Later this month, developer Tuque Games will release Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance, a co-op brawler that will help kick off a new wave of Dungeons and Dragons games. Game ZXC got the chance to go hands-on with Dark Alliance once again during a remote preview event, playing alongside other media members as well as some folks from Tuque Games and Wizards of the Coast.
During our first Dark Alliance preview, we sat down Game Director Kevin Nebeirt and worked our way through the first act of Verbeeg Jamboree. This time, we got to play the third act of the mission, which featured a heavier emphasis on traps and a few light platforming segments. The biggest difference, however, was playing with a party of four rather than a party of two – and quite the difference it makes.
Playing as Drizzt Do'Urden with Bruenor, Catti-brie, and Wulfgar in tow, we course our way through a Challenge Level 1 run of Verbeeg Jamboree's third act. With four people in the party, the opportunities for synergized attacks are much more prevalent, allowing players to combine their abilities to whittle down an enemy's health bar. Catti-brie can root enemies in place while Drizzt slashes away at them or Bruenor calls down his massive, flaming anvil, for instance.
It's flashy and stylish, packed with the sort of visual flair that Dungeons and Dragons fans expect when bringing the tabletop game to life. That's been a goal since day one, with the Dark Alliance team often citing the game as "what happens after rolling for initiative." That hasn't been more clear until now, as the chaos transpiring on the screen matches some of the hectic moments we've seen in real-world Dungeons and Dragons campaigns.
After winding through corridors, dodging traps, and moving through a brief platforming section, our rag-tag group of adventurers is finally ready to face off against Verbeeg Jamboree's big bad, The Chef. Big, imposing, and somehow uglier than most of the other Verbeeg, The Chef is well suited to being a Dungeons and Dragons villain. He cooks up dwarves that inhabit the mountains, singing a song as he does so. For a large enemy, his battle takes place in a small area, with three of the four sides cut off by flame traps that occasionally spray into the air.
On Challenge Rating 1, the fight moves fairly quickly, with our team whittling away The Chef's health with speed and efficiency. A cutscene plays as we finish him off, showing The Chef fall into a lava pit after catching on fire. The Chef tosses a cheeky middle-finger our way as the lava overtakes him, and then we're headed back to the basecamp to check out or new loot from the mission.
DarkAlliance's gear system – from the bits we experienced – is fairly straightforward. As players progress, they'll unlock new sets with different stats and bonuses, all in service of helping them advance to the next Challenge Rating. It's here that players will find the core of what Dark Alliance has to offer. Progress through the missions, find better loot, and then increase the Challenge Rating. With opportunities to fine-tune builds and check out the other characters, it's a similar setup to Warhammer: Vermintide.Â
With fresh gear, our second run through Verbeeg Jamboree's third act begins, this time upping the difficulty to Challenge Rating 2. It might not seem like a massive jump, but it turns out to be quite the challenge to work through. Enemies are tougher all around, and it takes a lot more precision to tackle each room, forcing players to parry and communicate to work through its difficult sections. Dark Alliance has teeth, and after seeing how much the difficulty can climb from one rating to another, it's clear that it will show those teeth to anyone that comes underprepared.
Where our group was able to work through the first level and take out the boss without using a short rest (which refills health and potions at the cost of weaker gear drops) during the first run, we now take every opportunity to restock before facing off against The Chef once again. This time, the outcome isn't the same breezy boss battle that we worked through initially.
Fundamentally, the setup is the same. The Chef is cooking up dwarves, singing a tune, and ready to throw down. However, he's relentless in Challenge Rating 2, knocking us down as our team scrambles to stay alive. It's a frantic battle, and our first try ends fruitlessly. The second round goes the same way, with The Chef kicking our teeth in after just a few minutes. With the time on our demo whittled down to zero, we're forced to call it quits, giving The Chef the last laugh. It's easy to see how that could get frustrating on repeated attempts, but tackling the challenge as a group is admittedly refreshing.
There's something inherently alluring about Dark Alliance's flashy effects and tight combat. That big question mark will be whether or not the content can carry over repeated playthroughs. Similar games have struggled with that before, but Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance's core gameplay might be just enough to keep players coming back for more. With seven missions, each comprised of three acts, featured in the game at launch, players will have content to chew through. That content will need to go a long way, though.
The biggest thing helping that replay value will be the additional content releasing throughout the year. Dark Alliance will get three DLC drops  in 2021, with the final one being a new expansion pack that adds an additional character. If Tuque Games can keep new content rolling out at a steady pace – the reps on our call wouldn't confirm or deny new DLC in 2022 – then the future of Dungeons and Dragons games looks bright.
Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance releases June 22 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
