Ben Veress is a Contributing Features Writer at DualShockers based in Melbourne, Australia. He has been covering games professionally since 2021, with experience writing features, lists, reviews, and news across gaming, tech, culture, and entertainment.
Before joining DualShockers, Ben wrote for Kotaku AU, Gizmodo AU, Vice AU, Pedestrian.TV, Quest Daily, Blunt Magazine, Impulse Gamer, and Inkl. At Pedestrian.TV, he served as the publication’s sole tech and gaming writer, leading coverage of major gaming releases and events for one of Australia’s major youth publications. He holds a Bachelor of Communications in Media from RMIT University and was nominated for Best Branded Content Journalist at the Australian Samsung IT Awards in 2025.
After a breakout success following its release, Dragon's Dogma 2 is set to receive its first major expansion, Dark Arisen, two years later. Despite the game smashing expectations, there were some lingering criticisms that have prevented it from having a lasting impact, unlike its predecessor. While Dragon's Dogma 2 far outshone the first game in sales, diehard fans of the cult classic would admit that the game didn't reach the same heights as the original, especially thanks to its DLC.
That's an issue Capcom are finally hoping to address in their upcoming DLC for Dragon's Dogma 2. Much like before, director Kento Kinoshita has promised that Dark Arisen will feature a much darker tone, will bring back the game's difficulty, and will offer opportunities to farm for rewarding loot.
It's a bold endeavor by Capcom, but far from unprecedented, especially when it comes to this IP.
At this year's Tokyo Game Show, Capcom invited me to play an early version of Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen and face off against three bosses: the first being a standard Griffin fight, and the last two being new battles in the DLC. I have to admit, I was fairly rusty going into the demo, having not touched the game in two years. For that reason, my experience playing the game felt almost surreal. There was plenty going on, but I was struggling to understand everything happening around me.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's one that's left me feeling somewhat puzzled and in need of answers that can only come from the complete context of the DLC. In saying that, I think there's plenty to get into here, especially if you're a returning player who hasn't touched the game since launch.
Thinking back to the promise of the demo shared by Kinoshita, I have to wonder if this preview didn't highlight those aspects well enough. The demo showed off some of the new fights and the darker tone, although understandably couldn't translate this teased, rich new loot system.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.dualshockers.com/tgs-2026-dragons-dogma-2-dark-arisen/
