D&D Dark Alliance - co-op action brawler where you play Drizzt's party

[LeStryfe79]

So, trying to play this game got me in the mood for a third-person, hack & slash dungeon crawl game.

Are there any recent games which did what this game tried to do but are actually good?

I know that there's War in the North, but I've beaten that multiple times already, so I'm looking for something new.

I liked Darksiders 2. It was a cross between 3d Zelda and Diablo. That was 9 years ago though.

 

[ferratilis]

 

[Xorphitus]

Iron&Blood seems to have some entertainment value compared to Dark Alliance.

 

[Kruno]

 

[The_Mask]

Imagine how shit you have to be, if Average Joe thinks you're shit.

 

[Echo Mirage]

While I'm willing to agree that the game is shit, Joe has a long record of preaching to the choir. Anytime he tries to use his own judgement he suddenly becomes a wild contrarian and shows that his taste in games is in fact shit.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

I won't blame you for not remembering it, but Iron & Blood is still probably the worst D&D game of all time.

I do remember the Dragon Magazine advertisement for Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft, although at the time I never saw an actual copy of the game or any information about it:

1996 is when this came out. Same year Capcom releases Shadow of Mystara. They had a working relationship with Capcom for years and they got Acclaim and Take-Two to make a D&D fighting game.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

That's also the exact same year Capcom releases Red Earth/Warzard, which is a fantasy based fight game Capcom made that's also kind of like a boss rush take on what they're doing in their D&D beat 'em up games. There's only a few playable characters with the CPU enemies being more bosses like in the first Fatal Fury, but because of the fantasy RPG like setting you gain moves and level up as you go.

I'd forgot that came out the same year until just now, now I'm wondering if at some point in it's conception it was a D&D fighting game. Almost seems weird that it wouldn't have been given the time. Don't really know anything about the behind the scenes aspect of that game, so I've no idea if there was ever a point when they pitched it as a D&D fighting game.

 

[mediocrepoet]

They had a working relationship with Capcom for years and they got Acclaim and Take-Two to make a D&D fighting game.

All decisions about video game versions of D&D make sense if you assume that they are made with the aim of shitting out a product that will be so putrid that it makes people buy tabletop books to satisfy the itch. Sure, there were some early missteps with the Gold Box games, etc. but they quickly ironed those kinks out. The fact that the Capcom arcade games were good ensured that they would never again get a crack at the license.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

wait that's supposed to be Catti-Brie? lmao

she looks like a fat arabian woman

 

[Infinitron]

she looks like a fat arabian woman

Wait, what? https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Ruqiah

 

[rusty_shackleford]

she looks like a fat arabian woman

Wait, what? https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Ruqiah

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Catti-brie

In her second life, despite her new heritage, the reincarnated Catti-brie appeared much the same as in her first body

 

[NJClaw]

Hey, how do I pronounce Drizzt? Thanks.

ho·mo·sex·u·al | hō-mə-ˈsek-sh(ə-)wə

 

[Kutulu]

I actually finished this POS thanks to irl friends wanting to play it and it being free (xbox promotion yada):

Its terrrible:
- it has some of worst hitboxes: spear flying 2 meters to your right still damaging you
- super terrible kb+m controls
- 0 weight to its hits, you can play the barbarian dude with the big hammer and he still only does damage through doing anime bullshit with 126 hits in a combo
- <10hrs long
- 0 replay value


at best its basically a mediocre 65% 2002 action game with better graphics

 

[LESS T_T]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/623280/announcements/detail/3110293949546486451

The Crystal Wraiths
Free DLC Drop

To the Dark Alliance Community,

The long awaited FREE DLC drop is here! Coming in hot is a new map, The Crystal Wraiths, which contains three acts to complete with new cinematics, new lore items, new bosses and a new in-game trophy to earn.

On top of that, the following updates have been made to the game. We hope you enjoy this new content for Dark Alliance!

If you encounter a new bug, please report it here: https://darkalliance-support.wizards.com/hc/en-us

Main Client Updates

Spoiler

Balance

* Buffed Frightened: from -50% to -60% physical damage output
* The level 5 Elixir of Elemental Resistance and the level 5 Elixir of Resistance now have benefits over their level 4 versions
* Catti-brie's Full Roundhouse move now has the chance to grant Elemental Adept
* Increased the damage of Kelvin's Pillar of Ice attack
* Increased the damage of Akar Kessell's Meteor Swarm
* Decreased the damage and increased the Virulence of Duergar Bomber Timed Bombs
* Increased loot chances for higher rarities across all Difficulties
* Increased chance of per-Act preferred sets from 20% to 33%
* Updated Recommended Combat Power scores according to new balancing and feedback
* Reduced from 50% damage increase to 30% for Powerful Strikes (to be in line with changes made to Weakened and Cursed)
* Combat Power bonuses from Feats no longer stack after using Abilities which buff characters

General Bug Fixes

* Fixed an issue in which, sometimes, loot could not be picked up after opening a Large Chest in a Multiplayer session
* Fixed an issue in which players would be unable to manually skip subsequent short rests after skipping a short rest
* Fixed an issue in which Small Chests would not always refill spent Usable slots after being opened throughout the title
* Fixed an issue in which, occasionally, players were unable to grab loot dropped from enemies
* Fixed an issue in which players were sometimes unable to increase Loot Rarity after cancelling Short Rest at Campfires throughout the title on PS4
* Multiple moves from the Bomber's moveset no longer trigger damage from all types
* Akar Kessel no longer becomes unresponsive if spawning near a downed player
* Players can no longer get tethered behind magic barriers
* Useables can no longer be used during loading screens
* Two booyaghs are no longer invisible and upon spawning as reinforcements in the Companions of Icewind Dale Act 1 boss fight
* Players can no longer unequip potions, to fix an issue in which the "Drink a Healing Potion" tutorial objective could not be completed if the player did not have any healing potions equipped before entering the Trials of Tempus
* Fixed an issue in which pressing the sort button repeatedly would cause the Journal menu to freeze
* The title now recognizes the initial controller after a second controller is disconnected
* Kessell's Meteor Swarm's markers no longer spawn above the ground
* Players can now assist other players when they are under the grappled condition from a Verbeeg trap
* Icebiter can no longer be instantly defeated by being pushed through a wall during the final encounter in The Goblin's Shard Act 2
* Skornn Soulreaver can no longer be exploited and defeated without reacting to the player character
* The Booyagh's projectile attack now deals damage to player characters in Multiplayer
* Duergar Mind master hex orb attack now deals damage to player characters in Multiplayer
* Troll's rock projectile now deals damage to player characters in Multiplayer
* Sapped debuff now affects player characters
* Hamboog performs the correct animation rather than sliding when turning on spot
* Goblin Captains, Duergars and Gnoll Hunters perform the correct animation rather than sliding on the spot when turning to face the player character
* The primary stat of Wulfgar's Necrotic Resistance Warhammer correctly gives Attack Damage instead of Armor
* Catti-Brie's charged fierce attacks do not count towards the "Defeat Monsters with Fierce Attacks" objective in the Trials of Tempus
* Catti-brie's Goblin Reaper set now gives the correct amount of critical hit bonus
* Characters are no longer immune to environmental hazards when their elemental resistance is equal to or greater than 100
* Trophies earned on a previous save file are no longer visible in Kelvin's Cairn on a subsequent new save file
* Icewind boss no longer moves to the side after loading into The Fury of Icewind Act 3 boss fight
* Fixed issues in which some attacks with red outlines could be blocked or parried
* Kinetic Push now pushes Player Characters in the Crystalline Dreams Act 3 boss fight
* Horde Breaker now gives physical damage bonus when Catti-brie is surrounded by 3 enemies instead of 4
* Goblin Bane's 8-piece bonus now extends all taunt effects
* Goblin Elemental Archer projectile now appears when fired in Multiplayer
* Fixed instances of excess and missing collision in all maps
* Fixed instances of objects clipping into each other, as well as missing, inconsistent or stretched textures on objects
* Fixed dark textures on the wooden floor planks near area B1 in Verbeeg Jamboree Act 2
* Remorhaz Brotherhood Chestguard thigh guards no longer remain visible during Drizzt's 'Blink' ability
* Added support to a ladder in the second encounter in The Fury of Icewind Act 2
* AoE damage from Catti-brie's arrows no longer persist for a few seconds after impact
* AOE and VFX are no longer mismatched for Duergar Bomber projectile
* 3D model no longer persists on Skin-preview position upon switching menu options at the Merchant
* Uncommon and Epic Underdark Camo Bracers now display correct stat values
* Gear fur no longer display as blocks of stretched textures
* Magical Barriers now have transition animations when disabled in Multiplayer
* Catti-brie's 8-piece Alustriel's Gift set bonus now applies correctly
* Fixed Gear clipping through character models

AI

* Fixed an issue which, in some encounters, enemies would only react if the player character was very close to them
* Sword Wraiths no longer snap to their home position when the player leaves the navmesh while performing an attack
* Verbeeg boss in Companions of Icewind Dale Act 1 can now use the stairs to approach the player character

Audio

* Added missing barks and banter lines
* Initial banter from the Merchant no longer plays every time a player returns to Kelvin's Cairn
* Catti-brie's bow charging SFX no longer play for all other characters' aim attacks
* The bark for triggering a Team Attack now plays for correct character
* Pressing and holding the X and/or B buttons on a controller no longer play the Short Rest SFX while in other areas of the title


Localization

* Fixed inconsistencies between the text and voiceover for World Map mission texts in all languages
* Fixed mistranslations in other languages

Matchmaking and Networking

* Fixed an issue in which players would sometimes get a Failed to join session error when attempting to return to Kelvin's Cairn in Multiplayer
* Fixed issues in which players might disconnect from the session upon leaving the level on PlayStation consoles
* Fixed issues in which players were unable to connect to Multiplayer sessions on Xbox consoles
* Fixed rare crashes on Xbox and PlayStation consoles
* Lobby now changes to Public or Friends only when a new host attempts to change the setting on PlayStation consoles
* Fixed an issue which, rarely, players would get disconnected after trying to join a session through Quickplay
* Fixed lag spikes after completing certain quest objectives throughout the title
* On PC, launching the title via an invite or the friend menu now puts players in a Multiplayer session

Performance and Stability

* Fixed a crash which could occur after receiving the inactivity prompt in a map
* Fixed crashes on Xbox One consoles that were occurring while in Multiplayer
* Fixed a massive FPS drop occurring when player characters were hit by Akar Kessel's Cloudkill attack
* Improved performance in The Fury of Icewind, Crystalline Dreams and The Order of the One Light


User Interface and User Experience

* Players can now choose to skip the Tally Screen at the end of a mission
* Added ability countdown timers
* Added additional Controller presents
* Added new error messages:
* When the player is trying to create a Multiplayer session without an internet connection
* To warn players they will be kicked due to inactivity
* To inform players they have been kicked due to inactivity
* When a player attempts to return to a session from which they were previously kicked out
* Added new loading screen tips, mission descriptions and images
* Added the ability to view Moves and Equipped Gear while in a mission
* Added the ability to restore default settings in Keybinding menu while in a mission
* Added Buff Icons to the "Icon Legend" menu
* Added AZERTY Support for Keyboard & Mouse controls
* "Controller disconnected" UI prompt no longer remains stuck on-screen if the player opens the session manager while the disconnect UI is present
* A message is now shown when the player disconnects from Xbox Live during 'Searching for game' after selecting 'Quick Play' on Xbox consoles
* Clarified the error message when attempting to join a full session
* Clarified the error message when joining a public Multiplayer session already in progress
* Clarified the error message after a WAN disconnection while creating, searching for or playing an online session
* Achievements no longer occasionally unlock before the criteria have been met when joining a server through Quickplay on Xbox consoles
* The correct main menu backsplash is now present when signing out of an Xbox Profile from the character select menu on Xbox consoles
* Items are no longer marked as Junk after upgrading them at the Merchant in Kelvin's Cairn
* Added a "Waiting for new players to join" message
* Added and improved the accuracy of existing waypoint markers
* PC button prompts are no longer displayed throughout the title on PS5
* Maximum FPS option no longer remains at 60 after a different value is applied in the Options menu
* HUD no longer overlaps with the loading screen upon a total party wipe
* 'Gamma Correction' setting now correctly updates when switching to another player profile on main menu on Xbox consoles
* In-game language setting no longer defaults to English after changing the console language setting to any non-English supported language on Xbox consoles
* Fixed Move descriptions for Drizzt which had string text when the language was set to Portuguese on PlayStation consoles
* PC terminology is no longer displayed on Xbox and PlayStation consoles
* Wireless Controller Configuration option no longer reverts to the previous setting after changing other options at the same time on Xbox consoles
* The 'Voice Chat Enabled' setting value no longer reverts to a different option value after changing the setting to 'Off' and saving the option change on Xbox consoles
* The potion UI no longer turns grey when returning to Kelvin's Cairn with zero potions
* Corrected spelling mistakes in the End Credits
* The correct boss name is now displayed after completing Crystalline Dreams Act 3
* Performance settings no longer revert back to default after re-opening the Options menu
* Fixed an issue in which the Character Sheet and Manage sections could remains stuck on-screen after the player spammed the required inputs
* Fixed conflicting text information for the level 4 Elixir of Elemental Resistance and the level 4 Elixir of Resistance
* Fixed an issue in which spamming the save changes function while adjusting the sliders would cause the selector to move on its own
* Fixed multiple subtitle issues within the intro cinematic for The Goblin's Shard Act 1
* Fixed an issue in which Voice Chat Volume option in menu did not have any effect on voice chat audio in Multiplayer
* Challenge rating box no longer defaults to 3 when selecting a mission for the first time of a session
* The keybind button for switching between lore and set item is now visible before it is pressed
* AI threat indicator now displays the correct directions of enemies
* Corrected errors in the set bonus description text on Wulfgar's Reghed Chief set
* The buff granted by the Warden of Mielikki 8-piece gear set bonus correctly mentions "Second Wind" instead of "Rebirth"
* Corrected spelling errors throughout the UI
* Updated Move and Ability description texts for all characters
* "You have fallen" message no longer remains present on the player's screen when force respawning while becoming tethered to the party leader
* Fixed an issue in which, sometimes, the Short Rest countdown would start at 0 when triggered offscreen
* Intelligence stat now has the correct description in the Character Sheet
* Fixed an issue in which, rarely, the party leader status swaps to another player in the party
* Netherese Keystone icon no longer switches to Runestone icon when the player pauses and resumes the game throughout the title
* Corrected discrepancies in the information included in the Tally Screen
* Mouse cursor is now visible to players if game is first used with a controller on Windows 10
* Fixed issues in which subtitles were disappearing too quickly during cinematics
* XP bar no longer shows level higher than 20 in the Tally Screen
* Tally screen now displays the correct amount of XP received
* The main objective is no longer displayed as "Kill Icewind" despite completing The Fury of Icewind Act 3 and returning to Kelvin's Cairn
* Fixed an issue in which players could receive an 'invalid' message in the UI in Multiplayer
* Players are now able to swap characters when in a full party
* Fixed an issue in which players joining a quickplay game that has an act selected would not get the act countdown prompt
* Mission Item icons no longer persist in the HUD after returning from a mission to Kelvin's Cairn
* Added a "+" in front of the Critical Chance stat
* Updated Move descriptions

 

[Reinhardt]

wait that's supposed to be Catti-Brie? lmao

she looks like a fat arabian woman

Xir looks like that red-headed shinra grunt from ff7 but much uglier.

 

[Strig]

she looks like a fat arabian woman

It's probably a self-insert by a fat Arab character designer.

I couldn't give a toss about a game like this, but I read Salvatore's books in my early teens. They were simple, the characters weren't complex, sure, but this fucking trailer is a Marvel wankfest and comes across really not as simple but downright simple-minded. It's the same whedonesque quirky/quippy non-humor copied by hacks like Ikea Wanktitty, or whatever the fuck his name is, and oozing down the totem pole right into the empty skulls of wannabe "narrative directors".

 

[Mangoose]

Ah I see.. This isn't at all the same team behind BG:Dark Alliance 1 & 2. Which was back when Interplay was prevalent, so those were Black Isle.

Instead, D&D Dark Alliance is produced by some nameless developer (Tuque Games) working with WotC... And then WotC bought out the company this past October.

So instead of Interplay-Black Isle, we have WotC-shittynoobdeveloper.

Fake edit: Play-by-play researching, oh shit, this was BG:Dark Alliance 2 was Black Isle's last game - it was released in 2004. Specifically, in December 2003, Interplay laid off the entire Black Isle staff, as it was going a crapload of financial trouble. You'll have to look the timeline up yourself, I don't know how to paraphrases all of those.

The crazy thing... in 2012 Interplay revived Black Isle Studios instead of forming a new studio or using another studio. They wanted Project V13, a Fallout MMO, and they did bring in two of the original Black Isle members (dunno which ones). Interestingly, using crowdfunding. But... That fell apart as Bethesda sued them for the Fallout setting.

That being said, they have made one success - they brought back a remastered BG: Dark Alliance this past May 2021. The same engine that Snowblind games sued them for and led to the downfall of Black Isle/Interplay.

The intent might be there. However. Interplay resurrecting Black Isle Studios is one thing. But Interplay can't "resurrect" Fargo. So, interestingly, management competence might be the key to the new Black Isle becoming a player.

And I'm pretty sure the original founder of Black Isle Studios is staying with Obsidian

 

[Mangoose]

Oh damn, BGDA1 is a direct remake, meaning they didn't put the effort to port it. :sadface:

Interestingly, went to CDProjekt to port Dark Alliance to PC. Successfully. But Interplay canceled that port almost immediately.

Again, this is when Feargus was in Black Isle. And CDProjekt didn't have a portfolio. This port was the beginning of the portfolio. While canceled, they re-used what code they already had... and used it interfacing with the Aurora Engine to produce CDProjekt's first well known game - The Witcher, in 2007.

So, given was shafted in 2003 with the rest of Black Isle... He literally saw the potential of CDProjekt at LEAST 2007-2003 = FOUR YEARS before CDProjekt even released a game.

I have a feeling Feargus does a looot of smart shit but we only know of his stupid attempts.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-11-06-seeing-red-the-story-of-cd-projekt

 

[baud]

He literally saw the potential of CDProjekt at LEAST 2007-2003 = FOUR YEARS before CDProjekt even released a game.

I have a feeling Feargus does a looot of smart shit but we only know of his stupid attempts.

I don't exactly get that from the article:

Feargus Urquhart (Obsidian) and Dave Perry (Gaikai), who were at Interplay at the time. They wanted CD Projekt to take Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance to Poland, but it was a console game and Poland only did PC games. It wouldn't sell. "Well, why don't you convert it?" Interplay asked. "Yeah!" our Polish entrepreneurs responded. "We'll try."

Since CDP was already known to Interplay, as they distributed BG in Poland, it was reasonable for Feargus to talk to them about doing the same for Dark Alliance

 

[Mangoose]

Since CDP was already known to Interplay, as they distributed BG in Poland, it was reasonable for Feargus to talk to them about doing the same for Dark Alliance

Interplay knew CDP as a distributor and localization..er, yes.

But Feargus asked them CDP to port Dark Alliance to the PC - meaning as a developer, not a distributor or publisher. Dark Alliance for the PC would be a new product. The funny part is apparently CDP used some of that coding (before cancellation) and interfaced with Bioware's Aurora to get the Witcher, 3 years after. Seriously they didn't even have any development portfolio until the Witcher. It's like Feargus pulled a Nostradamus, that's the joke.

 

[deuxhero]

Remember Saints Row 2? CDP's PC ports of that era had some real stinkers.

 

[LESS T_T]

Expansion is coming soon.

Let’s add a bit of magic to the mayhem. The ultimate Dark Alliance expansion includes 1 new playable character and 2 new challenging dungeons with 6 levels total. Expand your Dark Alliance experience with Echoes of the Blood War:

New playable character – Auralla, a Tiefling warlock that focuses on spellcasting and crowd control.

New dungeon – The Abandoned Mines. Investigate strange cultist experiments on trolls deep in a duergar mine.

New dungeon – Spawn of Yeenoghu. Travel to the Hinterlands and stop a faction of Gnolls from summoning their demon lord.

 

[Fedora Master]

You couldn't leave this shameful game buried, could you?

 

[Delterius]

i kinda want to write a steam review that reads

'as larian shows, the baldurs gate franchise no longer requires this outmoded concept of real time gameplay. 9/10'