When Dragon’s Dogma 2 first released, it quickly got swept under the rug in favor of other games that launched at the time. Even if it was not a bad game, many felt it had frustrating mechanics and odd design choices that made it slightly disappointing to fans and newcomers alike. As such, many hoped it would get the same Dark Arisen expansion treatment as its predecessor. Now, said expansion, also titled Dark Arisen, is just over a month away from launch. During Gamescom, I had the chance to play a bit of it, and I am very impressed with what I have seen so far.
Dark Arisen features an entirely new region known as the Forsaken Dominion; a snowy mountain filled with new secrets, NPCs, and of course, many new threats as well. The demo I played picks up right as the protagonist and their party members are arriving at a small village. A brief interaction with one of the villagers highlights one of the expansion’s new mechanics: relic appraisal. If you find a relic in the environment, you can bring it to a specific NPC, and they can appraise it, turning it into a new usable weapon or item. Said tools were instrumental in helping me to advance up the mountains.
The new area looks absolutely gorgeous, especially as someone who is a huge fan of winter levels. As a relative newcomer to the Dragon’s Dogma series, I also found myself quickly falling in love with the combat mechanics. It has the same sort of dodge roll and light/heavy attacks as a Soulslike, but with more emphasis on speed and cooperation, rather than overwhelming difficulty. You are constantly surrounded by Pawns to aid you on your journey, and even guide you to your next objective if you’re feeling a bit lost. In fact, one of the Pawns guided me to one of the first new battles of this region: a Norgan Giant.
This battle perfectly outlines the strengths of the expansion and how it makes each fight feel even more like an event. The Giant is a tough foe, but there are numerous ways to outmatch it. For instance, one of my Pawns started to climb its back like it was a monster from Shadow of the Colossus. The axe I retrieved earlier from the relic appraisal could start flaming after a few attacks, and striking the Giant enough times with it caused his fur to catch fire, briefly stunning him. Weaknesses like his tusks could also be targeted, and even broken off, with enough effort. Overall, this was the perfect encounter to fully acclimate me to the gameplay style of Dark Arisen.
The expansion soon put that acclimation to the test with a major boss fight: the Fallen Dragon, the biggest new threat of the DLC. It is an undead dragon that, even with all of its limbs cut off, still managed to get back up and fight. Once again, this was a great challenge to fight through, and I am so curious to see how the mystery of this creature plays out in the full release. In particular, I am especially eager to find out more about the female stranger named Eir, who seems quite familiar with the Fallen Dragon and its backstory.
I had a great time with the Dark Arisen demo, but I feel like it only scratched the surface of what the expansion will offer upon release. Not only does it include a new region and story, but also new character creator features that include 20 new haircuts and tattoo options. There will also be several modifications to the weapon skill system and Dragonsplague mechanic. All in all, Dark Arisen seems to be exactly the kind of rejuvenation that Dragon’s Dogma 2 needed, and I cannot wait to see how it all comes together in the end.
Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen will release for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam on October 9, 2026 for $49.99.
