The Dragon's Dogma 2 review embargo just dropped and they're good. At the vast majority of sites, they're really good, like Baldur's Elden Ring levels of good. The only criticisms are occasional performance issues on console, but then PCGamesN says it's pretty rough on PC, too, and there are a few outlets that seem not to love the esoteric narrative. By all accounts it's a bit of an oddball game, but most places seem to see this as a good thing (as I reckon I probably will).

The Metacritic is 86 overall, 92 on PC, 86 on PS5, and 87 on Xbox. The OpenCritic is 89 overall.

Here's a few reviews from selected outlets:

• Dexerto: 10/10: "a giant of the open-world genre that dares to defy existing conventions"

• Eurogamer: 5/5: "endless discoveries paired with limitless potential"

• Gamespot: 9/10: "an exceptional achievement that's quite unlike anything else"

• GG Recon: 9/10: "an exceptional experience on almost all fronts that you unequivocally won't want to miss"

• IGN: 8/10: "more of a redo than a sequel; a strange and wonderful action-RPG that bolsters the original's strengths without addressing its weaknesses"

• PC Gamer: 89: "A magnificent adventure with impressive fights and some very rough edges."

• PCGamesN: 7/10: "a great RPG, just not on PC"

• RPG Site: 10/10: "an absolute triumph in nearly every sense of the word"

• TheSixthAxis: 10/10: "it has some aspects some will find too clunky, but it's a masterpiece"

• VG247: 5/5: "one of the greatest games of all time... if you've the right constitution"

• VGC: 5/5: "the most vital RPG since Elden Ring"

• WCCF Tech: 8/10: "peerless exploration, meaty combat, stunning visuals, but don't expect a fantasy world or, indeed, a narrative worth remembering."