After a decade of waiting, fans have confirmation of Dragon's Dogma 2 being in development. The original game and its expansion "Dark Arisen" both came out rough due to a rushed development, but their peaks were high. The Monster Hunter-like combat and the unique Pawn AI system made Dragon's Dogma worth playing, and fans are excited to see what a better-funded Dragon's Dogma 2 will look like. With nothing more than a logo and a promise, the Dragon's Dogma fandom is already introducing curious newcomers to the Japanese-made western RPG.
At first glance, Dragon’s Dogma appears to be an Elder Scrolls title from a third-person perspective. While there are a larger percentage of giant monsters, the game uses a plain visual style and straightforward fantasy aesthetic. Most of the novelty and weirdness is either confined to the postgame, Dark Arisen’s Bitterblack Isle, or cut content. Even so, Dragon's Dogma goes out of its way to present its repertoire of fantasy monsters in the best light possible. From staples like goblins, ogres, skeletons, and dragons to rarer creatures like chimeras and beholders, most bases are covered. Thus, Dragon's Dogma 2 represents the opportunity to branch out more and include plenty of new monsters to grapple and fight.
New Aquatic Beasts
The most underrepresented genre of fantasy monster in Dragon's Dogma is undersea horror. Land hydras and sirens are present in the first game, but no fully aquatic beasts are around. If Dragon's Dogma 2 branches out into new areas, the Arisen could find themselves taking a boat trip. This opens the door to sea serpents, piranha schools, mermaids, and everything in between. A climactic moment could see a storm roll in, and suddenly the player’s ship is surrounded by tentacles. A kraken would offer unique opportunities over a mere sea serpent for players to not only climb it, but potentially jump from tentacle to tentacle as they assault the creature's submerged head. The only peril is how swimming controls might work.
Other Themed Creatures from World Cultures
Dragon's Dogma 2 presents the opportunity for the bestiary to expand beyond typical Greek and European libraries. Other cultures could be brought in for specific areas of the map, such as sphinxes and mummies in a desert, or various Yokai in an Asia-inspired region. Getting specific with creatures like Baba Yaga or a wendigo would almost feel like adding exciting crossover characters. The sphinx in particular has enough utility to serve in every battle role that a monster encounter could fit in the original Dragon's Dogma, as well as introducing new ones like puzzle or social encounters.
Traditional Heroic Fantasy Fiends
The deliberately traditional approach Dragon's Dogma took toward building its bestiary gives it a somewhat dry look, but it works. Some especially regal entities like dragons and liches made it in, and more monsters that one would expect to see at the end of a pulp fantasy novel or D&D campaign would be great. Vampires, werewolves, and giants could add a human element to the monsters, and could potentially set up for complex quests beyond simply killing everything and moving on.
More Mythological Monsters
For the rest of its new rogues’ gallery, Dragon's Dogma 2 could work on fleshing out the sources it is already pulling from. Basilisks, ents, unicorns, centaurs, minotaurs, gorgons, and Cerberus could all show up in a new game. Alongside any potential new races and Vocations are also new types of bandits. Elementals and new types of golems could be made into considerably different enemies who require unique weaknesses and strategies to defeat. There are lots of places Dragon's Dogma 2 can go with its enemies, whether it's introducing spectacular new sights like Phoenixes and Djinns or making an even larger tier of monster. Players will have to wait with bated breath to see what ideas Capcom has in store.
Dragon's Dogma 2 is currently in development.