File this under the hidden gem category.
I started playing Dragon's Dogma about a week ago. Why review a game that came out on consoles in 2012? Well, it's only been on PC for less than a year, and I think a lot of people missed this game, which is kind of a shame.
I'm nowhere near finished with it, and it does have its flaws. But if you are looking for good combat and some innovative ideas, this is a game you should look into. It's a Capcom game, their first attempt at an open world game, and I have heard some of the same devs that did Dark Souls were involved but I don't know if that is true or not. One thing is certain, it's a hell of a lot better PC port than Dark Souls.
It doesn't hold your hand, and there is difficulty and somewhat of a learning curve, but it isn't an intimidating learning curve. The combat and class system is top notch, and you can change classes pretty easily and try different stuff. You can climb up boss monsters and stab weak points, or shoot at them from the ground with arrows or spells. It's a hoot.
Character customization actually matters some. There are a lot of options, and some have gameplay effects. If you make a small character you are a little quicker, and regenerate stamina faster, but your carry weight is lower. You can also get into some small holes that big characters cannot. Large characters can carry more and climb some things a small character can't reach. They have a larger stamina pool, but it regenerates slower. Large characters have a longer reach with weapons, but have a bigger hit box. Small characters can possibly roll under a big monster and have a smaller hit box, but shorter reach.
One of the standout features is the Pawn system. Pawns are NPC party members, and you can have up to three of them in your party. One of them is a Pawn you create. You create the looks, the class, you gear it up, you choose the class and skills. The same character size pros and cons apply to the pawns. It travels with you all the time. The other two, you can hire, and you can hire the pawns other people have made. They can also hire your pawn. When someone hires your pawn, once you log back in and rest at an inn, you get some points to buy skills with based on the amount they did while hired.
Your pawn also gets some knowledge of the quests they did while hired, even if you haven't done those quests yet, and they can offer some advice when you get to those quests.
The story is nothing too special so far, and I've heard it's not the greatest, but the adventure is fun. Travelling at night is more dangerous than by day, and there are definitely times when you are relieved to make it back to an inn and rest.
They do some innovative stuff, which is nice if you are getting tired of the same old combat and the same old everything in a lot of games.
Here is a combat montage that shows some of the cool shit you can do.
no idea why this won't embed.