Dragon's Dogma 2: a brilliant game in need of technical improvements
Dragon's Dogma 2 is a highly anticipated open-world RPG and the most advanced RE Engine title we've seen to date. Beyond the excellent gameplay and concept, this game undeniably looks good, combining high-detail assets with beautiful lighting, but performance concerns are also widespread amongst reviewers and users alike. With that in mind, how have graphics and performance been balanced in the final release? What compromises does the Series S bear against Series X and PS5, and what about PC performance and visual quality? Dragon's Dogma 2 opens with something unconventionally compelling: an in-depth character creator that provides a lot of flexibility to tweak our Arisen and create something unique. The rendering of the character is impressive, even though high-fidelity facial rendering isn't exactly a key part of the game. Juggling through various presets and options for a few minutes doesn't reveal anything particularly uncanny or off-putting, which is a good accomplishment for this kind of player-driven character editor. After a short introductory sequence, users enter the game's open-world setting proper, which is quite stunning at times. The standout technology here is the game's use of ray-traced global illumination (RTGI), which makes the environmental lighting look consistently high quality across a range of conditions. There's beautiful subtle occlusion in the intersections of rock faces, diffuse shading from tree branches, and fine shadow falloff around the mouths of caves. In these indirectly lit areas - which are already depicting areas of the world that are draped in shadow - there's a fine impression of how light is subtly occluded by surrounding geometry. Read more
Dragon's Dogma 2 is a highly anticipated open-world RPG and the most advanced RE Engine title we've seen to date. Beyond the excellent gameplay and concept, this game undeniably looks good, combining high-detail assets with beautiful lighting, but performance concerns are also widespread amongst reviewers and users alike. With that in mind, how have graphics and performance been balanced in the final release? What compromises does the Series S bear against Series X and PS5, and what about PC performance and visual quality?
Dragon's Dogma 2 opens with something unconventionally compelling: an in-depth character creator that provides a lot of flexibility to tweak our Arisen and create something unique. The rendering of the character is impressive, even though high-fidelity facial rendering isn't exactly a key part of the game. Juggling through various presets and options for a few minutes doesn't reveal anything particularly uncanny or off-putting, which is a good accomplishment for this kind of player-driven character editor.
After a short introductory sequence, users enter the game's open-world setting proper, which is quite stunning at times. The standout technology here is the game's use of ray-traced global illumination (RTGI), which makes the environmental lighting look consistently high quality across a range of conditions. There's beautiful subtle occlusion in the intersections of rock faces, diffuse shading from tree branches, and fine shadow falloff around the mouths of caves. In these indirectly lit areas - which are already depicting areas of the world that are draped in shadow - there's a fine impression of how light is subtly occluded by surrounding geometry.
