Dark Alliance
Hack and slash your way across Icewind Dale with some mates.
Baldur’s Gate isn’t the only D&D setting being revisited soon. The previously console-exclusive action-RPG series Dark Alliance is also returning, and this time the party – which now includes D&D celebrity Drizzt Do’Urden – is hanging out in the chilly, barbarianinfested land of Icewind Dale, trying to keep the frost giant population down.
The original Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance launched on consoles soon after Baldur’s Gate 2 concluded with the Throne of Bhaal expansion, but aside from sharing the same setting it was an entirely different kind of fantasy romp. It was a 3D hack-and-slash affair with three classes, couch co-op, and a linear, rollicking campaign that left countless dead monsters in its wake.
Next year’s Dark Alliance drops ‘Baldur’s Gate’ from the title and takes the action north. Icewind Dale was the setting of a pair of great Infinity Engine RPGs, but it’s also famously the stomping grounds of the rebellious Drow hero, Drizzt Do’Urden, originally created by author R.A. Salvatore. You’ll be playing him, along with his pals, Cattie-Brie, Bruenor, and Wulfgar.
Drizzt and his buds’ adventures have spanned several series, starting with The Crystal Shard, but Dark Alliance is a standalone romp. “It’s a new, unique adventure inspired by the characters, but it is set in and around the events of The Crystal Shard,” says Jeff Hattem, head of Tuque Studio. “But some of the elements … will be familiar to fans of the franchise.”
All four adventurers will be playable together in co-op, both online and offline with split-screen. It’s been convenient for Tuque to have such well-defined characters who have not only been developed across a multitude of books, but also already comfortably fit into RPG classes and playstyles. The studio doesn’t want to be strict about the class definitions of these characters, however, because they evolved over time and it wants players to have a similar experience.
The adventuring quartet still falls into familiar archetypes, however. “Drizzt is very dashy, quick and agile,” says Hattem. “Wulfgar is the basher – he’s a seven-foot-tall, strong barbarian. Cattie-Brie is more of a ranged character, where she has a wide range of different abilities that she can use from a distance, and she’s super athletic. And there’s Bruenor, the father figure of the group and the protector. Using gaming terminology, he’s the tank.”
LEVEL UP
Dark Alliance has a hub-and-spoke design where the heroes will hang out in a central location where they can pick up quests and go off on side adventures. There’s a main quest to follow, though it’s still a mystery, and you won’t have complete freedom over your path, but you’ll still have options for how you progress.
This also goes for building your character, picking skills and gear, and creating different loadouts. The skills and abilities that will be making their way over from the tabletop game aren’t ready to be revealed yet, unfortunately. There will be a degree of self-expression, however, from the choices you make when you level up, to the appearance of your gear, which is cosmetic as well as practical.
This is how Dark Alliance approaches roleplaying, rather than through lots of dialogue choices and story-based character development. There’s still some exploration and downtime, but the main focus of the game is action. Specifically, chopping up monsters.
“D&D is super fun and it offers lots of different ways to please different kinds of players,” says Hattem. “Our game is the part when the DM says ‘roll initiative’, and that’s when you get going.” FRASER BROWN