Upon its first launch, Darkest Dungeon 2 greets you with a message that clearly informs you that you will fail… very… trying to overcome its many challenges. It does this not to discourage you, but to set expectations. Adhering to the precedent of the first Darkest Dungeon, this sequel is the kind of game that pulls no punches as you work to master its various systems. Many may be put off by developer Red Hook Studios’ uncompromising approach to difficulty, but those who stick with it will find that Darkest Dungeon 2 offers some of the most rewarding experiences you’ll find in a quirky RPG adventure. Perhaps most importantly, this new entry is also not afraid to try a few new things that markedly set it apart from its predecessor.
Getting its first full release on PC in May 2023 after 18 months of Early Access, Darkest Dungeon 2 takes place in a bleak, Lovecraftian world overrun by all manner of undead creatures and hideous abominations after an academic named Scholar is mistaken for an ancient. relic called the Iron Crown. All horrors emanate from a mountain that looks ominous in the distance, and so you are tasked with gathering a team of four adventurers and using their combat and survival skills to help you keep a flame called Hope aboard of a stage chair on the mountain, where you will face the source of evil and hopefully rid the earth of it for good.
It’s not a very nuanced plot, but what the story here lacks in depth it more than makes up for in overall atmosphere. Wayne June returns as narrator, and his deep, gravelly voice feels like the perfect match for the evil, twisted world. His descriptions of the characters and environments as you explore are as detailed as they are fascinating, and this narration really goes a long way to draw you into the story and settle into the creepy atmospheres.
In a rather controversial change among fans, the gameplay in Darkest Dungeon 2 now uses a revised cheat loop that brings things a little more in line with something like Slay the Spire. Once you’ve chosen your four characters, a run sees you powering your way through several biomes, each of which eventually forms a long, dual route with significant nodes every few ‘leagues’. Nodes are where you encounter things like enemy encounters, mid-run shops or hospitals to patch up your crew, while the space between each node sees you take control of the stage chair and maneuver it back and forth to to avoid dangers and to overcome. cache items that can give you useful rewards.
Admittedly the stage career feels a bit heavy to control, but we appreciated how it offers enough of a palette cleanser from the grind of typical enemy encounters. You’re only in control for a minute or two at a time, but these sections still prove tense as you anxiously scan the horizon for obstacles and try to maneuver around or into them. As you drive, the characters will slowly recover from their latest fight and periodically move closer or further away from each other as the stress of the journey takes its toll. And if you don’t manage the state of the stagecoach’s wheels or armor well enough, you’ll find yourself drawn into an emergency battle where each turn a random team member will have to repair damage while the other three hold your enemies desperately.
Whether you’re street-jumping or find yourself charging into a fight you’ve planned, battles still unfold in an enjoyable tense turn-based environment. Each side can have up to four players lined up single file, and positioning is extremely important here due to some skills only working in specific positions of the formation. As you and your enemies trade blows, you’ll need to carefully balance the various buffs, debuffs, and status conditions to achieve victory. Perhaps the most important thing to manage here (besides health) is each character’s ‘stress’ level. As damage and pressure increase, characters will become more stressed, and if this is maxed out, an Aggravation will ensue that randomly gives a bunch of negative status effects and lowers their health.
Part of what makes combat so engaging is the fact that it’s nearly impossible to come out of any encounter without a few scars to show for it. And given that recovery options both in and out of combat are quite limited, you need to consider the effects of each battle on your long-term chances. Darkest Dungeon 2 is the kind of game where you don’t necessarily plan to win, but plan to lose slower and maybe manage to crawl your way over the finish line at the end. It’s like a twisted Oregon Trail in this respect—not everyone will make it to the end, so you have to consider what sacrifices have to be made to make the ride just a little bit longer.
Wins along the way will give you candles that can be spent between runs for things like stat boosts and newer, more powerful items that can appear in shops or battle rewards for future runs. Also, after completing a run – pass or fail – you’re awarded a certain amount of hope based on your performance, which then increases your profile level and leads to unlocking things like new class types. We appreciated the use of meta-progression elements, as they ensure that Darkest Dungeon 2 doesn’t feel like it also punishing because you always do OTHER USEFUL some kind of progress. Unlocks and upgrades aren’t substitutes for a lack of skill, but they certainly help take the edge off and give you more margin for error once you better understand how to manage risk and maximize your slim advantages.
The relationship system is another new feature and another system that you need to manage carefully if you want to make it to the top. Various actions in battle or events will affect a character’s relationship with the other three team members, and if it goes high enough, they’ll create a bond that allows them to better synergize through new passives introduced into a variety of skills. However, if it gets low enough, the opposite will happen and some skills will be ‘cursed’ as infighting in the group makes them less functional as a team. We appreciated the extra tension this mechanic added to an already stressful experience, as it feels like a natural addition to the game’s loop of careful resource management without being too distracting.
We were quite impressed with Darkest Dungeon 2, although the game can feel a bit rough over time. Although you can technically You always beat the game on every run, it just doesn’t feel like it’s viable enough until you’ve invested some time to get more of those unlocks and stat boosts generated by a few runs. This is definitely more of a gimmick, as Darkest Dungeon 2 is still a joy to play, but just be prepared to hit the treadmill before you feel like you’re really starting to get anywhere.
Visually, Darkest Dungeon 2 uses a gorgeous corrupted art style by Chris Bourassa that feels quite similar to Joe Mad’s signature work. The characters and environments feature a comic book-like presentation with thick lines and lots of shadows, giving things a highly stylized look that cleverly combines 3D models with flat 2D textures that give the illusion of 3D space. Animations are kept to a minimum, but are used to great effect in combat through the use of a quick step into action when a character uses an ability. Each biome uses its own color palette to keep things from getting too stale during a run, while the enemies in each are incredibly detailed and extremely varied.
CONCLUSION
Darkest Dungeon 2 may not be the sequel that ardent fans of the original wanted it to be, but its unique approach to that rough and brutal roguelike is compelling all the same. An unforgettable art style, tons of replayability, and a lot of mechanical depth make this an easy recommendation for any roguelike fan, even if it can be a little harsh at times. If you’ve been looking for another gritty roguelike to add to your collection, Darkest Dungeon 2 is certainly worth your time and money.