Billy O'Keefe, of the Knight Ridder Tribune wrote Dark Alliance is "all about action", opining that a pure RPG would not work on a console, and the additional action elements in Dark Alliance improved playability. John Breeden II of The Washington Post praised "the smaller number of more straightforward quests".
Billy O'Keefe from Knight Ridder Tribune wrote that "Dark Alliance" is all about action, stating that a pure RPG wouldn't work on consoles and the added action elements improved gameplay. John Breeden II from The Washington Post praised the game for having fewer, simpler quests.