Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen Reviews
Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen acts as a massive expansion to the sequel's already impressive offering. An intimidating new frozen area is rife with opportunity for challenge and rewards, while other additions add benefit across the meaty base game.
Every Arisen starts with a hole in their chest, and for all its brilliance, so did Dragon's Dogma 2. Dark Arisen fills that void, as nearly every system has been refined, sharpened, and pushed to the edge of what the formula can hold.
Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is a fairly by-the-numbers expansion, but it still has all the challenge and wondrous exploration that made the original game so special.
Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is an excellent expansion that builds on the base game's strongest elements while ironing out enough of the friction its weaker parts caused upon release. It advances the foundations of its exploration and combat loop, making it feel like the definitive version of those systems and something worth diving into right away.
Dragon’s Dogma II: Dark Arisen does what the original expansion had accomplished and set the bar with 20 hours more.
There is no doubt that Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, together with the game's recent patches, has been making a clear effort to better accommodate mainstream playstyles. Its generous scale, dense amount of content, and satisfying loot grind make it difficult not to come away feeling fulfilled. But every gain comes with a trade-off, and changes that improve one aspect inevitably mean that some of the original experience can no longer be reproduced.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen refreshes the gameplay by removing most of the old frustrating elements. The update expands active class skills from four to six, improving combat flexibility and enabling powerful new "Grand" ability combos. The wealth of new dungeons and the Norgan region is enough content for an entire game. Quality-of-life improvements, such as multiple save slots, an optimised hard mode, and the Eternal Ferrystone for fast travel, reduce backtracking while maintaining the best feature of the core game: exploration and adventuring. Overall, Dark Arisen balances accessibility with challenging gameplay, delivering a content-rich experience for both veterans and newcomers.
Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is a fantastic Switch 2 port of an excellent game. The combat remains excellent, the post-launch improvements are largely welcome, and Norgan is a delight to explore. It doesn't fix every problem with the original, and some quality-of-life changes come at the expense of the friction that made the game distinctive. Still, the new content and technical improvements offer plenty to enjoy. Anyone who liked the original will find a lot to love in Dark Arisen, while this is a great starting point for Switch 2 players experiencing the game for the first time.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is defined more than anything by its adventures and the moment-to-moment experience of its gameplay, and the Dark Arisen expansion specifically tries to elevate the game’s standing in these dimensions. From the dungeons and engaging challenges of The Lost Rites to the snowy and eye-catching land of Norgan, this expansion provides more ways to create a personalized player experience. A more focused overall narrative, along with the new “Spoils” equipment system and the addition of new layers to exploring the game’s world, have all made the deep experience of the base game even deeper. If for any reason you haven’t experienced Dragon’s Dogma 2 until today, there is no better time than now to begin your adventure.
Review in Persian | Read full review
While it could be said that all DLC is just more of the same directed towards diehard fans, coming back to the game after all these years to play the DLC might find yourself spending more time on the main game. It’s a great reason to revisit the game for those who haven’t gotten their fill yet.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Dark Arisen is a substantial expansion that does more than just pad the runtime; it actively refines and elevates the core Dragon's Dogma 2 experience. By weaving in sweeping additions, from a dynamic new weather system and refined traversal tools like the grappling hook and fast travel, to challenging dungeons, boss fights, and fresh skills, the expansion successfully broadens the world and delivers the kind of compelling new hurdles that make returning to the journey entirely worthwhile.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Dragon’s Dogma II: Dark Arisen introduces a new land and addresses the technical shortcomings of the base game. There’s plenty of combat here, along with new and interesting loot to hunt down. The combat system remains unchanged, but the enemies have become stronger. The game no longer bombards you with hordes of cannon fodder, although the frequency of encounters remains high. If you enjoy Dragon’s Dogma II, I’d encourage you to venture into the colder regions of Norgan.
Review in Polish | Read full review
While Dark Arisen has some minor technical issues, as well as occasional problems such as the camera angle during combat, its wealth of content makes it compelling enough to draw players back to Dragon's Dogma 2 more than two years after the original game's release. The new region of Norgan is well worth exploring thanks to its distinct atmosphere and rich content, while other additions, including a well-crafted story, new skills and abilities, and even the DLC's dungeons, ultimately make this story-driven expansion a worthwhile journey into its fantasy world.
Review in Persian | Read full review
John: And if like me, it is exactly your cup of tea, you'll have a very hard time putting it down.
Dark Arisen is a solid expansion that expands Dragon's Dogma 2 with new challenges, plenty of exploration, and systems that make progression more interesting. Despite the lack of new vocations and some uninspired side quest choices, the expansion fulfills its purpose and reinforces the feeling that the franchise still has a lot of potential.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is an excellent addition to an already meaty game. If you liked the base game, Dark Arisen offers even more difficult challenges alongside even greater rewards.
It’s ironic that a franchise with a core theme of cycles like Dragon’s Dogma managed to repeat history by vastly improving itself with its DLC. With a much better narrative that works in both the context of how and when it happens, and a stronger gameplay loop reinforced by its many additions and updates, Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is the perfect example of perfecting itself through simplicity.
Dragon’s Dogma II: Dark Arisen is more of the same, but that isn’t really a bad thing in this case. If you were getting bored by everything else on offer, you can explore a brand new area and unravel a new mystery that adds at least 20 hours to the game. The new area adds a welcome change to the locale, and the developers did an impressive job filling it with elements that make it feel unique. I also loved how it uses this new terrain, filled with far less dead space than the main game. On top of that, you get a new series of challenges that are constantly respawning, making for easy-to-access battles that never fail to thrill. If you enjoy the main game, you will enjoy this, of this much I am certain.
Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen conceals the flaws of the base game while enhancing its strengths. The combat becomes more engaging through continuous encounters with formidable enemies and a clear reward system, while new skills and equipment add deeper strategy. Although common enemies remain repetitive, this aspect is less noticeable due to the frequent battles with stronger foes. While the shortcomings may still be apparent when playing the base game, exploring Norgan delivers a breathtaking thrill that keeps you constantly on the edge of your seat.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Dragon’s Dogma II: Dark Arisen is a solid expansion rather than a revolutionary one: it adds a memorable region, deep progression systems, and the missing bandages for the base game’s wounds.
Review in Italian | Read full review