[Update: A representative for Dungeons & Dragons has since confirmed that Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance will support both drop-in and local co-op. Expect further information about the APRG's multiplayer plans through 2020.]
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is coming back in an all-new story featuring the Forgotten Realms' iconic Companions of the Hall characters - Drizzt, Catti-brie, Wulfgar, Bruenor, and Regis. It's a 4-player co-op game said to be the spiritual successor to the original Dark Alliance, a game released near 20 years ago. And while the first-person cinematic trailer may have confused some fans, Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is definitely still an ARPG built around co-op.
Yet surprisingly, while the core idea of a co-op focused Dark Alliance is clear, exactly where the studio lies with regard to co-op implementation remains unclear. Online co-op is Dark Alliance developer Tuque Games' priority, but couch co-op, one of the original Dark Alliance's biggest selling points, may not make it to the final game. In an interview with Screen Rant, Dark Alliance lead game designer Kevin Neibert describes couch co-op as more of a "goal."
"We definitely have the desire to bring back some couch co-op in the game," says Neibert. But he doesn't go on to promise that couch co-op will make it into Dark Alliance. He does say that couch co-op is something the team wants to "re-capture" as part of rebooting Dark Alliance, but clearly it's too early to tell if the team can commit. Part of the problem, it seems, is that Tuque isn't even fully committed to "drop-in multiplayer" in online play, which would be an important part of couch co-op, too.
Drop-in co-op is apparently still "debatable" in that the studio is still discussing whether or not to support the feature. All that Neibert is willing to say is that the studio's design philosophy for Dark Alliance is to "allow players to play together whenever they want." Just apparently now how they want.
A conversation is also being held separately regarding a potential single-player mode in Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance. Speaking with USA Today, the head of studio at Dark Alliance developer Tuque Games, Jeff Hattem, confirmed that the game can be single-player but that the game isn't necessarily designed for it. Hattem says that, "If you play it alone, you're going to have a hard time." The impression being that there is no single-player mode, but rather just playing the standard 4-player difficulty with just 1 player.
Expect more information about Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance's multiplayer plans through 2020.
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance releases late 2020 on PC and consoles.
Source: Screen Rant, USA Today