-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Dungeons & Dragons Dark Alliance Reviews ... not looking good?
- Thread starter Nickolaidas
- Start date
Aion002
Member
Ok... I just played on the Series S with the Game Pass.
The good: graphics are fine, no frame drops or screen tearings, the art is ok.
The bad: the combat is janky, the camera is bad, the story is boring, the characters are generic, the lack of customization is terrible.
I can tolerate every one of those things... I continued playing, then I died because of the environment (the ice spikes kills the character too fast) and I was stupid and didn't pay attention to the checkpoint system (thanks
Mr.ODST
) and the stage restarted.
That's were I draw the line.
The good: graphics are fine, no frame drops or screen tearings, the art is ok.
The bad: the combat is janky, the camera is bad, the story is boring, the characters are generic, the lack of customization is terrible.
I can tolerate every one of those things... I continued playing, then I died because of the environment (the ice spikes kills the character too fast) and I was stupid and didn't pay attention to the checkpoint system (thanks
Mr.ODST
) and the stage restarted.That's were I draw the line.
Last edited:
Mr.ODST
Member
You musn't of played much then because there is a Bonfire / Checkpoint system in the game.Ok... Just played.
The graphics are fine, the art is ok, the combat is janky, the camera is bad, the story is boring, the characters are generic, the lack of customization is terrible.... I can tolerate every one of those things... I continued playing, then I died (because of the environment) and the stage restarted.... No fucking checkpoint/bonfire system in 2021..... And that's were I draw the line.
You choose if you want to increase gear rarity or a checkpoint (if you choose checkpoint you lose a point of rarity bonus).
Evil Calvin
Afraid of Boobs
Can Sea of Thieves Pirates Life be played solo? Or the rest of SOT?
Last edited:
This is 2021, who does that anymore?
On a serious note you’re posting that in a thread called a REVIEW thread, the content of this thread will be about the reviews, which are opinions of other people, perhaps this sentiment is best in the OT.
Aion002
Member
Oh that was that... I didn't pay attention then, I just read the increase the loot quality and not recover the health and potions or something, since I was always full of health and hadn't spent a single potion. I think I died close to the final boss, I had activated a few of those camps. Damnn... Now I am feeling stupid.
But still... C'mon...
DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
All the red flags were there:
- Gamepass day 1
- trailer almost seemed like it was embarrassed to be a D&D game, it had this “hey guys, D&D isn’t just for nerds anymore!” tone to it
- beloved brand name slapped on a fairly generic looking action game, with no similarity to the previous games in the series it supposedly belongs to
I tried to remain cautiously optimistic because I think it still could’ve been a good game if it were executed really well. But as soon as I saw some review footage, it confirmed all my doubts.
- Gamepass day 1
- trailer almost seemed like it was embarrassed to be a D&D game, it had this “hey guys, D&D isn’t just for nerds anymore!” tone to it
- beloved brand name slapped on a fairly generic looking action game, with no similarity to the previous games in the series it supposedly belongs to
I tried to remain cautiously optimistic because I think it still could’ve been a good game if it were executed really well. But as soon as I saw some review footage, it confirmed all my doubts.
Evil Calvin
Afraid of Boobs
Can you play this solo without having to join up with friends or randos?
Aion002
Member
You can. At least the initial stages that I played.
Mr.ODST
Member
You can but the game is constantly balanced for a group of 4, it gets crazy later on
Karak
Member
Man the flashback hate on this review has been epic. Fucking a. So many people mad.
The game just isn't good. Thats it. It really isn't challenging your life, or making it worse, people with their overreactions actually make us all look so fucking dumb
Even the sounds I put into the review don't make sense its crazy
The game just isn't good. Thats it. It really isn't challenging your life, or making it worse, people with their overreactions actually make us all look so fucking dumb
Even the sounds I put into the review don't make sense its crazy
Last edited:
Aion002
Member
Oh there's no difficulty adjustment for less players?
Karak
Member
There are Challenge ratings. But depending on the characters anything above a 3 maybe a 2 for some might see some heavy death moments
cormack12
Gold Member
I played it on the insider hub, I think it has the same problem the likes of Back 4 Blood, WWZ, Earthfall and The Anacrusis have. They'll find a decent amount of people who will play but it's not going to be a game that becomes the next Left 4 Dead.
The enemies were a little spongey and the pace is a little off. I think it would have benefitted from more trash mobs and a faster pace, with a couple of mini bosses and a mega boss. The loot and stat system was interesting, though I don't think there needs to be three levels of currency for different things (feats, attributes and abilities).
I fuond the parrying a bit too precise for the game as well. It seems to not commit to being a gritty, slow fighter like LotF but isn't agile or quick enough to cross into fun/brawler territory. Probably lands in the same ballpark as LotF or Bound by Flame but co-op and loot does it make it a little better imo
The enemies were a little spongey and the pace is a little off. I think it would have benefitted from more trash mobs and a faster pace, with a couple of mini bosses and a mega boss. The loot and stat system was interesting, though I don't think there needs to be three levels of currency for different things (feats, attributes and abilities).
I fuond the parrying a bit too precise for the game as well. It seems to not commit to being a gritty, slow fighter like LotF but isn't agile or quick enough to cross into fun/brawler territory. Probably lands in the same ballpark as LotF or Bound by Flame but co-op and loot does it make it a little better imo
iHaunter
Member
It's like buying a movie game.
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Right. It's a one and done "fun weekend" with friends that you will all forget about overnight.
And not a very good one.
I'd much rather Wizards of the Coast form some kind of deal with Tecmo Koei for a DnD Musou game.
For those that use it I can see why gamepass can be good as a rental service for a bunch of "average" games. At a very low price.
iHaunter
Member
Warhammer at least produces decent games now and again. I have no idea why DND can't do the same.
CrustyBritches
Gold Member
I disagree with the premise. It's the person that buys full price that has to overlook things due to being invested. That fear of loss of investment is the same driving force behind looking to outside opinions on the game instead of playing and seeing first hand. It's the arcade vs home console paradigm of the 90s.
Imagine being in the arcade and you walk up to a game and a guy jumps out and says, "Don't play this, I heard it's bad." But you play anyway since you have very little to nothing to lose, and you find out it's fun and call your kid over and you're having fun together. Meanwhile dude is still posted up next to you, telling you how you're not really having fun, despite them not ever having played it. Acting like it's the only game in the arcade, warning you not to buy it, despite it being effectively free among hundreds of other free games. Now this might sound like an episode of the twilight zone, or this thread yesterday.
Last edited:
Low Moral Fibre
Member
Only completed the first level but seems like a x360 game that has been warped to modern day.
I can get the complaints about the combat but you attack in the direction of the camera not the player which is not typical but took about 1min to adjust to - can't say it ever felt like I wasn't attacking exactly who I wanted to so more of a user error issue but understandable as it goes against pretty much every third person melee game I can think of.
Menus and stuff are janky.
Graphics and general presentation are not great.
Doesn't seem like it will be a worthwhile use of the D&D license but I gotta say I did enjoy the first level at least and will play some more later.
I can get the complaints about the combat but you attack in the direction of the camera not the player which is not typical but took about 1min to adjust to - can't say it ever felt like I wasn't attacking exactly who I wanted to so more of a user error issue but understandable as it goes against pretty much every third person melee game I can think of.
Menus and stuff are janky.
Graphics and general presentation are not great.
Doesn't seem like it will be a worthwhile use of the D&D license but I gotta say I did enjoy the first level at least and will play some more later.
MiguelItUp
Member
I think it's fair to say Game Pass day 1 doesn't equate failure.
What equates failure is poor game design, and that's what this example is TBH.
Warnen
Don't pass gaas, it is your Destiny!
Miyazaki’s Slave
Gold Member
Want to play this with some folks. Anyone down to play some tonight? CST here.
Revolutionary
Member
I don't think I've ever seen him look more bored... and this is supposed to be a sponsored stream lol
BadBurger
Is 'That Pure Potato'
My thoughts on the game, as a long time Forgotten Realms lover and occasional player of loot beat-em-ups:
That's all I got now. It's a very generic entry into this genre that, mechanically, seems like it was created in a vacuum without the prior years' old and better entries like Vermintide 2 or WarFrame, which literally does everything this games sets out to do a hundred times better.
It's looking like a flop, unless they can rapidly address all of the unpolished aspects and make the combat better.
- To start plainly, the game needed more time in the oven. That's pretty much the gist of my entire review. Everything needs more work
- One of the most noticeable aspects of the game is that they spent a lot of effort on art, animations (at 60 FPS or better, it looks pretty jerky at 30 FPS), voice acting, and other bread and circus. But so many core, niggling things regarding the meat and potatoes - namely the combat and loot - is all so unpolished
- The AI is weird, borderline not functioning correctly. They all have canned animations before fighting which makes them slow easy targets, and will basically forget you exist if you move out of range - which isn't that far. They also attack the empty air on occasion. You can stand back and just watch them wail on a wall or attack in your general direction event though you're too far away to be hit
- Combat encounters basically repeat over and over: big guy in the middle that does lots of lightning fast spammy AoE attacks that are near impossible to dodge given input lag and animation lock-in, while little turds run around them pestering you. Or it's just a room of the little turds coming out of the floor for a few minutes. No encounter feels well tuned or interesting. Stamina is always at a premium even when one is just doing the basic boring button-clicky combos
- Speaking of combat, it's really dull and uninteresting. Switching between melee and ranged is slow and arduous. Too much animation lock-in. The special abilities are poorly defined and don't feel much more effective than a simple 4-hit combo outside of very specific conditions (like Drizzt having a pretty decent AoE for boss encounters, but it takes forever to cooldown and lasts for the blink of an eye)
- Even with a lock-on feature it feels like the camera isn't moving quickly enough. It's hard to have good combat in this kind of game when you're always fussing with the camera or having your currently locked-on target keep changing
- You have to run through an entire zone before you get to equip any cool gear you come across. So it sucks when you're picking up a bunch of loot then right before the final boss the game crashes
- The difficulty scaling is all over the place. You either play on default difficulty and mow through 90% of the mobs, or play one higher and suddenly everything is one-shotting you and/or are laborious, unfun damage sponges. There doesn't seem to be any inbetween even when your loot score or whatever is at or above the suggested level
- They're playing with some of the most iconic D&D characters around, in arguably its most known setting of Icewind Dale and the general north (the Spine of the World), yet it often doesn't feel like Forgotten Realms. There are definitely shades of it in the art design and the banter between characters, but it all feels like it was created by people who didn't really know the source material (and more importantly, love it) over the years
That's all I got now. It's a very generic entry into this genre that, mechanically, seems like it was created in a vacuum without the prior years' old and better entries like Vermintide 2 or WarFrame, which literally does everything this games sets out to do a hundred times better.
It's looking like a flop, unless they can rapidly address all of the unpolished aspects and make the combat better.
Last edited:
DarkMage619
$MSFT
I played through the first level with the barbarian guy. I thought the graphics were pretty good. The enemy AI was pretty stupid. The big guys only had 5+ hit combos which were deadly. Overall it was pretty decent and I'm glad I didn't spend $40 on it. My friends all have Game pass so I'll be playing this with my friends this week. It's good for what it is.
DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
Ok put away your pitchforks guys. I am a Gamepass subscriber. But if a game already looks kind of questionable, then I find out it’s coming to Gamepass day 1, that doesn’t exactly restore any confidence.
and it looks like my intuition is correct. How many people are saying “I wouldn’t buy this, but I might check it out since it’s on Gamepass”. Sorry if I have triggered some of the more sensitive folks.
Hinedorf
Banned
As far as camera controls go I'm playing on PC w/ keyboard mouse and the lock on camera function seems to make visibility really bad, and sometimes if there's multiple mobs around it's like your camera does not know which direction to turn. Is this consistent with a controller for anybody who's used one?
I don't want to hate the game, at 60 fps it looks pretty, and it could be very fun in coop but it felt like the most challenging aspect of the game was controls/UI.
I don't want to hate the game, at 60 fps it looks pretty, and it could be very fun in coop but it felt like the most challenging aspect of the game was controls/UI.
Karak
Member
I would agree with a lot of this for sure. Especially that awful mouse acceleration
BadBurger
Is 'That Pure Potato'
I am on PC as well, Game Pass, using an Xbox controller, and the camera is the same.
CrustyBritches
Gold Member
I'm down to play a bit tonight if you're on Xbox or GP PC. PST time zone. Let me know and I'll pm my gamertag. So far I've only cleared Act II, so I'm pretty early in the game still.
MiguelItUp
Member
No pitchforks here, or sensitivity by any means.
Just wanted to point that out so you don't miss out on potentially decent/great releases in the future just because they're Game Pass day 1.
GymWolf
Member
You were expecting great nextgen graphics from a 40 dollars crossgen AA game?!
manfestival
Member
These impressions are so disappointing to read. Was really hoping that this was good.
Raekwon26
Member
Game is awful.
Just got my refund back. Played it for 3 hours and couldn't believe how poor this is.
The "dungeons" are so basic and unimaginative.
The "combat" is laughable. It truly is a joke.
The complete absence of create a character is shocking.
What a waste of time. The game is not fun at all and achieves nothing.
Just got my refund back. Played it for 3 hours and couldn't believe how poor this is.
The "dungeons" are so basic and unimaginative.
The "combat" is laughable. It truly is a joke.
The complete absence of create a character is shocking.
What a waste of time. The game is not fun at all and achieves nothing.
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Agreed. No reason to play this when Vermintide does everything better already.
Airbus Jr
Banned
No excuses for them bro plenty crossgen game look better than this
This game feels like it was running on old Unreal Engine 3
GymWolf
Member
From the videos it doesnt look that bad and i even heard some reviewer talking nicely about the graphic\art design.
I think this game can only be considered cross gen because it was unlucky to come out during the crossgen period, but this is clearly a past gen project and not something like kena.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
I watched the video. Awesome video. I;ve heard of Skillup before faintly but will check out more of his reviews.
Excellent review style. I dont know if his other videos are like this one but he immediately jumps into detailed analysis of gameplay and nitpicky shit which I like. At a nice pace too where he just rings off lots of things he noticed. No fluffy background info or filler.
Punished Miku
Gold Member
He definitely gets into a lot of fluffy filler intros on games he loves. But most of the time his reviews are very well written, and insightful. Watch his review of NieR Automata, or Monster Hunter World and you'll hear his gushing praise style. People call him "ShillUp" sometimes because they think he praises too much ironically (maybe he does a tiny bit).
I don't agree with him on things 100% of the time, but he's worth a watch.
Last edited: