Newcomer and LOVED it
Having never played the original Dragon’s Dogma I wasn't sure what to expect. From the little I had seen and read it looked like a typical fantasy action/adventure but with a fun-looking climbing mechanic - I had no idea just how much fun I would I have over the 40hours I spent in its world.
It’s spontaneous, quirky, full of character, soul, and has me wanting every open-world action adventure to include their own version of pawns. This crew of NPCs, which you choose and can swap throughout the game, travel and fight alongside you - and they all exist within a shared online plain of reality, meaning you could recruit pawns from other players around the world including from your friends, and vice versa.
Few open world games reward exploration the way Dragon’s Dogma 2 does, and despite the many ways you can choose to play the game (be it an archer, a warrior, etc) it never felt overwhelming. Absolutely play this.