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Darkest Dungeon 2returns you to a world built from cosmic horrors and eldritch abominations, putting you in charge of a party of four unlikely heroes as they travel to the Mountain, the center of the world’s woes. Doom may have caught up to you, but it doesn’t hold you yet.
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Darkest Dungeon 2 is a game that feels intensely familiar in some ways and wildly different in others. It plays with your memory of the first game, offering a similar core experience in its combat system while expanding its characters and how they interact with one another.
Review
Unfortunately, we here at TheGamer don’t have a review or feature piece for Darkest Dungeon 2 yet. However, Metacritic has given ita positive score, while Metacritic users are slightly more mixed. Still, if you need a little more prodding to take a deep dive into an eldritch nightmare, here are some personal opinions to help you make a decision:
Dread hangs over this rotting, festering wound of a place, yet I am so glad to be back in the world ofDarkest Dungeon. I didn’t have very long to wait, fortunately - I got into the first game extremely late, so I didn’t have years to build familiarity - but I’m still happy to say that my expectations were met by Darkest Dungeon 2. It’s different in many ways - mechanics are different, the presentation and aesthetics have been tweaked, and it feels freer, if a little streamlined.
Death in Darkest Dungeon was always difficult for me. Not just because I was losing well-trained party members - the people I needed to press on when the light dimmed, and the horror grew - but because I’m a sentimental person who can get attached to anything.
This is where Darkest Dungeon 2 shines. It’s in the relationships that build between the characters, whether negative or positive. Before, you were meant to see them as expendable chess pieces, and their interactions were slim if they were there at all. Now, their affinity towards one another affects combat - teamwork makes the dream work, after all. Likewise, if some of your teammates hate one another, well, it may not go so well for you.They feel like real people- and they’re so easy to get invested in.
That new sense of humanity doesn’t stop with the party members, though - the world feels so much more alive this time, even as suffering weighs the air down. There are people in this world, people you see, people who need your help, people who remind you of what is at stake. Doom truly has caught up to you, and you’ve dragged the whole world into it.
Combat-wise, the game is broadly the same - you have a party of four characters, you meticulously pick their place in the line-up based on their strengths, and you must deal with the corpses of your defeated foes. Now, however, you have a stagecoach to venture forth with, and you must forge your own path, taking detours and stopping to help people.
I find Darkest Dungeon 2 a worthy successor to the first game, which itself felt like lightning in a bottle. If you like roguelites, strategizing, or just getting overly attached to characters even if you know you’ll probably fail them, then this game is for you.
Time Expenditure
Darkest Dungeon 2, like its predecessor, is a cruel game - making you pay dearly for every mistake. Your tries are unlimited, but whether you’ll succeed is another matter entirely. As such, you’re going to be putting a lot of hours into the game, grinding until you’re able to reliably crawl through each horror.
Cost
Darkest Dungeon 2 is only available on Windows, with console ports in development. you’re able to grab it for around $50. There are no gameplay DLC packs as of yet - but you can get the soundtrack for $12 if you’re really vibing to the music.
What People Are Saying
Very Different From The First Game, In The Best Way - Matt Arnold
If the original Darkest Dungeon wasn’t for you, don’t let that stop you from trying the sequel. Darkest Dungeon 2 offers a streamlined experience while still preserving the unrelenting challenge and over-the-top Gothic horror. Losses aren’t disheartening, and there’s always the temptation to just try one more run.
A Big Change, But A Worthy Successor - Ryan Bamsey
While DD2 is a very different experience from the first game, it’s still a very enjoyable one. Edging closer to victory with subsequent runs as you figure out the best strategies and unlock more powerful items is very satisfying - Red Hook has created a great roguelite experience with this game. It’s divisive, and you can see why, but I’d recommend it for the vibes alone.
