Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen for PC, PS4 and etc. is a third-person fantasy action RPG and an enhanced version of Dragon’s Dogma, which initially came out in the spring of 2012, exclusively for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It was developed by a Capcom team led by Hideaki Itsuna and Hiroyuki Kobayashi, two legends of the industry, who have previously worked on such titles as Devil May Cry 4, Resident Evil 4 or Dino Crisis.

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen was originally released in April 2013 for the very same platforms. The PC, PS4 and etc. version was announced in September 2015, over a year and a half after the console release, and boasts improved graphics, among other things.

Story

The action takes place in an open fantasy world filled with various kinds of mythical creatures, such as dragons, griffons, hydras, and harpies. The main storyline starts with an attack of a powerful dragon on the town the protagonist lives in. It turns out that the hero, called “the chosen one” by the aforementioned beast, was the reason for the incursion. The reptile tears out his heart, but the Chosen One comes back to life, and it becomes his task to uncover the truth about his identity and to slay the dragon.

Apart from the campaign featured in the original, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen offers an additional set of adventures in a completely new location, the cursed island of Bitterblack. It allows us to travel the vast underworld, inhabited by 25 new kinds of enemies. Beside a number of original quests, the game also introduces a third character skill level as well as a myriad of new equipment and inventory enhancement methods. The enhanced edition is complemented by all the minor DLCs that came out after the launch of the basic version.

Gameplay

As far as mechanics are concerned, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen for PC, PS4 and etc. does not deviate significantly from its predecessor. It is still a dynamic action RPG that offers an incredibly complex arcade combat system with diverse weapon arsenal and spectacular magic. One of its characteristic features is the ability to climb the backs of our biggest enemies and target individual body parts. Starting out, we can create our very own hero, selecting gender and one of the available classes that will determine our play style to a large extent. In the game, we are accompanied by other player-created characters who provide valuable knowledge on some of the story quests.

Compared to the 2012’s vanilla game, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen for PC, PS4 and etc. introduces a number of minor changes in the gameplay. The developers enhanced the game's mechanics in general, including user interface and fast travel system, and introduced a myriad of improvements that influence the overall gaming experience. What is important, these apply to both the new adventure and the original story campaign.

Game modes

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen was created with single player in mind and does not offer a typical multiplayer mode. However, the players can participate in special asynchronous online challenges.

Technology

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen for PC, PS4 and etc. is powered by the MT Framework v2 engine, previously used in such productions as Lost Planet 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and Resident Evil 6. The console version of the game utilizes the platforms’ capabilities to the maximum, resulting in attractive visuals. However, the title can only unleash its full potential on PCs, where it offers higher-quality textures, supports higher screen resolutions and removes the FPS limitations that were introduced to the console editions to prevent performance drops.

Additional information

Owners of Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 can import their saved games from Dragon’s Dogma and continue to play with their old character. Moreover, the veterans of the original are awarded a large number of additional bonuses, such as one hundred thousand Rift Crystals (the in-game currency), limitless teleportation stones as well as six unique clothing sets.

Last updated on 19 January 2016