Wizards of the Coast have announced the Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance co-op Action-RPG will be releasing this June.

Dark Alliance A D&D Action RPG Release Date Announced

A new trailer has dropped for upcoming D&D Dark Alliance, an Action-RPG set to release on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC on June 22nd 2021.

Dark Alliance is the reboot of the classic Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, but this time taking an over the shoulder approach rather than top down. The game sets to get players right into the action, with up close combat and as well as ranged weapons. At the beginning according to an interview with IGN, the developer wanted to create a game similar to Diablo, a top-down hack and slash but the concept started to change according to creative director and co-founder at Tuque Game, Jeff Hattem:

At that point it was a top-down, action RPG. You would gather up with your friends, you would smash monsters, grab loot, and progress, but it was missing something. It wasn’t taking the characters, taking the Forgotten Realms, and rendering them to the level of fidelity that I wanted as a player.

In an interview with Polygon, Hattem also shared that Dark Alliance will have 21 missions, each taking between 20 to 25 minutes to complete in group co-op. For single-player, it will take 40 minutes or more for each level. Hattem explained the game focuses on replayability, having players challenge themselves with higher difficulties and to gain better Armor and gear. With different gear sets to collect, granting bonus perks with three, five and eight item sets.

For those hoping for a cross-platform to be a feature, Hattem confirmed that it won’t be at launch, nor will couch co-op be a feature, but hopes in the future for couch co-op to be added.

Players will gain 10 character slots that each progress individually rather than account-wide, meaning players can build their character to fill their party of four characters along  the different skill trees available. Currently, each character has 50 combat abilities, so that’s plenty of choice in terms of abilities to master.

Gameplay offers all the button mashing you could want, but also offers an experience that lets players master both the strengths and weakness of each attack, ability and combo. You can apply guard breaks, team attacks and pull off executions.

As for the future, it seems the developer is open to adding more content, Hattem shared this could include further maps and gear if players are keen:

If players want more maps, we’ll make more maps.If they want more characters, we’ll make more characters. If they want more gear sets, we’ll make more gear sets. If they want all of it, we’ll make all of it.

As for where the game stands in terms of the lore timeline, it is set 100 years earlier than the events that take place in the tabletop, acting as a prequel of sorts:

From a lore standpoint it’s set about 100 years earlier than the events unfolding in the tabletop experience, so it’s sort of a prequel in a certain way. […] So we’re not necessarily directly tied to what’s happening in the tabletop but, as you can see, their Rime of the Frostmaiden is in Icewind Dale and there’s a lot of like overlap between the two products.

Dark Alliance will release on June 22nd 2021, on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. The title is available for pre-order for $39.99 for the standard edition and $59.99 for the deluxe edition.

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