Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 is a classic PS2 and Xbox dungeon crawler from 2004. It is back from the dead and has been remastered for nearly all current consoles out there along with the PC for the first time. Does this game, overall, hold up in 2022?
It does indeed even though not a lot of work was done to it. The graphics are the only big difference between this remaster and the original. For fans that have been dying to play Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 again, the graphical update is more than enough. There’s still a lot to love here for old fans and new players should be able to have a good time too.
8 The Simple Gameplay Loop
There isn’t much of a story in the game but that is fine. When it comes to dungeon crawlers like this, most fans are interested in the gameplay more anyway. The loop in Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2 is as satisfying as ever even if things look a little dated visually. There isn’t even a lengthy tutorial to bog down the experience. Players come into a valley, are asked by a stranger to stop some bandits, and then things explode from there.
7 The Voice Acting
Of what little story is present in the game, it is well acted by the voice cast. The audio was not re-recorded which is typical for a remaster. It doesn’t sound garbled though which means they recorded it right the first time. Some of the “ye olde” accents may come across as a bit too cliche as if players were watching a Saturday morning cartoon. There’s nothing wrong with that either as sometimes it can still be fun to go back and watch cartoons from the 80s and 90s to relive those glory days.
6 The Five Classes
Players can choose to be a male human barbarian, a female human cleric, a male dwarven rogue, a female dark elf monk, or a male moon elf necromancer. It would have been better if players got to choose a gender and a class but it’s not a dealbreaker for Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2.
Every class offers something different whether players wish to focus on melee or magic. The cleric is a good in-between class that has spells, abilities, and a good arm for swinging blades around but testing out each is recommended. This is a rule to follow for many actions RPGs like this.
5 Couch Co-Op
This game features two-player co-op for some RPG action on the couch. It’s easy to get a session going and if the second player has to quit, dropping out is relatively simple to figure out as well. There is no way to go online which is a shame.
More players would have also made the game better but two players are more than enough to tackle the various monsters in your way. More developers should bring local co-op back or try to create action RPG experiences like Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2.
4 The Cheats Still Work
There is a simple way to duplicate items in the game which was thankfully not taken out of the remaster. It’s not a glitch so much as it is a very well-known exploit in Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2 that fans know by heart. Players can import characters from any file made in the game. They can then have that character dump all of their loot, which can be collected from another player and then sold. This can be done on an internet finite loop. It is wild this was not patched out of the game which can sometimes happen with a new remaster.
3 The Load Times
The load times were not this fast on the older consoles. To reiterate, not a lot of work was done on the remaster, so the game might have always been fast. The original consoles, like the PS2, may have held things back.
Even on the Switch, the loads are lightning fast lasting anywhere from three seconds to one. It may not sound that amazing but it is impressive for a game from 2004. However they did it, the developers worked their magic to keep loads at a minimal length.
2 No Ammo Needed
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2 has a big improvement over the first game regarding bows and crossbows. Players had to clog their inventory with arrows or bolts and were limited to the amount of ammo that they carried. These two weapons no longer require ammo in this sequel which is a huge plus. It not only declutters the character menu but also gives players a reason to use these ranged weapons. A character like a monk is not strictly cut out for ranged weapons like a bow but in a pinch, they work wonders.
1 Jumping Helps
Jumping is not a given in action RPGs like this. The first game had this option as well so it is not an improvement in Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2 like the lack of ammo. There is not an excessive amount of platforming in the game but it is handy. Being able to make shortcuts by jumping over boxes can make all the difference in the world since the normal run speed is not great. There will be a lot of backtracking in the game, so every way players can take a shortcut is a bonus.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 was re-released as a remaster on July 20, 2022 and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.