When comparing Alien Swarm vs Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, the Slant community recommends Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara for most people. In the question“What are the best 4-player local multiplayer games on Steam?” Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara is ranked 7th while Alien Swarm is ranked 26th. The most important reason people chose Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara is:
Branching paths, item shops with usable inventory, and special player abilities make this game more like an action RPG than a side-scrolling beat 'em up.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Easy to pick up and play, even for beginners
The game consists of tried-and-true top-down shooter mechanics that will be familiar to most players; it is reminiscent of older arcade and console shooters.
Pro Anyone can download and play the game as it is free-to-play and open-source
The game is completely free and has no microtransactions or ads.
The source code is also free and accessible, so the game can be easily modded.
Pro Easily play with up to 4-players in online co-op
Alien Swarm allows for up to 4-player online co-op, which makes for an easy way to play with a small group of friends or strangers.
Pro Convenient offline LAN support
Alien Swarm offers offline LAN (local area network) support, meaning that the game can be easily played locally with each machine connected together in the same place.
Pro Not just a normal beat 'em up
Branching paths, item shops with usable inventory, and special player abilities make this game more like an action RPG than a side-scrolling beat 'em up.
Pro Allows for 4-player co-op, just like in the arcades
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara supports 4-player local and online co-op play, which reflects the old arcade setups that allowed four players to play together.
Pro Widescreen support
Original arcade games of this era were 4:3; it’s nice that the developers included a widescreen mode for modern monitor support.
Pro Challenges and trophies
Challenges and trophies are new additions to the game that extend gameplay by introducing more objectives. They are also a source of pride – and bragging rights – for players who have managed to complete them.
Cons
Con Can get a bit repetitive
The gameplay doesn't change much from mission to mission; you’re generally just shooting aliens over and over again.
Con Gameplay is too short
The main story only takes about three or four hours to complete, which means you could beat the game in one sitting pretty easily.
Con Short gameplay
The games last about two hours – quite short by modern standards. However, this is to be expected because they are ports of classic arcade games that were intended to be beaten in a single sitting.
Con Co-op is spotty and limited
There is no way to mix local and online players, so it has to be one or the other. On top of that, the netcode seems poor and disconnects can happen.