Darkest Dungeon® II

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4.2/5

( 49 Reviews )

4.2

49 Reviews

English & 14 more

Overall most helpful review

Edited on: October 11, 2025

Posted on: June 7, 2024

hmcpretender

Verified owner

Games: Reviews: 48

A proper Roguelite

By coincidence DD2 released on GoG just when I finished a run of DD1 so so I didn't hesitate and jumped on the stagecoach to give a direct comparison. First of all: the football manager part is gone. Instead of managing a huge roster of heroes throughout a drawn-out campaign deciding whether to invest in an asset or replace it all your heroes start fresh into each expedition. An expedition is a rather long (2h+) endeavor which involves several semi-randomized battles and other types of encounters during which your party will have the opportunity to level up their skills and equipment to either slay the final boss or die along the way. As the game doesn't have a tutorial to speak of, the latter is much more likely early on. Your first attempts will probably feel like bashing your head against a brick wall. However, at the start of a new expedition you may spend the candles (a currency) you earned on your previous attempts on a plethora of permanent unlocks and improvements which will make you more powerful going onward. Depending which part you liked about the previous game, this may or may not be for you. I like the constant unlocks and the fact that a failed expedition has no negative long term impact. You are pretty much failing forward while in DD1 you likely suffered financial losses which delayed your campaign progress. Still I think the expeditions could be a little shorter. Especially watching your stagecoach driving through very uninteresting landscapes takes much more time than it should and a fixed party only offer so much variety in combat.

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Posted on: February 2, 2025

szahraj

Verified owner

Games: 50 Reviews: 6

Kingdoms – for those who waited :)

Let me preface this by saying that Darkest Dungeon 1 has, from day one, been in my top three games of all time (the other two being Valheim and Crusader Kings 3). I, too, was gravely disappointed when they changed the formula. And even though the major flaw that, in my opinion, kept the first installment from perfection—the graphics—was greatly improved upon, I couldn’t imagine the game without the hamlet, where my party of psychiatric ward pati...—I mean, heroes—could return, giving me a sense of place and continuity. I refrained from getting DD2, hoping that one day they would release a third installment. And guess what? The latest game mode, Kingdoms, is exactly what I was dreaming of. And even though it may sound blasphemous to fans of the first installment, I’ll say it outright: DD2: Kingdoms is better than DD1. Now, with most readers gone, I will try to support my bold statement by comparing both games in the two most important aspects: the hamlet and the heroes. The hamlet is back—but this time, there isn’t just one, but dozens of them (called Inns). While in DD1, the order of upgrades was largely the same in every run, here you must decide which Inns will specialize in what: some will offer cheaper goods, others will have better medics, and some will let you train your heroes more effectively. You won’t be able to upgrade all of them, and some you will never get to visit again. It’s a fantastic feature that improves on the concept of the hamlet in every way. And now, for the biggest and best change: the heroes. In DD2: Kingdoms, you only have one of each type—which makes your connection to them much more personal. They are no longer disposable shells, replaced the moment they die by carbon copies. Instead, they feel like real people with quirks, relationships, and stories. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. You will miss them, but they will not be forgotten nor replaced. Alright, I’m reaching the character limit, so I’ll end with this: Get the game.

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Posted on: September 22, 2024

mastro.ombroj

Verified owner

Games: 69 Reviews: 8

Meh...

1st run I get to the boss and pass it. 3 next ones I am munched on first few packs. So much random, even though its supposed to be less then in 1st game. Here if I am unlucky run is over, in 1st version: gather new party and continue. Each run is slowed by unskipable animations and tutorial. Thats annoying.

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Posted on: September 24, 2024

gamingrn

Verified owner

Games: Reviews: 14

Really a 3.5 star follow-up

Like many others, I'm a big fan of DD1. It's among my favorite games ever; the sequel is different in several ways. This time you choose 4 heroes for the whole journey (2+ areas) instead of 4 for an area and regrouping at the hamlet afterward. Each run to the mountain is independent rather than slowly building up to the end-game dungeons in DD1. The Good: You can replace a lost hero at the inn so your attempt is not ruined by bad luck killing a character in the first region The new visuals are really nice and the sound/narration remain topnotch There are more abilities for each hero (unlocked at Shrines) to fine-tune your skill needs (only 1 upgrade per skill using points gained) Battles are still a great deal of fun No more hunger checks New interesting areas and enemies The Bad: The Affinity system. I like managing the physical and mental states of a group of flawed heroes battling their way through primordial evil; I'm not interested in a social network simulator balancing their relations to each other. Each node you take, what you do at a node, and even turn to turn in battle randomly causes gains/losses in relationships. This mechanic largely replaces the virtue/affliction system of the original (although those are still sort of there) and is heavily rewarding/penalizing as a skill you often use can cause good or bad with each use based on the pairing. There isn't a way to fix this; it's not going away as it's a core mechanic of DD2, but I don't like it although others might No keeping trinkets or skill upgrades; since each run is separate, you lose everything each time you restart No camping skills; camping is replaced by inns where you can use inn items; there are no unique skills of heroes to use The Bottomline: I don't think all fans of DD1 will like the direction of the sequel. The appeal of DD1's 'Hero Manager' is not in DD2 as combat is really the only carry-over. DD2 is fun in a vacuum, but it's not the exact 'sequel' I wanted.

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Posted on: February 26, 2025

Tomspace

Verified owner

Games: 177 Reviews: 7

Tiring to do it all over again and again

Seemingly a fun game, but unfortunately, also very tiring. You basically play and die and guess what went wrong, doing the same thing over and over again at the beginning. The game throws you in at the deep end and you can't even test anything. All in all, I regret buying it. The game is phenomenally made. Super nice graphics and animations, cool music. But why is the game so difficult to learn and why am I doing the same thing over and over again ?I don't feel attached to a character because I'm going to die anyway and get on that bandwagon with a new team all over again. Maybe it's my fault, DD1 I never finished but I had fun there. here I feel rather frustrated. Just my opinion...

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