Capcom brought two very different demos to Gamescom 2026. Mega Man: Dual Override tightens up the Blue Bomber’s familiar side-scrolling action with easier movement and faster retries, while Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen sends a high-level fighter and their pawns into the frozen Norgan region.
The PlayStation Blog hands-on report covered both demos, including a run through three Mega Man stages and a dangerous push toward a ruined stronghold in the upcoming Dragon’s Dogma 2 expansion.
Mega Man: Dual Override keeps the challenge and cuts the busywork
After an eight-year gap since the last new outing, Mega Man: Dual Override feels familiar from the first jump and shot, but several adjustments make the action less cumbersome. The Slide ability is now mapped to Circle instead of requiring Down and X as it did in Mega Man 11. That makes it much easier to chain movement into a jump or escape an attack without wrestling with the controls.
Extra lives are gone, too. Checkpoints appear throughout each level, so a failed attempt at a difficult section sends Mega Man back to the action instead of forcing a full-stage replay. The stages still demand accurate jumps and quick reactions, but the retry loop is far kinder.
Custom Chips add another way to tailor a run. At the beginning of a level, Mega Man chooses one of three chips and activates its ability with R2. One creates a protective shield, another automatically charges the Mega Buster and fires two charged shots when activated, and the third summons Rush with his Coil spring for clearing wide gaps and reaching high ledges. Rush remains an excellent mechanical dog. No notes.
Destroying enemies charges the Override ability. Once active, it changes the Mega Buster into a rapid-fire weapon that can chew through bosses. Two full meters can be stored, allowing for a lengthy burst of fire, but spending the charge completely overheats Mega Man. His shots then come out more slowly until he recovers, giving the ability a real risk-and-reward edge.
The demo moved through three short levels built around different World’s Fair-style exhibition themes. Precision platforming, fast robots, and mini-bosses guarded the route to Twinkle Girl, whose fireworks theme shaped her attack patterns. She added more fire-based attacks in a second phase, turning an already quick fight into a frantic finale before Override helped finish the job.
Dual Override is aiming for the feel of an old-school Mega Man game without carrying every old inconvenience along for the ride. The controls are more intuitive, checkpoints keep mistakes from becoming chores, and the Custom Chips give players a few playful tools for handling the harder sections. Capcom plans to launch the game on PS5 in 2027.
Dark Arisen turns Norgan into a frozen combat puzzle
Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen adds a new story chapter in Norgan, a frozen northern region abandoned after the conflicts that once shaped it. The demo began with a high-level fighter and their pawns in a settlement, where the first task was to search for Spoils scattered across the area.
Enemies, chests, ruined buildings, and deserted villages can all hide these lost artifacts and pieces of gear. A woman in the settlement appraises Spoils and converts them into Relics: stronger weapons and armor that can also unlock new battle skills. The process requires Rift Crystals, so turning every discovery into an upgrade is not an option. Picking the right items to invest in will be part of the hunt.
Outside the settlement, the party crossed wilderness and foothills toward a mountain stronghold, fighting Norgan natives such as burly barbarians and direwolves. The region’s cold also brings a massive threat: a woolly giant that swings a tree trunk, has an enormous health pool, and breathes icy energy that both damages and slows the party.
Brute force was only one answer. Breaking through ice could trigger a small avalanche, sending frozen debris into the giant while the pawns kept it occupied. Near the stronghold, ice became useful in other ways: enemies could be dropped into the river below, and icicles hanging from bridges and gates could be turned into traps.
The stronghold itself held the demo’s final confrontation, a battle against the Fallen Dragon. The undead creature released groups of dead enemies that could surround and overwhelm the party, forcing the team to keep moving instead of focusing only on the main target. Even after the dragon’s head was cut off, the encounter ended with the creature still looming over the group, making one thing clear: Norgan has not finished with them yet.
Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen will launch on October 9. The preview offered a quick trip through Norgan’s frozen wilderness, but its Spoils system, environmental traps, and dangerous bosses suggest there will be plenty more waiting beyond the demo’s path.
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