Dragon's Dogma 2 was released in March 2024 to critical acclaim. The original became a bit of a cult hit and was one of my favorite RPGs of the Xbox 360 era. As such, my obsession with fantasy and role-playing games had me looking forward to immersing myself in yet another sprawling adventure.

Unfortunately, Dragon's Dogma 2 was released at a time when I was still fully immersed in Hell Diver 2. Plus, in the months since, there have been a ton of great releases I've wanted to play, so I haven't found the time to dive in yet. But thanks to a limited-time free trial, Capcom has given me the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

Capcom is running a two-hour free trial campaign from June 28 through July 18.

The best part? If two hours is enough time to draw you into Dragon's Dogma 2, you can get the full version for a great price. Along with the free trial version of Dragon's Dogma 2, Capcom's fantasy epic is also on sale for the first time.

Dragon's Dogma 2 is currently on sale for $55 on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, and Steam. It is normally $69, so that's a savings of $14.

I spent many hours on the original version, but I've only taken the first few steps in Vermund. From what I've played so far, Dragon's Dogma 2 feels like a better, bolder version of the RPG I fell in love with over a decade ago.

Thankfully, I am not alone. The game currently has a score of 86 on Metacritic (based on 91 total reviews), which includes a number of perfect scores.

In our 4-star Dragon's Dogma 2 review, we said: "Dragon's Dogma 2 is a unique RPG that manages to make you feel like a fantasy hero on an epic adventure. The overarching story is disappointingly flimsy, but the memorable moments created along the way are memorable."

Our reviewer felt that the quest writing lacked originality, but appreciated the immersive nature of the game. The hostile and unforgiving world of Dragon's Dogma 2 is fantastic and fun to explore. Even a simple journey between settlements can take a turn for the worse, forcing you to be constantly prepared for danger.

With so many monsters, you will naturally be wielding swords and casting spells, but it helps that the dynamic class system (referred to here as "Vocations") gives you the flexibility to switch between martial and magical classes on the fly. This allows one to employ a different strategy at any time if the battle is not going one's way, thus preventing the battle from becoming tiring. Tired of the old sword and board style? Equip your dagger and dash across the battlefield or strengthen your allies as a mage.

In addition, the unique pawn system brings character to battle. Pawns can give you helpful hints when you encounter monsters in the field, and they can teach you important strategies. If you can get along with the game's rigid system, you will have true fun.

One last thing. If you want to make the most of your free play time, use the free character creation & storage tool to pre-create your player character and main pawn so that not a single second of your trial is wasted.