Dragons: Dawn of New Riders Reviews
Despite being a licensed tie-in, Dragons: Dawn of New Riders is anything but a broken, half-baked money-grab. It's not particularly remarkable in its features – and it really misses a trick by not adding more things to do while riding your dragon between dungeons – but for recovering Skylanders fans and those a little too young to go loot crazy in Diablo, this is still a family-friendly adventure that's well worth your time on Nintendo Switch.
Still, DreamWorks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders is the rare movie tie-in that doesn't flagrantly lean into a reliving of the film. Dawn of New Riders tries to do something else entirely, and that's admirable in its own way. There's a decent time to be had -- especially for youngsters -- and its flaws and shortcomings don't grate too much, thanks largely to a relatively short runtime. But, because it forges its own path, Dawn of New Riders won't make a lasting impression on the How to Train Your Dragon canon.
Simple but stylish, Dawn of New Riders is nothing new but a lot of fun, especially for fans of the series.
Seeing as I finished it in just over 4 hours I can't say it's worth the price of admission. It might be one to wait for until it goes on sale.
Film tie-in games are always looked down upon, and the fact that it’s a franchise aimed at kids means most grown-up gamers are not going to take it seriously. But underneath its licensing, Dawn of New Riders is a sweet adventure game.
Dragons: Dawn of New Riders mostly keeps it simple and fun with an easy to follow story and gameplay. It is not the most complex action game but makes uses its licensed property creatively. So instead of looking like forced tie-in, it feels more like a proper spin-off to the movie.
Dragons Dawn of New Riders is an ideal game for young gamers, but lacks some essential elements hardcore gamers would like to see. There's a lot to explore and there're a lot of iconic How To Train Your Dragon elements to find in this game.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
How To Train Your Dragon is, in theory, a movie franchise rife for decent video game adaptations. With plenty of lore, world building and material to draw on across both the TV and film platforms, it’s surprising then that the games haven’t managed to take advantage of this as much as they should. Despite some fun dungeon crawling mechanics and a simple, original story, New Riders fails to deliver a compelling and memorable experience, devolving too often into the usual tropes you’d expect from this sort of movie tie-in.
Nevertheless, the game has a certain charm that you can not escape. It may be a typical licensing game. But it is one of the better ones!
Review in German | Read full review
WORTH CONSIDERING - Dragons Dawn of New Riders makes for an easy to pick up adventure/RPG and an entertaining romp through the Dragons universe. It’s not going to blow any minds, but fans of the series will love its charming presentation, while younger audiences will appreciate the game’s accessibility and light-hearted style.
Dragons: Dawn of the New Riders is a solid if unspectacular companion to the movie threequel.