As Capcom gets ready for the October 9th release of Dragon’s Dogma 2’s Dark Arisen expansion, the company has provided a gameplay demonstration of some of the game’s new content at Gamescom. In the demonstration, the developers spoke about a number of subjects, like the new environments, and even major changes to the core gameplay.
Interestingly, the developers have also confirmed that some of the changes, like additional skill slots for players, will be part of a free update to all Dragon’s Dogma 2 owners regardless of whether or not they buy the expansion.
Along with typical exploration and combat gameplay, the demo also includes a boss battle against a Fallen Dragon, and the design of this boss is quite interesting. Rather than breathing fire, for example, the dragon instead seems to be capable of summoning ghouls from his breath. The battle itself largely revolves around the player needing to deal with the ghouls while the dragon stays back to offer magical support for its soldiers.
Discussing the team’s choice of showcasing this particular dragon, the developers noted that the dragon also serves as “a key puzzle piece” for the overall story of the Dark Arisen expansion. The fact that the dragon also doesn’t have a heart is also a big hint about where the story will go. Interestingly, the battle continues even after the player is able to decapitate the dragon.
The fight culminates with it growing back parts that had been dismembered by the player before the dragon. The protagonist, finding themselves unable to beat the dragon in this attempt, has to instead work towards figuring out its weakness over the course of the entire expansion.
Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The base game, along with the expansion, is also making its way to Nintendo Switch 2 on the same day.
