New Games

Being a long-time game master of tabletop RPGs there is nothing more thrilling than the prospect of a high-quality co-op action game that takes place in the Forgotten Realms. Dungeons & Dragons is the original d20-rolling game. It has the best storytelling, worldbuilding and high-fantasy badassery. However, Dungeons & Dragons Dark Alliance is a great example of a critical failure. This game takes all the potential and turns it into a boring, tedious and void of storytelling. That’s more than any group of PCs breaking up the party.

Dark Alliance is a co-op action game that features four players. You will be hacking, slashing and blasting your way through all sorts of monsters and beasts. This is the most dungeon-delving-style action brawler you’ll ever see. You’ll have seen most of Dark Alliance’s offerings after playing it for 10 minutes. I know this because I spent 12 hours getting to the credits and then another dozen going through the painful solo run.

It’s not easy to get one in because the story is a simple bounty-hunting story about “kill these guys off your naughty List”. The campaign revolves around a powerful evil shard, which has caused the bad guys’ enemies to come together to seize it. It’s up to you to convince them that evil is not acceptable. Although Drizzt Don’Urden, the dark-elf, is a great character to play for Dark Alliance, it’s disappointing that they’re not used well. Although each protagonist will have brief dialogue exchanges as you travel, it is very short. The story doesn’t really do much to flesh out their character motivations or personalities. The Forgotten Realms have a long history of worldbuilding. You can just tick off the targets and then go home. Continue Reading