Originally released back in 2012 at the tail-end of the PS3/360 generation, "Dragon's Dogma" sold decently well and became a cult classic, but not even diehard fans expected a direct sequel to ever get made. As luck would have it, Capcom did see fit to create a second installment in this combat-heavy fantasy series, and it's turned out better than anyone could have hoped.

OpenCritic has over 80 reviews counted for "Dragon's Dogma 2," and it's earned a "Mighty" average score of 89/100. That's a hefty increase over the 80/100 received by the PS4-era remaster of the original game.

That puts "DD2" on the same playing field as other 2024 heavy-hitters, like "FF7: Rebirth," "Tekken 8" and "Infinite Wealth."

My first real exposure to "Dragon's Dogma" was a Giant Bomb video. In it, writer and podcaster Patrick Klepek gave a lengthy overview of what to expect with the first game. Later that year, he gave a spoiler for the truly bonkers ending on a podcast, and that sparked my real interest. Klepek would go on to work closely with another writer/podcaster named Austin Walker at Vice, and that crew were perhaps the loudest pro-"DD" folks in the whole universe. Defenders to the end.

In the years since, Vice has exploded, Klepek has his own website called Remap and Walker is out of games media entirely. But in spite of how the world has changed, these two ultra-fans have reunited to gush about "Dragon's Dogma 2," and I couldn't be happier.

All around, the world moves in place: A bush tilting back and forth in the wind, the grass dancing, her cape — made from iridescent feathers, I now see, fluctuating like waves. Below it all, the roil of the river below, just off screen — churning, yet constant, too. All of it, magical because it is a sudden puncture in the mundanity, a striking visual surprise in the routine trip home. The blades of grass you walk past daily, now blowing in the wind, and bigger, somehow for it.

This is the rhythm of "Dragon's Dogma 2:" Movement and stillness, sometimes in succession, as in the exhale-depletion of resources — like your ever-decreasing maximum health cap — and their inhale-restoration, whether through crafting or camping or simple discovery. Movement and stillness, sometimes all at once, like when you are atop a griffin, holding perfectly still — while the being you cling to cuts through the air across regions you haven't even seen yet. Movement and stillness, like breathing, like storm wind in trees, in succession, all at once, from hub to loop, from loop to spoke, from spoke to cave, and back.

[Remap]

The overwhelming reaction has been positive so far, but there is one particular wrinkle to worry about: performance.

As you can see above, the consoles are targeting 30 frames per second, but with an uncapped frame rate. Even if you have a fancy TV with variable refresh rate, you're still likely going to see some weird, jerky movement.

We now can only pray that future patches can smooth that out, but that shouldn't keep most folks away from the game on day one.

Watch the trailer:

"Dragon's Dogma 2" launches on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on March 22, 2024.

[Image: Capcom]