Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 617 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 462 out of 617
  2. Mixed: 85 out of 617
  3. Negative: 70 out of 617
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  1. Le_Korvo
    Aug 22, 2023
    7
    Dragon's Dogma é um RPG de certa forma difícil de começar porem surpreende positivamente ao longo das horas de gameplay, comecei através de uma recomendação de um amigo e gostei bastante do jogo mesmo sendo datado.

    Gameplay: O jogo tem uma mecanica relativamente simples, é um jogo de ação com 6 skills por classe (exceto warrior) dependendo das armas, o que mais surpreende é a variedade    Dragon's Dogma é um RPG de certa forma difícil de começar porem surpreende positivamente ao longo das horas de gameplay, comecei através de uma recomendação de um amigo e gostei bastante do jogo mesmo sendo datado.

    Gameplay: O jogo tem uma mecanica relativamente simples, é um jogo de ação com 6 skills por classe (exceto warrior) dependendo das armas, o que mais surpreende é a variedade de animações como por exemplo de escalar inimigos, porem, aqui os problemas aparecem, o jogo falta muitas funções de qualidade de vida, o uso excessivo de menus e certas burocracias desnecessárias das quests (como por exemplo as quests tem um tempo especifico para serem concluídas, caso você não conclua a tempo ou progrida na main quest ela acaba falhando).

    História: A história surpreende pois no inicio é relativamente mais simples que o normal, e acaba se desenvolvendo nas entrelinhas até uma conclusão incrível no pós-jogo (sem spoilers aqui), o ponto negativo seria o fato que se você considerar apenas a main quest o jogo acaba ficando curto e sem muito conteúdo.

    Trilha Sonora: Nesse ponto não tem muito a ser comentado, a trilha é ok, sem muitos momentos que ficam na cabeça porem em nenhum ponto chega a ser ruim.

    Gráficos/Arte Visual: Os gráficos se mantiveram muito bem ao longo do tempo, mesmo ficando evidente as limitações da época o jogo ainda possui um visual agradável para os parâmetros de hoje.

    07/10 - Um bom jogo que vale a pena ser jogado caso você goste de RPGs, ele é curto então não é um grande esforço, me surpreendeu positivamente e no futuro irei jogar o NG+ junto com a DLC.    … Expand
  2. PenetratorGod
    Aug 20, 2023
    6
    The game's action takes place in an open fantasy world filled with various mythical creatures such as dragons, griffons, hydras and harpies. The main story begins with the attack of a powerful dragon on the town where the protagonist lives. It turns out that the monster in question is the cause of the attack on the hero's village, which he calls "the chosen one". The dragon rips out theThe game's action takes place in an open fantasy world filled with various mythical creatures such as dragons, griffons, hydras and harpies. The main story begins with the attack of a powerful dragon on the town where the protagonist lives. It turns out that the monster in question is the cause of the attack on the hero's village, which he calls "the chosen one". The dragon rips out the main protagonist's heart, but the chosen one somehow comes back to life and it becomes his new mission to reveal the truth about his identity and kill the dragon.

    Apart from the main campaign from the original game, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen offers an additional series of adventures in an entirely new location, the cursed island of Bitterblack. It allows us to explore the vast underworld inhabited by 25 new types of enemies. In addition to a series of original quests, the game also adds a third character skill and numerous new ways to upgrade equipment and inventory.

    When it comes to mechanics, Dragon's Dogma is a dynamic action RPG that offers an incredibly complex arcade battle system with amazing magic. One of its characteristic features is the ability to climb on the backs of our larger enemies and target their body parts. To start with, we can create our own hero by choosing one of the available classes, whose gender and playstyle will largely determine our gameplay. We are accompanied in the game by other side characters created by the players, who provide valuable information in some story missions.

    Compared to 2012's version, Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen brings a number of minor changes to the gameplay. The developers have improved the game's mechanics in general, including the user interface and the fast-travel system, and added numerous improvements that affect the overall gameplay experience. Importantly, these apply to both the new adventure and the original story campaign. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is a game developed with the single player in mind and does not offer a multiplayer mode. However, players can participate in special online adventures. The game has an average of 50-100 hours of gameplay with side content.    … Expand
  3. imalynxcat
    Jul 26, 2023
    7
    Oyun hala oynanabiliyor ve 5 6 saat beni eğlendirdi. Ama seslerdeki hatalar ve özellikle görev sistemi beni oyundan soğuttu.
  4. Gramps
    Mar 16, 2023
    5
    Not fully sure how this game is getting so much praise. From the pure RPG aspect, it's not really good, especially compared to something like Witcher 3, Gothic 2, Divinity Original Sin 2, etc.

    Dialogue, characters, world design, colors, quests - all pretty bland, boring and forgettable. Thing that carries this game is the soundtrack and combat, and I would argue that even combat is    Not fully sure how this game is getting so much praise. From the pure RPG aspect, it's not really good, especially compared to something like Witcher 3, Gothic 2, Divinity Original Sin 2, etc.

    Dialogue, characters, world design, colors, quests - all pretty bland, boring and forgettable.

    Thing that carries this game is the soundtrack and combat, and I would argue that even combat is not that good because most of enemies are just bullet sponges, especially in "post-game" where it's not hard but just time consuming / boring where you hit enemy for 15+ minutes (at times it feels like I am playing offline MMORPG..)

    All in all, the game is OK, nothing special and I believe it's overrated.    … Expand
  5. ErayTellezi
    Aug 24, 2022
    7
    Fighter olarak oynadım, yanıma da iki büyücü bir okçu veya savaşçı aldım. Combat'ı dönemine göre iyi, birden farklı şekilde saldırabiliyorsunuz. Düşmanlar biraz mal, bazen bir süre saldırmıyorlar falan. Bazı boss savaşları epey zorlayıcı ve keyif verici. Bazı dev düşmanlarının üstüne tırmanma mekaniği oynanışa derinlik katmış.

    Yardımcılarımız çok zeki. Zamanla bir boss'a nasıl    Fighter olarak oynadım, yanıma da iki büyücü bir okçu veya savaşçı aldım. Combat'ı dönemine göre iyi, birden farklı şekilde saldırabiliyorsunuz. Düşmanlar biraz mal, bazen bir süre saldırmıyorlar falan. Bazı boss savaşları epey zorlayıcı ve keyif verici. Bazı dev düşmanlarının üstüne tırmanma mekaniği oynanışa derinlik katmış.

    Yardımcılarımız çok zeki. Zamanla bir boss'a nasıl saldırmaları gerektiğini öğreniyorlar, bize yol gösteriyorlar. Etrafta toplanabilir şeyleri topluyorlar. Agresif veya korumacı nasıl davranması gerektiğini siz belirliyorsunuz.

    Hikayesi meh işte, bin defa gördüğümüz seçilmiş kişi. Dük'ün hikayesi ilginçti.

    Oyunda bildiğimiz anlamda fast travel olmaması çok can sıkıyor. Bir açık dünya oyunu için garabet bir karar. Aynı yerleri farklı görevler için defalarca geçip duruyorsunuz. Daha önce öldürdüğünüz düşmanlar aynı yerlerde tekrar tekrar karşınıza çıkıyor. Hele bir de gece seyahat ederseniz Allah yardımcınız olsun, adım başı düşman çıkıyor. Hayır Dying Light gibi kendi içinde bir mantığı veya zorlayıcılığı olsa amenna. Sadece sinir bozucu.

    Görev sistemi salakça. Görev gereği birisiyle konuşacaksınız mesela, herif ortaya çıkmıyor, bir türlü haritada görünmüyor. Belli bir saatte ortaya çıkıyor falan. Birader bunla mı uğraşacağız hakikaten?

    Oyunda seçimler var ama nasıl yapılacağı çok belli belirsiz. Eyleme geçmek veya geçmemek şeklinde kurgulanmış.

    Sonuçta denildiği gibi her rpg severin oynaması gereken bir oyun değil bence. Vasat. Şu zamanda gideri var mı, emin değilim.    … Expand
  6. JohnMalcolm
    Aug 4, 2021
    5
    This RPG had the bad fortune to be issued right before Witcher III put previous sword-and-sorcery epics in the shade. It has many strengths for its era, but some glaring weaknesses, too. I personally found many of the quests frustrating because needed info was not provided and had to be garnered from web articles. The final fight against the big, bad dragon, which I undertook at theThis RPG had the bad fortune to be issued right before Witcher III put previous sword-and-sorcery epics in the shade. It has many strengths for its era, but some glaring weaknesses, too. I personally found many of the quests frustrating because needed info was not provided and had to be garnered from web articles. The final fight against the big, bad dragon, which I undertook at the recommended level, was a nightmare for me. I realize many players dote on high difficulty for its own sake, but I meet enough insoluble problems in RW. In gaming, I want to be a hero. I didn't get that here.… Expand
  7. LTWasabi
    May 14, 2021
    5
    Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is an example of how to shoot yourself in the foot. It does a lot of things right. The combat, while it seemed awkward at first, is actually pretty good once one gets used to it. There is no auto aiming, except for some skills and it requires you to figure our enemies' weaknesses. What might seem like a damage sponge can get snuffed out pretty quicky if you knowDragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is an example of how to shoot yourself in the foot. It does a lot of things right. The combat, while it seemed awkward at first, is actually pretty good once one gets used to it. There is no auto aiming, except for some skills and it requires you to figure our enemies' weaknesses. What might seem like a damage sponge can get snuffed out pretty quicky if you know where and with what to hit. The core game play is pretty fun.

    So, why did I give a middling 5/10? I got 3 words for you, "Day-Night Cycle".
    The map is quite big and fun to explore. So what did the devs do? Make the whole game darker than the insides of their mom's cave every `30 mins or so. Think rain in Zelda:BotW except it's much longer and you play as a wingless bat with herpes.

    SO, what can you do if you want to explore at night and don't want to wait? You can rest at an inn. It's very very annoying to have to fast travel every flucking time it happens, 'cos fast travel is a 3-step hassle in this game. You don't have any portable fast travel items? Well then, you flucked mate.    … Expand
  8. Dzench
    Jul 11, 2020
    7
    Игра неплохая, достаточно отсылок (на тот же берсерк например), но сама система классов мне показалась странной, да и игра сама, стоит в ней разобраться, становится однообразной. НО убивать больших тварей оседлав их - это весело!Игра неплохая, достаточно отсылок (на тот же берсерк например), но сама система классов мне показалась странной, да и игра сама, стоит в ней разобраться, становится однообразной. НО убивать больших тварей оседлав их - это весело!
  9. kabskannar12
    Apr 25, 2020
    7
    This game looks nice from afar, and after a while of playing, your idea continues for a while, but as you progress, you realize how empty the game is.

    The first thing that attracted attention in the beginning is that I liked the detailed character creation menu. Even if the gameplay mechanics and animations are good, there is no story bro. Similarly, the story is not rendered clearly in    This game looks nice from afar, and after a while of playing, your idea continues for a while, but as you progress, you realize how empty the game is.

    The first thing that attracted attention in the beginning is that I liked the detailed character creation menu. Even if the gameplay mechanics and animations are good, there is no story bro. Similarly, the story is not rendered clearly in Dark Soul, but the universe of the game has a very chaotic elegance.
    Dragon dogma has a very stereotypical and lazy universe. Mission design sucks. It gets boring after a while. It repeats very much after 30 hours. There is not enough variety of boss. But for those who already like story-driven RPGs like me, that doesn't matter.

    Actually, the game is in a worse situation in the parts I am interested in. Npc diologists are very bad. Although the pawn system is good at first, it gets boring when it repeats and is exposed to the stupid movements and interpretations of the pawn.

    It is very tired and overwhelming to do all the time on the same map. Irradiation system is very useless. It is unnecessarily difficult to develop and find items. Leveling up is a separate grind. In short, I did not like it very much. I have played with over 50 hours of different characters so far, and that is the effect it has had on me.

    There is a good potential. I can't deny that. I can say even a good game to a point. But it could have been much better.    … Expand
  10. Cougargames
    Nov 5, 2019
    7
    Imagin a linear rpg with a somewhat good story where you can create pawns and share them and pick your own from other people to help you in your quest of getting your heart back from an evil red dragon that stole it. If that disnt sell you then imagin shadow of the colussos combat well its here. World looks amazing, Fast travel is a problem in this game and backtracking too if you have aImagin a linear rpg with a somewhat good story where you can create pawns and share them and pick your own from other people to help you in your quest of getting your heart back from an evil red dragon that stole it. If that disnt sell you then imagin shadow of the colussos combat well its here. World looks amazing, Fast travel is a problem in this game and backtracking too if you have a tendancy to forget to pick up quests and finish them right away So keep that in mind. I almost didnt give this game an 8 but considering the fast travel and the backtracking i just have to give it a 7, plus all dlc is included so that dosent hurt. If capcom decides to make a sequlel and improve it we could definetly expect a great game.… Expand
  11. Lireal
    Jun 23, 2018
    5
    Pretty average ARPG all around. Only thing that sets it apart from others is the ability to awkwardly climb on larger monsters and hack at them while your henchmen "pawns" are mudered. NPCs are boring and forgettable. Dialogue is bland and tepid. Graphics are "meh" for a 2012 game. Combat is repetitive and grindy. I just don't get the hype.
  12. Cech
    May 16, 2017
    6
    Пользователи пеньков всегда очень сильно радуются выходу консольных эксклюзивов на эту платформу, отсюда мне понятны эти восторженные отзывы об игре, но..

    ..это плохая игра. Типичная японщина, в которой.. а. Не умеют делать интерфейс. б. Собрали много европейских мифов в одно целое и не постарались дать чему-либо объяснение. Отойдя от термина "японщина", хочется дать    Пользователи пеньков всегда очень сильно радуются выходу консольных эксклюзивов на эту платформу, отсюда мне понятны эти восторженные отзывы об игре, но..

    ..это плохая игра.

    Типичная японщина, в которой..
    а. Не умеют делать интерфейс.
    б. Собрали много европейских мифов в одно целое и не постарались дать чему-либо объяснение.

    Отойдя от термина "японщина", хочется дать непосредственные коментарии по игре:
    1. 66% игры - беготня туда-сюда, 33% игры тупой гринд (тыканье оружкой в мобцов)/20-минутное убивание одного большого монстра, 1% - сюжет и остальное.
    Кто-то скажет: "а зачем ты гриндишь моба?" и они будут правы, тогда соотношение изменится до 95%-4%-1%. Так явно не интереснее, поверьте. Потом у вас появится бесконечный (а есть ещё разовые) телепорт и пара переносных точек приёма вашего тела, но нет, лучше не станет.

    2. Рука серии Дарк тут видна повсюду и повсеместно. Берут у лучших, в укор этот факт не назвать, но оригинальностью не блещут.

    3. Пешки. Уверен, что они, всего-навсего, не смогли реализовать ко-оп, который бы смотрелся на порядок лучше, чем то, что есть сейчас. 3 пешки порой мешают друг другу, 1-2 было бы достаточно. Хотя стоит отметить, что благодаря пешкам вас в игре не постигает чувство одиночества, которое могло бы накатить на вас во всяких данжах в любой другой игре.

    4. За систему крафта я бы хотел дать по рукам тому, кто её реализовал в таком виде. Экипировка также не оставляет приятных эмоций, хоть и быстро привыкаешь к ним.

    Плюсы есть в игре несомненно, не зря же я в ней (по состоянию на данный момент) провёл 30 часов. Подробно про них говорить не буду, по моим ощущениям вся приятность этой игры заключается в пунке 2. Рука серии Дарк.

    Игра далеко не “...absolutely a must-buy”, но на безрыбье и Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen - нормальная игра, но она плохая.

    6,5/10    … Expand
  13. gloriouspotato
    Feb 17, 2017
    6
    If there's one thing to praise in this game, it's probably the combat mechanics and the variation in movesets allowed by being able to change vocations/classes. Aside from that, almost every other aspect of Dragon's Dogma is fairly average or mediocre.

    In terms of the PC port - it's adequate but more needed to be done. Good framerates are easy to attain, though we are talking about a    If there's one thing to praise in this game, it's probably the combat mechanics and the variation in movesets allowed by being able to change vocations/classes. Aside from that, almost every other aspect of Dragon's Dogma is fairly average or mediocre.

    In terms of the PC port - it's adequate but more needed to be done. Good framerates are easy to attain, though we are talking about a game that originally came out in 2012 and certainly looks the part. The UI is very obviously controller centric in its layout and there is no mouse wheel support in most menus. It's also just a cumbersome interface to trawl through in general. For example, the inventory and equipment screens are separate for no reason, no quick keybinds for quests or map screens, unrebindable "insert" and "page up" buttons for changing tabs (seriously, whose idea was that?!), no proper quicksaving or quickloading (you have to exit to the menu to reload a manual save), and only having one save game file (hope your save game doesn't get corrupted). Overall, there are just a lot of UI design flaws that needed to be addressed and a good deal of QoL improvements needed as well.

    While I did praise the combat mechanics, it's a shame that a lot of its potential is wasted on repetitive encounters with "trash" enemies like goblins or harpies that make up 90% of the fights in this game. Fighting hydras, chimeras, dragons and all the other "big guys", that's all well and good, but most other encounters weren't nearly as engaging.

    The pawns system is a mechanic unique to Dragon's Dogma, and while I kinda liked the idea behind it, I wish there was a more straight forward method behind adjusting pawn inclinations (which by the way is something the game tells you nearly nothing about). As of right now, there are a whole lot of hoops to jump through for what should've just been something I could easily adjust in a separate menu. Instead, I have to use inclination potions (which the game doesn't tell you about either), act a certain way in combat, or sit in a knowledge chair and get a randomised set of questions directed towards your main pawn that may or may not impact your pawn in the way you wanted. All this pointless busywork just so I can get my pawns to hopefully not act like an idiot and die when facing a dragon. Ultimately, even with the most suitable inclinations, pawn AI is quite underwhelming, as demonstrated by their complete inability to defend themselves or evade attacks.

    Moving on to the overarching narrative, lore and worldbuilding of the game, I was also fairly disappointed in this aspect. The setting is fairly generic fantasy stuff, littered with uninspired kill 'x' amount of 'y' quests, escort 'x' to 'y' location or collect 'x' amount of 'y' item quests. Sure, there are a few quests centered around certain characters that go beyond this boring formula, but even those are lacking in character development and narrative punch compared to other RPGs. The rather mediocre cutscenes with poor writing, lack of lip syncing and just generally low production values certainly don't help. The whole Arisen arch of the story is only really touched on in the beginning and end of the game, while the middle section of the game is essentially you being an errand boy for the Duke. The big revelations that come towards the end of the game were difficult to take seriously due to the aforementioned poor writing with characters uttering supposedly deep platitudes about free will, endless cycles and destiny.

    I've been pretty critical in this review, though I feel I should mention that despite all its flaws, there is a rough charm about Dragon's Dogma that ultimately led me to finish it. There is a good combat system here, and it was fun, but I just wasn't a fan of pretty much everything else.    … Expand
  14. stormbeta
    Sep 21, 2016
    5
    I don't understand the hype around this game at all. The PC port is clearly pretty half-baked, but the controls seem reasonable if you connect a controller.

    Unfortunately, it really feels like a clunky Dark Souls clone with almost none of the atmosphere or mechanics that made that game fun and interesting. I especially don't understand the people praising its combat, which feels awkward    I don't understand the hype around this game at all. The PC port is clearly pretty half-baked, but the controls seem reasonable if you connect a controller.

    Unfortunately, it really feels like a clunky Dark Souls clone with almost none of the atmosphere or mechanics that made that game fun and interesting. I especially don't understand the people praising its combat, which feels awkward and clumsy even by the usual standard of modern action RPGs.

    Full disclaimer: I barely made it an hour in. The controls were almost unbearably clunky, and the repetitive screaming of pawns and almost total lack of explanations or plot made me lose interest very quickly.    … Expand
  15. TemplarGR
    Sep 9, 2016
    5
    Overrated jrpg garbage. Decent port, but game is old and it shows. I experienced some random crashes though. If you are into boring repetitive jrpgs, give it a try, else avoid.
  16. MadclownJack
    May 21, 2016
    7
    The aesthetics and the narrative is what drives forward this, otherwise mundane action rpg. The character creation is incredibly deep and every design choice will, in turn, give different and meaningful results in terms how the character moves, handles weight, takes damage etc. The map is large but doesn't offer much in variety of enemies or terrain, even things to do, other than killingThe aesthetics and the narrative is what drives forward this, otherwise mundane action rpg. The character creation is incredibly deep and every design choice will, in turn, give different and meaningful results in terms how the character moves, handles weight, takes damage etc. The map is large but doesn't offer much in variety of enemies or terrain, even things to do, other than killing different iterations of the same 9-10 basic enemy models, which is fine, but it feels like a missed opportunity. Witcher 3 does this way better. The larger creatures, like the griffin or the cockatrice are fun to play, that is, if and when they spawn. For the majority of the early to mid-game you'll encounter the same old chimera/cyclops around the map, and they get old pretty fast. Graphically, its not at all on par with the newer games of the sort, like witcher 3, but its a port so that's expected. Good items are hard to come by, especially weapons and even when you find something that works for you, you'll need to get upgrade materials that can be even harder to find. My issue with the game is that it doesn't explain itself very well, the quests are unclear at times, and that makes them all the more difficult to finish. Also, if you don't have an Eternal Ferrystone, and a few portstones, i feel really bad for you.… Expand
  17. GaigeRates
    Feb 27, 2016
    6
    Overview
    I Enjoyed this game, i wouldn't say that it was revolutionary, it is an rpg slash'em/mage'm/rouge'm up pretty much. i played a Fighter with every intention to become a Mysic knight and so started the journey of Sir Gaige. i really liked the idea of Pawns but frankly after a couple of hours you'll find the kind of pawns that work well with you and yours and repeat from there. i    Overview
    I Enjoyed this game, i wouldn't say that it was revolutionary, it is an rpg slash'em/mage'm/rouge'm up pretty much. i played a Fighter with every intention to become a Mysic knight and so started the journey of Sir Gaige. i really liked the idea of Pawns but frankly after a couple of hours you'll find the kind of pawns that work well with you and yours and repeat from there. i completed the game with around 80 hours under my belt and here is how i feel about it:

    Graphics 9
    The graphics are pretty damn amazing in this game, i would say all in all that its probably the strongest point of this game. some clipping and animation issues are expected when clinging on for life to a griffon though and as such you may find yourself flailing around quite a lot when trying to climb monsters. another part i need to mention is the faces the animation here feels lazy especially in cut scenes

    Audio 4
    I cant say that the audio really stood out for me, score was mediocre with only really the battle music / boss like enemy's standing out

    Gameplay 6
    If your like me you may find the controls to be a little bit clunky but they really do start to get better after a while, i feel like the heavy attack is mostly useless when you can just use an ability instead, the limitation on abilities is useful for the pawns as you can look at one and predict what kind of a pawn they will be , but i found that some limitations bothered me, most notably when i swapped out to Warrior and found they have 3 less skill slots than the other classes. in short i feel like the classes need more fleshing out as the bow users didn't quite feel different enough for me at a glance. the combat is quite fast and punishing but its nothing that having a mage cant really troop though, i would have really liked a better taunting system in this game as the shield drum and its upgrade just didn't do the trick for me.

    Environment 7
    The environment in this game really took me back at first, when heading to the city for the first time i felt like it was just the beginning of an adventure in this full and exciting world, enemy's around every corner and quests taking me across this world! Sadly i found after a fair few hours that this was the only city and i had been to each corner of the map and that was that, with the quests and adventures to match, quests and NPC's can be forgettable with most being picked up from a notice board. the few that do have some thought and story behind them are still just go to a. and kill b. or head to a. but b. is in the way. The best way i can describe this game is like a balloon, at first glance it looks full, but on closer inspection its empty.

    Story 3
    What story? one of the main let downs in this game is its so called story, there is a little bit of a twist towards the end but nothing ground breaking, nothing that made me look back and think that i need to tell everyone to experience that.

    All in all I Gage this game at a 6

    TL;DR?

    Grapics, Audio, Gameplay, Environment and Story

    G. A. G. E. S
    9 . 4. 6 .7 . 3
    ----------------
    Average of 5.8 - rounded to 6
    Dragons Dogma, got gaged    … Expand
  18. Thothistox
    Feb 19, 2016
    5
    I really don't know why people rave about the combat in this game. This is a typical experience playing as a mage: you have fireballs and lightning bolts and a staff that can throw projectiles... but your character won't aim any of this stuff until you get within close range of your enemies. Worse still, your spells take time to cast. When you have enough time that can mean that you'llI really don't know why people rave about the combat in this game. This is a typical experience playing as a mage: you have fireballs and lightning bolts and a staff that can throw projectiles... but your character won't aim any of this stuff until you get within close range of your enemies. Worse still, your spells take time to cast. When you have enough time that can mean that you'll blast your enemies without taking a hit, but if you don't then you'll repeatedly take hits, get stunned, and die. Most fights are all or nothing in this bizarre way, and what you do in them feels like it isn't very strategic or even really under your control. It's a bit like playing dragon age inquisition without the tactical pause, except you could at least execute ranged attacks there.

    The talents are a bit imbalanced. Basic elemental skills are there, along with stuff no one tested and no one would ever use such as the ability to silence or blind your enemies. Or how about the ability to enchant your allies' weapons? This enchanting takes so long and is so cumbersome to aim and has so little effect that I can't imagine a non-NPC ever using it. It's essentially a supporting character's talent only. Long story short: most talents are useless.

    Levelling also feels unsatisfying somehow. You have to go to the innkeeper to "buy" talents? I've never seen something so off key in an RPG.

    The difficulty curve also feels imbalanced. Since enemies respawn (which really takes a lot away from any game), you'll fight and pop the weaker goons very easily, only to be quickly annihilated by similar ones further away from your starting area. This sort of thing was acceptable a decade ago when Gothic did it, but I don't think a modern game can get a free pass here.

    The game contains montages and story telling that sometimes does actually engage a little, but it lacks characters. I consider characters to be one of the central facets of the genre, but the overt blandness of DD borders on the surreal. It seems like half the characters you encounter are "pawns" -- lobotomized cannon fodder with lines of dialogue that are triggered by location on the map or sometimes combat situations. It's nice for others to comment on what happens in a game, but sometimes they get it wrong and they do it so much it gets annoying quickly. (This is especially true when they tell you to block or counter--which you can't do as a mage.) It's like playing a Dragon Age game except half the characters are Tranquil. The other half may as well be Tranquil too, as there's very little to differentiate them from pawns.

    On the up side, at least some of the scenery is nice. Mountains feel big in this game, and so do castles. The graphics are ugly, but the design of the scenery is occasionally worth some exploration time, even if you must do it while fighting the same respawning mobs over and over.

    As some have pointed out, the UI is terrible. I don't usually complain about UIs, but this one is the most shameless console port I've ever seen. Inventory management takes up a third of my time. Exiting the game takes around 20 seconds to do.

    I'll admit that I didn't finish the game... which is a rarity for me. I actually stuck it out with Two World II or Gothic 3 for instance, but I don't know if I'll have the patience for this. If I play it anymore I'll probably turn into a pawn myself.    … Expand
  19. yosa1
    Feb 3, 2016
    7
    I have both liked and swore vehemently at the game, the fact that I swore at it so much is the reason I bother to write about it.

    This is a good game and here is why; exploring areas is always a good thing and this game lets me explore right until I find the Drake which soundly killed me. Fighting epic monsters , there overpowered and cheap with there moves, but I spent some time just    I have both liked and swore vehemently at the game, the fact that I swore at it so much is the reason I bother to write about it.

    This is a good game and here is why; exploring areas is always a good thing and this game lets me explore right until I find the Drake which soundly killed me.
    Fighting epic monsters , there overpowered and cheap with there moves, but I spent some time just hunting them down, that dam drake come to mind, I like the idea of high level monsters making you think twice.
    Class crossover , this creates a persistence that makes me want to play an archer then go back to another class.

    This is an RPG ,just as addictive as many RPGs I have played : it plays well, the PC version suffers no large bugs I can see(ui mouse cant cant complain)

    these 10/10 rating just need to go, as this game is not one of those; it is a good game.    … Expand
  20. llamayarmybar
    Feb 2, 2016
    6
    You'd think in an age where action role playing titles are flourishing, a nifty open-world title like Dragon's Dogma would gain some ground for the genre, but its faults are just as abrasive as any typical RPG on the market presently. First off, it "is" an RPG, its not trying to hide it from you, its also not trying to inform you that when it comes down to it- its all about random numberYou'd think in an age where action role playing titles are flourishing, a nifty open-world title like Dragon's Dogma would gain some ground for the genre, but its faults are just as abrasive as any typical RPG on the market presently. First off, it "is" an RPG, its not trying to hide it from you, its also not trying to inform you that when it comes down to it- its all about random number generation and stats. I'd played through about 30 hours and it finally dawned on me that I wanted to start my character building process over. Why? Well to put it lightly, I felt like I had screwed things up, configured my vocation poorly, or that my supportive skills outweighed my offensive ones or that I was playing a class incorrectly. This uncertainty plagues the whole game, since you can't just have a "magic" character or a "soldier" or an "archer," no! The game says: "You can have them all! Even if skills you spent hours to obtain are totally made pointless by changing to and from other vocations!" The Vocations are an intricate and very well designed part of the game. Had they not been there I'm sure many people would've become unbelievably bored with the hum-drum repetitiveness of grinding for levels and skill purchases. Their complicated even further by having to manage your "pawn's" abilities and class as well. Did I mention you have a little supportive buddy you create to come along with you on your journey in Dragon's Dogma? No? Well it doesn't matter that much since they hardly have the intelligence necessary to count them as "actual" teammates and end up being glass cannons or cannon fodder 75 percent of the time regardless of what skills or vocations you've leveled them up into. Pawn's are an interesting idea executed particularly poorly, especially when you realize that the game was originally out on the Playstation 3 several years. So that being said, this game looks like a Playstation 3 game from several years ago. Its not necessarily ugly, but its not a pretty game. Some might argue that its general aesthetic, design, and style give it an ageless quality, but they're probably just Capcom fans in earnest. I can't see any Skyrim or Witcher fan going bonkers over Dragon's Dogma. Its just not that special. However, it is quite fun. Its a unique way of handling an action role playing title, but between optimizing armor, collecting the untold amounts of materials necessary to upgrade your gear, wandering around the landscape looking for things to do besides fighting monsters and picking up everything in sight, it slowly turns into a grind unlike any grind you've ever known or played before. Perhaps its what keeps people so enthralled in the whole thing, but for myself personally it was very hard to "get into" the main story line. The optional quests were mostly escorts or monster hunts. The rewards were utterly pointless and trivial amounts of money or random items or experience. All of which can be gathered anywhere else in the game. The night and day mechanic was well done, but once again the game pumps up the aspect of how dangerous nighttime adventuring is supposed to be. Really the only difference are a few tougher enemies wandering around or one or two items you don't usually find. I can't call it disappointing as a title, but its very much overrated in terms of its gameplay. The whole thing can really really, really- and I mean really- become a chore. That's not something I think anyone would want in a game like this. Lack of fluidity, no real story structure, poor pacing, the linear quest line bars off areas it shouldn't and totally ruins the thrill of reaching a location only to realize you can't explore any further until you talk to some character half way across the map. The vocation system is a total mess and reminded me of the hours of my life I spent attempting to play through Final fantasy tactics, only to sit back and wonder what I was doing with my life. The Pawns are incredibly stupid, the commands you give them don't make any real sense, the online is stifling and it feels awkward to "rent" other players pawns just to take down bigger monsters faster than usual. The armor and item system is impenetrably dense requiring a player to essentially buy everything and upgrade it just to get a fair comparison on what provides what you need per enemy encounter. On the other hand, the music is quite good. The voice acting is alright and I mean at least its not "Skyrim." At least in this one you're the "Arisen" not the "Dragonborn." At least in this game you're not just fighting a dragon- oh wait.… Expand
  21. TsukasaHiiragi
    Jan 20, 2016
    5
    Dragon's Dogma is typical Dungeon Crawler that had success on the PS3 but on the PC is clearly shows a significant amount of problems and frustrating elements such as poor controls, flat graphics with ugly textures and a bad menu system.

    The pawn system again, its mess and hasn't really been fixed. Your pawns will still constantly talk nonsense and give you information about monsters    Dragon's Dogma is typical Dungeon Crawler that had success on the PS3 but on the PC is clearly shows a significant amount of problems and frustrating elements such as poor controls, flat graphics with ugly textures and a bad menu system.

    The pawn system again, its mess and hasn't really been fixed. Your pawns will still constantly talk nonsense and give you information about monsters weaknesses, and then attack them without exploiting those weaknesses they keep proudly declaring.

    Capcom listened to alot of hardcore and diehard fans, and unfortunately turned the game into more of a ridicious Dark Souls clone which just kinder fails in all departments. I'd say this is strictly for the fans, other jrpgs fans...get the PS3 version which is just far superior.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Best PC Game of 2016
36
#36 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016
68
#68 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 62 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 62
  3. Negative: 0 out of 62
  1. IGN Denmark
    Apr 6, 2016
    90
    An underdog of the role-playing scene in 2010, now available in an even prettier version.
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  2. CD-Action
    Mar 30, 2016
    90
    All Dragon’s Dogma’s drawbacks (i.e. repetitive quests, occasional boring backtracking, poor checkpoint system) become irrelevant when you focus on what this game does well (i.e. truly impressive combat), because it does it better than any other action RPG. [03/2016, p.36]
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Mar 24, 2016
    80
    The story is trite but the action, Pawn system and inclusion of DLC made Dragon's Dogma: DA a very compelling purchase. [Issue#248, p.64]
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