Climbing Would Have Been A Natural Inclusion In Dragon's Dogma 2, But It Isn't There

Summary

• Climbing on beasts in Dragon's Dogma 2 makes the gameplay feel tactile and adventurous, but the inability to climb walls to the same degree feels oddly limiting.
• Adding a climbing mechanic in Dragon's Dogma 2 could provide new opportunities and dangers that suit the gameplay well and enhance exploration.
• Let us climb more, Capcom.

One of the biggest selling points of the Dragon’s Dogma series is that you can climb onto great beasts like griffins, dragons, and other weird and wonderful mythical creatures. You can clamber up their bodies to stab them where it hurts most, or even hang around their nether regions if you really want. You’ll also find you must cling on for dear life when they fly into the sky while you’re still latched on, and inevitably, we’ve all experienced our stamina bar running out while airborne and promptly plummeted to our deaths shortly after.

This makes the gameplay feel incredibly tactile as you can grab and lift enemies (and pawns, NPCs, and random objects) and throw them around to your heart’s content. Combat and exploration as a whole are diverse as a result, and quite often, absolutely hilarious. This sense of scale is further emphasised by the world around you as well, a wide-open space filled with secret areas and treasures to discover, with all manner of goblins, and ghoulies waiting on the road. You never know what you’re going to encounter while travelling, and the limited fast travel ensures you’re putting in the miles to experience it all.

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Yet for all the ways that Dragon’s Dogma encourages you to take hold of your adventure and get to grips with your enemies, quite literally, there’s one way it’s particularly lacking. There’s no climbing on anything other than beasties. It feels incredibly odd that your Arisen can climb up ferocious creatures but can’t scale a wall or cliff. Sure, you can jump around or climb up anything within arm’s reach, but it’s not the same as scaling walls properly.

We Can Grab And Climb Enemies, But We Can't Scale Walls

Dragon’s Dogma 2 expanded on much of what the original game put into motion and I can’t help but feel that adding in climbing would have been another natural step forward for the sequel. It could have used the same mechanic as when climbing enemies, with the stamina bar depleting and you losing your grip once it empties. With such an emphasis on exploration and how hands-on you can be with the world around you, it feels unnatural that you can’t climb up a short cliff or wall—and believe me, you’ll encounter many of those blocking your way forward at times.

While arduous exploration is a core aspect of Dragon’s Dogma 2, I don’t think climbing would go against this ethos as it would provide new opportunities and dangers that suit the gameplay well. You might be able to climb this wall to save time going around the long way, or you might simply run out of stamina while trying and die instead. Maybe harpies will grab you while you’re climbing. Maybe your pawns will be stupid enough to bump you when you’re halfway up and knock you off, or perhaps they’ll fall to their doom instead. The myriad possibilities would tie in nicely with what Dragon’s Dogma 2 already offers. Chaos.

To a lesser extent, being unable to dive or swim in water impedes exploration too. Despite the clear cutscene at the beginning that introduces the concept of the Brine—the weird thing that kills you when you go into any water above your ankles—it didn’t take me long to think I could take a shortcut down a cliff by diving into the water. Instead, I died.

The Brine has a narrative role in the game, so I’m more forgiving of water being off-limits, but if my Arisen can climb ogre butt then she should be able to climb rockface just as easily. Come on Capcom, let us climb more.

I'm Dragon's Dogma 2's Worst Wakestone User

I’ve wasted all my Wakestones in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Every. Single. One.