Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen Reviews

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is ranked in the 79th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
May 1, 2019

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is out now for Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC. Why not pick up a copy? EU/US

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6 / 10
Apr 22, 2019

It's always a nice feeling to wander across the vast plains and the ominous dungeons of Gransys during a large amount of hours, for the first time on a portable device here. Sadly, the low visuals and the technical issues of the handheld mode are kind of a bummer, the TV experience being as enjoyable as the previous editions of the game.

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6.5 / 10.0
Oct 13, 2017

I hate to sound like I didn't enjoy my time with the game. There's a lot to love about Dark Arisen, but it's hard for me to ignore some of its more glaring issues. If you're an action RPG fan who has been looking to sink their teeth into a meaty game before the end of the year, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is definitely worth checking out.

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7 / 10.0
Jan 14, 2016

A new and complete version of Dragon's Dogma adds some modern polish to a diamond in the rough.

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Jordan Hurst
Top Critic
7 / 10
Feb 22, 2016

The "anything goes" style of game design employed by Dragon's Dogma is destined to fuel endless discussion regarding its pros and cons. It's no exception to the jack of all trades adage, but it has almost mastered enough things that it transcends the faceless, homogeneous garbage that such attempts at broad appeal usually result in. It's best described as consistently imperfect, which is more of a recommendation than it sounds. After all, a report card of straight Bs is preferable to one that's half A, half F.

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Cubed3
Top Critic
7 / 10
May 21, 2019

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen has its rough spots, but it dreamed big. It has much better action in it than most others of its kind, and it won't push players into becoming a murder-hobo. This is Hideaki Itsuno's big Dungeons & Dragon's campaign, and he is the DM. Gransys is a sizeable world with a lot to see and do, and that can now be on the go.

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7 / 10
Jan 21, 2016

As it stands, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen for the PC is a fun romp with fantastic combat mechanics and an interesting pawn system. Granted it pales in comparison to contemporary role-playing games in terms of lore and environments, but the reasonable price and slew of additions for PC games ensure there's little cause for complaint. If you've already played the game on a console, you might not be interested as there is no new content, but if you missed it the last time around, then it's not a bad buy.

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7 / 10.0
Oct 14, 2017

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen gives players a realm of exciting grand battles against challenging enemies, but offers little narrative reason to make it appealing.

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3.5 / 5.0
Jan 14, 2016

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is a four-year-old game wrapped in slightly better visuals.

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PCMag
Top Critic
Jan 19, 2016

Dragon's Dogma nails combat and adventure, though it misses the mark somewhat with its story elements. If you overlook the game's rougher edges, you're in for great over-the-top action and high adventure.

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7 / 10.0
Jan 22, 2016

Despite a tendency to force the player to work through a number of repetitive activities Dragon's Dogma delivers innovative, action-packed boss fights and the occasional twist in the story to keep things interesting. Graphically Dragon's Dogma isn't doing anything special, but for a game originally developed on the previous generation of consoles it delivers a satisfying gameplay experience on the PC.

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Apr 22, 2019

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen arrives on Nintendo's portable console, warts and all. It's more than worth playing, if only for the combat alone, and it's one of the best mediocre games ever made. If you long for the feelings of adventure that often only come when imagining a good Dungeons and Dragons campaign, this should be up your alley.

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ZTGD
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Nov 6, 2017

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is a game about moments. Encountering a brand new monster, obtaining a powerful weapon or when a Drake crashes your goblin slaying party with a storm of hellfire- all moments that are memorable and fun to experience. The issue is that getting to those moments are oftentimes an absolute slog of tedious stamina and weight management, battling the same group of wolves and bandits for the thirtieth time.

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7 / 10.0
Apr 22, 2019

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen on Nintendo Switch it's not perfect at all ma it still ha its own charm.

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7 / 10
Jan 14, 2016

If you're looking for a game that combines elements of Skyrim, Monster Hunter, Dark Souls, and japanese RPGs, then Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen should be on your watchlist.

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7 / 10.0
May 21, 2012

Like many of the Western RPGs that influenced it, Dragon's Dogma is an uneven experience, but it's one that rewards patience and perseverance, and it's a bold argument for why Japanese developers should continue making RPGs, with or without the inspiration from this side of the Pacific.

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Metro GameCentral
Top Critic
7 / 10
Jan 15, 2016

Despite borrowing so much from so many different games Capcom's Western style role-player is still very much its own game – with plenty of interesting ideas of its own.

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7.4 / 10.0
Oct 10, 2017

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is pretty much the same game as it was five years ago. While it improves on the fluidity when it comes to compare with the original versions, it keeps all of its defects and flaws, without even trying to upgrade the texture or framerate. Grab it if you never played it, but for veterans, that's a pretty pointless pick.

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7.5 / 10.0
Apr 25, 2019

Dragon's Dogma stands the test of time and is excellently recreated on Switch.

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3.8 / 5.0
Apr 23, 2019

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen on Nintendo Switch shows the title has certainly aged. While the visuals are not on par with other titles, it still has plenty of moments that will appeal to hardcore RPG fans. Given the amount of time players can invest, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen retains its charm despite shortcomings. Though, if you don't care about the portable aspect, the Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4 versions will give you a better overall experience.

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