Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance

I had to try this aPRG since I have played Baldur's Gate series and the first Diablo. The PC port of this PS2 game is done well otherwise, excluding the UI/UX and the mouse + keyboard controlling. This flaw can be seen in dialogue menus and in other in-game menus too. So Xbox controller is must to have for the full gaming enjoyment. The combat system of the game is okay, though aiming the small fast-moving targets is challenging and smaller enemies will just circle around you rapidity before attacking. There is a blocking system but there are no other combat tactics, like counter attacks and dodging. So lots of hit points and healing potions matter like usually in aRPGs. And not sure if armor rating has any impact in the game combat. This aRPG seems quite simplistic compared to E.g. Diablo: no item identify, no magic wands, no equipment repairing, no dual wielding weapons or such. And there are not much use for money besides just buying new equipments. There are some puzzle elements to bring more variety to the gameplay, though I didn't like the platforming puzzles in this game. This game has some replay value with random loot and with the three character classes which is little for an aRPG. This aRPG doesn't support many play styles equally, the melee combat seems the only viable way. There are not good selection of ranged weapons, and the aiming is difficult. The enemies will engage in melee combat so quickly you cannot do much ranged attacks. And browsing the feats and the spells from the list is frustrating. It's fun to notice there are some familiar voice actors in this game: The voices of Minsc, Dynaheir and Sarevok from the Baldur's Gate PC series. And the voices of Gimli and Frollo too.

I did get this game because emulating it up until recently was nigh impossible due to the immense amount of computing power it required. But it's a classic hack and slash. Not overly complex, doesn't require a ton of skill or thought Best played as a duo. Most fun that way. But solid solo. Don't expect to be wowed by the combat. The story is decent but not amazing. But it's just good old dumb fun with a solid gameplay loop

Plays well on my laptop even without a graphics card! Would have been nice if they did some updates on this game, especially with its price tag. All in all I'm enjoying playing a game I loved years ago!

As someone who owns this game for the PS2, i can say that the game is quite the jewel: a decent Beat'em Up RPG with Rogue-lite elements(though no generated dungeons nor respawning enemies) from the PS2 era, which takes place in the Dungeons and Dragons game. I would recommend anyone who likes games like Diablo or is a fan of Dungeons and Dragons to get this game, if only it wasnt such ridiculously over priced, it costs almost as much as Cyberpunk 2077 and its from almost 20 years ago, even half its actual price would be quite a lot. Until GOG axes the price to a quarter, i recommend to soar the seas if you want to play it.

While it has not aged as well as one would like, there is a ton of UNIQUE fun to be had that you won't get from the Diablo franchise. It really all comes down to the little things, like mood, character movement, enemy patterns, presentation of story and town, etc etc. Even if you only spend 10 hours with it, it is time well spent in a cosy ARPG blanket.