Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen - First Impressions

[HiddenX]

Gaming Age likes the performance of the upcoming PC version of Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen.

[...] While the base mechanics, questing, looting, and action-focused gameplay were certainly highlights of Dark Arisen back in 2013, the weird decision to letterbox the game, along with somewhat frequent framerate issues, were not. Those are two things, among others, that have been fixed here. The letterboxing effect is gone, without any noticeable changes to aspect ratios, stretching or any other adverse effects to the visuals. And the framerate? Well, you won’t be disappointed. Playing this on a relatively modest PC rig, running a 750ti and i5-4670k, I’ve had virtually no issues with most settings on high while running in 1080p, maintaining 60 frames per second throughout. Even in some of the dense, forested sections, encountering larger enemies like the Chimera, Dark Arisen on PC doesn’t seem to hitch up at all. I’ve been suitably impressed by this build thus far, and ideally this will carry over to the final retail build. [...]

More information.

 

[Emerwyn]

I'll buy this one for sure. Always wanted to play it but I'm not a console person. Game's looking very good so far.

 

[Brumbek]

I'm here to post my obligatory gushing praise and love for Dragon's Dogma. Let's recap for those who are new to my "episodes". I ADORE this game. I put 240 hours into it on console, and it's one of the best, most immersive fantasy questing/dungeon delving games ever made. Let's just quote my TL;DR review summary:

Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen is the complete package. It is a triumph or art, technology, and game design. There's hundreds of hours of fantastic questing, best-in-class combat, and open-world questing.

Do you even slightly like third-person action combat, interesting stories, open-world exploration, dungeon-delving, hunting monsters, and crafting epic gear? Of course you do, and you owe it to yourself to play this masterpiece!

BUY NOW. Thank me later!

 

[Wisdom]

Lol you are awesome Brumbek.

 

[Kobu]

I wish all games played like this. Other people prefer them, but I get tired of "Souls" type combat. This is similar, but so much more intuitive to me. I'm hoping for a true sequel someday.

 

[Carnifex]

I'm pretty sure I'll get this, even at forty bucks it sounds like a lot of fun for the bucks.

 

[Void000]

Good game. In retrospect, even better, perhaps.

 

[sakichop]

I wish all games played like this. Other people prefer them, but I get tired of "Souls" type combat. This is similar, but so much more intuitive to me. I'm hoping for a true sequel someday.

Hey now, I love the souls games....

But I would take more games like this as well.

 

[azarhal]

Already pre-ordered and ready to rumble once I get to download it.

 

[you]

Want to hear more about the keyboard/mouse interface; not graphics.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

The designer really put a lot of efforts into it and it shows. It's actually a game that doesn't hold your hand and which has good combat. Definitely worth a look.

 

[Zloth]

Please please work with 3D Vision....

 

[Brumbek]

The designer really put a lot of efforts into it and it shows. It's actually a game that doesn't hold your hand and which has good combat. Definitely worth a look.

Totally agree. The love and passion the developers poured into this game! It is pretty astounding. I've said it before but I view Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen as a once in a generation game. You just don't find the convergence of art, technology, and design very often.

Have I mentioned how much I ADORE this game?! Would you all please remind me to tell you how I feel about it soon???

 

[Aubrielle]

Have I mentioned how much I ADORE this game?! Would you all please remind me to tell you how I feel about it soon???

You've never really mentioned it before, Brumbek. Tbh, I'd have never guessed that you'd even played it just by talking to you on the forums. I don't buy it, and if you want to convince me that you like this game even a little bit, you'll probably need to talk about it some more.

xD

 

[booboo]

I'm tempted by this…but I like single player party-based games - so the whole 'pawn' thing doesn't appeal to me since I seem to have very loose control over the pawns. I also don't want other people's 'pawns' in my game. And what does this mean: "The pawn system also features social networking features." (taken from the RPGwatch blurb on DDA). If its related to social networking, I'm not keen. How strong is the story? Is it mainly combat? How close is the combat to dark souls, which I hated (mainly because the M+K controls were shite, and I controller-challenged)? From what I saw of the previews it seems very action-oriented - and the clambering over monsters seems somewhat gimmicky (cool for a bit, and then tedious, when it gets over-used).

 

[BoboTheMighty]

I've seen my share of reviews and game play sessions...hmm, it goes: great, "cool" combat against bosses, "meh/spammy" against critters, overall Ok story that starts weak but picks up later on, weak characters, poor quest design, unimpressive exploration and world.
I'm sceptical about this being "once in generation" thing, but it definitely seems fun enough to give it a try.

 

[booboo]

I would feel a lot better if there was a demo I could try first, but few games seem to do that. That said, I tried a game on Steam recently and found it terrible and got a refund with no questions asked. So I could always do the same. Or sue Brumbek for misleading commentary

 

[JDR13]

I would feel a lot better if there was a demo I could try first, but few games seem to do that. That said, I tried a game on Steam recently and found it terrible and got a refund with no questions asked. So I could always do the same. Or sue Brumbek for misleading commentary

Do you have a PS3? If you do, there's a playable demo you can download.

 

[Kobu]

I'm tempted by this…but I like single player party-based games - so the whole 'pawn' thing doesn't appeal to me since I seem to have very loose control over the pawns. I also don't want other people's 'pawns' in my game. And what does this mean: "The pawn system also features social networking features." (taken from the RPGwatch blurb on DDA). If its related to social networking, I'm not keen. How strong is the story? Is it mainly combat? How close is the combat to dark souls, which I hated (mainly because the M+K controls were shite, and I controller-challenged)? From what I saw of the previews it seems very action-oriented - and the clambering over monsters seems somewhat gimmicky (cool for a bit, and then tedious, when it gets over-used).

I love the pawns. The AI is inventive. They do things that completely surprise me, in cool ways. Sometimes you get one and you wonder how in the world it got taught things, but a lot of times they are so badass that you can sit back in amazement as they eye murder a cyclops.

It doesn't make sense to me to say it has "social networking" features. You pick out pawns based on criteria you set. You can look at their equipment and skills. Once done with one, you can send it way with a gift and give it a rating.

The story isn't a ton of dialogue or branching choices. It's more of framework for the action. But in a true role-playing sense it lets you explore the world and fill in the gaps on your own. I really liked that it doesn't usher you from one set piece to another.

The climbing is utterly cool. You can play a character that doesn't need to climb, use bows or magic instead, or one that focuses on climbing and dagger work. Or get a pawn that likes to climb and hit weak spots. It's good fun however you work it.

 

[Wisdom]

I know what he means tho.
When I first read about the pawn system I thought it was terrible. Especially after seeing the images etc that people choose to use. It did seem like a social networking "always online" bullshit.

I've gradually changed my mind.