Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Reviews
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance does feel its age in places, but that doesn’t stop it from offering an entertaining and exciting dungeon-crawling romp. It definitely felt special re-playing it in HD and with a silky smooth frame rate for me, especially since it’s a title I’ve come back to on a regular basis ever since its initial release back in 2001… I’m happy to report that it is just as fun for me to play now as it was then. It’s a bit of a shame that more wasn’t added to this re-release and the £29.99 price point does feel a bit steep, but it doesn’t stop Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance from offering a good time. Whilst returning gamers will probably appreciate it the most, newbies looking for a satisfying co-op quest should enjoy its adventure too.
Nowadays though, we have so many mediocre ARPGs on console, let alone genuinely amazing ones. And we’re a little past losing our minds over interactable enviroments. All that’s left is a game that’s doesn’t play nearly as well as it looks. Hopefully the Dark Alliance reboot is much better than this one.
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is a strong pick for the individuals who are searching for an enjoyable trip just as anybody that passed up a great opportunity the first run through and is requiring a pleasant co-op game to play.
Don't get us wrong, if this was cheaper, we'd be recommending this in a heart beat, despite our reservations. It's a great trip down memory lane, with some addictive combat that still holds up today. But when you can pick up more modernised and arguably better games for the same price, it makes the trip to Baldur's Gate one that's not worth breaking the piggy bank until a sale.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is a fun game to return to, and somehow it feels and plays exactly as everyone remembers, yet doesn't feel any worse than before despite its age. It has the same great loot and explore-heavy gameplay, with hoards of enemies to chop through as well as co-op play. However, it also falls into the same pitfalls, and for a remaster that is unfortunate. It's going to be a lot of fun for those who played it in the past, but new players beware of the rough difficulty and old-fashioned gameplay approach.
I would have liked to have seen this remastered, or this re-release turned into a remaster or a remake. I mean I feel like it’s an old enough classic that could have gotten better treatment. It still looks pretty nice but they could have done a lot of quality of life improvements to the game.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is a formidable challenge, particularly by modern games' standards, but one that's been ported rather brilliantly and is certainly a lot of fun to play. It may outstay its welcome to some extent with gameplay that's not quite complex enough to warrant its lengthy campaign, but the port is one of the very best we've seen, improving the visuals of the original and maintaining a flawless framerate along with a UI perfectly suited to handheld play. However, this is the game exactly as you remember it from 2001. If that's enough for you, you'll have fun with this version. If you're on the fence - or if you're not ready to get kicked on your ass a lot - we'd recommend waiting for a sale.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is a solid pick for those who are looking for a nostalgia trip as well as anyone that missed out the first time and is needing a fun local co-op game to play. There are many aspects of the game that haven't aged well, but the fun factor trumps a lot of those issues. Plus, the game gives players plenty of bang for their buck, with a ton to do in the main story and some unlockable content, including a Gauntlet mode and fan favorite character Drizzt Do'Urden. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance was a great game in 2001 and it's still a ton of fun to play 20 years later.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance has sadly not held up for a modern audience. If you already enjoyed the game, then this is a decent port to current hardware. For everyone else, the game is clunky, drab, and boring.
A formerly excellent game brought down significantly by a poor remaster with barely any upgrades to sell it to a new audience, at a price that's a little too high for what the game is. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance still has a great, classic DnD story and setting, with an excellent musical score, but the experience is marred by technical issues that range from disappearing sound effects and frame rate drops to frequent crashes.