Released in September 2021, Tales of Arise was a triumphant return to form for the long-running JRPG franchise. With its gorgeous art direction, compelling cast of characters, and satisfying real-time combat, Tales of Arise marked a high point for the series and garnered critical acclaim. Now, over two years later, Bandai Namco has released a major expansion DLC titled Beyond the Dawn.
This content drops players back into the world of Dahna, advancing the story by one year. We find Alphen, Shionne and their loyal band of heroes working to foster peace and unity between the planets of Dahna and Rena, which have merged into one following the events of the base game. However, tensions are still high between the two races.
Enter Nazamil, a mysterious girl with mixed Dahnan and Renan heritage, who gets caught up in a new world-ending threat. In this review, we’ll examine if Beyond the Dawn is a worthy return to Tales of Arise, or if some innovation was needed after the two year wait. Does this expansion recapture the magic of the original journey, or is it merely a nostalgic trip down memory lane? Let’s dive in and find out.
A Familiar Tale with A New Face
Beyond the Dawn picks up one year after the events of Tales of Arise, which saw the planets of Dahna and Rena merged into one following the defeat of the Great Spirit. Our heroes Alphen and Shionne have settled into a routine of traveling across the land, sealing ancient structures called Mausoleums that are disrupting the flow of astral energy and preventing full unification.
It’s on one such journey that they encounter a young girl named Nazamil, who is clearly in some kind of trouble. Through flashbacks and skits, we learn that Nazamil is the daughter of a powerful noble who competed in the Crown Contest. She has a mixed background, with her mother being Renan and father Dahnan. This leaves her shunned by both races, a lost soul with nowhere to call home.
Nazamil provides the central conflict for Beyond the Dawn’s tale, as Alphen and Shionne take her under their wing and get caught up in the mystery of her past. The themes of prejudice and finding one’s identity that were core to Tales of Arise continue here. Unfortunately, the opening hours spend a lot of time on routine errands and reintroducing mechanics before the main thread picks up.
Once Nazamil’s backstory enters the spotlight, the plot builds momentum, culminating in a few strong emotional moments for her character arc. The returning cast get some decent development as well, with skits and dialog exploring how they’ve adjusted to peace time and their evolving relationships. That said, the overall scope feels limited compared to the original journey.
With around 15-20 hours of content, Beyond the Dawn has a lot of filler padded out with fetch quests and backtracking. The streamlined fast travel system makes these mundane tasks fly by, but they slow the pace when you just want to push the story forward. The main plot starts off slow and meandering before finding its footing in the final act, where the stakes are raised and Nazamil confronts her past. Her reserved persona contrasts well with the outgoing heroes we know and love.
By the end, Nazamil earns her place among the crew, even if her introduction leans heavily on standard anime tropes. For those invested in seeing more of Alphen, Shionne and the gang, their comradery remains one of the DLC’s highlights. But ultimately, Beyond the Dawn’s story plays things a bit too safe to fully justify returning after two years away.
Refined Combat Without Innovation
Considering it has been over two years since Tales of Arise first released, some fans may have expected Beyond the Dawn to shake up the formula or introduce new gameplay elements. Unfortunately, the core combat and progression systems remain virtually unchanged from the base game. At its core, the action-packed real-time battling is just as thrilling as ever. Chaining together regular attacks, Artes, Boost Strikes and Mystic Artes to decimate foes still delivers immensely satisfying results. Switching between the six playable characters mid-fight retains the same strategy. From a pure mechanics standpoint, the gameplay shines as brightly as it did the first time around.
However, the lack of innovation is disappointing after such a long wait between releases. There are zero new Artes or combat skills to acquire and experiment with. Your entire arsenal is simply handed to you out of the gate based on bonuses unlocked from your Tales of Arise save data. This makes the opening hours extremely disorienting, as you try to re-acclimate to controls you haven’t touched in years while sorting through a glut of abilities. Progressing and unlocking fresh skills incrementally would have provided better onboarding. Even endgame weapons from the base game are immediately available if you have the materials. The result is a system overload rather than a sense of growth.
This repetitiveness extends to the requisite grinding to re-purchase your old skill trees as well. Early quests are essential for farming SP, but they boil down to rushed busywork with fast travel shortcuts. The new Reconstruction tasks loosely tied to map changes are not much better. Only the EX Character questlines offer uniquely fun moments that build party member bonds. The 40+ core side quests feature thin stories and uninspired monster hunts across familiar locales. Given you receive no new powers or areas to experiment with, going through the motions feels redundant compared to the base game’s journey.
That said, Beyond the Dawn absolutely delivers when it comes to challenging dungeon diving and epic boss battles. The three new Mausoleum dungeons are dark, maze-like spaces rife with powerful elite foes and worthwhile treasures. They offer some of the most thrilling and demanding combat encounters in the whole package. The final dungeon and climatic showdown in particular exceed anything from the base game, providing a proper endgame test even for seasoned veterans. These moments justify returning for fans who just want more of Tales of Arise’s excellent free-flowing fights. But a little innovation would have gone a long way to refresh the experience after two years away.
A Missed Opportunity for Discovery
One of the most striking qualities of Tales of Arise was its utterly gorgeous world design. The painterly environments popped with vibrant colors and intricate detail that made journeying across the realms of Dahna and Rena a continual visual treat. Beyond the Dawn upholds the same exceptional level of art direction, immediately immersing you back into the distinctive atmosphere fans fell in love with. The trademark fantasy landscapes filled with glittering waters, verdant forests, and quaint country villages remain stunning to behold on next-gen consoles. Simply returning to gaze upon these panoramas is a joy.
However, Beyond the Dawn does little to meaningfully expand on the world for players to discover. Despite the game centering around the merging of Dahna and Rena into one unified planet, the map layouts are 95% reused from the base game. You’ll be revisiting all the same familiar cities, countrysides, and pathways with only minor cosmetic changes to represent the aftermath of unification. A couple of new houses here, a few extra merchant stalls there – nothing you’d notice unless intentionally looking for it. For an expansion based around two realms converging, more radical revisions to the world design were expected.
The only truly new environments come in the form of three fresh dungeons tied to the main story. While well crafted and visually distinct, these mausoleums still represent a mere fraction of new terrain to explore compared to the vast country you already crossed in Tales of Arise. The addition of extra elite monsters and collectibles sprinkled about alleviates backtracking somewhat, but it cannot disguise the recycled maps. Given you play as the same six characters, visiting all the exact same places feels more reminiscent than exciting discovery. For a DLC drop two years later, more new areas and fully realized changes related to the merged planet premise would have fulfilled the concept’s potential.
As it stands, Beyond the Dawn opts for minor tweaks rather than seizing the opportunity to showcase this newly fused world. The exquisite art direction and graphics still astound, but environments mostly come across as gorgeous nostalgia trips rather than surprising adventures. While the pairing of Dahna and Rena had fascinating story implications, the expansion does not fully deliver on letting you see and feel how this convergence reshaped the land. A touch of innovation alongside the undeniable aesthetic beauty would have brought the setting to life.
A Smoother Journey
From a technical standpoint, Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn delivers a smooth, stable experience. During my entire 20+ hour playthrough on PlayStation 5, I encountered no crashes, frame rate dips, or game-breaking bugs. The engine runs well whether you’re exploring peaceful countryside or battling giant creatures alongside explosive magical effects. Load times entering new areas or fast traveling also feel improved compared to the base game.
Beyond the Dawn features full voice acting for all major story scenes and quest dialogues. Hearing the emotional performances from familiar characters adds life to their interactions. The soundtrack provides rousing orchestral battle themes and serene exploration melodies that pair nicely with the gorgeous fantasy settings. While there are no standout new tracks compared to Tales of Arise, the audio design remains great.
The one technical critique is that Beyond the Dawn does not take full advantage of the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers on PS5. These features added immersion to the base game’s combat, but are not implemented in the DLC. Considering this expansion arrived two years later, some improvements in utilizing current hardware could have been expected. Still, the overall performance is rock solid.
In summary, Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn delivers on stability and polish. The visuals astound, voice acting brings characters to life, and technical issues are non-existent. It checks all the boxes for a smooth, quality presentation. However, considering this is a current generation title, more innovation with things like the DualSense controller would have elevated the experience. But fans can rest assured Beyond the Dawn’s journey will be free of major technical frustrations.
Final Thoughts
Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn provides an opportunity for hardcore fans to spend more time with Alphen, Shionne and their companions in a direct continuation of their previous journey. If you simply wanted another 15-20 hours adventuring with this lovable band of misfits, the expansion delivers. Their bonding moments and character development remain some of the strongest elements. The combat also stays as thrilling as ever, with several challenging new dungeons and imposing boss fights that put your skills to the test. Beyond the Dawn excels at presenting more of what you already loved about Tales of Arise.
However, the lack of new content after a two year wait between releases is disappointing for those hoping for a refreshed experience. The combat, progression systems, world map, and side activities remain nearly identical to the base game. The story starts off slow and mundane before finding its footing closer to the climax. While new heroine Nazamil earns her place by the end, she is not enough to carry the plot alone. Beyond the Dawn had room to take more narrative risks and showcase bolder changes following the fusion of two realms. It often comes across as nostalgic fan service rather than seizing the opportunity to innovate.
In summary, Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn has merits for its heartwarming character moments and exhilarating boss showdowns that long-time fans will cherish. But it plays things too safe story-wise and lacks major new gameplay content after years away. Exploring a beautifully familiar world was nice, but discovering fresh terrains or combat abilities would have brought more excitement. Beyond the Dawn works better as a comfy epilogue rather than a full-fledged expansion that moves the series forward. It delivers more of the same, when players hoped two years would warrant something braver.
Diehard fans will find what they crave in reuniting with beloved heroes and challenging battles. But those seeking innovation or narrative surprises may leave Dahna again wanting. Beyond the Dawn evokes positive nostalgia, yet feels reluctant to evolve the formula in any substantial way. It provides a few dozen more hours of quality fun, but not enough justification after such a long absence. This epilogue gives nice closure, but should have been the start of a new chapter.
The Review
Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn
Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn is a solid but safe sequel that gives fans more of what they love, but doesn't do enough to push the series forward after a two year wait. It's an enjoyable return trip that provides fanservice, but lacks innovation in both storytelling and gameplay.
PROS
- Gorgeous visuals and art direction on par with original game
- Enjoyable returning character interactions and development
- Combat remains highly engaging and fun
- New challenging dungeons and thrilling boss fights
- Decent amount of content with 15-20 hours for the story
- Overall solid technical performance
CONS
- Recycled areas and worlds provide little sense of discovery
- Story pacing issues and filler quests early on
- Repetitive side quests with mundane objectives
- No major innovations or changes to formula after 2 years
- Missed potential from planet merge narrative premise
