Feisty fantasy RPG has bloody combat and sexual scenes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Graphic combat throughout the entire game. You use multiple weapons like swords, spears, bow and arrows, and magic to destroy enemies during combat. There's blood and gore in both the gameplay and cutscenes. Along with impalement, you can sever the head of a creature and use it as a melee weapon.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Some of the demons appear topless but without nipples. Your character can engage with sex workers throughout the game, pay them for their services, and take them to bed -- but there isn't any nudity or simulated intercourse (the screen fades to black).
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Dragon's Dogma 2 has customization options including selecting gender, race/skin color, age, and body type. The humans you interact with in the game are also diverse.
By using a controller – which is required for both console and Windows PC players – the game isn't necessarily difficult to learn how to play. The play itself is pretty challenging. It may take some trial and error to be successful. The game also has multiple difficulty levels and starts off with tutorial-like instructions to master the controls.
Positive Role Models
a little
Your character is brave and strong and is nobly trying to save the world from an evil dragon. You play as a prisoner tasked with using all kinds of weapons to kill humans and beasts that stand in the way of your overall goal. You can make decisions throughout the single-player game that lead to more moral outcomes.
Positive Messages
very little
You're fighting against evil, but you do this through a lot of graphic combat.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know Dragon's Dogma 2 is the sequel to the original action role-playing game. Like the first game, this one contains graphic violence with blood and gore, as players can use multiple weapons to kill human and non-human enemies. Some of the cutscene sequences show dismemberment and decapitation (and the player can use a severed monster's head as a weapon). The game also contains sexual themes, such as topless female creatures (though no nipples shown) and players can pay for sex with sex workers and you're both seen on a bed in a suggestive position (but no nudity or simulated intercourse is seen). Moderate profanity includes words like "s—t."
Common sense going crazy again. The whole sex thing is a lie and also the game says nothing about it so even if it were true your kid wouldn’t even find out about it ever. The blood can be turned to a minimal setting.
What’s It About?
DRAGON'S DOGMA 2 comes 12 years after the first violent role-playing game. This single-player game lets you go on an epic journey to stop an evil dragon from destroying the world. At first you choose a class (Warrior, Spear-mage, Thief, Archer, or Wizard), each with different strengths and weapons. You play as an Arisen, who comes back to life after the dragon takes your heart. The game begins in an underground prison, where you pick your character and customize their look and abilities. You can even choose to be a non-human, like a lion-faced "Beastren." Though it's a single-player game, you travel with up to three AI-controlled "pawns" who help you in battles. While the game focuses on combat, you also need to interact with hundreds of characters, like merchants, to unlock new missions and environments in this Medieval-like adventure. Flashback sequences help explain the story and your mission. Dragon's Dogma 2 is available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and Windows PC, and looks and plays similarly on all platforms.
Dragon's Dogma 2 may not have the same mainstream brand appeal in the West as other action role-playing game franchises, but it's an exceptional (and sometimes an over-the-top ridiculous) game that's easy to pick up but difficult to put down. It may also be a little buggy at times, so be sure to download updates before you play, but thankfully it doesn't detract from the fun.
The game may be similar to the Capcom's own Monster Hunter series but has enough unique features and depth to separate it -- and it's considerably better than the original Dragon's Dogma. Dragon's Dogma 2 is a worthy fantasy RPG that offers several dozens of hours of gameplay. Teens and adults looking for an ambitious single-player adventure will find this is one of the year's best to date.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in the media. Is the impact of the violence in Dragon's Dogma 2 affected by the graphic visuals of dismemberment, gore, and other violence? Would the game be as intense if it didn't have the gory content included? Does this content add to the game experience? Does it feel appropriate to the plot and story?
Are remakes a way to expand the experience for players who love a game or may have missed it the first time, or is it intended to sell more copies of a title?
ESRB rating:
M for Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
Last updated:
July 10, 2024
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Marc Saltzman
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