When Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance received a re-release, it was a welcome return for a classic dungeon crawler. One flaw that existed within the re-release though was the lack of any new features, and the game instead was a straight port. Still, there was excitement abounding for the release of Dark Alliance II, and even though it repeats the issue of being a straight port, there is much to love here.
Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance II builds on the predecessor in many ways. The class system has been refined and expanded on, with characters being more rounded and truer to classic D&D than the first game, while still being able to bring in some new ideas. The characters now have unique personalities and can evolve into new classes when requirements are met and feel more involved in the story than the first time around.
One flaw that occurred a few times at the start was a glitch that rendered players unable to continue past the starting dungeon, but this has since been patched. Still, there are a variety of other bugs such as graphical issues showing up from time to time and several sound issues becoming very apparent as you play. This is not to say this is a horrible port, but it feels like there was no care done to fix many of the glaring issues in the game that could have been fixed.
But as for what is good, the combat is far more satisfying this time thanks to the more detailed class system, and the story is much more interesting. The plot feels less like an excuse to just go through dungeons and more like an actual realized story, which makes the fact that the player characters are more realized make a difference this time. From magic to items, to weapons, there have been across-the-board improvements over the first game, and this is something that still shines even with the game’s other issues. The RPG mechanics were excellent in the first game, but have received some needed tweaks here, and as mentioned, the class system’s expansion made things much easier in this regard.
It is a shame that minor bugs and glitches show up in the game because the overall dungeon crawling experience is a satisfying one. It would have been better if the games had made use of online play or some other modern quality of life improvements. The Dark Alliance games are amazing, and it feels wrong that they have not been given the update treatment they deserve, especially given the disastrous Dungeons and Dragons Dark Alliance game that sullies the good name of Dark Alliance, and it is annoying since many of the desired features are available in the PC version.
Some have complained that the game does not do enough to make the setting of Baldur’s Gate stand out, but to be honest, there is only so much that could be done with the dungeon crawler format. What was done, is done well and the fact that the game truly emphasized the danger of certain situations and encounters actually fits well with the Dungeons & Dragons world. There is already a series of games delving deeper into Baldur’s Gate that has a third entry now out, this was simply a different style of game.
Overall, Dark Alliance II is a good game with some bugs holding it back. The fact that it is a straight port on consoles also weakens things, but the improvements to the gameplay over the first game helped this stay a good game. It is worth checking out but be aware of what you have.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided