Summary
Though finding an exact definition for it is much easier said than done, the phrase “Emergent Gameplay” often refers to video games that revolve around, or have large portions of gameplay that follow unscripted events. These events often occur at random and challenge the player to use the game’s toolset in a variety of ways, resulting in completely unique, memorable experiences.Dragon’s Dogma 2is absolutely packed to the brim with theseemergent gameplaymoments.
Though the term has been used for a while now, emergent gameplay has really become a popular buzzword in the gaming industry in the last decade or so, growing in popularity alongside the rise of the open-world genre, where the most notable emergent gameplay examples can be found. Though it certainly isn’t the first, nor the most polished,Dragon’s Dogma 2might have just set a new gold standard for the use of emergent gameplay in the open-world genre.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Features First-Class Emergent Gameplay
How Past RPGs Have Tried to Use Emergent Gameplay
Emergent gameplay has been an ever-growing staple of the open-world RPG genre, particularly in the last decade or so, andThe Elder Scrollsfranchiseis often cited as one of the feature’s best examples. Though present in previous entries as well,Skyrimfeatures a slew of emergent gameplay mechanics, from dragons attacking settlements at random, to different factions battling one another in the open, to a prisoner escaping their convoy and fleeing past the player. These events are usually largely unscripted, and they’re a big reason behindSkyrim’s longevity, ensuring that every playthrough is different.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildand its2023 sequelTears of the Kingdomare some of the latest games that revolve around emergent gameplay. While story and side missions exist in these games, much of the experience centers around the player’s own exploration of the world, and the unscripted events they stumble upon. The player’s vast toolset goes hand in hand with these unscripted moments, allowing for a truly unique, emergent experience.
How Dragon’s Dogma 2’s Emergent Gameplay Sets a New Standard
Pretty much the entirety ofDragon’s Dogma 2’s open-worldis built around emergent gameplay, with practically every step into the wilderness conjuring up some kind of unscripted, highly memorable event. More often than not, these emergent moments involve some kind of monster attack, but the magic ofDragon’s Dogma 2is that no one enemy encounter feels the same. While the player will face off against a pack of goblins countless times during theirDragon’s Dogma 2adventure, these goblins can be aided suddenly by a pack of wolves, a group of bandits, or another small army of goblins, leading to a frenzy of action.
These moments only get more impressive when larger monsters are introduced to the fray. Fromogres to cyclopses to griffins,Dragon’s Dogma 2is home to a range of hulking monsters, all of which can appear at random in the open-world, and all of which are capable of really enhancing the game’s emergent nature, performing attacks that can level the environment and destroy bridges, and even flying the player randomly across the map. These moments are then further reinforced by the game’s NPCs, many of whom will be strolling by and will assist the player in their fight.
All of this combines to makeDragon’s Dogma 2the new standard for emergent gameplay. When booting upDragon’s Dogma 2for the first, fifth, or fiftieth time, players never know what they’re going to experience over the next few hours, and that level of unpredictability, paired withDragon’s Dogma 2’s cinematic nature, leads to a level of replayability and emergence that hasn’t really been seen before.
Dragon’s Dogma 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Set forth on your grand adventure, Arisen!Dragon’s Dogma is a single player, narrative driven action-RPG series that challenges the players to choose their own experience – from the appearance of their Arisen, their vocation, their party, how to approach different situations and more. Now, in this long-awaited sequel, the deep, explorable fantasy world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 awaits.On your journey, you’ll be joined by Pawns, mysterious otherworldly beings, in an adventure so unique you will feel as if accompanied by other players while on your own adventure.All of these elements are elevated further through physics technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and the latest in graphics, to create a truly immersive fantasy world in Dragon’s Dogma 2.
