Tales of Arisewas one of the surprise hits of 2021, winningBest RPG at the 2021 Game Awardswhile also selling more than two million units within its first six months. Although the game did receive some minor post-launch DLC in the months following its release, the developers were quick to rule out any new story content, with producer Yusuke Tomizawa stating as much both before and after the game’s launch.
At some point over the next few years though, plans clearly changed, culminating in the announcement ofa substantial new DLC expansion calledBeyond the Dawnduring Sony’s September 2023 state of play. Now that it’s here, many fans of the base version ofTales of Arisewill no doubt be wondering how long it takes to beatBeyond the Dawnand whether or not it’s worth the $30 price of admission.
How Long Does it Take to Beat Beyond the Dawn?
In aPlayStation Blog post, producer Yusuke Tomizawa suggested thatBeyond the Dawnwill provide players with more than 20 hours of brand-new story contentprovided they don’t rush through it. That’s not all though. A quick look at the game’s trophies reveals that the expansion will feature 40 additional sub-quests, which is just over half as many as there are in the base version of the game. Completing all 70 of the originalTales of Arisesub-queststakes around 16 hours on average, so the ones in the DLC expansion will probably take around nine hours to complete. As such,players can expect to get around 30 hours of entertainment out ofBeyond the Dawnin total.
How Does Beyond the Dawn Compare to Other DLC Expansions?
Tales of Ariseis far from the only JRPG to receive a substantial DLC expansion several years on from its original release. Another notable example comes in the form ofDragon Ball Z Kakarot, which was treated to a second season pass at the beginning of 2023. Season Pass 2 offers players three smaller expansions, the first two of which can befully completed in around three hours each. Assuming the last one follows suit when it eventually releases, that would mean that players were paying $39.99 for around nine hours of content, which works out to be around $4.44 for every hour spent playing. Given that it’s $10 cheaper,Beyond the Dawnrepresents much better value for money, even if it ends up being a little shorter than Tomizawa suggests.
