Thank you Interplay for sending us a review code!

I enjoyed the original Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance on Game Cube and this sequel was released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles.  I have not played it on those platforms, but now that it’s available on PC and playable on the Steam Deck, I’m happy to have a chance to finally review it.   The sequel takes place after the characters from the previous game jump through the portal on top of the Onyx Tower, only to be captured by the vampire Mordoc SeLanmere.

Upon launching the game, you’ll get to choose your difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard, Extreme) and pick your character from the five options available. I did not see an option to import a character, though I would not have been able to anyway.  The characters are gender locked, so if you want to be a female, you can play as a moon elf necromancer or a human cleric. The male characters available are a human barbarian, dark elf monk, and a dwarven rogue.  A second player can join cooperatively if nearby.  

The first act begins with your character in the wilderness stumbling upon a wounded caravan guard asking for assistance in rescuing prisoners from the marauders, who have been terrorizing the region around Baldur’s Gate.  Once you rescue them, you’ll head to Baldur’s Gate, which will serve as your headquarters.  

Inside of the town, you find an arms dealer who can sell you weapons, armor, and potions.  He also has a workbench, which you can use to modify quality weapons with rune stones and various gems to add elemental affinities to them.  Later in the game, you’ll come across recall potions which will teleport you to town and back to visit the arms dealer and save your game in a pinch.  Your character’s endurance level determines how much weight they can carry before they can pick up any more loot.

The town has people who can give your character side or story quests to keep them busy.  I completed many of the side quests and the main game in less than sixteen hours.  The dungeons and maps are pretty linear, but there are some side roads and hidden rooms worth exploring.  

Like many role-playing games, your character will gain experience as they kill enemies.  Along with base attributes, you can also assign points toward various skills and abilities.  I played as a barbarian and found the sunder armor skill especially helpful for the final boss.  The ability to wield dual handed weapons single handedly is helpful too.  If you want to wear heavier armor, you’ll need the required skills to do so.

Visually, this re-release still looks pretty dated as the textures and models aren’t very detailed.  There is a decent amount of variety in enemies and environments though.  When the enemies die, their bodies (or pieces of them) are often left behind.  Pools of blood are present at their demise as well.

Many of the characters are voice acted and I constantly heard the barbarian shout “d*mn” while taking damage.     

Other moral issues worth noting include magic use and undead enemies.  Although you can meet people at a bar, your character doesn’t drink there.  Some of the female characters wear outfits that show off their curves.
  
While Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II doesn’t have an epic story or open environments to explore, it will scratch the itch for a classic dungeon crawling experience.    Although $29.99 is a bit steep for this title, it’s definitely worth picking up on sale.  As of this review, I have seen it on sale for 30% off making it a more reasonable $20.99.  If you enjoy hack and slash dungeon crawlers, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II is worth looking into!