Highlights

  • A lock-on mechanic could greatly benefit Dragon's Dogma 2's combat, especially with multiple enemies attacking at once.
  • A free camera during boss fights in Dragon's Dogma 2 allows for easy positioning and climbing.

Releasing in May 2012, the first Dragon's Dogma came out just a few months after FromSoftware's first Dark Souls game. With Dark Souls making a pretty huge impact upon its debut, and both games being challenging fantasy RPGs, the first Dragon's Dogma ended up being compared to Dark Souls quite a bit when it first came out. But aside from their general structure and vibes, both games are very different in terms of gameplay. While Dark Souls focused on methodical melee combat and precise dodge mechanics, Dragon's Dogma focused much more on large-scale boss fights, freedom of movement, and fast-paced combat. Now, Dragon's Dogma 2 follows suit.

Despite releasing over a decade after its predecessor, Dragon's Dogma 2 carries over the vast majority of the original's mechanics and structure, for better and for worse. This does mean, however, that Dragon's Dogma 2 is able to stand out from Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and the rest of the Soulslike genre very easily, though it wouldn't have hurt if Dragon's Dogma 2 borrowed one specific mechanic from its competition.

Dragons Dogma 2 x Helldivers 2
Related
Dragon's Dogma 2 and Helldivers 2 Steered The Same Boat In Opposite Directions

Dragon's Dogma 2 and Helldivers 2 both share a very controversial in-game feature, but the reception has been drastically different for each game.

Dragon's Dogma 2 Could Benefit From a Lock-On Mechanic

Though it certainly wasn't invented by FromSoftware—with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time widely being considered as one of the first to implement the feature successfully—a lock-on mechanic has become a staple of the Soulslike genre. Usually activated by pressing down the right stick on the controller, an active lock-on feature sees the camera center the camera on an enemy, and remain fixed on them until they're defeated.

While locked on, the player can strafe around their target without worrying about the camera suddenly shifting around the environment.

Over the last few years, as Soulslikes have become increasingly more popular, as has the desire for lock-on mechanics in just about any third-person action game that focuses heavily on melee combat. While these lock-on mechanics aren't essential for every third-person action game, they can often be beneficial, and that's certainly the case for Dragon's Dogma 2.

Currently, Dragon's Dogma 2 has no form of active lock-on. For fans of the original game, that's going to come as no surprise, as Dragon's Dogma 2 emphasizes freedom of movement in a combat arena. Still, a lock-on mechanic could greatly benefit Dragon's Dogma 2's melee-focused combat, at least in some instances. It's all too often that a fight in Dragon's Dogma 2 will lead to multiple enemies attacking the player at once. The camera being free at all times allows players to track all enemies at their own leisure, but in the heat of battle, that's often much easier said than done.

To make matters worse, without an active lock-on, Dragon's Dogma 2's parrying and blocking mechanic can also be a little unresponsive. When large groups of enemies are attacking the player at once, they don't really have control over which direction their character blocks, leading to some frustrating moments. A lock-on that allowed players to swap targets on the fly would go a long way in eliminating this problem.

Dragon's Dogma 2's Boss Fights Benefit From Having a Free Camera

The lack of an active lock-on system thankfully isn't Dragon's Dogma 2's biggest issue. In fact, when fighting bosses or large monsters, Dragon's Dogma 2's free camera is actually much more helpful, allowing the player to easily position themselves around the large foe, and climb on top of it with ease. This high level of freedom of movement might not have been achievable with a locked-on camera, though that doesn't mean it shouldn't have been an option.