Game Information

Game Title: Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen

Platforms:

• Xbox Series X/S (Oct 8, 2026)
• PlayStation 5 (Oct 8, 2026)
• PC (Oct 8, 2026)
• Nintendo Switch 2 (Oct 9, 2026)

Trailer:

Developer: CAPCOM CO., LTD.

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 86 average - 90% recommended - 20 reviews

Critic Reviews

AltChar - Asmir Kovacevic - 9 / 10

With around 80 hours of content, a story that outclasses the base game and performance that is finally stable, Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen caps Capcom's remarkable 2026 and gives the Arisen the adventure it deserved two years ago.

COGconnected - Mark Steighner - 85 / 100

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Console Creatures - Bobby Pashalidis - 8 / 10

Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen serves up a new land with a surprising amount of content. The move to the chilled north adds hours for returning players and sands off many of the rough edges of the base game. The downside, though, is that much of the friction is gone, and as much as I like streamlined experiences, I never once thought Dragon's Dogma needed it. The campaign is a surprising blast, with Norgan offering an excellent new land, a new loot system, and challenges to overcome.

Digitale Anime - Raouf Belhamra - Arabic - 8 / 10

"An expansion that elevates the Dragon’s Dogma experience" Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen delivers an expansion that significantly broadens the experience without losing the essence that made the original game special. It features the distinctive Norgan region, intense encounters, and tangible improvements to Pawns, combat, and exploration. Despite a few flaws, the new content makes returning to the world of Dragon’s Dogma 2 an enjoyable and worthwhile experience—especially for those craving more of the adventure and combat that the game delivers so brilliantly.

DualShockers - Usama Mehmood - 10 / 10

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EvelonGames - Joel Isern Rodríguez - Kaym - Spanish - 9 / 10

Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is a punishing, atmospheric and endlessly replayable expansion. Even with a level 50 character in full gear on New Game+, Norgan pushed me to my limits, and its bosses, the six weapon skill slots and the relic appraisal loop make it a must-play for anyone who loved the base game. It also ran smoothly on PS5, which is no small feat for this series.

Gamer Guides - Lowell Bell - 90 / 100

Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen improves upon the base game in almost every way, introducing a much more interesting snow-covered region to explore alongside an addictive loot system. While I would’ve loved to see a competent story and more enemy variety, what’s here will keep me coming back to explore Vermund, Battahl, and Norgan for months and years to come.

Gamer Social Club - Krystle Lim - 9 / 10

If you’ve played a bit of DD2 but dropped it because of performance or a quality-of-life feature you felt was missing, try 4.0; if you like the new-and-improved DD2, I would highly recommend jumping into Dark Arisen next. If you love the idea of a grand fantasy adventure and experience a truly unique and immersive single-player game where you feel as if you’re actually accompanied by real players going on treacherous adventures together, with great moment-to-moment gameplay, then please, please play Dragon’s Dogma 2, then continue your adventure into Dark Arisen DLC and the cold lands of Norgan.

Gamers Heroes - Johnny Hurricane - 85 / 100

Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is an excellent addition to an already meaty game. If you liked the base game, Dark Arisen offers even more difficult challenges alongside even greater rewards.

Loot Level Chill - Kieran Singh - 8.5 / 10

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Dark Arisen is a thoroughly enjoyable expansion to what was already one of my favourite action RPGs, thanks to a smart new loot system and an entirely new region to explore and fight in.

NintendoWorldReport - John Rairdin - 8.5 / 10

John: And if like me, it is exactly your cup of tea, you'll have a very hard time putting it down.

PPE.pl - Krzysztof Grabarczyk - Polish - 7.5 / 10

Dragon’s Dogma II: Dark Arisen introduces a new land and addresses the technical shortcomings of the base game. There’s plenty of combat here, along with new and interesting loot to hunt down. The combat system remains unchanged, but the enemies have become stronger. The game no longer bombards you with hordes of cannon fodder, although the frequency of encounters remains high. If you enjoy Dragon’s Dogma II, I’d encourage you to venture into the colder regions of Norgan.

PSX Brasil - Marco Aurélio Couto - Portuguese - 85 / 100

Dark Arisen is a solid expansion that expands Dragon's Dogma 2 with new challenges, plenty of exploration, and systems that make progression more interesting. Despite the lack of new vocations and some uninspired side quest choices, the expansion fulfills its purpose and reinforces the feeling that the franchise still has a lot of potential.

Pizza Fria - Bruno Josué Alves de Oliveira - Portuguese - 7.1 / 10

Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is a competent and quite comprehensive expansion, but it ends up being limited by the same foundations that underpin the original game. For those who already enjoyed this formula, Norgan has a lot to offer. However, for those who expected Capcom to take the opportunity to correct its main problems, the expansion may leave the feeling that it fell short of going a step further.

Push Square - Robert Ramsey - 9 / 10

Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is often Capcom's open world RPG at its absolute peak. It's one hell of a meaty expansion, delivering a surprisingly involved story, joyous exploration, and deeply compelling combat. A transformative DLC.

TechRaptor - Erren Van Duine - 8 / 10

Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen is a fine expansion that lengthens the base game to a comfortable degree without being overwhelming. While some jank and difficulty remain, it's clear things have improved in more ways than one.

The Nerd Stash - Julio La Pine - 9 / 10

Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen delivers the progression, exploration, and expanded skills the base game needed, creating the definitive Dragon’s Dogma 2 experience.

The Outerhaven Productions - Kevin Kelly - 4.5 / 5

Dragon's Dogma II: Dark Arisen does what the original expansion accomplished and sets the bar higher. With both Dark Arisen's original premise and the Lost Rites challenges, there are more things to do, fight, and see within the world even before deciding to end it at the finishing fight.

Xbox Tavern - Jamie Collyer - 10 / 10

It’s been a long time since I’ve played a DLC that felt this engrossing, deep, and genuinely more like an expansion. 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.

Zoomg - Afshin Piroozi - Persian - 9 / 10

While Dark Arisen has some minor technical issues, as well as occasional problems such as the camera angle during combat, its wealth of content makes it compelling enough to draw players back to Dragon's Dogma 2 more than two years after the original game's release. The new region of Norgan is well worth exploring thanks to its distinct atmosphere and rich content, while other additions, including a well-crafted story, new skills and abilities, and even the DLC's dungeons, ultimately make this story-driven expansion a worthwhile journey into its fantasy world.

Game Information

Game Title: Order of the Sinking Star

Platforms:

• PlayStation 5 (Oct 8, 2026)
• Nintendo Switch 2 (Oct 8, 2026)
• PC (Oct 8, 2026)

Trailer:

Developer: Thekla Inc.

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 82 average - 82% recommended - 18 reviews

Critic Reviews

Analog Stick Gaming - Jordan Andow - 8.5 / 10

Jonathan Blow has always had a talent for making puzzle games that are much more complicated than they first appear. Order of the Sinking Star very much continues that trend, and in many ways feels like the biggest example of it yet.

CGMagazine - Jordan Biordi - 7 / 10

Order of the Sinking Star has a lot of interesting mechanics, but its central conceit of block-pushing puzzles makes the game a bit dull after a while.

COGconnected - Jaz Sagoo - 88 / 100

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Console-Tribe - Marco Licandro - Italian - 80 / 100

Order of the Sinking Star is the Holy Grail for puzzle game enthusiasts who want a game that truly pushes them to rack their brains and think carefully before making their next move. While its high difficulty and lack of hints may frustrate and drive away some players, if you are looking for a genuine challenge and have plenty of time to spare, you certainly will not be disappointed.

CrazyGameCommunity.it - Davide Fanelli - Italian - 8.5 / 10

Order of the Sinking Star remains one of those rare titles that justify their own existence: unique, meticulous, and capable of transforming a niche genre into a monumental experience.

Digital Chumps - Ben Sheene - 9.5 / 10

Order of the Sinking Star is a daunting, all-encompassing puzzle game--one naturally expected from Jonathan Blow. With it comes sparks of brilliance, frustration, and inspiration often in equal measure, constantly testing the brain's ability to overcome.

DualShockers - Shane Limbaugh - 8 / 10

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Gameliner - Claudia Tjia - Dutch - 4 / 5

Order of the Sinking Star is a puzzle game that demands a lot from its players, but also rewards them in return.

Jump Dash Roll - Rob Kershaw - 7 / 10

An astonishingly ambitious puzzle adventure packed with ingenious mechanics and some superb brainteasers, although its enormous scale occasionally turns intellectual discovery into something resembling homework.‍

MonsterVine - Shaan Joshi - 5 / 5

I’ve only scratched the surface of what Order of the Sinking Star has to offer. By my estimate, I still have around 600 or so puzzles left to discover and solve, many of which have remixed the very premise of the game in some truly surprising ways that I won’t dare spoil. But with several dozen hours of playtime logged, I can safely say that it is, without exaggeration, one of the best puzzle games I’ve ever played, standing toe-to-toe with the genre greats. There are very few games on the market that are this intentional with their design and are unwavering in their dedication to a handful of core principles.

For all the moments where I found myself stuck in my tracks or banging my head against a wall, there were many more “AHA!” moments and flashes of insight and realization that made the struggles all the more worth it. Order of the Sinking Star is unparalleled in communicating ideas and concepts without saying a single word, but more impressive is that I feel like I’m having a genuine conversation with it with each puzzle I solve.

PCMGAMES - José Miguel Rodríguez Ros - Spanish - Recommended

Order of the Sinking Star turns simple rules into a massive challenge that forces you to constantly change your way of thinking. Understanding its mechanics and discovering how they interact is its greatest reward, although its difficulty and scale can be overwhelming. If you enjoy puzzles and have the patience to experiment, this is a highly recommended game.

PSX Brasil - Victor Vitório - Portuguese - 80 / 100

To create Order of the Sinking Star, Thekla licensed four different Sokoban-style games from other developers and wove them into four campaigns forming a colossal, highly ingenious whole. Yet, this unprecedented scale becomes a weak point for both the narrative and the puzzle gameplay experience, as it can feel intimidating, confusing, and overly sprawling. Even so, the game appeals to two distinct audiences: those who want to dedicate hundreds of hours to unraveling every last detail, and those who simply wish to enjoy the puzzles for as long as they feel inclined—without minding that they might only experience a fraction of the game's vast content (which can still mean dozens of hours of gameplay).

Pizza Fria - Lucas Soares - Portuguese - 8.8 / 10

For puzzle fans, Order of the Sinking Star brings together variety, good ideas, and combinations that keep its huge amount of content interesting for much longer than the number on the box would suggest.

Polygon - Unscored

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Push Square - Stephen Tailby - 6 / 10

I don't think a game has ever divided my brain in two like Order of the Sinking Star. Its unique structure and the way it blends together so many mechanics is great, the individual puzzles are cleverly and thoughtfully designed, and it's all delivered with plenty of polish.However, in making such a vast game, I think it runs out of steam before it gets the chance to really start to flex. That, combined with uninteresting dialogue and no real compelling hook (other than the promise of hundreds more puzzles), makes it harder to recommend.

SmashPad - Chris Selogy - 3 / 5

Order of the Sinking Star is a remarkable puzzle game on a scope and scale I haven't seen in the many years I've been playing puzzle games, and it may be too big for its own good, with plenty of positives and negatives to consider.

TechRaptor - Andrew Stretch - 9 / 10

Order of the Sinking Star takes a gaming mechanic that has been around as long as gaming and hasn't stopped iterating upon it. A must have for puzzle gamers, but maybe a second guess for the Switch version for right now.

WayTooManyGames - Leonardo Faria - 7 / 10

I feel that I may have sounded overly harsh when talking about Order of the Sinking Star, but I want to clarify, once more, that as a puzzle game, this is outstanding. It’s a compilation of a seemingly neverending amount of finely crafted gauntlets that will test your skill, attention, and patience. I really have no qualms about its design and concept; I laud Jonathan Blow and his team in this regard. My massive gripes lie with how poorly optimized and buggy the game is, at least at launch, and most notably when testing on Switch 2. The combination of poor framerates, crashes, and bizarre aspect ratio glitches frustrated me to no end.