Here’s What The Critics Are Saying About Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance

Another huge Xbox Game Pass title is arriving tomorrow in the form of Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, which is joining the service at launch, and the very first reviews have just gone live, including ours here at Pure Xbox!

Be sure to check out our thoughts as well as the opinions of the many other sites we've highlighted below, and figure out for yourself whether downloading the game is worth your time or a waste of bandwidth.

Eurogamer Italy (8/10)

(Google Translated) "Dark Alliance is a really fun and well done game, created by a team that has certainly studied the world of the Forgotten Realms thoroughly, to create an excellent digital transposition. Frenzied and fun fights, team play and blow-by-blows: how can you not love it?"

Pure Xbox (7/10)

"If you are a long time D&D player or have played any fantasy action brawlers in the past, you’ll likely enjoy this game – either with friends, or even if you go for the more challenging route of playing alone. It certainly doesn't revolutionise the genre, but considering it’s available on Game Pass at launch, there’s no reason not to give it a go. There’s also some free DLC and a paid expansion on the way, giving Dark Alliance a chance to level up in the future."

Game Rant (3.5/5)

"This game is a worthy successor to the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance titles. Though the combat can become a bit repetitive, it's fast-paced and engaging for the most part. While playing solo, it's fun and challenging, and it's easy to see how it would flourish with a full group of players. It isn't perfect, but the over-the-top voice acting and character models, respect for Dungeons and Dragons lore, and intuitive combat make for a charming package."

Gaming Bible (7/10)

"It's straight to the point with its arcade action, endlessly fun combat, and well-crafted levels that beg to be explored. Although it's good when playing solo, it really comes alive when playing with friends, and brings back memories of playing games like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on the Nintendo GameCube. Seriously, don't sleep on this one."

Windows Central (3/5)

"Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance will be available on Xbox Game Pass on launch day, so if you have the service to play the best Xbox Game Pass games you might as well fire it up and give the game a try. It's a decent casual hack and slash title to share with friends, though even then you might want to wait until Tuque fixes the enemy banter so you get a more entertaining experience."

Xbox Achievements (55/100)

"Dark Alliance is a comprehensive action RPG experience, even if its narrative is told in a somewhat anodyne way, and its gameplay fails to engender much in the way of real excitement, or, indeed, a compulsion to want to return and play it again and again. If you're well-versed in all things Dungeons & Dragons, maybe the selection of separate, three-act storylines and reams of collectible, deep lore will have you riveted, but if you're coming to Dark Alliance expecting a dose of accomplished hack 'n' slash action, you might come away disappointed."

PCGamesN (5/10)

"Even if you’re coming to Dark Alliance out of pure Drizzt fandom, there’s so little narrative here that the journey will almost certainly be disappointing. With better co-op options like World War Z, Outriders, Vermintide 2, and Destiny 2 readily available, Dark Alliance needs a lot of TLC before it’s ready to ask you and your friends for your time."

It seems a mixed bag, but the general consensus seems to be if you have Xbox Game Pass, it's well worth a go. We weren't expecting a masterpiece, but some fun gameplay and neat visuals - we were happy with the results.

There aren't enough reviews for an Xbox Metacritic score yet, but it looks as though it may end up sitting around the 60s-70s judging by the reviews so far. In any case, we recommend checking it out for yourself on Game Pass tomorrow.

Are you trying Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance this week? Let us know down in the comments below.