I know there are players who live for the kinds of experiences where the grind itself is a main attraction, but I was never enjoying myself. While the unlocks for each character are pretty cool and I loved seeing the variety in the gear, the actual grind was never worth it. Honestly, it feels more like a watered-down game-as-service experience than it does a traditional adventure game, foregoing anything interesting and instead of leaning into an unnecessary grind. The monotony set in early, and soon after the first few missions, it was clear that I would be repeating the same loop for the entire game. Most quests follow the same outline - attack a certain number of enemies, traverse a dangerous pathway, loot chests, and occasionally set up camp. There are optional bosses and paths that can be taken to find extra loot, but players can expect to beat any one of these fairly linear campaigns in under an hour. Each one is a short mini-campaign that ends in a boss. It’s here where they can also select quests.
Dungeons and dragons dark alliance upgrade#
Players start in a hub world where they can upgrade their skills, check their loadout and items, and can arrange for matchmaking online if they aren’t already playing with friends. While I’m sure these things will be fixed and patched away in time, the real issue at hand is DA‘s quest design and gameplay loop. Framerate drops were also frequent throughout my playthrough. The graphics are also weak for a PS5 title, and while I liked the dark fantasy art style, the character models left a lot to be desired. What’s worse is that there are (at the time of writing) a lot of glitches and bugs that got in the way of combat and overall enjoyment - things like enemies not responding to being attacked, characters clipping through surfaces, and frequent pop-in in the environments. The bow itself also doesn’t feel great, thanks to a lack of impact. While initially not as strong as her close-ranged companions, she offers a valuable support system with options to aid teammates, and her bow was deadly. I wish the combat felt good, though.įighting has no real weight to it, and most of the time, attacks don’t seem to land. My pick was Catti-brie, who wielded a bow and arrow. Players control one of four characters, each one specializing in specific weapon types.
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While it comes off like a fairly generic fantasy film, I liked the character introductions a lot thanks to some solid CG action and scenes that sold me on the premise. Taking place in the frozen setting of Icewind Dale, there’s a short opening cutscene that gives players a glimpse of the story and sets everything up.
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Unfortunately, after several hours and a few patches, I walked away underwhelmed and disappointed.Īcting as a successor to the very popular Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II, D&D: DA ditches the top-down perspective of those older titles and brings an over-the-shoulder view to the action. While the starter pack taunts me at my local Target, I had the chance to dip a toe in thanks to Dark Alliance, an action RPG set in this popular fantasy setting. The popular tabletop role-playing game has been on my list for the longest time, especially since I learned my cousin has been a dungeon master with his friends. WTF Flags and flames that move at a rock-solid 15fps.