It’s nearly been a year since Dragon’s Dogma was released; a fun, action filled RPG with a strong combat system yet lacking technical polish. Now we have Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, an ‘enhanced’ version of the original which promises brand new content for fans looking for more adventures with their arisen.  

A cheaper price tag may attract a new audience to the game but is there enough in here to warrant a purchase from its die-hard fan-base? Unless you’re willing to play through the entire game to get the most of the new content, the answer is no. 

Fans may be disappointed at how similar Dark Arisen is to the original when they first start playing. Everything is pretty much the same except for the inclusion of new weapons and side quests, however a newly implemented quick travel system is a greatly appreciated inclusion. 

Dark Arisen’s biggest selling point is the new Bitterback Isle location not present in the original, which features a dark and creepy atmosphere that’s extremely well executed. It can be accessed anytime during the game however I strongly recommend playing through the whole story before even thinking about tackling the new quests.  

What you will find in Bitterback Isle are some of the most difficult and unforgiving challenges in a game this year; even players who import their high-level characters from the original game may not stand a chance against what awaits them. I appreciate a game giving me a challenge but when it forces me into a rage of frustration I wonder whether or not such a dramatic spike in difficulty was the right choice. 

From a technical standard Dark Arisen looks and sounds a lot like its predecessor. The game’s environments are still very pleasing to the eye and the creature design is often stunning but where the game lacks polish is its audio. Throughout your adventure you are assisted by ‘pawns’ that you summon to help you complete quests and fight enemies. As you traverse the landscape your pawns will talk and interact with each other depending on what they see. It’s a great way to create personality for artificial intelligence, but it’s been poorly executed. 

Pawns do not stop talking, at all. I don’t have kids myself but picture it as the equivalent of having four kids in your car screaming ‘are we there yet?’ over and over again despite your several attempts to shut them up. They constantly remind you of what your quest is, what they’re doing, what they’re going to do and what you should be doing. It almost makes you want to stop playing and tell them that they’re not getting any McDonald’s on the way home. 

It doesn’t help that the dialogue repeats itself constantly, and you’ll want to mute your TV but there’s just so much story that you can’t afford to. This was the main complaint with the original Dragon’s Dogma and it hasn’t been fixed, so releasing an ‘enhanced version’ without listening to feedback is a bad move by Capcom. 

Technical issues aside and unfair difficulty in some quests don’t stop Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen from being an enjoyable and exciting RPG. While fans of the original may feel ripped off with the lack of any game changing enhancements, a lowered retail price suggests that Capcom is reaching out to newcomers who will get the most out of this release. To those newcomers I strongly suggest giving it a go.