Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance Reviews
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance isn’t a bad game, but it does feel insubstantial at the moment. The lack of character development, plot or world-building will probably turn away hardcore D&D fans. As for the fans of multiplayer action games, while the core of the experience is fairly solid, the lack of technical polish, repetitive structure and unexciting loot system will likely not satisfy for long. Hopefully over time, patches and additional content can flesh out the experience and make it the rollicking fantasy hack and slash multiplayer funfest it has the potential to be. Just make sure you don’t forget to bring a friend or three.
Boasting solid combat marred by a woolly lock-on system and repetitive objectives, Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is, nonetheless, a mostly enjoyable hack 'n' slash adventure that's best played in co-op.
I don’t mind the game. I’m a big fan of the more traditional D&D games, but I also don’t mind a more brainless “mash keys and progress” type game and this arguably falls far more in that latter category. If you like a bit of Dungeon delving and aren’t too fussed about character details then this could be a good choice. If you really want page after page of stats and character story then this will probably leave you wanting.
Dark Alliance lacks in diversity, with bugs littered throughout making it near impossible to remain immersed for more than 10 minutes at a time, if that. You will undoubtedly expect either a successful homage to Dungeons and Dragons or a high-quality action RPG with influence from that scene - at this stage, it does not quite deliver either.
Dark Alliance lacks compelling narrative and gameplay variety, despite being steeped in lore from its source material.
Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance has good ideas, but poor enemy variety, samey levels, bad puzzles, a shockingly poor story, the lack of local co-op, several quality-of-life issues, and numerous bugs that affect every aspect of the game make it hard to recommend to anyone, no matter how much they like the source material.
There are so many things half-baked, broken, glitchy, or simply baffling it's almost commendable.
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance offers a decent arcade action RPG experience, but suffers from midbudget jank and some questionable combat elements.
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.
Dark Alliance has some intriguing mechanics and a smart level design.
Review in Italian | Read full review
You better go and read the Drizzt books for the time and money you will spend on this game.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Just like with tabletop D&D, Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance requires a party of friends to truly enjoy this buggy experience. Otherwise, it's just a source of frustration.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
At the moment, Dungeon & Dragons: Dark Alliance is just too rough around the edges to recommend, but some will be able get enjoyment out of it if they can work past its issues. As ever, it’s fun battling your way through dungeons with friends, collecting loot as you go – especially once you’ve powered up your characters and learned some new moves. But until the camera has been tweaked to give you a better view, enemy AI has been improved and bugs have been quashed, the action will always be accompanied by an element of frustration and disappointment. It might be a good idea to wait for a patch or two before jumping in, basically.
I just didn’t expect it could be this bad. Dark Alliance is a functionally broken product. When enemies simply ignore you as you carve their health down to zero, when there’s so little to the game that that’s all you’re doing, and when the multiplayer experience is only superior because it’s a chance to share the misery with someone else, some passable graphics and one neat checkpointing system aren't anywhere near enough to redeem this game. This is the poorest handling of a license since Superman 64.
Dark Alliance is a dull and unpolished multiplayer action RPG with repetitive and glitchy combat, broken online connectivity, unbalanced solo play, and more than enough technical issues to put off anyone even slightly interested in checking it out.
Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance is the kind of game that has its own audience. If you're a fan of fantasy games and of course service-centric, don't miss Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance at all. Playing this game with friends is very enjoyable.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Offering up four-player online action in a familiar setting, D&D Dark Alliance looks good but is chock full of problems.
The creators probably didn't quite know what the Dark Alliance should be, so it is... completely bland. But it has at least beautiful locations.
Review in Polish | Read full review
If you are a long time D&D player or have played any fantasy action brawlers in the past, you’ll likely enjoy this game – either with friends, or even if you go for the more challenging route of playing alone. It certainly doesn't revolutionise the genre, but considering it’s available on Game Pass at launch, there’s no reason not to give it a go. There’s also some free DLC and a paid expansion on the way, giving Dark Alliance a chance to level up in the future.
Your perception of Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is going to heavily depend on how you want to play. If you want to go solo, prepare to toil away at the easiest difficulty level before taking on anything else. If you're planning to go with a team and don't mind the current restrictions, then you'll find this to be an enjoyable romp despite some occasional quirks. Considering its $39.99 price tag, Dark Alliance is worth a shot for those looking for an online co-op fix that isn't another shooter.