Dragon's Dogma 2 Has Just One Save File To Encourage Exploration

by Wesley LeBlanc on Mar 05, 2024 at 04:00 PM

Dragon's Dogma 2 hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on March 22, and when you boot it up for the first time, you might learn it only has one save file. TheGamer reported on that news after an IGN Japan preview from earlier this year revealed console players will be stuck with just one single save file, making things like reverting to old saves all but impossible.

After playing the game myself for about three hours – read Game Informer's Dragon's Dogma 2 preview impressions here – I could definitely feel a friction with just one save file, but it's one I came to appreciate. Yes, Dragon's Dogma 2 is hard, extremely so in some ways. Dying can set you back some, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want for the ability to revert saves (after saving right in front of a tough monster, for example). But it's clear Capcom has a vision with its difficulty and single save file; it makes your every action that much more impactful.

However, when IGN Japan's preview revealed Dragon's Dogma 2 would have just one save file, some players began to worry how that might affect their playthrough. After playing the game myself, I was able to talk to director Hideaki Itsuno about this, and I learned it was intentional to encourage exploration.

"It is indeed one save file," Itsuno tells me through a translator. "However, the game gives you more options. [It] gives you the option to load from the last inn you rested at, so in that regard, it's not a game where you won't have any possible way to go back.

"Regarding what the thinking was behind that, it's really simple: we want to encourage exploration, and this is quite the opposite of what you get when you allow too much freedom in this regard."

Itsuno gave me an example involving a cliff. If you are at a cliff of a discernible height, with multiple save options (like the ability to save right there and quickly revert back to it), you might just jump to see if you can make it. "That has quite the opposite effect of encouraging that exploration feel," Itsuno says.

However, with just one save file, your thinking should shift. Jumping might result in death or unwanted damage, and that could be a setback. Of course, you can reload at the last inn you saved at but given how big Dragon's Dogma 2's world is (and how hard it can be to fast travel at times), you might not want to retrace your steps. So, instead of jumping without thought, you might analyze the cliff's height more closely or even decide to find a safer way down.

"So that is the main reason: I really wanted to encourage the thrill of exploration, and that was the thinking behind the limit," he says.