I'm struggling between 4 and 3 Stars. But as I write the review I decided to go with 3. My main problem with the game is that your run rarely changes from the first island to the final encounter. Your mechs don't have enough chances to upgrade and try new things, and even if you do it throws the balance of the team off. I know everybody is comparing it to FTL, even though it is a different kind of game, but the rising sense of tension just isn't present in this game like it is in that classic game. Most of the tension in this game is in the micro strategy between moves and deciding how to counter the Kaiju like Vek. It's engaging, fun, and really well designed.. but ultimately it's just battle chess with a nice fresh coat of paint. There just isn't much of a game in this package, and I found myself going back to other games after 2 completions. Also, it's not very fun to watch on stream the way FTL was and is. As I mentioned before FTL has a great rising action that keeps you going for the entire run. Into the Breach is more something to waste your time and walk away from when you have something better to do. I will give subset the benefit of the doubt. FTL had an expansion that made it the game it is today, and maybe this game will be more engaging with an update pack that adds new depth, but right now I think it's a little overpriced and they are riding the coattails of a much better game. I think 9.99 is more than fair for this guy and 15 is pushing it. I see myself getting about 70 hours out of the game which is pretty good. But with FTL I'm on 500+ and counting. I saw wait for a price drop, or the expansion and in the meantime go play chess. I think after 2-3 years Subset really under-preformed.
Darkest Dungeon is about methodically leveling a large group of characters for a final dungeon fight. It is a turned based RPG dungeon crawler with permadeath for individual characters. People lump it in with Roguelikes because they are fashionable, but really it's just difficult. And it is an actual RPG as each class plays a specific role. But the real power is the synergy you can stumble upon trying different formations and skills together. For example, the highwayman and the crusader in spot 2 and 3 have great shuffle skills that work fantastically together, but it could take you 20 hours before you figure that out. Everything about this game is planning and sacrifice, so if you don't like to spend lots of time agonizing over which skills or what class to bring, what loot to leave behind, and how to best attack a specific dungeon, it might not be the game for you. It is not a straight forward Diablo like hack and slash. If you try to hack your way through a dungeon with brute force and zero planning you will die. Stress is a huge factor and learning how to deal with stress with camping, items, in-combat skills, and out of combat management is a huge part of the game. Stress will eventually kill you, and leads to debuffs and other nasty side-effects. There are also diseases and quirks both positive and negative which will alter how your character behaves. Again, managing those is a huge part of the planning of the game. The game is not that RNG heavy. If you find RNG is kill you, you haven't learned enough or planned appropriately. Dungeon also has a steep advancement curve, so if you've made too many mistakes you might need to grind a bit to get your parties to a place where they can succeed. The biggest positives are the Art, Sound narration, and overall satisfaction of bringing a character from zero to hero. The game borrows heavily from Lovecraft and his dark stories about macabre creatures and gods. Misery, torture, death, and blood. The narrator will constantly highlight your actions with fantastic vocabulary and voice acting, and the music and sound effects are super creepy. The artist for this game should also get a raise because there is so much originality and creativity in the designs that it's a joy to watch. My biggest problems with the game are the item inventory screen, and the total lack of any direction when it comes to strategy. First, you only have two small rows to carry items and if you have to cap twice two of those slots are taken by firewood. It's frustrating to leave a lot of loot behind in a dungeon crawler because you have so little item space. I feel that a second page to carry things as an upgrade is vastly needed. I am not sure if this is just an oversight by the devs, or an added layer or difficulty where you must decide what is worth keeping and what is worth leaving behind. I would lean toward the former and hope they address it. Secondly, the game doesn't give much of a tutorial on combat, and this may confuse people who don't like to figure out things on their own. Understanding how stuns, bleeds, row shuffling skills, and camping perks really works comes from trial and error more from the game itself, which is fine with me, but the casual player won't get it in time to enjoy the game. Though, I will say everything is fairly intuitive and descriptive, there is no real tutorial level other than a short combat example on the road to the hamlet. I don't feel these negatives warrant taking a star away from the game, as they are minor annoyances. All and all, Darkest Dungeon is a fantastic way to waste your time if you like to be methodical and then see that planning pay off. Combat is a big rush IF you're prepared for it, and the story and visual style is a treat for any gamer.
