Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn Review

For better or worse, Tales of Arise marked a new beginning for the JRPG series developed by Bandai Namco. Toning down the marked anime feel that has always been part of the franchise while attempting to retain its spirit, the latest entry in the series managed to become quite popular, despite some issues here and there that do bring the experience down, such as a rushed final segment of the story. Still, the experience felt complete for the most part, and the developers stated multiple times that no DLC expansion would ever be released for it.

Plans, however, change, and so the latest entry in the Bandai Namco series did get a story expansion called Beyond the Dawn, which focuses on expanding the New World that resulted from the union of Dahna and Rena at the end of the base game, showing how the inhabitants of the united world are adjusting to an uneasy co-existence. Unfortunately, outside of a passable story, the expansion doesn’t really offer much else.

Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn is set after the events of the base game which saw the unification of the world of Dahna and Rena into a single one. Unfortunately, both the world and its people are far from being united. The Renan’s Mausoleums are absorbing Astral Energy, slowing down the unification process, and the former people of the two worlds are finding it hard to forget everything that has transpired in the past, leading to a troubled co-existence.

Continuing to work hard to make the New World the world of peace they sought to create, Alphen the Blazing Sword, Shionne, and their companions continue to travel all over to aid people and disable the Mausoleums. It’s when they reconvene in the town of Niez that they meet Nazamil, a young girl later revealed to be the daughter of a Lord, the powerful individual who took part in the Crown Contest seen in the base game, who seems to be shunned by both Dahnan and Renan. Being among the few ones who can look past the girl’s mixed heritage, Nazamil becomes their friend, embarking with them on a journey that will end up being extremely important for the New World.

As mentioned, the Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn story is passable. While Nazamil could have brought on all sort of interesting drama with her unique heritage, the developer played it extremely safe, so none of the events will leave much of an impression on those who have been fans of the series for a long time. Being rather short, around 20 hours or so, the story could also have used much better pacing, as there are somewhat long stretches where nothing worthwhile truly happens. While it makes sense to do some worldbuilding, this uneven pacing doesn’t help alleviate the expansion’s biggest issue: dullness.

Despite the developer having said straight away that Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn would feature no new gameplay element, it is still disappointing to be playing the same identical game we did in 2021. All characters play exactly the same, as none got new skills or Artes, and the strategies that worked great in the base game are still as effective in the expansion, even with the new enemies that can be found around the New World (which aren’t exactly new, as they are variants of existing enemy types). Even without any new gameplay mechanics, the expansion could have addressed some of the issues found in the base game, but unfortunately, that is not the case. Dungeons, for example, are still as dull as they were before, and the spongy bosses are just as unfun to fight against as they were in the base game. New powerful enemies and challenge fights in the Training Grounds are a welcome addition, but if you were tired of the base game after seeing everything it has to offer, Beyond the Dawn will not rejuvenate your enthusiasm.

With the story being set after the ending of the base game, it was assumed that progress would be carried over onto the expansion, but that is not the case. Those with a complete file from the base game can get some extras to get them started in the New World, but nothing carries over. Every party member starts at Level 65 with all titles unlocked from the start and some skills automatically learned. While I understand this made balancing easier, this approach creates some issues for both those who come to the expansion straight off from the base game and those coming back after a long time. The former will find themselves with characters with very different and incomplete builds, while the latter may end up getting overwhelmed by the amount of Artes and skills the game unlocked for them with which they may no longer be familiar.

Giving players a set amount of SP to spend to learn the skills themselves would have worked better, in my opinion, but this is a minor gripe compared to the fact that the lack of anything new in terms of character progression makes the experience of Beyond the Dawn somewhat dull. Enhanced Boost Attacks unlocked by completing special Character Quests are definitely not enough to make combat in the expansion feel fresh. All this doesn’t mean that things are bad by any means, as combat is still as fun as it was in the base game, but if you have spent hundreds of hours with the base game, you will find little in Beyond the Dawn to get excited about.

Traversal and exploration, much like combat, haven’t seen any major improvement, so you will be exploring the same towns and the same fields seen in the base game with only some minor changes related to the unification of the two worlds, further making the expansion feel dull. Everything considered, it’s only the character interactions that carry the day. Seeing how every main character adjusted to the new world and what they have been up to is interesting enough, so those who loved the characters in the base game will find plenty to like in the expansion. Worldbuilding is also solid, as optional sub-quests provide new information on the New World and its inhabitants while sending players on to fetch items and exterminate Zeugl like in the base game.

Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn is, at the end of the day, a missed opportunity. While the story is passable, despite its pacing, and the characters and their interactions are decent enough, they may not be enough for most players to visit the New World. Not adding any new gameplay mechanics outside of some very minor stuff damages the experience considerably, making the expansion a worthy purchase only for those who truly loved the base game.

PlayStation 5 version tested. Review code provided by the publisher.

Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn

Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn

Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn feels like a missed opportunity. While the story held some potential, it doesn’t go beyond passable at best, its uneven pacing and the lack of meaningful gameplay additions making the whole experience feel dull at times. As such, only die hard fans of the base game will find some value in what is, essentially, an extended prologue with limited appeal.