Polygon: "Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen could have reached new fans and old alike. It was a chance for Capcom to lock in an audience for this burgeoning franchise. But poor balance and careless design limit its appeal to a tiny group of the most hardcore. The original Dragon's Dogma didn't completely succeed in its attempt to emulate Western, open-world RPGs. Dark Arisen makes a much greater mistake: It fails to recognize or capitalize on its own strengths."
Kotaku: "Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen is an expanded, budget re-release of the original game which, you might recall, Kotakus own Tina Amini gave a no to. I tried my hand at it as well when it came out and found that while I appreciated a lot of the things it was trying to do, and felt that the game really shined at moments, that I agreed with her it was a buggy, inconsistent and frustrating experience."
