The summary of ‘Everything Wrong with Dragon's Dogma 2’

00:00:00

In this segment of the video, the creator discusses their mixed feelings regarding Dragon’s Dogma 2 after playing it for nearly 100 hours. Despite the title suggesting a highly critical stance, the creator clarifies that they don’t hate the game and actually find parts of it enjoyable. They describe their frustration, stating that while the game had the potential to be outstanding, it fell short due to several baffling decisions by the developers.

Additionally, the creator mentions issues related to running the game on PC and criticizes the inclusion of microtransactions in a single-player game, labeling it as a tone-deaf choice, although these items are cheaply attainable in-game. They give a brief overview of Dragon’s Dogma 2, its storyline, and gameplay elements, pointing out that the sequel’s story mirrors the original game closely. This part also includes a promotion for Opera GX, a browser tailored for gamers, emphasizing its features such as resource management and customizability.

00:05:00

In this segment of the video, the speaker discusses several issues related to a $70 game that received mixed reviews on Steam due to problematic microtransactions and missing crucial mechanics. Key points include:

1. **Microtransactions**: The speaker agrees that the microtransactions in the game add no value and are entirely negative, though they don’t necessarily ruin the game or affect gameplay significantly.
2. **Missing Mechanics**: Upon launch, the game lacked a “New Game” button and had limited character appearance change options, which were later fixed with updates. However, the speaker criticizes Capcom for these oversights.
3. **Performance Issues**: The game is noted to be drastically unoptimized, with the speaker experiencing significant frame rate drops, especially in towns, which hinder the gaming experience.
4. **Character Creator**: Despite the issues, the game features an impressive character creation tool with detailed customization options, which the speaker praises.
5. **Pawn Voices**: The speaker criticizes the implementation of pawn voices as subpar, due to limited voice actor variation and manipulated pitch changes that result in unnatural sounding voices.

00:10:00

In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the role of pawns in the game, which are characters that assist the player’s character, known as the Arisen, without any cost. The main pawn can be customized, and additional pawns can be hired from other players, introducing a variety of characters and dynamics but necessitating constant replacements as they do not level up. The speaker humorously critiques the repetitive and sometimes nonsensical dialogue of these pawns, highlighting the unchanging nature of their personalities and their lack of growth or adaptation throughout the game. Despite these issues, the feature of frequently changing pawns is seen as an opportunity for varying gameplay experiences.

00:15:00

In this part of the video, the speaker criticizes and praises various aspects of a game. They start by discussing the game director’s overly ambitious claims about NPC behavior and the lack of sophisticated AI, making comparisons to games like “Red Dead Redemption 2”. They point out incorrect depictions of NPC interactions and the absence of the touted co-op feature, arguing that it would have added significant value to the gameplay. The video also highlights the frustrating control scheme and translation issues in the game. Despite these shortcomings, the speaker appreciates the game’s exploration, rewarding mechanics, character movement, climbing, and immersive combat experiences, such as taking down a harpy. They also note certain quirks like inconsistent damage affecting maximum health, which adds depth to the adventure gameplay.

00:20:00

In this part of the video, the speaker criticizes a game for its bizarre design choices, including realistic video footage of a meal and anachronistic elements like film grain on medieval flashbacks. The activities within the game, such as buying beer or getting a haircut, are described as pointless since they offer no benefits to the player. The criticism extends to the music, which the speaker feels is unremarkable and fails to enhance pivotal moments.

The speaker then praises the game’s combat, highlighting its sense of progression and varied classes. However, they criticize the method of unlocking new classes, explaining that many players may not experience certain classes until late in the game, or at all. The recommendation is to make all classes available from the start. Additionally, the speaker is puzzled by why only six out of ten classes are available to the player’s pawns. The segment ends with a detailed discussion of some specific classes and their abilities, noting both their strengths and weaknesses.

00:25:00

In this part of the video, the speaker discusses the abilities and characteristics of various character classes in a game. The Archer class allows for movement-based attacks, such as sliding to shoot a powerful arrow. The thief class, which surprised the speaker with its appeal, involves quick executions and high-damage moves like “Gore it up.” The sorcerer class specializes in destructive spells and lacks healing abilities, with one spell allowing rapid takedown of big enemies. The warrior class, wielding two-handed weapons, deals heavy damage but attacks slowly, becoming very powerful with unlocked passives. The trickster class, although visually appealing, disappoints the speaker due to ineffective attacks. Magic Archer combines Mage and Archer abilities, while the Warfare class allows for using abilities from other vocations, offering extensive versatility and powerful moves. The speaker also criticizes the game’s combat for its visual clutter and limited creature variety, and expresses frustration with the game’s user interface, noting it feels outdated and cumbersome.

00:30:00

In this part of the video, the speaker discusses their frustrations with the game’s interface and story. They criticize the overly complex and intrusive UI elements, stressing the importance of a simple and unnoticeable UI. They use examples from other games, both Japanese and non-Japanese, to illustrate common trends in poor UI design.

Transitioning to the game’s story, the speaker describes a convoluted and confusing narrative with multiple false starts and the lack of memorable main characters. They recount a chaotic series of events where the protagonist experiences memory loss, bizarre character encounters, and unclear plot motivations. This includes waking up in different locations, fighting low frame rate enemies, sudden appearances of knights and other characters, and ultimately being taken to a city where they must prove themselves as the true “Arisen” due to conflicting claims to the title. The speaker emphasizes three main issues with the story: no main characters, contrived plot coincidences, and missing context for the game’s lore and logic.

00:35:00

In this part of the video, the narrator discusses meeting the character Brand, who they argue is the main character of the game due to the number of quests he provides. They critique the game’s other characters, including Queen Disa and the false Arisen, whose stories abruptly end after the dragon is defeated. The narrator also mentions the game’s lack of context and character motivation, providing examples such as sneaking into a party at the queen’s castle and a brothel scene. They suggest improvements for character development and share their frustration with the game’s storytelling, particularly the repetitive final battle against the dragon.

00:40:00

In this part of the video, the speaker describes their frustration with the ending of a game they played, detailing how the conclusion felt confusing and poorly executed. They highlight that to reach the “real ending,” the player has to ignore a ghost, use a specific sword to stab themselves, and endure a convoluted series of events that lead to an unsatisfactory world transformation. The speaker criticizes the lack of connection with the game’s characters and the underwhelming final cutscenes, highlighting a series of anticlimactic confrontations and unclear narrative elements. They also express disappointment in the game’s story, despite acknowledging some good gameplay features, and fantasize about how the game could have been improved with a different setting, such as in a Lord of the Rings-themed environment. The video concludes with the speaker thanking viewers and addressing potential disagreements in the comments, along with a brief showcasing of a new kitten.

00:45:00

In this part of the video, the speaker introduces Ruby, a cat who has unexpectedly won their affection despite not being a big cat person. The speaker hints that Ruby will likely appear in future videos. The segment ends with the speaker thanking the viewers and saying goodbye.