Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen Review: A Worthy Expansion in a Troubled Age
In an era where the gaming industry increasingly panders to fleeting trends and ideological fads, it is refreshing to encounter a piece of downloadable content that respects the timeless virtues of craftsmanship, perseverance, and heroism. Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is an engrossing expansion that builds upon the foundation of its 2024 predecessor, offering players a substantial new campaign that honors the traditions of the action-RPG genre without succumbing to the shallow whims of modern progressive orthodoxy.
The original Dark Arisen expansion for the first Dragon's Dogma earned its place in gaming history by refining a notoriously complex RPG, smoothing its rough edges and making it more accessible to the average player. This new iteration, Dark Arisen 2, does not need to perform such a dramatic rescue, as many of the base game's initial flaws have been addressed through incremental patches since its release. Instead, this expansion aims higher, pushing the story and world design to new heights while retaining the series' signature brooding atmosphere and unapologetic fantasy grandeur.
What is the story of Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen?
The narrative of Dark Arisen 2 remixes themes from the first game without resorting to simple retelling. As in the original, rumors circulate of another Arisen, a being whose existence should be impossible and demands immediate investigation. This quest leads players north to the frozen mountains of Norgan, a region largely abandoned save for a single settlement at its border and a steady stream of visitors drawn by the mysteries hidden beneath the ice.
The roughly 20-hour main quest is solid, lacking in nuanced writing but bursting with a tangibly broody mood, big moments, and genuinely interesting lore. The expansion's meditation on how a hero of destiny chooses their fate, if they get a choice at all, is unsubtle and spends far too long at the end driving the message home. Yet it sticks the landing, offering a satisfying conclusion that respects the player's investment.
How does the new Norgan region improve exploration?
The frigid Norgan region is delightfully dense with things to find and see, even if it is smaller than most other areas in Dragon's Dogma 2. What it lacks in square footage on a map, it gains in a sprawling sense of height, stretching from jagged icy peaks down to winding underground caverns that interconnect and spread wide. Navigating the treacherous rocks is daunting at first, but climbing hooks on specific poles throughout the region bridge elevations without fuss.
Combined with dungeons and caves that loop back on themselves, revealing exits or opening doors that serve as shortcuts, Dark Arisen 2 feels almost like a Zelda or Metroid game in ways this series never has before. The abundance of portcrystals scattered around the map provides another navigational relief. There are more in Norgan than in Vermund and Bathall combined, making travel far more reasonable than in the base game.
Reasonable does not necessarily mean easier. Norgan's wintry winds often pick up, turning snowfall into blinding whiteouts that threaten to freeze players to death without special winterized gear or new consumables designed to stave off frost effects. These items came in abundance regularly, so life was never truly in danger, but the scrambling effect on the minimap and the general difficulty of seeing or navigating in real time made them a threat worth waiting out at camp.
What new enemies and gear does the expansion introduce?
Norgan's new slate of monsters can be pretty gnarly early on. Some are just stronger versions of past baddies, like the barbarous beocarns who are essentially bigger bandits. But the brand new foes, such as baphomet-shaped lesser demons who sling spells and enhance their physical attacks with elemental boons, can be intense dance partners. Giant yetis with gaping mouths that stretch the length of their bodies might be some of the most grotesque and memorable enemies in the series.
The bulk of what players will find hidden in the snow are Spoils, a new gear type that appears in generic shapes at first but is revealed to be usable equipment when appraised by new NPCs. Rolling the dice for new gear was not particularly exciting, and it further isolated this reviewer from having any real attachment to equipment in a game that already had an abundance of junk to ignore. There are at least things outside of raw stats to consider, as each piece of gear can potentially have special attributes that grant passive abilities or enhance specific weapon skills. However, no single piece stayed in rotation long enough to be relied upon, with the deluge of experience points received strapping a rocket to leveling almost immediately.
Are the new skills and dungeons worth the grind?
New skills and abilities for every vocation can be learned from obelisks that dot the ridges and tundra in Norgan. Each has multiple tiers of offerings, with the first available for purchase with rift points immediately and the rest unlocked with offering flames earned in the expansion's second big campaign: the repeatable 12 Lost Rites dungeons scattered across Vermund and Bathall. Each skill is welcome, though outside some powerful new spells available to casters, few change the balance of vocations in any significant way. The Trickster is more active now that players can do additional things with their incense clone, like possess enemies and have them attack their kin.
The Last Rites dungeons range from short gauntlets of monster battles to sizable delves deep into danger. Some have unique designs that lean on a particular mechanic or require specific prerequisites before entry, such as one where the Arisen must be an Archer or Magick Archer and whose rooms are filled with shootable support pillars to collapse terrain onto enemies. None of the completed dungeons presented a significant challenge, especially with the enormous power spike granted from grinding through Norgan first. The new recurring boss, a giant Beholder-like eyeball monster, is a fun fight, though.
Should you buy Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen?
Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is a worthy addition to a franchise that understands the value of tradition and the importance of individual heroism. It is not transformational in the way the first Dark Arisen was, but it flies in the same ambitious skies as its predecessor, pushing the story and world design to new heights. For those who appreciate a challenging, atmospheric RPG that rewards perseverance and skill, this expansion is a solid investment. In a cultural landscape that too often abandons timeless virtues for fleeting trends, Dark Arisen 2 stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of classic fantasy adventure.