UPDATE: A representative for Tuque Games confirmed with Screen Rant that Dark Alliance will now definitely support drop-in and local co-op play. The original article follows.
Now that the world has seen Dark Alliance, the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 1 & 2, developer Tuque Games has also revealed that the game wants to resurrect couch co-op as a modern gaming design choice. Dark Alliance will follow the adventures of Drizzt Do'Urden, the drow created and made famous by author R.A. Salvatore, originally as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale trilogy of stories.
Dark Alliance debuted at The Game Awards 2019 and immediately showcased a change in pace from the tabletop Dungeons & Dragons experience, which the game's lore takes place within the multiverse of. In Dark Alliance, Drizzt, alongside companions Catti-Brie, Bruenor, and Wulfgar, will set out into the frozen landscape of Icewind Dale and battle hordes of monsters to survive. The game will feature an entirely new story set a hundred years before where Dungeons & Dragons is mostly exploring now, and will feature action-based combat that focuses heavily on promoting multiplayer, co-op gameplay, whether that be online or using couch co-op.
The latter is the most surprising element of Dark Alliance's multiplayer offering, however. Couch co-op has largely been relegated to the sidelines for many games that feature co-op play since internet connections make it easy to play with friends across the world, but Tuque Games wants to resurrect the feature, and the previous Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games are partially to thank. In an interview with Screen Rant, Tuque Games lead game designer Kevin Neibert revealed why couch co-op has found its way into Dark Alliance, and why that's an exciting feature for fans:
"It’s not just online multiplayer. We definitely have the desire to bring back some couch co-op in the game. It’s definitely a goal of ours to do that for players, because I feel like it’s a forgotten art in games over the past little while. Revisiting the Dark Alliance 1 and 2 games has kind of cemented that in my mind. Obviously graphics are better today and the engines have evolved but the thing that stands the test of time with those Dark Alliance games is the ability to play with your friends on the couch. So that’s something that we want to re-capture as well."
Neibert also expanded a little on plans for Dark Alliance's online multiplayer as well, stating that "it's still debatable" whether the developer would be adding drop-in co-op play in the game. Neibert stressed, however, that the developer's design philosophy is to, as much as possible, "allow players to play together whenever they want." Couch co-op is certainly something that allows consumers to do that, and could go a long way in recapturing the feeling of late night gaming sessions with friends, something that the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop property is already well-suited for.
Dark Alliance might not be the exact game fans would have expected when a new Dungeons & Dragons video game was first hinted at earlier this year, but it's an exciting return to a genre and character that fans respond well to. There's not much to go on just yet, but if nothing else, Tuque Games appears well-suited to handle the most important aspect of co-op multiplayer titles, which is focusing heavily on making the experience fun for everyone involved.
Dark Alliance will launch worldwide on PC and consoles in fall 2020.