In short, loving Dragon's Dogma. There are some things you have to get used to (like Capcom's typical "we'll let you save anywhere but you can't load"), but all in all a great game. There have been comparisons to Skyrim and Dark Souls; having only played the latter myself, they've certainly taken some cues.
In long then, the game boasts a lot of open world features, though it not quite so open as Skyrim. There are many canyons and lots of non-traversable terrain that separates distinct zones or areas, but each area itself is quite large and open. Which is great when you are set upon by a Cyclops or Chimera (or Griffon, if you have played the demo). Of course, if you think that only happens in open fields, be ready for something else, Ogres in subterranean caves.
The combat is fun, visceral, and very open. In this respect, it reminds me a lot of Guild Wars, as in you build a character, and purchase skills. These form a sort of base repetoire, and you are only ever able to take a subset of these with you into battle. The number of skills available varies by class, but it makes for interesting combat, and class customization when you change class and mix and match certain skills.
Its presentation is also top notch, from the cheesy J-rock intro, to other soundtrack elements like the harpy's song. Visually, the game possesses a very "grounded" look and feel. Everything falls, everything is muted, and everything is shadowed. You can feel the weight of the world and is very much like Dark Souls in this respect. Everything feels very real and very tangible, from your humble beginnings in a small fishing village, to the shrouded WitchWood, to the grand capital Gran Soren, to the wind swept fields of the north - and there is much and more to discover I am sure.
In terms of multiplayer, there is also a passing similarity to Dark Souls, in that there is a passive component. While one never interacts directly with other players, there is an asycnhronous opportunity to do so through their "Pawn" system. Basically, as a player, one creates a main character and one custom Pawn. The player's character or avatar is never seen or shared with other Dogma players, but the Pawn may be used by other players in their single-player party. So in your single game, you have your main, your Pawn, and up to 2 other Pawns, which may be randomly generated by the game or found online, created by other players. It is a very fun and interesting system to play with.
Definitely worth a try if you haven't already heard of this little gem!
