not to do that much in most games. The atmosphere of every area feels incredibly immersive. I would wonder how the breeze would have felt when I saw the trees blowing or how the area would have smelt, which doesn't happen to me very often in games. I have only experienced those thoughts when reading. All in all, the environment and exploration are things you should do as frequently as possible if that’s your sort of thing.
Now, onto the big thing, people complain about most: the micro-transactions! While I understand the frustration and anger, a good portion is either misplaced or from pure ignorance. Every item you see that can be purchased is obtainable in-game for free. Excluding the DLC Weapons, which don’t last very long, I got rid of mine by level 15. I view the micro-transactions as more of a ‘pay for convenience’ kind of ordeal, especially for those who either don’t want to spend time hunting these items down ( they aren't hard to get) or do not have a lot of time in their in day to do such a thing, From what I have heard they are also a one time purchase. They can not be purchased again ( I will make the purchase myself in the future, test that theory, and come back with a solid update on that, so please take this portion with a grain of salt.)



Gameplay Experience (20/25)

Intuitive Controls - Easy to use.
☐ Very Difficult (+1)
☐ Difficult (+2)
☐ Moderate (+3)
☑ Easy (+4)
☐ Very Easy (+5)

Balanced Gameplay - Fair and equal.
☐ Poorly Balanced (+1)
☐ Somewhat Balanced (+2)
☐ Moderately Balanced (+3)
☑ Well Balanced (+4)
☐ Perfectly Balanced (+5)

Player Engagement - Involving and captivating.
☐ Not at all (+1)
☐ Slightly (+2)
☐ Moderately (+3)
☐ Very (+4)
☑ Extremely (+5)

Decision Relevance - Meaningful choices.
☐ Meaningless (+1)
☐ Not Meaningful (+2)
☑ Somewhat Meaningful (+3)
☐ Quite Meaningful (+4)
☐ Highly Meaningful (+5)

Rewarding Progression - Satisfying advancement.
☐ Very Unsatisfying (+1)
☐ Unsatisfying (+2)
☐ Neutral (+3)
☑ Satisfying (+4)
☐ Very Satisfying (+5)


Presentation & Immersion (22/25)

Compelling Storyline - Engaging narrative.
☐ Not Interesting (+1)
☐ Slightly Interesting (+2)
☐ Moderately Interesting (+3)
☐ Very Interesting (+4)
☑ Extremely Interesting (+5)

Immersive Atmosphere - Captivating environment.
☐ Not Immersive (+1)
☐ Slightly Immersive(+2)
☐ Moderately Immersive (+3)
☑ Very Immersive (+4)
☐ Completely Immersive (+5)

Visual Aesthetics - Stunning graphics.
☐ Not Appealing (+1)
☐ Slightly Appealing (+2)
☐ Moderately Appealing (+3)
☑ Very Appealing (+4)
☐ Extremely Appealing (+5)

Audio Quality - High-quality sound.
☐ Not Engaging (+1)
☐ Slightly Engaging (+2)
☐ Moderately Engaging (+3)
☑ Very Engaging (+4)
☐ Extremely Engaging (+5)

Polished HUD - Clean and functional interface.
☐ Very Unfriendly (+1)
☐ Unfriendly (+2)
☐ Neutral (+3)
☐ Friendly (+4)
☑ Very Friendly (+5)


Design & Technical Aspects (16/25)

Game Design - Well-crafted mechanics.
☐ Poorly Designed (+1)
☐ Somewhat Designed (+2)
☐ Moderately Designed (+3)
☑ Well Designed (+4)
☐ Excellently Designed (+5)

Content Quality - Rich and diverse.
☐ Poor Content (+1)
☐ Limited Content (+2)
☑ Moderate Content (+3)
☐ Extensive Content (+4)
☐ Abundant Content (+5)

AI Behavior - Intelligent and realistic.
☐ Very Poor (+1)
☐ Poor (+2)
☑ Average (+3)
☐ Good (+4)
☐ Excellent (+5)

Settings - Flexible and customizable.
☐ Very Limited (+1)
☐ Limited (+2)
☑ Moderate (+3)
☐ Flexible (+4)
☐ Highly Flexible (+5)

Technical Issues - Minimal or no problems.
☐ Numerous (+1)
☐ Moderate (+2)
☑ Limited (+3)
☐ Minor (+4)
☐ None (+5)


Final Considerations (24/25)

Overall Satisfaction - General enjoyment level.
☐ Very Dissatisfied (+1)
☐ Dissatisfied (+2)
☐ Neutral (+3)
☐ Satisfied (+4)
☑ Very Satisfied (+5)

Microtransactions - In-game purchases.
☐ Extensive (+1)
☐ Substantial (+2)
☐ Moderate (+3)
☑ Minimal (+4)
☐ None (+5)

Replay Value - Longevity and replayability.
☐ Very Low (+1)
☐ Low (+2)
☐ Moderate (+3)
☐ High (+4)
☑ Very High (+5)

Recommendation.
☐ No (+0)
☑ Yes (+5)