Beyond the Dawn: Tales of Arise Beyond the Dawn DLC review: A remarkable epilogue held back by mediocre gameplay

A few years back, I reviewed Tales of Arise elsewhere, so to finally see the Beyond the Dawn DLC drop, I was quite excited. Arise quickly became one of my all-time favorites in this series for its more mature storytelling tone and approach and seriously upgraded visuals. It didn’t feel like I was controlling a bunch of grade schoolers who conveniently wind up fighting God.

While I feel Beyond the Dawn tells an excellent story and is the epilogue that Tales of Arise deserved, I worry that it was too little, too late. This is primarily because the base game is several years old by now. On top of that, it has a steep asking price for what it offers — or perhaps, what it doesn’t offer.

Note: This review features minor spoilers for the ending of Tales of Arise.

Tales of Arise’s Beyond the Dawn DLC is an incredible story, but there’s a catch

There’s something about Tales of Arise’s Beyond the Dawn DLC that genuinely filled me with joy. It takes place after the original game has been completed, but you can play through it without beating the initial game. However, there will be plenty of references to the end-game and beyond, so it’s recommended you beat this entry into the Tales series first.

As the story of the original game wrapped up, the Dahna and Rena, the twin planets in the story, merged together as intended by the cosmos. This, obviously, has a rippling effect. The Dahnans and Renans aren’t exactly going to start living side by side peacefully.

In the aftermath of the merging of the planets, the Renans, the upper-class, rich, privileged people, have to live alongside the people they subjugated for centuries, and it doesn’t sit well with them. While one might expect them to feel some sort of guilt, they still feel entitled. The story remains as mature as the base game.

Nazamil's life is a very hard one (Image via Bandai Namco)

Neither side really wants to live next to one another, and it is leading to violence and paranoia among both races. There’s also the mysterious young girl, Nazamil, who is of mixed birth. Her story is incredibly tragic, so I won’t spoil it here. What I will say is that it is a fantastic narrative arc that does a lot to tie up the loose ends of the original Tales of Arise.

The problems quickly began in Tales of Arise’s Beyond the Dawn DLC

I was hoping that my characters and progress from the original playthrough would carry over, but this is not the case. You’re going to have to re-grind some of the more powerful late-game weapons and any exp/skills that the game doesn’t give you. For example, I wound up having to unlock Dragon Swarm as one of the melee skills.

If you own any of the previous DLCs for this game that gave you extra character levels, Gald (money), or cosmetics, you can activate them again here in Beyond the Dawn. The fact that I owned all the DLCs for Tales of Arise ahead of the Beyond the Dawn expansion put my party at level 100 right out of the gate. This was perhaps the most frustrating thing for me, though. I’m certain there was a reason for this, but I am still quite disappointed.

On the positive side, it does let everyone play the game at the same level, even if they beat the game at a low level or didn’t beat it at all. However, that’s not the only mediocre thing about Beyond the Dawn.

Based on how you played, here is what you start with in the DLC (Image via Bandai Namco)

I liked going back through the old areas and exploring them with a new purpose. However, it felt like retreading the same ground and fighting the same enemies. Nothing, but the story, felt fresh. While most of the main story quests involve killing the Zeugles (monsters), there are plenty of fun side missions to take part in.

While the Reconstruction subquests did not have any measurable impact on the story or world, I loved playing through them. The focus of these missions — trying to help people rebuild the lives they lost in the recent calamity — is a concept worth admiring.

The visuals and audio for Tales of Arise: Beyond The Dawn remain stellar

One of the things that I loved the most about Tales of Arise was its audio and visual elements, and it stays the same here. Beyond the Dawn is just as gorgeous as the original game was. The voices of the cast, from Nazamil on down to the main cast, were remarkable in the English dub, without any of the weird vocal pacing I’ve noticed in other dubs recently.

I want to talk about the Skits here, briefly, too. This is where a lot of the game’s charm comes in, and it’s all down to the talent and power of the voice cast. They really bring the protagonists to life, and it was honestly just nice to hear these characters interact again. It was like meeting old friends again.

In Conclusion

I want to re-establish that I adore the story in Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn. The base game was an award-winning success, and it is not just me who thinks so.

The game is extremely realistic in its approach. Instead of the fairy tale happy ending, it delves into the difficulties that people go through when it comes to coming together and uniting after going through a lot of stuff. The game is a testament to the fact that old hatreds and wounds don’t just disappear.

However, the game’s DLC is quite expensive for what it offers. The story is about 20 hours, demanding 30-35 hours for 100% completion. I enjoyed playing it and was glad to journey to this world again, but I feel let down by doing so much of the same stuff over again.

I enjoyed it, and I think that fans of the title will also feel satisfaction in the story, but it’s going to be frustrating to build up your level 100 party and get all the best gear only to start over from the level 60 range. For better or for worse, there are plenty of things to do outside of the main story.

Long-time fans of Tales of Arise will find value in the Beyond the Dawn DLC. The story is remarkable, and if you liked the gameplay before, that's not going to change here.