Review | Dreamworks Dragons Dawn Of New Riders

Disclosure - We were gifted products for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own.

The 'How To Train Your Dragon' franchise has been around for nine years. With three films following the release of the latest movie - The Hidden World, a TV series and a number of games, from big screen to smaller screens the movies, shows and games are really popular with both adults and children. The latest outing for How To Train your Dragon moves to the Nintendo Switch, with Toothless and Hiccup aiming to impress on the smallest and most portable to screens. The Dawn Of New Riders game takes place within the same universe, but with an entirely new story.

You start the game as Scribbler, who lives on the island of Havenholme.  Sadly Havenholme is attacked at the beginning of the game leaving Scribbler with no memory.  The start of the game sees one of the invaders running off with a dragon egg, and Scribbler must chase him down and release the dragon from the egg.  Welcome to Patch, a new Dragon, guided by Scribbler who soon meets up with Hiccup and Toothless.

The aim of the game is to help Scribbler rebuild the island of Havenholme, recovering his memories in the process.

Dawn of New Riders would be best described as a top-down RPG, with plenty of chests to open, weapons to create and potions to mix and use.  You can also freely switch between Scribbler and Patch to make use of their own abilities when you may need some extra dragon power.  The island exploration is fun, with baddies to beat up along the way.  It reminds me of Skylanders and fans of those games will be sure to enjoy Dawn Of New Riders.

Once you move off the island, you have some dungeon style levels to complete and this is where using the combination of characters is at its best. You will need to think about who to use in order to solve puzzles and beat level bosses in order to progress.

The control scheme is nice and simple, which I think makes it perfect for the switch, with a potentially younger audience and the ability to play on the go. There is one button for attack, one for block and one for dodge with no need to try and attempt combos.  With Patch you will unlock fire, ice and electric powers as you progress through the game.

I haven't mentioned the flying sequences within the game yet. These are definitely an impressive part of the game,  flying your dragon offers a new experience within the game and also offers a break from the dungeon style gameplay that does feel refreshing.

I was pleased to see that there are not any XP levels to fill up or skills that you have to unlock as this can make for a difficult game for the younger player.  Its nice to have an accessible RPG that could be used as an introduction to the more complex games.

Sometimes movie tie in games can be a let down, however this is far from that. It's a well put together and refined game, with enough RPG elements to keep even Zelda fans happy, yet enough simplicity to make it engaging for younger players.  Although I haven't tried the Xbox or PS4 versions of the game I would recommend the Switch version if you have the choice as playing in handheld mode seems to fit the game perfectly.

John

*We received PR Samples for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. This post also contains affiliate links, they work at no cost to you however can help towards the running of my blog.*