*We got a copy of the new Dragons: Dawn of New Riders to try out for free, but all opinions are my own. Scroll to bottom of post for GIVEAWAY details and entry link!

How to Train Your Dragon fans have a new movie and a new game to be excited about!  DreamWorks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders, the new title from global video game publisher Outright Games and partner Universal Games and Digital Platforms recently launched on Feb. 15, just ahead of the release of DreamWorks Animation’s new movie How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Developed by Climax Studios, the game tells a new story based within the popular DreamWorks Dragons universe and is available now on PlayStation® 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch™ and PC. Click here to watch the official game trailer.

“Players will take to the skies in an epic battle to save Dragon-kind from Eir, a fiery new foe who is determined to control all Dragons to do her evil bidding. Alongside new friends Scribbler and Patch, players will discover exciting new locations and return to old haunts, meet familiar characters, and clash with fierce enemies in this all new action-adventure.”

The Game Begins…

At first I wasn’t sure if we were actually playing. There was long intro of characters telling a story in little snippets and it reminded me of Zelda a little bit, but with more talking. I was wishing the characters actually said their lines since my son can’t read yet, but then it was kind of fun reading the story to him and game time also became “story time.” Of course, the game isn’t intended for three-year-olds since there is some “fantasy violence” and I actually had to remove the parental controls to play it under his account.

After getting through the talking intro, I caught on pretty quickly and grabbed myself an ax and a few other things by bashing boxes and chopping into trees. This all reminded me of hunting and collecting things in other quest-type games. I hadn’t played this kind of game for a while, but it was all coming back as things really got started and a guy stole an egg and ran off. Looks like it was my job to follow and fight!

I let my son take over at this point and he relished chopping things with the ax and finding treasure. He was initially more interested in destruction than actually finding the guy with the egg. He also tried attacking the sheep, but luckily they seemed impervious to the ax.

I felt pretty triumphant after defeating three bad guys in a row and then found the egg and it hatched into a chimera named Patch that joins as a buddy on the adventure. After that, you can switch back and forth between Patch and Scribbler.

We’ve really been enjoying playing the game together and watching the story develop. My son keeps running to me to fight the bad guys, and I’ve been trying to teach him to fight his own battles. I think it’s pretty neat that he is enjoying exploring the game and finding all the treasures. It’s making him think a little and solve problems, like when to switch back and forth between characters to accomplish certain tasks.

I like that he is able to play the game on his own as well, even at three! And the story parts are a good break in the game. I thought it was going to be some kind of flying dragon riding game and it ended up being my son’s first big quest adventure! And I love that it starts right back where you left off when you turn it back on, so he can continue the quest instead of starting over and over.

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