Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance

 PC
User Score
3.3

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 124 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 124
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 124
  3. Negative: 88 out of 124

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  1. churros
    Jul 3, 2021
    6
    Pros:
    + beautiful scenarios
    + interesting world
    + classes feel different

    Cons:
    - sluggish combat
    - unbalanced
    - input lag on consoles
    - boring characters and story
    - bad z-targeting
    - bad stamina-based combat
    - bugs
    - grindy
  2. Nitaro
    Jun 24, 2021
    5
    Just another mediocre game. So disappointed especially on the campaign side, since I mostly play single player. If you want this for a single player, just don't. It's one of those multiplayer mmos where offline mode is just lack of online buddies. Even for multiplayer it feels like just a mediocre game. Just play vermentide games instead
  3. LukeClifford
    Jun 24, 2021
    5
    For now the game gets a 5/10. Yes, there is bugs, AI is not the greatest, Collision sucks, crashes out of hte blue in multiplayer.....Yet....there is alot of fun to be had. I am playing through with my old son and he is having a blast. The scenery looks great, running around in free form. Find those secrets Dungeon and dragons is known for is appealing. What is the mug doing in hiddenFor now the game gets a 5/10. Yes, there is bugs, AI is not the greatest, Collision sucks, crashes out of hte blue in multiplayer.....Yet....there is alot of fun to be had. I am playing through with my old son and he is having a blast. The scenery looks great, running around in free form. Find those secrets Dungeon and dragons is known for is appealing. What is the mug doing in hidden in that pile of junk...Finding stuff is half the fun. I only see this game getting better and better. I can hardly believe people give this game a 10, let alone a zero. This game has potential and looking forward to see what they do. Happy adventuring!… Expand
  4. RowanBlack
    Jun 24, 2021
    7
    I'm enjoying this game. I find the level design excellent, the loot system good, and the combat okay. The character level progression in decent. I've played several missions solo and with a friend and have enjoyed both. I would not trust anyone who gives this a 0 or 10. A good time can be had. A few tweaks to fix a few bugs and this game should be tried by anyone who has an interestI'm enjoying this game. I find the level design excellent, the loot system good, and the combat okay. The character level progression in decent. I've played several missions solo and with a friend and have enjoyed both. I would not trust anyone who gives this a 0 or 10. A good time can be had. A few tweaks to fix a few bugs and this game should be tried by anyone who has an interest in the property or action role playing.… Expand
  5. SuperkenGaming
    Jun 30, 2021
    7
    Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance
    a Mind of its own
    Dark Alliance is an 8 hour long 3rdperson dungeon crawler that can be layed both solo as well as online with up to 4 players, hre you choose one of 4 classes that can be changed in between every mission… youll be running through thse dungeons, taking down enmies, and every once in a while you will gt the coice, set up camp here and    Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance
    a Mind of its own
    Dark Alliance is an 8 hour long 3rdperson dungeon crawler that can be layed both solo as well as online with up to 4 players, hre you choose one of 4 classes that can be changed in between every mission… youll be running through thse dungeons, taking down enmies, and every once in a while you will gt the coice, set up camp here and regain all ehalth and consumables… and if you die this will be your spawn point, butif you decline to set up camp, the rarity of the loot in this dungeon increases… really having you carfully test your skill and confidence… I played with the more quick bladed assassin as well as the archer, going back and forth each mission so that I didn’t get bred of this game, and I feel this is the best way to play through dark alliance because pof how repettitve it ultimately is, from start to finish its all the same, do this 15- 20 minute long mission, finding chests, defeating enemies if you so choose, to get tp that levels boss and take it down… I was havig an absolte blast most of the time… there are definitely some challenging momnts here, especially from a ouple of its bosses.. and by I couple, I literally mean a couple as for the most part, the ai in dark alliance is awful, they aren’t alive ready foraction, they stand there, waiting to be triggered, which can lead to tons of lack luster fights.. even some bosses will just stand there to die, putting up no fight playing solo… gameplay wise though the combat can be thrilling with each charater feeling vastly different, but my biggest announce with the gameplay is that at least on the playstation 5, the game seemed to have a mind of its own, input combat commands by itself when id try to run or even mid battle… at the nd of each mission youll be given your loot and this is another issue I have with this game.. the loot is just awful here.. ypou don’t get a feeling of what cool item did I escape with, all of it is lack luster and lame, really killing incentive to explore, I was just rushing through these dungeons slaying these brain dead bosses, with only 2 or 3 really fighting back and giving me a challenge…
    Overall, I enjoyed Dark alliance, is it game of the year contender? Not even close, but its nowhere near as bad as most are making it seem, its worth running through and playing by yourself or with friends, but there sadly is no life, in the form of content or loot to keep you playing beyond the final boss…
    I give Dungeons and Dragons Dark alliance
    a 6.5/10    … Expand
  6. sirjj25
    Jun 28, 2021
    7
    ill get this out of the way now, the biggest problem with this game is the bugs. i play on a base ps4 and my other players are on pros, or ps5 respectfully. we all have had freezing on loading screens, bad framerate and both players and items getting stuck.

    that being said, there is a real fun game under it. if your not familiar with the drizzt story, this is not a good introduction,    ill get this out of the way now, the biggest problem with this game is the bugs. i play on a base ps4 and my other players are on pros, or ps5 respectfully. we all have had freezing on loading screens, bad framerate and both players and items getting stuck.

    that being said, there is a real fun game under it. if your not familiar with the drizzt story, this is not a good introduction, you can get the jests of it through some side comments, but they seemed to leave a lot out, or hinted at, for you to read the books on your own, which i recommend.

    gameplay wise, there are 4 characters, you have a barbarian, with a war hammer, a ranger archer, a dwarf paladin, and a dark elf rogue (even though he was not a rogue in the books.) each play different, but you should be aware that there is no dedicated healer, while most characters can get or start with a healing ability, once you unlock more, you can switch it out, to which you will then need to rely on potions.

    each character seems to fall into a dedicated roll, and trying to stray from that can be damming. for instance if you run in with your rogue, and try to solo everything, you better get real used to your potion button. as well if your trying to range with your barbarian, your going to be spending a good while on every fight. my advice is to run through the first level with each character and find what you like.

    If you are playing solo, or in quick play its also important to find yourself a backup character, this is because in coop, there cant be multiples of the same characters. so no army of dwarves as fun as that will be. but also that means if your main is a popular character, you will find it harder to get into lobbies with them.

    the story is not extremely long, and after finishing it, you will just be running through levels again on harder difficulty's, trying to get more loot. imagine this game with the left 4 dead, level replay, and the diablo loot system.

    each run is about the same. there are 3 acts that you run through, most have puzzles, a few mini bosses, and a major boss at the end. the last act is normally the shortest and has the final boss in that act waiting. now the first few are just going to be goblins, orcs, trolls, ect. on repeat. but once you start getting to the later levels, the bosses really start to own the show, unfortunately the minions tend to all go down the same, there is very few tactical stratagems to the combat. while there are only 7 chapters, they can all be run through in a few hours, and that with exploring every inch of the levels.

    multiple times in each level, after larger fights are finished you will be offered a short rest, where you can get fully healed, and your potions restocked, but at the cost of your loot getting worse. honestly i never needed to use this feature, even on harder difficulty's, if you just drink your potions before opening a small chest, you stay stocked pretty well.

    the developers have already said there will be supporting the game with future content, while they said there will be no micro transactions in the game, and free story updates, there is always the possibility of paid content in the future as well.

    in closing the game runs bad, but has great potential. the $40 usd price point makes the blow a bit softer, but doesn't make up for the headaches given through all the hours put in. i hope to see more d&d games coming out in the future, as there are millions of story's to be told & re-told.

    it should off stayed longer in the oven, and fixed a lot of bad bugs.    … Expand
  7. Judge_Binary
    Jul 8, 2021
    5
    This is one of the few games recently that I've felt so 'meh' about.
    Parts of D&D: Dark Alliance feel okay, and others are severely lacking.
    For a hack-and-clash game the combat is... passable. It felt fine early on, then felt a lot better when I opened up more moves and made very effective use of the stamina/parry system, but then it really started to become tedious. To the point that    This is one of the few games recently that I've felt so 'meh' about.
    Parts of D&D: Dark Alliance feel okay, and others are severely lacking.

    For a hack-and-clash game the combat is... passable. It felt fine early on, then felt a lot better when I opened up more moves and made very effective use of the stamina/parry system, but then it really started to become tedious. To the point that my friend and I just ran past enemies in the last couple levels because we really couldn't be bothered.

    The 'RPG' system is incredibly shallow. Stats mean very little, set bonuses are completely unbalanced, and there is very little combo or skill variety if you wish to be effective. There is also no incentive to grind for loot, which is unfortunate in a lotter hack-and-slash game. There is no end-game content upon defeating the final boss. So any better loot is just used to kill the final boss faster, which was already a simple task.

    There were a few bugs encountered here and there, the worst offender being a bug that would not send a player back to camp or progress their mission, which resulted in losing their loot and having to redo the same mission to progress the story.

    All-in-all Dark Alliance is what I would classify as incredibly 'meh.' The dull combat, little incentive to grind for loot, and shallow RPG mechanics make for an experience that, while fun early, becomes dull at a rapid pace.

    If you can get it on sale for pretty cheap with a friend or two, it might be good for some giggles.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

38
#38 Most Discussed PC Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 37
  3. Negative: 13 out of 37
  1. Riot Pixels
    Sep 12, 2021
    33
    You know that a cooperative game is stillborn when you spend several minutes looking for random players to team up with even on a launch week. Probably because it’s one of the worst D&D games in ages.
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  2. CD-Action
    Sep 1, 2021
    60
    Dark Alliance is a disappointingly run-of-the-mill action RPG whose most distinctive features are bugs and connection issues. Solid combat and levelling systems are not enough to outweigh repetitive, boring environments and the lack of decent endgame content. [09/2021, p.44]
  3. Malditos Nerds
    Jul 22, 2021
    30
    Dungeons & Dragons Dark Alliance is a blemish on a franchise that is always fondly remembered by its fan base. None of its features is up to the series and doesn't even allow us to fulfill the role-playing fantasies that Dungeons & Dragons has given us for so many decades.
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