Review darkest dungeon8/19/2023 Every sound effect, every splash of color, and every character and ability all work to create an environment inspired by low fantasy novels and pulpy weird-horror magazines. Lovecraft’s one-note writing.) Both the heroes (occultists, Amazonians, thieves, paladins, plague doctors, lepers, bounty hunters, rogues) and the enemies (skeletons, zombies, ghosts, enthralled souls, fish-people, mushroom-monsters, spiders, maggots) draw from a huge sampling of source material, and I love its unexpected variety.ĭarkest Dungeon is exceptional for how carefully-built and deliberate all its parts are. ![]() Darkest Dungeon’s greatest delight is finding new ways to screw you.Ĭalling Darkest Dungeon merely “Lovecraftian” is a disservice to the mythology developer Red Hook has built here. A massive tentacle reached through it and grabbed my healer, shoving her to the front of the party and flipping my careful plan right on its ass. In the team’s first battle, an enemy summoner opened a portal to hell. I enjoyed experimenting with characters who could fight in a melee role from one spot, but a support role from another.ĭuring one of my early expeditions, I had poured through character sheets to find the perfect set of four heroes and assigned them in the perfect order. The most interesting classes are those in the middle. Most melee attacks can only be aimed at the front ranks, and some spells can only be cast from the middle of a group. The order of the heroes is important, with heavily armored tanks taking the front spot and spell-casters, archers, and healers holding in the back. I also enjoyed tinkering with character classes in different party positions. Your heroes can die just as easily from a heart attack as from a sword. It’s easy to do one or the other, but that’s not enough. When characters crack, they take on random debilitating traits like “abusive” or “afraid.” This is the well-executed balancing act of Darkest Dungeon: I love trying to keep people healthy and sane. Seeing a friend die or barely surviving a critical attack has a tendency to make people freak out. It’s hard enough keeping everyone alive, but battles put adventurers under a lot of stress, too. Battles are always tense, though, and I found myself dreading them as expeditions grew longer and more dangerous. Combat gets more fun as more character types arrive in town and new abilities get unlocked. Especially at the beginning of the game, I found the few characters and abilities available made these battles more of a slog. Combatants take turns using abilities to attack, heal, or cast spells. And boy, will you need it.When your party of maniacs runs up against a squad of horrors, a short, turn-based battle starts. Runs can be won or lost depending on the route you take.Īfter making your way through an environment, you'll pull up to an inn, where you can rest up, level up, and buff your characters for the road ahead. I'm a sucker for this style of map in roguelites, and it's implemented excellently here. You'll make decisions about which way to go at forks in the road, with a "scouting" stat offering you a limited preview of what's to come on the Slay the Spire-style map. As they travel, your heroes may bicker, making the whole endeavor more unpleasant for everyone. Do you offer aid to the hapless denizens beseeching your kindness, or do you simply take all their stuff? Your party members all have their own ideas, and going with one over another may cause intra-group strife. These stops include battles, of course, but also random encounters where you'll need to make decisions. Tap the W key to set your cart bumping down the road, and you'll automatically stop at points of interest along the way. ![]() AdvertisementĪnd buff up your characters and other stats. The corruption that plagued your estate in the first game has spread over the wider kingdom, and it's up to your team to bring the "flame of hope" across several environments to reach "the Mountain," where they'll fight a boss and save the world. This time, instead of delving into the famously dark dungeons of the first game, your party of four adventurers drives a stagecoach through an apocalyptic landscape that is, to be fair, still quite dark. Wait, you said something about a stagecoach? Yep. Voice actor Wayne June's deep, mournful narration is back and excellent as ever. ![]() The 2D-illustrated characters of the original have been replaced with 3D models-an excellent upgrade-but the general tone of the game is the same, just with improved visuals across the board. The world of Darkest Dungeon 2 is grim and brutal, with pestilent Lovecraftian horrors teaming up with horrific beasts and crazed cultists to pummel you into submission. Returning is the excellent combat and unmatched gothic fantasy aesthetic from the first game.
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