Dragon’s Dogma 2 Dark Arisen PS5 Hands-On Preview. If there’s one thing that Dragon’s Dogma fans have proved, it’s that it pays to be patient. The original entry in Capcom’s underrated fantasy-RPG series arrived in 2012, and it would take more than ten years for a full-blown sequel to materialise, and the belief for a while was that an expansion would surely be around the corner. However, things looked bleak for a while; director Hideaki Itsuno departed Capcom the same year the sequel came out, and the company remained quiet on any future support, leading fans to assume an expansion wouldn’t be happening. Fortunately that isn’t the case, and we’re just a few months off the release of Dark Arisen – and what’s more, we’ve played over an hour of it.
Dragon’s Dogma II Dark Arisen Preview
Dark Arisen is largely shaped by fan feedback, Capcom’s press blurb mentions, and is built around three core goals – Enhanced Gameplay, Expanded Adventures, and Enticing Value. To that effect, the expansion offers a brand new, snowy region to the North to explore, as well as offering 12 new Dungeon Challenges and enhancing the game’s customisation options with fresh hairstyles and tattoos. My hands-on had me exploring a chunk of the new region, home to enemy strongholds, towering mountain ranges, freezing river waters, and fearsome new foes.
I decide to plump for the Warrior class, seeing as how that’s always my bread-and-butter with this type of game. Give me a sword and shield any day of the week and I’m right at home. Anyway, I started out in a nearby village far from the base game zone, where I’m told that the main goal here is to loot relics from out in the field and bring them back to a woman named Jiera, who can then appraise them. These relics then become handy armour pieces, weapons, or other useful items that you can equip for you and your team of Pawns.
With that in mind, I set off into the wilderness of Norgan It didn’t take long before I got into ruck with some fearsome-looking wolves, which me and my team made quick work of. The combat remains the same as the base game; there’s no traditional lock-on button, so you must be cautious about which direction you’re swinging and blocking – it’s easier than it seems, though.
Even a rubbish player like me who doesn’t actually own Dragon’s Dogma II (although I previewed it prior to launch) got the hang of it, and soon enough I was chipping away at my foes with basic attacks before finishing them off with devastating blows from the likes of Cloudward Slash, Shield Pummel, and the Riotous Fury.
Oh, and speaking of weapon skills, Dark Arisen now gives you six as opposed to the four previously available in the base game.
After dispatching more wolves, warriors and a bunch of annoying flying foes that I couldn’t actually hit due to my lack of ranged weapon (my Pawn archer did the donkey work here!), I travelled back to the village and appraised a bunch of Relics. Among the swords, armour, and other bits and bobs I received included the Ring of Contingency, which allows you to survive death at the cost of the ring itself breaking. Very nice.
The snow-caked environment is quite a contrast to the sunny and lush greenery from my time with the base game, and a times I felt like I was wondering around Skyrim. There’s abandoned forts, enemy strongholds, rivers, rocky terrain, camps, and more to soak up as you engage in some pretty tough battles. I also couldn’t help but notice the player next to me was fighting against some mammoth, hairy beast that I somehow didn’t run into during my preview.
I did, however, face off against the boss of the demo, namely a hulking dragon at the back of an enemy fort. This screen-filling behemoth proved quite the spectacle, attempting to reduce me and my Pawns to mush with its massive limbs and deadly projectile attacks, although like every towering foe, it does have a weakness – in this case, its exposed flesh on its legs and head.
Battling this scaly fiend really allowed the combat to shine, as you carefully balance using precious stamina for powerful attacks, evasion, and knowing when to retreat to rest up for another round. Knowing when to attack and what type of swing to utilise is paramount, as every window of opportunity can’t be wasted – especially given how much damage the beast can inflict on you. Combat feels weighty, with each blow from even a basic attack to one of your more powerful strikes landing with an almighty crunch, while animations accentuate the power behind each blow. This is true of your adversaries too; many times I blocked and an attack by a mighty hammer-wielding warrior, only to be staggered or knocked on my arse.
While a single boss fight isn’t enough to judge the whole experience, Dark Arisen gave me a brilliant taster of what to expect, and I can’t wait to see how it delivers in the final release. General battles feel solid and have enough tactical nuance to keep things feeling fresh, and I can see the process of hoovering up precious Relics in return for new items an addictive process – providing the rewards can maintain their appeal.
Dragon’s Dogma II: Dark Arisen launches in October 2026 for PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S.