Thankfully, the Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen version released a year later expands the existing fast-travel system, greatly reducing the amount of backtracking necessary. Although Dark Arisen also makes various minor changes to the base game, its real draw is Bitterblack Isle, a vast dungeon that introduces new treasures and monsters – including deadly necrophages that attack by surprise, attracted by the corpses of slain enemies. Intended for high-level play, the Isle is separate from the main game and can be ventured into as early or late as one desires.

Curiously, Dragon's Dogma fails to play into its strengths as much as it could have, with the larger monsters – both climbable and featuring a range of interesting behaviors – appearing only sparingly at first, and a number of creatures emerging only in the final stage of the game. Important systems such as NPC Affinity and Pawn Inclinations (which control Pawn behaviour) are opaque and poorly explained, often resulting in frustrating outcomes and leading wiser players to seek online sources of information.

Still, Dragon's Dogma manages to recapture much of the spirit of group adventuring. Those willing to give it a try will not only encounter many legendary creatures but also that rarest of beasts – an RPG with action-based combat done right.