Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Daima Adventures Through The Demon Realm – Part 1 Review – Don’t Mind if I Daima

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Daima Adventures Through The Demon Realm – Part 1 Review

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot was originally released in 2020, and somehow, in 2025, we are still getting DLC for it! This is kind of amazing for Dragon Ball fans, as Kakarot is the only modern Dragon Ball game that isn’t a fighting game. It’s an adventure game, and a really great one. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – Daima: Adventure Through the Demon Realm Part 1 is DLC that adds an entire new story path, based on the current Dragon Ball: Daima anime. It’s a lot of quality content. But if you need more details, read on and we’ll tell you all about it.

The story of Dragon Ball: Daima takes place after Dragon Ball Z, but before Dragon Ball Super. Gomah, the new king of the Demon Realm, uses the dragon balls to transform Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Bulma, and Shin into younger versions of themselves, so they won’t pose a threat. He also kidnaps Dende, Earth’s Namekian guardian. The series is about kid Goku and friends’ journey through the demon realms, to defeat Gomah. The only real problem with Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – Daima: Adventure Through the Demon Realm Part 1, is that the story of Daima is stupid. Gomah’s wish makes no sense, and there’s no stakes, because the series is a prequel to Super. If you can get past the plot of Daima though, the game has great characters, and a fun world to explore.

Unique Combat

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – Daima: Adventure Through the Demon Realm Part 1 is a third person open world adventure game, with an emphasis on combat. The fighting system is over-the-shoulder 3D arena fighter-style, where the fighters are constantly in flight. Circle button melee attacks, square is a projectile, X is dash, triangle charges Ki, and R2 guards. Holding L1 opens a menu of special attacks, that are linked to the face buttons. R1 opens a menu of support abilities. The left joystick moves the player horizontally, and holding R2 allows the player to also move vertically. Dashing moves the player towards their opponent, unless a different direction is held on the joystick. It’s a fun combat system that makes for some Dragon Ball-style epicness.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot has a very JRPG-like gameplay loop. There are loads of cinematic cutscenes recapping the entire Dragon Ball Z story (sorry pre-Z fans). Several playable characters are gained over the course of the game. They gain experience points and have abilities that can be unlocked via skill trees. A large portion of the game is made up of exploring massive sandbox environments that recreate the Dragon Ball world. The player gets to fly around, complete side quests, collect items, etc. Outside of combat, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a really cozy adventure game. This is my favorite part of the game. Exploring the different cities and planets is a real treat.

Added Daima

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – Daima: Adventure Through the Demon Realm Part 1 adds the story, characters, and environments of Daima to the already jam-packed base game. Players don’t have to beat Kakarot before accessing the Daima content. They just have to complete the opening tutorial battle against Piccolo, then go to “Add-ons” in the game menu. The DLC begins with a whopping 19-minute prologue. The bulk of Part 1 takes place in Demon Realm 3, and it looks gorgeous. Because of Dragon Ball’s art style, the visuals really hold up. The character models are perfect. This 5-year-old game really holds-up on modern consoles.

There is one issue I had playing Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot – Daima: Adventure Through the Demon Realm Part 1, which is it feels like a de-escalation. It can be played before the Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot main game, but everything is already levelled up, and the difficulty is higher. But because of the Daima setting, Goku is a kid, and can’t even fly out of the gate. It creates this strange balancing issue where it feels slower compared to the main game, but is also a greater challenge. This isn’t a deal-breaking issue, but it makes the DLC a tough recommendation for anyone who isn’t already a fan of Dragon Ball Z : Kakarot.

Fantastic Addition

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a fantastic adventure game with a deep fighting system and light JRPG mechanics. The Daima: Adventure Through the Demon Realm Part 1 DLC adds loads of new content based on the Dragon Ball: Daima anime. The DLC has the same level of depth and polish as the main game, and it’s priced very reasonably. Its only issues are that the Daima story is weak compared to most Dragon Ball narratives, and that it also feels like a de-escalation compared to the main game. But it’s more quality content to an already great game. I’m excited for Part 2 to drop in early 2026.

***PS5 code provided by the publisher***