Dark Alliance gameplay trailer serves up plenty of flashy action

With the release date of Dark Alliance on the horizon, today Wizards of the Coast and Tuque Games released a gameplay overview trailer for the title. This trailer takes us through Dark Alliance's gameplay mechanics in addition to introducing us to all four characters who will comprise a full co-op party. It also happens to be narrated by Jermaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords fame, which certainly does a lot to elevate it beyond your typical gameplay trailer.

The trailer starts off by running through some of the locations we'll visit in Icewind Dale, telling us that our band of four warriors are the only ones stopping evil forces from obtaining the powerful Crystal Shard. Then we dig into the details about all four playable characters, starting with Drizzt – a dual-weilding dark elf who hardly needs an introduction. There's also Catti-Brie, a ranged archer; Wulfgar, a big brute wielding a massive hammer; and finally Bruenor, a dwarf who serves as the group's protector with his shield and armor.

The overview then takes us through the combat we'll see, noting that each character has "over 50 moves and abilities to unlock." We get to see some of those moves and abilities in action, and it's safe to say that Dark Alliance's combat does indeed look flashy. Add to that dodging, parrying, and counterattacking and players will probably be zipping around battlefields with ease. Characters also have ultimate abilities that can be used when their ultimate gauges are full.

Of course, there will be plenty of enemies to dispatch and loot to collect, with the overview promising that there won't be any microtransactions in the game. We're also told that while Dark Alliance can indeed be played solo, it's definitely better when played with a group (as many of these dungeon crawlers are).

All in all, this gameplay overview makes Dark Alliance look pretty solid, which is saying something considering that initial trailers for Dark Alliance did not enjoy a very warm reception. As announced last month, Dark Alliance will be available through Xbox Game Pass on console, PC, and cloud on launch day. It'll be launching for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on June 22nd – just under two weeks from today.