Capcom has shared more information on Dragon’s Dogma 2 at the Tokyo Game Show, with attendees and publications going hands-on with the demo. The environments have looked fairly big so far, which makes sense, given the world is four times larger than the first game. Speaking to VGC, director Hideaki Itsuno also confirmed that exploration is seamless with no loading screens.
“Speaking to the seamlessness of the world, there are no loading screens when you’re exploring. Of course, if there’s a cutscene, we might load it in and then load you back to free exploration, but in terms of actually going into dungeons or caves and exploring different parts of the world, you’ll never see a loading screen.
“The roads in the game are somewhat there to give players an idea of where they might need to go. But they are suggestions. In terms of the game mechanics, they don’t mean anything other than the fact that we know people tend to follow roads when they’re given them, so that helps us design the game without players getting lost too much. Also, the AI of pawns and other characters know where the roads are and will treat them as a guideline of where they might want to go.”
So if you want to explore and ignore the main quest while seeing what the world has to offer, go right ahead. “You’re pretty free to make your way through the world. You can stick to the path if you want to. If you want to go off-piste and find your way forward, you’re free to do that as well. You, however, can’t climb up flat rock, but you can clamber up areas that are about your own character’s height,” says Itsuno.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 doesn’t have a release window, but it is in development for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. The world consists of two parts – Vermind, ruled by the Arisen who slayed the Dragon, and Battahl, ruled by the Beastmen and built on ancient ruins. Players have four Vocations to choose from, with other Advanced Vocations opening up as they progress. Check out the latest gameplay showcase and a boss fight against Griffin.