One of PC gaming’s ‘holy grails’ is now within reach, as Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is available for the mouse and keyboard brigade for the first time.
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While the core Baldur’s Gate games were always PC staples, Dark Alliance was a 2001 action RPG tailor made for consoles. Originally launching on PS2, Xbox, and GameCube, it maintained the series’ top-down view on adventuring, but opted for a hack-and-slash approach to combat better suited to playing on a joypad.
Dark Alliance also simplified the character creation system. Players had three base characters to choose from each with unique attributes and play styles – Elven sorceress Adrianna, Dwarven fighter Kromlech, or Human archer Vahn. Each could be tweaked as they levelled up, with experience points spent on spells and feats, while ability points increased the core attributes of strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, constitution, and charisma.
Despite being well-received at the time, the game never made the leap to join its Dungeons & Dragons brethren on PC until now. While news of the Dark Alliance’s arrival broke earlier this week (December 15), there was no release date attached. Instead, publisher Interplay Entertainment has quietly slipped the game on all major PC gaming storefronts yesterday (December 17). The game is also playable on Mac.
The PC release seems to be based on an upgraded version of the game that was released on PS4 and Xbox One in May 2021. Improvements include support for up to 4K resolution, and Dolby Surround sound. The game also supports two-player local co-operative play.
PC and Mac gamers eager to see exactly what they’ve been missing out on for the last two decades can find the game on both Steam, Epic Games Store, and now.
