Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen Announced!

Straight from the horse’s mouth:

Continuing its commitment to support Dragon’s Dogma post launch, Capcom is pleased to confirm that it will be making new modes and content available in the coming months.

Available free of charge and scheduled for release before the end of the year, the million strong community of Dragon’s Dogma players will be able to put their skills to the test with the introduction of Speedrun and Hard modes. Speedrun will challenge players to clear the game as quickly as possible with in-game equipment awarded for those who clock specific times; while Hard Mode turns up the difficulty with enemies that are tougher to defeat, but with the reward of further equipment.

Looking ahead to 2013 Capcom will release Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen and we will be sharing more details of this exciting and major expansion to the Dragon’s Dogma universe in the near future.

So, we’re going to be getting free modes for Dragon’s Dogma right now: Speedrun mode (with rewards for your speed the same way Resident Evil games do with new weapons), and Hard mode (much needed for those that found the lack of challenge in New Game+ off-putting).

In addition, we’ll also be getting the expansion Dark Arisen, likely in the form of paid DLC. The videos suggest it has something to do with the Everfall, but that is merely my own deduction and speculation.

If you, like me, thought Dragon’s Dogma was a fantastic game that was wrongfully panned by the mainstream media, then you will agree these are fantastic news. A bit puzzling, frankly, since Dragon’s Dogma reportedly has not sold very well.

All the same, here at Gaming Enthusiast we are very glad to see this great game continuing to get support from Capcom. Personally, I’m hoping these news mean there is an improved WiiU version of Dragon’s Dogma somewhere in the horizon, with improved resolution, frame-rate, and post-game balancing (including fast-travel). Please make it happen Capcom, and we will love you forever unconditionally. Or at least we’ll try to forget about Mega Man Legends 3.