Dragon’s Dogma 2 has arrived, and the game is a bit of beast on pretty much any hardware you’ll play it on. Not only is it a “dynamic” 30fps on current-gen consoles (in other words, often under 30fps) but not even a high end PCs are free from troubles – Wccftech’s reviewer Alessio Palumbo had issues despite rocking an RTX 4090 and a Ryzen 7800X3D. A lack of promised DLSS 3 at launch also means there are limited ways to smooth over the problems.
Thankfully, it seems Capcom is aware of the issues, and is vowing improvements. That said, those improvements may be somewhat difficult to achieve – according to Capcom, the issue is not fancy visuals weighing on the GPU, but rather, the game’s complex systems and large number of dynamic NPCs overwhelming the CPU. In other words, this isn’t a situation where optimization and tuning down some visual sliders is going to make the game run better.
“In Dragon’s Dogma 2, a large amount of CPU usage is allocated to each character and dynamically calculates the impact of their physical presence in various environments. In certain situations where numerous characters appear simultaneously, the CPU usage can be very high and may affect the frame rate. We are aware that in such situations, settings that reduce GPU load may currently have a limited effect — however, we are looking into ways to improve performance in the future.”
Despite the performance issues, Alessio generally enjoyed Dragon’s Dogma 2, even if it could have been a somewhat bolder update…
“This review may read negatively, but it’s only because of the lofty expectations that surrounded Dragon’s Dogma 2. The original game was an amazing foundation to build upon, and yet Capcom seemed content with keeping the same strengths without improving much on the weaknesses. Twelve years later, though, the effect cannot be the same. Still, make no mistake: Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a highly enjoyable fantasy action/adventure with RPG elements that will provide you with about 40 hours of pure fun. Its peerless sense of exploration, meaty combat system, and stunning visuals will motivate you throughout the entire playthrough. Just don’t expect to find a fantasy world simulator or, indeed, a narrative worth remembering.”
Dragon’s Dogma 2 on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5 this Friday (March 22).
