The term 'cult classic' feels less significant than it used to. That's most likely due to the sheer amount of new content and the prevalence of streaming services at our fingertips today – but Dragon's Dogma nevertheless feels like the quintessential cult classic. With its sequel finally just around the corner more than a decade after the original release, returning director Hideaki Itsuno wears that cult status as a badge of honor.
"I personally believe that a really well-made game will never go out of style with players," Itsuno tells me. Asked via an interpreter what it is about his 2012 release that has continued to pull in new players nearly 12 years later, he points to a core gameplay experience that has simply stood the test of time, referencing the "timelessness" and "fundamental high quality game design" of the likes of Super Mario World. "You just have to have faith," he explains, "and be able to make the best possible experience you can at the time." When it comes to Dragon's Dogma, he claims that "it shows, I think, that my convictions were justified in the first place with what my vision was for the game."
