in a historic chain of events, i 1) planned to pick & play one of three major story/world games 2) actually went through with it and didn't pick a secret 4th option also 3) i started the day i told myself i would and 4) bois we're gaming?? dragon's dogma 2 is pretty fuggin lit?? will say there's definitely some flaws because my most memorable fight was as a level 14ish but vocation level 2 archer with my pawn as a level 2 fighter (getting unlocks etc) i ran up against my first chimera with just a mage and thief for backup pawns and that fight started just before sunset in game and was won as the sun was coming up. so an absurd amount of time. because shortly after that i finished the quest i needed archer for, tp back to town, spec back to my main set up (thief, archer, mage support sorc dps) and right outside vermund there was a Chimera that i killed in 45 seconds, 16 of which were fumbling the adjustment back to melee controls. i know it's bad faith to take one of the worst party comps for the fight (under leveled but geared) and put it next to a very good comp (I'll be switching my pawn from archer to mage when gold isn't so tight and then I'll have flexibility for support pawns, running this setup is a holdover from the original DD) but that time delta is... fucked. that said my first chimera fight felt like an honest to God battle for my fucking life against a proper Chimera and my second one felt like what's supposed to happen when you hit an elite mob and can't be DPS checked. like it was cool but it's only memorable because of the contrast & the misplay. all that aside tho I'm so glad that just made Dragon's Dogma But Newer and yes the beginning was as painful as i was expecting (dd1 has a better opening imo, you need that intro set piece in the shitter camp climbing the thing at level 2 so you know why it's worth it to kill goblins and harpies for 10 hours) but i am all in turbo invested in the game. 37 hrs now and i have used a ferrystone once and oxcart twice because I'd rather just walk and actually play the damn game. it helps being a thief main (going to try mystic spearhand and then i have sorc and warrior for when that disappointments me somehow) because getting the full hitbox of helm splitter to connect is an All Time Feeling but yeah. i spent like idk 10 days coming up with backup games to play in case this didn't click. i reinstalled fucking GoW:R like i excessively planned for this to not work out and instead I'm being reminded of why video games are art and they don't have to be indie concepts of avant garde yoko taro x kojima antics and a game can just rip a combat system and be good it doesn't need a 13 frame parry window that the whole identity is built around. you can just make a fun video game and if the video game is fun to play and the world is worth being in it'll be a good game. even if it doesn't look like ghost of yotei and even if keanu reeves isn't holographically joyriding and predetermined loot with no affixes is totally fine it's all fine. if the salad dressing is really fucking good you don't need to put $17 worth of pickled shit no one has heard of that was illegally pickled in house on your grass fed baby kale & arugula bedding. anyways thanks for coming to my ted talk this is what happens when you take your hobby and turn it into your life. when you end up having fun again it blows you away
