Thursday, February 21, 2019

"DreamWorks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders" Review


Well, at least you can't call this game a quick and dirty movie tie-in. With backgrounds characters who have more in common with the first two films and Netflix series than the new film -- and fresh frontline protagonists --  "DreamWorks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders" is determined to be its own thing.

Exactly how worthwhile that thing ended up being is debatable.

A clumsy, awkward top-down RPG lite, the game cuts corners at every opportunity. Where you'd hope for detailed character models and varied backgrounds, you get bland avatars and a cookie-cutter, blandly linear world.

Most distracting, where you'd hope for voice acting with a cast of at least star sound-alikes, you get "Zelda"-style grunts and text windows of dialogue.

Bearing more in common with a mobile game than a robust console release, "Dawn of New Riders" does manage to craft a passable adventure once you get over the cut-rate quality of the presentation. Inventive puzzles, satisfying battles and a compelling item collection system keep you coming back for more, in spite of the rough edges.

"Dawn of New Riders" doesn't dazzle in the ways the movies do, but nor does it disappoint in the way old video game tie-ins used to. You could do worse, but you could also do a lot better.

Publisher provided review code.

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