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Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance review thread

Saucycarpdog

Saucycarpdog

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,525
Reviews are coming out now. Will update the thread as more come in.

Opencritic: 65
Metacritic: 63

Destructiod (in progress)
I'm just not digging Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance right now. It feels rickety at best and annoying at worst. Monotonous, bland, uninteresting. However, I know that multi-player can offset some of the problems I had. I wouldn't judge Left 4 Dead or Gauntlet based on their single-player, so it seems unfair to set my criticism in stone until I've sampled what Dark Alliance can offer. I'm not hopeful, but it's worth giving it that chance. Though, if you were planning to be a solo adventurer, maybe reconsider.
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Windows Central 3/5
It's really hard to justify paying the full $40 for a game that seems to be relying on a license to build an audience without really living up to the Dungeons & Dragons name. With a thin plot, no character development, fairly repetitive gameplay, and a bunch of content that needs fixing or won't be delivered until a paid expansion, Dark Alliance feels like an unfinished experience rather than a robust adventure.
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PCGamesN 5/10
A cheeky take on Dungeons & Dragons lore isn't enough to carry the lacklustre combat, sluggish controls, and dodgy enemy hitboxes.
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PC Gamer 82/100
A furiously entertaining action RPG whose horrible monsters are a delight to slay, whether you're playing solo or co-op.
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The Gamer 2/5
Better netcode will go a long way, and I expect to see improvements to the controls, the combat inputs, and hopefully even more mechanically intense boss fights. There's a tendency to recommend bad games to the most devoted fans, but I think fans of Drizzt and Co. will hate this game even more than the uninitiated. The saving grace is that Dark Alliance is included with Game Pass, so it won't cost you anything to check back in from time to time and see how it's doing. There is an enjoyable game buried here, I just wouldn't expect to see it anytime soon.
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IGN 4/10
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is a tedious co-op adventure with lots of goblins and even more bugs.
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Venture Beat 3/5
For now, Dark Alliance feels like many D&D adventures: Sometimes, you gotta slog through some combat in order to learn more about the world and enjoy a good story.
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True achievements 4.5/5
Overall, Dungeons & Dragon: Dark Alliance is a fantastic example of a third-person action RPG, offering a great amount of story and lore through varying missions. With only a few minor setbacks aside, I'd have no problem saying that Tuque Games has brought my Drizzt Do'Urden and companions fantasies to life in all of the best ways. I'll be seeing this game through to the very end without a shadow of a doubt, and have no issue recommending it to anybody that enjoys action RPGs. Grab some buddies and head to Icewind Dale — you won't regret it!
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Fextralife 7/10
Though nothing like the original Dark Alliance games, this new iteration does just enough to warrant the attention of those who enjoy a co-operative dungeon crawling experience. And while I recommend waiting for a sale if you intend to play solo, the inclusion of matchmaking should allow just about anyone to find other players to party up with easily, which really feels like what this game was made for.
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EssBeeVee

EssBeeVee

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,784
Is this the game that's also coming to mobile?

EDIT: Nvm. That's Diablo Immortal im thinking of.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
116,677
Welp. I was looking for a melee-focused co-op game to play this summer. Guess this won't be it.
 
cw_sasuke

cw_sasuke

Member
Oct 27, 2017
26,538
Thats worse than expected but then again it was kinda unproven. Good for people that pla yit through GamePass, the rest probably gonna wait for a price drop if interested.
 
Zukkoyaki

Zukkoyaki

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,440
Honestly... I'm probably going to play this regardless of reviews if only because it has some of my favorite book characters.
 
More Human than Human

More Human than Human

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
3,977
Slightly disappointing It looked like a swimming in sevens game. Maybe it will evolve with time like others have since its a GaaS. Have they released some kind of roadmap?
 
Izanagi89

Izanagi89

"This guy are sick" and Corrupted by Vengeance
Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,833
Yeesh. I get that Gamepass gives you the freedom to try things for 'free' but sometimes your time is valuable too.
 
Slayven

Slayven

Never read a comic in his life
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
93,606
Damn just skimming through the OP i had to take a knee, no punches pulled
 
Zebesian-X

Zebesian-X

Member
Dec 3, 2018
19,992
At least people who try it on game pass won't feel burnt by it. That said, time is a more important investment than $$$ in my eyes and there's just too much to play these days for me to DL it.
 
MadMike

MadMike

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,450
About what I expected. The game is trash. It's like Avengers, but with even less content, worse combat, and characters nobody cares about.
 
RecLib

RecLib

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,365
I know they used established character from dnd lore or whatever, but making a DND game and only including martial characters feels to me like you never wanted to make a dnd game in the first place.
 
Rhaknar

Rhaknar

Member
Oct 26, 2017
42,903
as expected. will give it a go on GP to see if I can have some fun, if not no biggie, the beauty of GP I guess (the next step up from "wait for a sale" for me)
 
phant0m

phant0m

Member
Oct 29, 2017
3,361
Nothing against Tuque specifically, but I really wish WotC would give their IP to a proven studio. Both this and Magic Legends have such good potential that's wasted on C-tier developers.
 
DWarriorSN

DWarriorSN

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,149
PA
This looked bad in every single showing it had so it's reviewing as i expected lol.

I remember making a post about being surprised that people were hyped despite ot looking so bad.
 

Mudo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,115
Tennessee
Oh damn a 60?I was expecting mid 70s

Welp o have Gamepass and the game installed so I'm at least going to try it out for myself tomorrow.

Disappointing reading the reviews though…sounds like a waste of the name tbh
 
ShinUltramanJ

ShinUltramanJ

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,950
I'll play it on a Game Pass trial then.

On a side note this is probably why it's on Game Pass. If developers aren't confident in their game, it's best to just take Microsoft's money rather then rely solely on selling to players.
 
ghostcrew

ghostcrew

The Shrouded Ghost
Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
30,424
RecLib said:
I know they used established character from dnd lore or whatever, but making a DND game and only including martial characters feels to me like you never wanted to make a dnd game in the first place.
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The bolded does seem like one of the glaring issues before even getting to how it actually plays.

Still, I am bound by law to at least try a game that has Drizzt as the protagonist so here we go.
 
cakely

cakely

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,149
Chicago
Saucycarpdog said:
Reviews are coming out now. Will update the thread as more come in.

Metacritic: 60

Destructiod (in progress)


Windows Central 3/5


PCGamesN 5/10


PC Gamer 82/100


The Gamer 2/5
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I literally had no idea what to expect but now I know not to even download it on Game Pass.

3/5 from Windows Central? It must be a mega-turkey.

Jaded Alyx said:
Nothing of value lost but your time if it sucks.
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I don't know about you, but my time? It's pretty damn valuable.
 
Interrobang

Interrobang

Member
Oct 25, 2017
101
Are the bad reviews just because of the story/lore/characters?

4-player online co-op crossplay games are far and few between, and that makes this a must buy/play for my group of friends. We're getting real sick of Overcooked and Fortnite.
 

Deleted member 3082

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,099
About what I expected, tarnishing the legacy of two really solid PS2 hack-and-slash dungeon crawlers. The first was just re-released (and you should definitely go play that instead!), hopefully the second's chances of a re-release aren't tanked by the lukewarm reception to this mediocre mess.
 
Rhaknar

Rhaknar

Member
Oct 26, 2017
42,903
not in defense of this game in particular, but it is a bit sad to see how many people are so gung-ho attached to reviews to the point where they wont even see for themselves if they like it or not. To each it's own and all, but I always prefer to see for myself if I like something or not. If I don't (and I probably won't let's be fair) nothing lost, but I've enjoyed plenty of bad games before that I wouldn't try if I just lived by a "it has bad reviews so I won't even try it I guess" policy. But again, to each it's own.
 
Malcolm9

Malcolm9

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,043
UK
Rhaknar said:
not in defense of this game in particular, but it is a bit sad to see how many people are so gung-ho attached to reviews to the point where they wont even see for themselves if they like it or not. To each it's own and all, but I always prefer to see for myself if I like something or not. If I don't (and I probably won't let's be fair) nothing lost, but I've enjoyed plenty of bad games before that I wouldn't try if I just lived by a "it has bad reviews so I won't even try it I guess" policy. But again, to each it's own.
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Hasn't that always been the point of reviews though 🤷🏻‍♂️.

If people aren't even trying it when they have Gamepass that says a lot.
 
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