Baldur’s Gate is a classic RPG series, whose first two entries received mass acclaim and whose third entry is making an impact in early access. Around the sixth generation of consoles, there were Baldur’s Gate games made for consoles, that did something different. Rather than try to replicate the original games on systems that could not handle them, developers instead used the world as a basis for one of the best Diablo clones at the time.
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance was set initially in the town of Baldur’s Gate but quickly set itself apart. Picking one of three classes, players had to hack and slash through multiple dungeons and environments. It was nothing like the PC games but playing with friends and taking on hordes of enemies Gauntlet style proved to be an incredible experience.
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance made full use of the Dungeons and Dragons license and setting to create an immersive story that showed off much of the franchise lore, and there was always something to keep players coming back for more playtime, such as hidden characters to unlock. So how does it hold up to today’s standards?
Playing Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance on the Nintendo Switch is a surprisingly great experience. Even with the dated visuals that resemble Morrowind when outside of the dungeon crawler segments (i.e. talking to NPCs), Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance still has that charm factor that won over gamers back in the day. The gameplay holds up surprisingly well today, and even the camera controls are better than some modern dungeon crawlers.
Where Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance falls short, however, is that there was no addition of new features such as online multiplayer. While the local multiplayer works fine, it would have been great to team up with friends around the world, pick your classes and find loot for your characters as you go on your journey. Some cheats are also removed, such as the cheats to unlock the hidden character of Drizzt Do’urden early, meaning you must beat the game on the extreme difficulty in order to play as the Drow.
Even with these shortcomings, however, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is still one of the best dungeon crawlers ever made. The gameplay is still addictive and well polished, and the narrative and presentation are top-notch. It may not be the PC RPGs, but Dark Alliance’s tight controls, excellent combat and good use of side quests and NPCs make it stand out on its own.
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is very much worth checking out, both for long-time fans and for newcomers to enjoy for the first time. There is a reason the game is so beloved to this day, and it holds up surprisingly well
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
reviewed on Nintendo Switch
Also available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One