Dragon’s Dogma 2 vs Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
One trusts your curiosity, the other trusts your patience—which open-world soulslike fits you?
Updated 25d ago
If you can forgive the original's quirks, DD2 holds up — patches fixed CPU performance and the microtransaction outrage was overblown (everything's findable in-game).
Best-in-class single-player DLC if you finished base Elden Ring — Land of Shadow rivals a full game, and patch 1.14 tamed Consort Radahn's combos.
By the numbers
Prices checked Sep 9; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Sep 9.
| Measure | Dragon’s Dogma 2 | Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree |
|---|---|---|
| Value Dragon’s Dogma 2 wins on value | ||
| Price now | $26.19 −35% · Fanatical | $35.17 −12% · GameBillet |
| All-time low | $10.88 | $31.49 |
| Cost / hour | $0.83/hr $26.19 · 31 h main story | $1.37/hr $35.17 · 26 h main story |
| Off its low | +141% low was Oct 2025 | +12% low was Aug 2024 |
| Main story | 31 h | 26 h |
| Health Too close to call | ||
| Steam reviews | 62% 117k reviews | 70% 104k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 71% 837 votes · vs 62% lifetime · improving | 53% 200 votes · vs 70% lifetime · souring |
| Peak players | 4,333 Aug 2026 · ↑ 5% MoM | — Not yet charted |
| Launch peak | 2% of Mar 2024 launch peak · as of Aug 2026 | — |
| All-time peak | 228,285 Mar 2024 | — |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | 3 weeks ago | — |
| Patch cadence | 1 in last 90 days | — |
| Steam Deck | Silver | — |
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick Dragon’s Dogma 2 if
- You like games where the map is a suggestion, not a mission log
- You want a $27 RPG with 31 hours of main story under a dollar an hour
- You enjoy building a party of AI pawns to cover your weaknesses
Pick Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree if
- You finished Elden Ring's base game and want a true continuation
- You enjoy interpreting cryptic lore and obscure progression systems
- You're prepared for a difficulty spike that demands perfect boss timing
Bottom line
Pick Dragon's Dogma 2 for organic exploration and affordability, or Shadow of the Erdtree for a hardcore, lore-rich capstone—but only if you've already beaten Elden Ring.
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