Posted on: March 8, 2025
rex_butler
Verified ownerGames: 115 Reviews: 69
Okay, but could have been great
This is a sequel to Darkest Dungeon, which is a great game (with mods). I applaud the developer for trying to shake up things with DD2, though I think that it is inferior to the first game. Overall, DD2 gets some things right and some things quite wrong. I can only recommend this game if you plan to mod it and can get it on deep discount. The good things: I love the creepy, oppressive atmosphere and the excellent narration. The graphical style is identical to the first game, except for more animations. Music is fine. There are some assets drawn from the first game, but that's okay. I especially like the Shrines of Reflection that help tell the story of each hero. Okay, the bad stuff: This game is even more grindy than the first. DD2 is a rogue-lite game, which means progress is made through losing, which earns rewards that can be used in your next run. The idea is fine and can be addictive in a well-designed game, except the difficulty of DD2 is generally high and losing a fight can cost you 1-2+ hours of progress. Also, while some of the boss fights in the first game could be tricky, they generally felt fair and losing did not set you back as much. You could also retreat or bring in a fresh party to redo a dungeon level, two things you can't do in DD2. Losing in DD2 means going back to the beginning of the expedition and having to pick a new party, with no trinkets, advanced skills, nothing. And rewards (candles) are meager. Compounding the problems are the small things that unnecessarily make the game more obtuse. For example, figuring out all of the little UI icons that appear will take some time. Also, trinkets in this game feel less useful than in the first game. I had hoped that the new "Kingdoms" mode might improve things. Not at all. It's suffers from lack of a compelling narrative and overall dull gameplay. If you want to try this game, be prepared to mod it. Otherwise, give this a pass. Even better, go play the first game (with mods, of course).
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