Dragon’s Dogma II: Dark Arisen Review

Man, is it great to be back in the world of Dragon’s Dogma II. It was my surprise GOTY for 2024, having won me over with its no nonsense approach to adventuring, letting us loose enough to get lost but never quite enough to the point of frustration, and giving us enough fun gameplay rules to work within, but also encouraging us to break them as often as we can. It’s a masterfully crafted open world adventure, quite unlike the majority of games under that banner. So when the Dark Arisen DLC was announced, it was like a siren call, bringing me back into a world I’d not had a chance to explore in a long time. And for any others under the same spell, know that it is more than worth it. 

This DLC is split into two main headline additions; the Lost Rite dungeon challenges, and a meaty questline that sees us venture far to the north, to the land of Norgan, in search of answers to the rumours of a new Arisen’s sighting. In Dragon’s Dogma II’s lore, only one Arisen can be at any one time, so naturally this second sighting poses some hefty questions for our Arisen and the rest of the world.

*spoiler alert for the main campaign*
Before kicking off with either aspect, it’s worth mentioning that the save we use must be within the main game’s world. If you’re within the endgame Unmoored World, you need to start a NG+ save (or a fresh save) as all of the content in Dark Arisen is set firmly before that end game event.
*Spoiler Ends*

We’ll start with the Lost Rites aspect. Here, we are granted an item that shows us a dozen places on the map, each with its own challenge dungeons to beat. These take the form of multiple rooms to be cleared, and along the way we find new loot, items, and the sort to buff us up ready for the boss at the end. As Dragon’s Dogma II is want to do, it might show us where these are, but getting to them still requires skill and patience. They are spread out about the map, and if you’re on a NG+ save like we were, then it’s going to take some walking (and likely a lot of fighting along the way) to even get to the entrances. 

It has been pretty satisfying going through them (though, I’ve not managed to clear them all as of writing), and as they are combat focused, are a great way of getting back into the sometimes obtuse systems in DDII. The scale of some of the foes caught me off guard even these years later, and working together with the Pawns to bring the pain is as exhilaratingly fun as it ever was.  

Powerful weapons and rewards are promised, so the effort will be rewarded.. These dungeons also grant Burning Flames, items which can only be used in the other half of the DLC, the new Norgan area questline.

Norgan is a huge new map addition, and brings with it the aforementioned Dark Arisen questline. We set out to investigate this, and find ourselves inundated with a plethora of new quests along the way. This feels like the DLC of old – think Oblivion’s Shivering Isles,  or Fallout 3’s Broken Steel – where we’re not just getting a single quest and a few quality of life updates, but an actual new, full game-sized addition. It’d be easy to spend well over 20 hours here without even doing the many optional side quests that come along with it. 

It’s also a cold, frozen region, opening up new opportunities for new enemies and combat encounters. Icicles can be dropped on enemies, or rocks rolled down hill to gather snow and turn into deadly boulders. Elsewhere, we need to watch for blizzards and be prepared with warming stones, medicines, or armour. 

Exploring Norgan is just as unforgiving as the main game then, but no less rewarding. We’ve had a blast looking around, finding all sorts of hidden treasures and encounters, as well as getting caught out by the new temperature and elements. Norgan is packed with things to see and do even beyond the quests. We meet new characters, have a chance for a sidekick dog (well, Direwolf) at points, and find new ways for the monsters of the world to pound us into the ground. We can also loot relic treasures across the land that can be appraised by a character back at the main village. These grant us with powerful new weapons, armour, and upgrades not seen in the main game. These relics come thick and fast, and are more than worth seeking out. Our Arisen took some of her gear back to the mainland for a quest and made light work of previously tricky enemies.

Some of the fights back in Norgan are epic in design, especially when it comes to the big set-piece moments – the first proper dragon fight had me on the edge of my seat – and after a hard fought battle there’s little better to sum up the effort from all involved than a high five from your Pawn. Though even some of the smaller scale battles can be cause for celebration; the first time we bumped into a Giant on a mountain pathway proved to be a genuinely hard-fought battle that’d put a lot of other game’s proper boss battles to shame.

Conclusion

It’s been a long time since I’ve played a DLC that felt this engrossing, deep, and genuinely more like an expansion than just a handful of new missions. Not only has Dark Arisen given us loads of new gameplay in both the new area and the challenge dungeons, it’s proven the perfect excuse to head back to Dragon’s Dogma II to remind us just how great of a game it is.