Drakengard 3 Review: Sharp Ground Combat, Clumsy Dragons

Drakengard 3 is a strange beast. It is a prequel to the original game, a fantasy action RPG built around ground combat and aerial battles on a dragon, and a story about a woman trying to murder her five sisters. It is also a game that asks players to sit through a lot of technical trouble and awkward design choices to get to its reasonably strong core.

Trailer, via PlayStation.

Ground Combat and the Dragon Problem

The hack-and-slash combat on foot is the game’s best feature. Zero can switch between four weapon types — swords, spears, combat bracers and chakrams — without pausing, and chaining combos fills her Tension Gauge toward a hyperactive Intoner Mode that grants her speed, damage and immunity to attack. Spells fill a separate Magic Gauge, and both systems feed into the rhythm of combat. The sense of momentum holds up even when the visuals stumble.

But the dragon combat is where the game stumbles badly. Players fly Mikhail across the sky, dodging enemy fire and targeting foes from above, but the system never quite lands. It feels clunky next to the grounded fights, and it breaks the flow whenever a boss forces a shift from one mode to the other.

Zero’s Quest Against Her Sisters

The story follows Zero, a woman who can manipulate magic through song, as she tries to kill her five sisters, each of whom rules a region of the land. She is aided by Mikhail, her dragon companion. The setup is dark and compelling, and the game leans into the weirdness of its premise rather than apologizing for it.

One, Two, Three, Four and Five are all distinct, each ruling a different region and carrying a personal quirk. Two is cheerful, Three is obsessed with dolls, Four is the only virgin, and Five is consumed by greed. The game treats them as real people rather than mere targets, which makes Zero’s quest feel less like a checklist and more like a slow burn of betrayal.

“The strongest Intoner, One, wishes to unite the five once again and bring stability to the land.”

Technical Troubles and Mixed Reception

Drakengard 3 was developed by the same team behind the original game and its spin-off Nier, led by producer Takamasa Shiba, director Yoko Taro and writer Sawako Natori. The music comes from Keiichi Okabe, who also scored Nier. The game was built at Access Games to address criticisms of the series’ earlier gameplay.

That ambition shows in the ambition of the design, but it also shows in the rough edges. The game launched with multiple technical issues, and critics pointed to the dragon combat, graphics and general polish as weak spots. Reviews in Japan were mixed to positive, while Western reviews were mixed.

What Works and What Stumbles

The game’s strengths are easy to name. The Tension Gauge builds anticipation for big swings. The story’s central mystery — why Zero wants to kill her sisters — is genuinely unsettling, and the game does not rush to explain it.

The weaknesses are just as obvious. The dragon combat is clumsy and frustrating, and the game’s visual presentation never quite matches its ambitions. The pacing of the middle chapters could use tightening.

Drakengard 3 is a game that reaches for greatness and only partially catches it. Its combat is sharp, its story is darkly compelling, and its ambition is clear. But the technical troubles and awkward design choices keep it from becoming something truly great.

Access Games · action RPG · Drakengard 3 · game review · Nier